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Looking after ourselves

PolarOpposite
Contributor

Bipolar 2: breaking bad

Hello Sane Forum,

 

I am writing to you today from one of Brisbane’s finest psychiatric wards after experiencing my first bipolar blackout and very nearly ending up dead. Feeling fine aside from when trigger topics come up.

 

I’m now being treated with a range of mood stabilisers, anti-psychotics and meds to keep me asleep at night. I’ve been in for just over 10 days and expect I’ll be here for a little while longer.

 

I was hoping to hear from the community about their experiences with manic/psychotic episodes, trips to hospital and just general feedback about your lived experience trying to stay healthy and get meds right.

 

Thanks in advance for your contribution!

8 REPLIES 8

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

HI @PolarOpposite - Great you could join us tonight! I'm sure there are many here who are able to share their experiences with you.

 

It sounds like you are in safe hands 🙂

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

Hi @PolarOpposite 

 

Im sorry you had a blackout. That must have been really unsettling. Sorry you ended in hospital but at least you are getting the right treatment.

 

I have bipolar 2 and I have hypomanic episodes but no psychosis. It’s only a relatively new diagnosis. But my hypomanic episodes at this stage I can mostly keep myself safe.

The psychiatrist is still trying to get my meds right for me to be stable. I spent most of my time in the depressive side. I have 2 mood stabilisers, an antidepressant/anti anxiety. Plus I have an anti psychotic for if I can sleep or go into a hypo. 


I’ve been given a sleep routine to follow the ensure adequate sleep to try and stay stable. Too little sleep is usually a sign of me going up. 

I don’t know if this helps any. 

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

Hello @PolarOpposite sorry you've had all this to contend with. I hope they can iron out the meds for you - it can take a while to know if the meds are working well but if they can eliminate any you're not tolerating well it's a start. 

Having supportive work and home environments will be important - not always easy to negotiate. Flexible work arrangements can help a lot especially in the first few weeks back. 

Staying healthy in the longer term - in terms of lifestyle and maintenance on meds - may be a conversation for another time. For now, perhaps you should focus on recovery  and not rebounding. Maybe you could try to muster a good professional support team using the hospital networks and expertise if you don't already have one - planning ahead for after discharge. 

Best of luck, and I hope your partner and baby are doing OK.

Dimity

 

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

This does help, sounds like your path is similar to mine around getting sleep patterns established and tweaking meds. The one advantage of hospital was getting the meds sorted out in a safe place while recovering at the same time. I hope all is going well for you!

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

I am pleased to say that the meds have been ironed out, my family support are now more educated on what bipolar looks like, and home environment is calm now. Unfortunately my wife has taken our baby boy and won’t let me see him - I think there is still a lot of stigma attached to this illness and I have found that some people close to me have run for the hills. It has only been 2.5 months since my last major episode, but I’ve been told I’m in remission. Back at work, exercising and eating healthy, sleeping well. I guess the final piece to the puzzle is staying well and being patient for an outcome with my wife and child.

Thanks for your comments and support, it means a lot.

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

Thanks for updating us @PolarOpposite . It's great to hear your progress. 

I hope you can work something out re your family situation... do persevere.

Best wishes 

Dimity

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

Hi @PolarOpposite ,

 

Being in hospital is not fun, I have been in a number of times, sometimes at my request, others by the behest of the mental department. For me meds have always been a problem, it was the side-effects that really did me in. Many people find medication helpful, I hope you are still finding that.

Re: Bipolar 2: breaking bad

It has been three months since I got out of hospital, and I am very happy to report that the medication has worked wonders for me. I take my tablets consistently and haven’t missed a single tablet on any day.

 

That isn’t to say there aren’t side effects - I’m exercising like mad to try and stave off the weight gain, fibre tablets to help me with the havoc the meds play with my digestive system.


The best side effect is sleep, but I have to take my tablets early at night to ensure that I am clear headed in the mornings. I haven’t (yet) suffered from shakes, sometimes muscle twitches. I’ve stopped drinking alcohol (104 days now) to both treat my disorder with the respect it deserves and also to ensure there are no unexpected reactions with my medications.  

My moods are under control, they’ve restored my sleep patterns to more normal than they’ve been in years, I feel mostly clear headed and have been able to go back to work. 

Im just glad to be out of hospital and feeling confident I won’t be going back any time soon. I hope that you are finding peace with treating yourself in a way that works for you, and thank you for reaching out to both related to me, and with such kind words of hope.

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