Bipolar and me

[louloupop]

Hello everyone..im new to this an new to bipolar!
i have been on meds for about 7 months now (800mg priadel an 50mg seroquel). i feel like it just isn't making a differents I don't know if everyone feels this way at the start???i feel crazy high then crash back down .....im so fed up of having this now.i had a bad drug problem but have been clean for 8 months i still drink alot which makes things sometimes worst an sometimes better.i act like everything is ok when i speak to the 100s of different doctors i see..but i know if i tell them everything i think they will put me away.soooo im unsure an turn to you..do we all think the same?? thank you xxx

 

[emski]

I'm sorry to hear you are having a hard time. I too had a long time before things became 'stable' for me, all to do with getting the balance right, which I might lose sometimes now, but on the whole. There is acceptance, getting the meds 'right', psychological help, friends & family, peer support, sleep, diet, exercise, self-help, relaxation & recreation, alcohol, social factors (housing, work, education) - so many factors. After my diagnosis I was on 'bipolar meds' for a year that weren't working before they got totally changed - its wasn't just about them though it was about making changes to my lifestyle, social and work life that contributed to things getting better.

I would say, however, that if you are not feeling right then you need to be as honest as you can about that - that doesn't mean you will be hospitalised.

Hope this helps

 

[louloupop]

Feels really nice to talk to someone,iv told my mum who im not very close with an really think she has got it to i live with my boyfriend, how he has stayed with me i can not explain ...so so great.i have a very big group of friends,im know as the loud "crazy" party girl so as you can tell i havnt told them which is why i need to keep it together.i know its something you shouldn't hide but there is no way im going to be known as the crazy girl who wants to kill herself from week to week.my other thing is sleep i now cannot sleep without taking quetiapine i have been awake for 3 days in the past.its like my body just wont shut down without it i have taken everything from hot milk to nytol one-a-night(me taking 5...still wide awake)but with quetiapine i wake up in the worst mood for the first few hours then feel slug like for the rest of the day never feeling fresh.iv got the doctors next thurs which i will tell him everything but they are only reading what there books tell them to say...i feel like im stuck.xx

 

[updownupdown]

Yes, yes, yes!! I think the same... I got diagnosed with bipolar about 7 months ago and started taking Depakote. I was discharged from the P Dr because I told him everything was ok and I felt better than I had done in ages (of course I did I was on a high) but all it has done has slowed my cycles down, so that I'm high for a longer period and low for longer too. I had a really bad manic episode last week which resulted in me being delusional so my GP re referred me and I'm going on Monday. Trouble is though, I feel ok now so will probably end up telling them I'm ok because I'm worried that they'll think I'm totally mad if I tell them what I was like last week!

I don't drink but I smoke dope and like you, it sometimes helps and sometimes makes me worse. When I'm depressed I blame the dope but I've only been smoking it for about 18 months and I'm not a heavy smoker and my bipolar symptoms have been present for a lot longer than that. I never know what to say to the Dr though because I feel ashamed of myself!!

 

[emski]

my other thing is sleep i now cannot sleep without taking quetiapine i have been awake for 3 days in the past.its like my body just wont shut down without it i have taken everything from hot milk to nytol one-a-night(me taking 5...still wide awake)but with quetiapine i wake up in the worst mood for the first few hours then feel slug like for the rest of the day never feeling fresh

I also can't sleep without quetipine - not that it is addictive I have just become quite dependent on it to sleep, but it doesn't affect me the next day. Tbh I feel a bit bad that I can't sleep without it (other antipsychotics and sleeping tablets haven't made me feel sedated), but on the other hand I get sleep with quetiapine, and so when having to make a choice between drugged sleep and no sleep I chose sleep!

How about maybe asking about lowering the quetiapine if it makes you groggy the next day? I've had my dose doubled and it doesn't make me anymore sedate than the lower dose, so that might work for you.