mood stabilizers

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Needing some support/advice #BipolarDisorder

#BipolarDisorder #Bipolar1Disorder #Medication #PsychiatricMedication #CopingTips #MentalHealth #MoodStabilizers

Let’s start with some background: as I’m sure many of y’all know or have experienced, figuring out medication with bipolar is no cake walk. I had terrible reactions to half a dozen SSRIs before anyone even thought “hey, maybe this person doesn’t have plain old depression. Let’s try something else.” And then I was allergic to the first two mood stabilizers they put me on (like deathly allergic). So when we finally found a medication I could take that worked and didn’t literally try to kill me, it was a huge relief. I have Bipolar I and, up till that point, I’d had no way of managing it, even aside from pharmaceuticals. Having a chemical mood stabilizer was amazing. My emotions were finally sorta “normal” — not alternating between “I am an immortal deity with ultimate power in this universe and beyond” and “my existence is so hopeless I might as well fade away into ghost-hood” with no in between. But there was one problem: now I felt disconnected. The medication dulled things so much I felt like I was experiencing the world through tinted glass — something I could see and hear, but couldn’t really feel, even physically, a connection to. Despite this problem, I knew that going off my medication would be far worse for my quality of life, so I kept on it.

Enter new information: I’ve been getting long, profuse, borderline dangerously frequent bloody noses consistently for months. Come to learn my mood stabilizer — the one that took over half a dozen tries to find — has been causing them. Now, excessive blood loss is not a good, so, three days ago, my meds dosage was reduced to start tapering off. And now my symptoms are reading their inconvenient heads. On the one hand, I’m finally feeling my creative spirit and connection to the energy of life again; on the other, I’ve never learned how to manage my Bipolar without medication and I’m having a lot of doubts about whether it’s even possible. So I need some help.

How have y’all managed or seen people manage Bipolar unmedicated? For those who’ve experienced withdrawal from tapering or going off medication, what are some ways you’ve managed the withdrawals and recurring symptoms? What are some ways to build support systems or some options for support systems that you’ve learned? I’d really appreciate any help y’all can give.

Much love ❤️

~Charlie

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Anyone on Lamictal?

Hello peeps. I am on Lamictal for BPD. I take 300mg a day, two doses of 150mg in the morning and in the evening. I have constant brain zaps as if I were withdrawaling. I also have shaky hands in the morning until I take my dose. I am thinking I need to lessen my dose even though it helps with my BPD better than any other type of medication. Does/has anyone else experienced this? #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Medication #MoodStabilizers #SideEffects

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Mood stabilizers and cannabis

Hello Mighties, I was curious as to whether anyone has experience using cannabis while on mood stabilizers for depression? If so, what was/is the experience like for you?

#Depression #MoodStabilizers #Cannabis

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Coming off #MoodStabilizers

Has anyone successfully gotten off their antidepressants or mood stabilizers? I’ve been on both for years (at separate times). I feel like the current MS I’m on is no longer helping me and may be disabling me.

I’m going to make an appointment with my counselor that I’ve seen since middle school and see what she thinks. I’m excited at the thought I could get back some of my old self. Like my imagination and my creativity. But I’m also scared that Ill figure out I need to be on pills because I can’t function on my own. 😔 #Depression #BipolarDepression #Medication

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Help needed

I know you all ate not doctors, I will contact mine as soon as I can. I just want to hear some experiences. I have been taking lexapro for going on 3 days. The first two days were scary to say the least. I had racing heart, unaw to sit still, I think I was having a panic attack, or experiencing anxiety. Should I continue taking these pills? Honestly I felt better the next day(have to take at night they cause sever drowsiness) I was a bit slow moving though, I absolutely cannot drive in these meds. Do I need a lower dose? I m already on 5mg to start. I took half a pill, but I it wears off pretty fast. I cannot sleep right now, and if I don't take this pill I know for sure ill be up all night. What do the withdrawl symptoms look like? I have so many questions. What do I do? #Antidepressants #Depression #AnxietyMedication #Anxiety #Lexapro #Upallnight #DepressiveDisorders #MoodDisorders #MoodStabilizers #Hyperthyroidism #PanicAttack #Insomnia #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #MentalHealth

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ADHD and Depression

I was diagnosed with depression probably a decade or so ago. I recently added a mood stabilizer because of erratic moods and racing thoughts...possibly bipolar depression. Then my husband came across this photo and it explains me to a T. I've never been tested for ADHD and I'm 26 now. Has anyone else had experience with this...been diagnosed with ADHD after knowing you've had depression for so long?
# Depression
#ADHD
#MoodStabilizers
#Diagnosis

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#weightmanagement on #MoodStabilizers or #Antipsychotics

Has anyone successfully maintained a healthy weight while on medications such as #Zyprexa #Olanzapine ? I was on it for a while and kept gaining weight. So, I tried other mood stabilizers and antipsychotics and had other issues with them. I read that some people gain such significant weight that they become diabetic and need to take Metformin. Has anyone been on olanzapine long term and managed to stay physically healthy? If so, how did you do it? Exercise? Mindful eating? Other? I am not used to the feeling of never being full and wanting to eat so much, especially in the evening.
#PsychiatricMedication

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Medication change - scared

Doctor is discontinuing my antidepressant (Wellbutrin) and increasing my mood stabilizer (Lamictal). She wants me to stop taking the Wellbutrin immediately vs. taper down which I did not expect. She says this can help my hypomania, but I am so worried that I will fall into a deep depression. I have been on an antidepressant for more than 20 years (Celexa until 3 months ago when changed to Wellbutrin). I was diagnosed with Bipolar II about 12 years ago and added Lamictal to my antidepressant. Have never been stable -- constant rollercoaster of depression and hypomania. I am hopeful this will be a good change but I am anxious about the unknown and the possibility that I may get worse.

Can anyone identify with this? Any advice? #Bipolar II #BipolarDepression #Hypomania #RapidCycling #MoodStabilizers #Antidepressants #Medicationchange #Worried #anxious

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#MoodStabilizers #manicdepression #episodes

This is all (in my opinion). I'm sure a lot of people might think differently about your disease or your meds. Maybe you don't take meds at all. When I bakeracted myself I found out that people with bipolar needed to be on mood stabilizers our entire lives. My mood stabilizer works primarily to balance the serotonin levels in my brain. Ok enough of that. This might all be true, but its it's not the reason for my post.

I had a conversation with my therapist, 2 weeks ago, and I said to her, they all think I'm lying or I'm faking it. Looking for a way to get out of work or lay about doing nothing. They believe bipolar is just something I can just shake off or ignore. I wish. They have no idea how this feels. Leslie, do you have any idea how painful a mood stabilizer is? She said no.

I told her my mood stabilizer is my second skin, my straitjacket, my wet blanket. I can feel my bipolar in my head, in my body, under my skin, under the surface...but I can't let it out. I have done some pretty horrible things during an episode and so for my own safety and others I can't let it out, but I feel it. All the time. I read an article once and in it the man said "I need the highs, so I can handle the lows". I don't get to have either one.

When I'm sad. Really sad. All I get to do is cry. I dont get to scream and rage like I used too. The heart wrenching sobs are trapped inside and nobody knows how much pain I'm in. Then they have the nerve to say I'm faking it. Or using it as a crutch. And then when I need I want or need energy maybe with coffee or an energy drink I can make it through dishes and work, taking care of my son...but I dont get the high, the rush. Of not needing sleep, being the life of the party, laughing, dancing, just feeling free. Instead I always feel trapped. However it's in my head, you cant see it on my skin and so no one believes me.

Its It's just so frustrating. It makes me want to scream. That I have to take medication I hate, to be someone I'm not. That I have to struggle to fit in. That I can't live one single day with stability. My job, my home life, my relationships...everything is affected. I dont know if anyone else can relate, but this has been my 25 year fight. I'm only 34.

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When Better Is A Jouney, Not A Destination


Somehow, after successfully completely two different treatment programs, attending years of consistent therapy, finding a helpful combination of meds, and being incredibly open about my story and diagnoses, I somehow began to operate under this unspoken pressure to be “better.”

With the holiday season and now the arrival of the long awaited “2020” year, I noticed something. By advocating for therapy and the freedom to feel and express emotions, I started to place this barrier between . I often talk about how finishing treatment and taking my meds doesn’t mean I never struggle - it just means I now have more tools to handle bad days. Yet, for some reason, when bad days come, I feel this weight of condemnation. I catch myself saying “This should not be happening.” When I am symptomatic, I hate myself for having an illness. With the new release of my debut single as an artist, of my hopeful anthem “This Is It” and the almost completion of my EP Brave Enough, I have become aware of an intensifying need to be “better.” Better in this use of the word doesn’t mean “improvement” - it means “cured” and “perfect” and “beyond that whole ‘mental illness thing’.

One of my favorite things I learned in treatment was the existence of dialectics, a world in which two distinct things need not be mutually exclusive. Sometimes I don’t treat myself like I can live in that world, while simultaneously giving everyone else the grace to live there. Lately, I’ve been treating myself like I can’t be encouraging and inspirational and also struggle, like I can’t be better and still in the process of healing, and like I can’t sing life into hopeless places and sometimes have doubt myself. So, to combat this, I decided to connect with others who know this plight. I decided to not isolate myself from people with minds and heart ssimilar to mine. It’s somewhat intimidating... AND I can be hesitant and still be brave. I’d love to build connections with others who might feel like this too. I know I’m not the only one. Today, I join the community. #BipolarDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Bipolar2Disorder #CyclothymicDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #MoodDisorders #MoodStabilizers #AnorexiaNervosa #AtypicalAnorexia #BulimiaNervosa #EDNOS #OSFED #progressnotperfection #ResidentialTreatment #Inpatient #IntensiveOutpatientProgram #PartialHospitalizationProgram #Selfharm #stability #Isolation #Music #MightyPoets #MightyMusic

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