Bipolar and Chemotherapy

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Hi there. Bipolar mania can be set off by many things, especially stressful life events such as disease and chemotherapy. It may be the fact that you're going through chemotherapy triggering the episode more than the chemical effect. I'd check with a psychiatrist. Also, be sure to get into some kind of counseling/therapy to help you sort through all of this.

Hi Rachelle,

Randomly found your post after doing a google search for "bipolar" and "chemo". I'm a 26 year old female cancer survivor (hodgkin's lymphoma) with almost the exact same story as you...looking back I always had depression that I just always "dealt" with, maybe some manic episodes, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Since chemo I've experienced huge surges of energy where I don't know what to do with myself followed by "crashes" where I'll have no energy and be more depressed than I ever was before chemo. I've started realizing that I need to get treatment for this, and have made an appointment with a psychiatrist to see if I can get answers. I relate to your "my life is a mess" comment...just wanted to let you know there's someone else out there who's curious about this! --Devon in California

My mother just underwent six months of chemotherapy. You probably already know that chemotherapy wipes out red and white blood cells.  I wonder if that damage to the blood has an effect on the medication?  I don't know, just something to consider.

Alan

My mother was just diagonsed with bladder cancer and will soon be undergoing chemotherapy.  My biggest question is how it will react with her bipolar disorder, which she has been medicated for for about 9 years now.  Her pychiatrist has warned her of possible psycosis during chemo and manic episodes.  I am wondering if she will even be able to take her bipolar meds during chemo, beacuse if not I fear she won't be able to deal with it all by herself.

I am a 31 year old male who also is a cancer survivor, I had Hodgkin's Disease when I was 17 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  I have never been diagnosed with depression, but have definitely had moments where I wondered if I had it.  I have definitely wondered about the side effects of all the chemotherapy and what impact, if any, that may have had on me.  I know this doesn't answer anything, but I wanted to let you, and others, know that there definitely could be a correlation.  I just recently started seeing a therapist and hope to sift through some of the many possible reasons for feeling the way I do.

Hi, I'm a year late with this response, but just found your post having also googled on mania and chemo. 

No, you're not crazy (bi-polar maybe!) to recognize mania after chemo.  I'm a 52 yr old woman who just underwent her first chemo last week, and felt the same as you.  It's been several decades since I found myself furiously scribbling poetry at 3 AM!  Yes -- this experience will bring out the poet in all of us -- but mania has a unique signature, and -- like you -- I knew exactly what it was.   

When I reported it to my doctor today, he thought it might be an after-effect of the steroids that accompanied my chemo treatment, or even some of the anti-nausea medication I've been taking.

I was disturbed to see the other response that indicated the return to the darkside afterward!  Would appreciate any insights people have gained since this thread began last year.

Thank you!