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Bthatche
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Default May 22, 2019 at 09:11 PM
  #1
I was diagnosed bipolar 1 and quite a few doctors mis-diagnosed me over the years. I can remember a manic episode 17 years ago when I was 31 and I'm sure it went back farther.

I want at all surprised by the diagnosis. But I didn't know what bipolar 1 was though. I thought manic depressive disorder. They gave me lithium.

About 2 months ago I was so lost and in despair that I went online to look for answers. When I needed at least a nurse practitioner for medicine a therapist for life, and have to ensure that I'm drug and alcohol free just to maintain a center it blew me a way. It also put me in a different kind of bipolar funk. I scarcely see the point in trying to improve my circumstances. For what?

But I'm unemployed for the first time in my life. It's been 5 months and I need to start looking. I recently got approved for Medicare and I'm on the 4th of many more. But im still waiting to even try so I can work on therapy and more importantly my meds. I currently take lithium and last night I started seroquel. But in that 4 or 5 medications are average looking at this forum alone. It's not that I want to down a bunch of pills but I also think that the intensity of the disease in me is high. For instance I'm not in a mood stabilizer and I probably need it. I want to try and get a good regimen before I start working again.

So any advice? Though I know out journey are all unique but isms there a better way of starting the cocktail of daily pills? Should I add Inca latuda or abilify? Did any of you have more meds in the lineup when you started?

All of the symptoms of bipolar 1 are present in me to a great degree and I want to be aggressive in the medicine side I have therapy linked up and will be trying to get sober here pretty quick.

I'm currently taking 600mg of lithium and 200mg of seroquel daily.

Last edited by Bthatche; May 22, 2019 at 09:19 PM.. Reason: Forgot to list my medicationa
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Default May 22, 2019 at 09:34 PM
  #2
Lithium is a mood stabilizer

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Default May 22, 2019 at 09:41 PM
  #3
You know that for all of us this journey is individualised so I won't go into that. I do want to answer directly though, I am only on two meds and fairly controlled. In fact, I'm doing better with just the two than when I was on four. All this to say: Don't be afraid to put trust in the two you're on. The mood stabiliser question is best addressed to a psychiatrist.

Welcome and all the best.

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Default May 22, 2019 at 10:06 PM
  #4
are those 2 meds working for you? do you feel better?
i take 3 meds. have for years. some people need more, some less. it is a very individual cocktail. don't rate yourself on the amount of drugs people list on their posts. you have no way of knowing the depth of their conditions, or the mix of the drug cocktail or their overall health.

if the 2 drugs work well for you then stick with it and don't worry. sometimes there might need to be changes in dosage, either up or down. sometimes an additional med might need to be added in to it, again don't worry. bipolar can be a fluid illness...so at times the cocktail can be as well.

get comfortable with how the meds make you feel so you can be your best advocate...not what other people's meds make them feel. that will not help you in the long run.

good luck.
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Default May 22, 2019 at 10:19 PM
  #5
It's not an attractive easy option but staying sober is far more likely to stabilize you than a handful of meds. That and ensuring that you establish a bedtime routine and get at least 6 hours of sleep a night.

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Default May 22, 2019 at 10:37 PM
  #6
Thanks guys, should have clarified the severity of my condition. I do know that the I experience is exactly what makes it so hard treat with medication. 17vyears ago I had a life altering experience. I can pin down the time because after the first one I could tell a few days in advance that they were coming and warn my wife of the coming storm. From 2003 till now I'd say I averaged about 3-4 periods a year in depressive state and can only remember 3 or so manic states the whole time probably every 2-3 years I'd get manic.

Again, I'm not looking to take on medications but while I'm unemployed I need to get as close to the right mix as possible because I'll lose the state aid when I go back to work.

The lithium was keeping level for about 8 months but I've been kind of mess for years last 5 months or so. And I just started the seroquel last night.

My mood isn't high or low. My mood is just sad, not a depressive state sad though I don't think. Its different. I'm just looking back on a lifetime in terms of if only. And there some great things but who cares I was miserable when I was happy too. And the future. I certainly don't have any lofty goals, or goals at all. I'll put it this way, a couple weeks ago I found out about the 11-20 years we lose in life expectancy. I hope it's 20 for me so I can check out in about 8 years. Couldn't come soon enough.
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Default May 22, 2019 at 10:56 PM
  #7
I only take abilify. My husband only takes lamictal and welbutrin. We both have severe BP1.

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Default May 23, 2019 at 02:45 AM
  #8
Dealing with Bipolar isn’t just “taking a medication. “ You have to treat it from all sides

Good sleep hygiene
Healthy diet
Exercise
Meditation
Mindfulness
Avoid alcohol

Lithium is the first medication to be specific for Bipolar, are you getting regular lab work to ensure your in therapeutic level ?

Seroquil is a common AP ... just watch your diet it can cause weight gain for some people.

Are you seeing a Therapist? I honestly feel that Therapy goes hand and hand with medications or people that don’t want or can’t take medication.

You can learn coping skills and how to actually use them when need be.

The goal is to find stability. A baseline where your functioning well and enjoying life and it is possible.

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Default May 23, 2019 at 03:11 AM
  #9
Thanks Christina. I'm nowhere near attacking this from every angle. I start therapy on June 3rd. I rarely leave my condo because I can't stand the thought of leaving my condo. Since I'm not working (and I've had a good career up until a year ago when I got fired for the first time in my life} so my sleep patterns are horrid. And my diet is a joke too. But the one thing that is killing all of the hope of stabilization is my drinking. Despite all of the bad things it has caused me, at least I had a couple of hours in the day where I felt relaxed and comfortable. So, I'm gonna quit, I've done it before, but what will fill that space?

Until a couple of months ago I truly didn't understand what this was. And I have a plan now to address it from all angles. And I will. But I'm a different person than I was a year ago and I don't know why. I'm completely and utterly apathetic. I just don't care about anything anymore. Two years ago my wife left me and soon after I was fired from a job. Fast forward a year and I'm in a place that isn't quite as morose or evil as the depressive states I've known all too well. And it certainly isn't mania. I do have profound sadness though and I cry quite a bit. But mostly it's a numbness I haven't had. I was to trying to explain this to my ex-wife as she knows me better than anyone. I look back on the last 49 years and the various states of miserly. I am proud of some of the things I accomplished but i was miserable the whole time. I did have 2 episode free fun years and I'm thankful for it. But now I don't even care about trying to stabilize. I'm only going to do it because where I'm at now sucks and I do have to work, so I better get it together. But plans for recovery, or maintenance. A good career again. Maybe meet someone. Buy a house. Or anything else that I get back. I don't care, I just to have to put my son through college and I should only have 15 years left. My thought process is focused on just making it another brutally long 15 years.
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Default May 23, 2019 at 04:48 AM
  #10
I can't add too much more. The members above made great points and suggestions. I just want to reemphasize that severity of bipolar illness and number of medications are not necessarily congruent.

I have taken just two medications that were quite effective. I have also been on behemoth cocktails (more than now) in order to handle symptoms. It can depend on many factors, including a person's individual reaction to certain medication(s) in terms of it's effectiveness or side effects. Sometimes something works great for a few years then not as much. Sometimes a medication is a wonderful fit, sometimes not.

I hope what you are on serves you well. Though Lithium does have a clear therapeutic limit to its dose, Seroquel's dose can be worked with without adding a third medication. Your 200 mg is not a particularly high dose at this point. But who knows. Maybe a third or a substitute for one of your current medications may be considered in the future. Or maybe not.
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Default May 23, 2019 at 06:57 AM
  #11
I think everyone else nailed it in regards to meds. It just depends and it can change over time.

I do think it would be helpful for you to work on coping skills. They will come in handy when you give up drinking. You need ways to relax and fill up the time without ingesting chemicals that alter your brain chemistry. Bipolar disorder stems from a chemical imbalance and you're essentially taking a third med that is unregulated when you drink. Self medicating can help sometimes, but it is hard to know if your meds are effective until you give up substances and pair that with a healthy diet. I like to think of my body like a big chemistry set. It is easier to manage if I keep the number of chemicals mixing together to a minimum.

My hope for you is you find your way back to happiness. Just getting through the next 15 years can be a goal, but you could also set your sights on finding happiness and balance in the moment. It takes work, but you might find yourself simply enjoying the moment instead of counting down the days until you check out. Just like the meds are different for everyone, the time we have left is also different. You mentioned several amazing goals. I hope you attain all of them and keep going! Looking too far ahead can be overwhelming, so maybe just look at today or even the next hour and try to have some fun or some peace.
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Default May 23, 2019 at 07:37 PM
  #12
I have been through almost all the atypical antipsychotics and many mood stabilizers over the last 14 years. My current (and longest) psych nurse practitioner says I am a difficult case- that I have severe bipolar 1 disorder- that I'm hard to treat. I sort of have a coctail that works now, though we use Haldol sparingly for acute episodes. (Just out of mania, right now.) Its not about how many but about what works- or doesn't- for you. I have had so many bad side effects to meds! Glad to be on something that works at the moment.

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Default May 23, 2019 at 09:25 PM
  #13
I'm only on one medication for bipolar disorder, an antipsychotic at a low dose. Sometimes I add a second one prn if my sleep is not good but I don't take that one every day.

I am chronically depressed but antidepressants don't help unless I am deeply depressed and can flip me into mania so I don't take them. All of these medications can have untoward side effects so the fewer one is on the better.

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