Lived Experience Forum

[JT]

Most definitely @Alessandra1992  I don't care how anedotal the experts say it is, the moon does me no favours, hot weather sends me bonkers and changes in any type of weather causes me to become unstable if not unpredictable at times.  Rainy and cold days calm me so I look forwards to those.

[unfocused]

Just joined here as I am feeling the same way.

Waiting to get into see psychiatrist. have been on anti depressants for over 15years. They seem to work for a while then lose effectiveness. My 2 sisters have been diagnoised with depression and mother with schizophrenia. My 12 and 15yo - depressed/anxiety issues.

My sister has been talking to her G.P about adult adhd which prompted me to look into this. Bi-polar type 2 is very similar. Just not as high high's as manic episodes.

This is really a horrible place to be in. I can't focus on anything. Days are wasted doing nothing.

I'm stressing out, anxiety but low at the same time.

[Uggbootdiva]

I took antidepressants for 13 years until we worked or I am bipolar not depressed. I had same issue they worked for a while but I noticed that more and more I would have what is known as hypomania which is small cycles of less than a week of up and then down. cutting down on the antidepressants and introducing a mood stabiliser has been great for the past 4 years.
@unfocused
Totally hard to be in that place. so anxious and irritable and nothing moves fast enough but depressed and slow at the same time. worst of both world's. Sometimes when I am there I have to retreat from the world take a few days off work and take a sedative to just kickstart the normal cycle again.
see if your gp can help you?

[unfocused]

Yes @Uggbootdiva I have a psychiatrist appointment tomorrow..great they got me in so fast.
So the mood stabiliser are helping? You still get ups and downs but better now?

[JT]

Personally, I found a mood stabiliser to be somewhat of an eye opener.  What had been "normal" for over 40 years of my life was very different to what I experienced on medication.  

[tabby]

What way was it different JT?

[kristin]

Thanks for sharing this @Uggbootdiva !

@kato you might find it helpful to read this thread.

Cheers, Kristin

[kristin]

Hi @Uggbootdiva 

You mention feeling quite manic. I find that is my signal to take things much more quietly. So if I think I can do 6 things in a day I chose just 1 and take the rest of the day slowly. Savour what I do chose. Hope that makes sense? It takes me a lot of self-discipline at times, but helpful as a self-med.

Kind regards,

Kristin

[Uggbootdiva]

@kristin The problem is it is sooo cool to have energy and I KNOW that I will pay for it but the chance to get heaps done is so tempting. hence the sedative enforced discipline.

@JT yes what do you mean?

@unfocussed yes the mood stabilisers def help with the downs. removing the antidepressants has removed the rapid cycling (apparently its only a particular brand that had this type of effect on bipolar) but we are in uncharted territory now as this is the first time I have not been on an antidepressant since I was first diagnosed with MI.

[Loopy]

kristin, when I get hypo I tend to rush around like a chook without ahead, then forget what it was I was about to do. So I retrace my steps, stand still for a while, look around and it all returns, so then I resume exactly the same way but only get half the things done that I originally wanted to do. I once wrote notes but I would forget where I put them. So I satisfy myself that I have done the best I could under the circumstances.

loopy