Bipolar management?
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If you are Bipolar, medication truly is the most critical factor in your stability. Lithium is extraordinarily effective, but often isn't used initially because of weight gain that can be quite disturbing. If your condition is mild, as in Bipolar II, you could discuss lamictal with your doc-it doesn't work exceptionally well for severe cases, but often stabilizes milder forms. It also promotes weight loss versus weight gain. But unfortunately you will need meds to control the disorder.
One lifestyle change you can make that will aid you in maintaining stability is to maintain a regular sleep/wake schedule. Shift work or other behavioral choices that disrupt a normal sleep/wake cycle are notorious for precipitating symptoms and can result in an episode.
I'm diabetic and I don't like taking meds either, so I understand. But we really have no choice about it when we have chronic conditions that require medication for us to stay healthy. I am glad to hear that you are seeing a pediatric psychiatrist as well, as dosages often need to be adjusted for adolescents differently from adults due to the higher metabolism.
Good Luck!
OK, I'm glad to hear you want to do this on your own. My brother took Lithium for his bipolar disorder and it made him like a zombie...he couldn't move or hardly talk. Not only that, Lithium is very toxic if you aren't careful how much you take.and yes a doctor can accidently prescrible too much. You have to pay close attention to your body and how it feels. So to answer your question...I would recommend some thereapy in place of the meds. along with exercising daily. Eat right and make sure you are getting plenty of vitamins. You'd be surprised how much eating the right things can make you feel. Other than that, just do your best to keep it under control. Be open with your family and friends about it so they can better understand you. When you have an episode, just let it ride...feel the feelings and remember they can't hurt you...they are just feelings. Good luck, and I will pray for you!
As a therapist, and as a person with bipolar disorder, I have found that being on the right medication helps a great deal. I have been taking Abilify and found that it helps my mood swings, but does not alter my personality, nor have any other side-effects.
You may find the following websites helpful:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000915/1343.ht...
http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/...
It is best if you continue taking medication. It takes a long time to find the right combination of drugs and everyone reacts differently to different drugs so you just need to be patient and find a doctor willing to let you try different things. My GF has bipolar. Sometimes certain drugs work for a while and then they must be changed. Make sure you communicate with your doctor about your meds. My GF no longer feels sedated and her moods are pretty stable. She takes Wellbutrin, Stratera and at night Klonopin. I know this sound like a lot of medicine, but it is working. She is functioning quite well and is not taking high dosages of any of them. Good Luck and have patience!
Hi there...
I am also Bipolar but am on meds. I don't take Lithium, but I do take Geodon, Lamictal, and Trileptal. These meds are were originally designed to treat other symptoms than mood stabilization, such as seizure control and antipsychotics, but I have found much success (read: higher functioning) from taking them.
I took a mood management class that stressed mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. It is designed for people with Borderline Personality Disorder, but I also found it helpful. See the link to the book below. I don't know how old you are, but I doubt there would be a group for people your age if you are very young.
I'm glad you were diagnosed early. You haven't mentioned anything about psychotherapy along with meds... I'm also in therapy and it helps with the day-to-day stuff just to call my therapist once in a while (I only see her every other month after seeing her weekly for years).
I have also found that journaling really helps. It helps me get my thoughts together when they're racing or when I am so hyped I can't sleep.
Good luck to you in your bipolar management. You are definitely not a nutcase as there are many of us out here in cyberspace. See you on this side of sanity.
Firstly, i'm not a doctor so this is not medical advice...
but i do have experience of bi-polar through friends and work.
Your are right... you are NOT a nutcase... you just have a medical condition.
I sympathise with you about medications... they can be very sedating and doctors can be unsympathetic about this... they see it as an unfortunate but necesary side effect that you have to put up with if you are to be treated successfully.
I would suggest that you dont try to go it alone with out medical help, because you might find that you struggle to stay on top of your illness without the right medical support.
Try to get your doctors to work with you and tell them how much you dont want to go on lithium (although they are not always interested in their patients opinions in my experience, but if you are lucky enough to have a good doctor then this might make a difference.)
Do you know if you have bipolar I or bipolar II? If you have bipolar II, then you might find that lamictal (lamotrogine) is helpful as a mood stabilizer - you could discuss this with your doctor. It has very few side effects.
If you are not happy with your doctor, you can insist that you change your doctor and see if you get any better help that way.
They say that taking large doses of fish oil (cod liver oil) can help to stabilize the brain cells, but it is not a substitute for medication and it wont work instead of medication, but it may help to assist the medication that you are already on.
Also, you might find that regular exercise and a healthy diet may help you in some way.
Also some people, with alot of experience and insight into their illness, say that they can avoid spells of mania by finding ways to calm themselves down when they sense a 'high' coming on.
But, again, i wouldn't advise trying to do this with out medical help and without alot of insight into and experience of your illness.
You should also be aware that if you are not taking medication, then sometimes you might not realise that you are entering into a depression or a high spell... you might not be able to see it even thought other people can.. this sometimes happens with bipolar... you can use the people around you to help you monitor your mood... this can be very helpful...
good luck and keep searching for answers...
the more you find out about it, the easier it will become for you to deal with...
take care,
zag
PS please feel fee to email me if you'd like more details about the fish oils (you can email from my profile page) or if you'd like to ask me about anything else about bipolar.
It is very, very important that you have a good relationship with your therapist. You do not have to take medication, especially as a teenager, but you do need some sort of treatment to keep your bipolar in check.
I see my therapist every week so that she can recognize when I am going into a manic or depressive episode.
First I would like to say that if you are truely Bipolar, you cannot function without medication. It is a sad fact, but true. Trust me. I was young like you when I was diagnosed and I continuously would go off my medication...it made things worse and disrupted my life and my family and friend's lives as well. There may be a period of calm, but it always returns and science now shows us that the episodes can be harder to treat if you continuously go on and off your medication.
Your brain has a chemical imbalance that can only be regulated by medications. Exercise and getting enough sleep help, but they DO NOT alter the brain chemistry enough to control the symptoms of Bipolar.
Work with your doctors in finding the best "cocktail" that works for you. And don't fear Lithium. I have been on it for over 10 years. It was a wonder drug for me. I am not a zombie and in fact still work in a creative field.
But it took many trials and tribulations to find the right cocktail of drugs for me.
Also, sometimes diagnosis in young teens can be wrong, especially because teens are naturally moody. I would get a second opinion. Unless you experienced a real manic episode which clearly showed Bipolar, then I would see another doctor.
Good luck.
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