of control manic!", "I had jingles in my head", "I could not stop talking my mind was going so fast!". I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 and I never have any of these symptoms. Would any one out there care to share your experiences if they are different than the "typical" ones you read about in bipolar books or from bipolar posts. I get a little gidy and more talkative, once in a great , blue moon...I have problems with my temper, but only with my intimate family, I get over-stimulated with noise and commotion, at times. I get overwhelmed easily and therefore have a hard time doing what I need to do at home. At work. I have moments that come ever so often ( I am trying to keep a record to see if there is a pattern) in which I can not get enough carbohydrates, like bread and pretzels and cakes, etc., I also go through periods where I go on shoping sprees...meaning, I get really stimulated in buying things. It gives me a rush, it makes me feel good, but I wonder does'nt shopping provide a stimulus for most people/ or am I a little over-board? And then sometimes, I can go into several stores and not have the desire to buy anything. I have a hard time motivating myself. I get irritable and have yelling fits that get quite intense. I lose control of my emotions and become a raging lunatic, it seems. But the kicker is, I only do this at home with my family. Why? Stressors at home are not like the ones at school. So, I can also add to these symptoms my "sensitivity" to stress. I can't handle getting over-processed...particularly when I am already stressed. I do have periods when I am very "labile"...meaning I can be pleasant and even-keeled one moment and the next moment, be irritable, frustrated and depressed. I say, I probably stay,for the most part, mildly to moderately depressed, sometimes my days are symptom-free...but not usually, or not frequently. I take an antidepressant and lamictal and adderall. Does any one relate to what I am saying? I never read or hear too much about these symptoms...I get paranoid wondering if my diagnosis is correct. I would love to hear from you and thank you in advance. Oh, and if I miss a couple of days of sleep...like I stay up too late, for example, I don't do to well in regards of all the symptoms above. They rear their ugly heads more frequently.
Q: Literature I read, as well as your posts, posit a different picture of bipolar. I hear "I was out
Your symptoms sound very similar to mine. I am diagnosed bipolar NOS because I don't have major depressive episodes. I tend to "run high" and my down cycles are not depressive - they are characterized by being easily overstimulated, which leads to being snappish and nasty, especially to my family. I just posted a long one about it tonight. I think that I have a touch of sensory integration disorder, but it only manifests when I'm in a down cycle.
I can totally understand where you are coming from. They are remarkably similar to the way I feel and cycle. I think we hear more about type one bipolar in articles and message boards. I am not sure what your diagnosis is but it may be close to mine considering what you said in your post. I am type two bipolar which has predominance for the depressive mood that usually overshadows the hypo manic states with this type of bipolar, so when you are in a hypo state it almost feels like you are just out of your depression and feeling good. My temper as with you came out mainly with family and really good friends. I believe this is because I knew my temper rages would be more tolerated by them as opposed to others. Also these are the people I was around when I decompressed from the day or being over stimulated. From some of the way you described your thought process and the meds you are on I assume you are ADD as well. This is one thing that throughout all the reading and research I have gotten into you just don't hear about it much. One thing I did find out from talking with my doc is that bipolar, ADD and obsessive disorder are in a way connected. If you have one of these diagnosed then some symptoms of the others may be there. Don't feel alone, I felt completely alone when I first started treatment. In my case my temper was violent at times so I freaked people out, which in turn kind of did leave me alone. But the more I learned about living with my disorder the more I realized I wasn't alone just misunderstood.
Hello, you responded to my first post (today) - thank you. I'm not sure how this works so in order to answer your question I went to "view all questions". There's gotta be a better way - I'm not quite sure how to use a blog.
The one and only episode I had lasted for about 3 weeks. I was depressed, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, extremely fearful and anxious, paranoid. It was diagnosed as a mixed episode because there were several times I did some crazy stuff that is out of character for me - mostly due to lack of sleep, I think. It affected my short-term memory until I got through the episode - I was in quite a state of confusion. I take 200 mg of Lamictal and haven't had another episode. The episode took place 2.5 yrs ago.
Anyway, it is probably very easy to get misdiagnosed. I believe it does have a lot to do with stress ... and even hormones. I'm 45 and truly believe I've been "peromenopausal" (sp?) for several years. I've suffered from PMS (or now known as PMDD?) for years and years. I am convinced this contributed to the 'episode' because it all started right before my cycle - I have about 10 days where I get unexplained anxiety every month right before. I hope menopause is easier!!
Take care.
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