To posting her and to bi-polar.

I am a 33 year old mother of three, grandma of 1. I have been batteling depression or what I thought was for well over 20 years now.

I was just offically dx today as bi-polar. I guess that answers a lot of questions about things that have happened over my life time. I have dome some reading about the clinical stuff but have not been able to talk to many people that are infact bi-polar. I am right now heading into a manic state, the first one I am aware of and was kinda wondering what to expect. I have delt with the down part of this illness for years now.

I am also open to any info that anyone can give me about meds. Right now I am on Trazadone 100 to 150 mg a night for sleep, Geodon 40mg two during the day and two at night, and Seroquel 25 mg four times a day as needed. And just added today Depakote 500mg three times a day. I feel like I have a small pharmacy going in my bedroom.

Any info on meds, life with bi-polar and how your family is dealing with it would be great.

Thanks,
Frazz

welcome to the board! :wave:
The rx's will just be a fact of your new life. My wife is currently on around 10 different meds and the dr claims that she can be down to about 4-5 meds soon. :confused: We will belive it when we see it.
Are you married? How does your fam react to the fact that you are sick with BP?

Keep tuned to this board for more and better replys.

I'm 50 and have Type I Bipolar. Started having problems around age 13 but wasn't correctly diagnosed until I was 30 - LOTS of interesting stories during THOSE years...
I was fortunate that I responded well to Lithium. It's the only med I take... 1200 mg a day.
Did you have periods of hypomania (kind of one rung down from being manic) that led them to diagnose you as Bipolar?
My manic times got progressively stronger until I was basically psychotic and finally diagnosed. I never had the rages/anger that some people talk about. Just endless energy, rapid non-stop speech, some overspending, strange almost metaphysical links to the great beyond, etc.
It's hard to put this all in one e-mail, so I hope you write in again and ask more questions!!
Welcome aboard!
Ruth

PS. I've been "balanced" since 1985 although menopause seems to have put a small wrinkle in my chemical imbalance lately...

mudhound...Thanks for the reply. Wow I fell lucky I am only on four at this point, guess things could be worst. The pdoc is redoing my meds in two weeks we will have to see what I end up on then. As for my family, so far all I have gotten from the hubby is jokes. Although last night he did read the sheets bout Lithium and Depakote and agreed that I made the right choice of meds to start with. My oldest girl, she is 17 is looking up infor online, she wants to understand what is going on with her mom. She even wants to know what type I have, something I don't know yet. My 15 year old lives with her father so I have not had a chance to tell her yet, I am going to do it when she comes home for a visit. My son I don't think we will tell for a while, he is only 10 and I don't think he could understand what it is that mom is going thru. As for my mom and dad, I have not told them yet. My mom is just going to say, yeah I knew that. That is about all she ever says about it. I told my best friend, she is one of the first that I told. She is trying to understand what I am going thru and I am trying to describe it to her. I hope that together we can come to understand my illness.


Ruth...Thanks for the info. I started having problems young too, I am thinking around 12 or 13 not sure the exact age, it could have been earlier. I think hypomania is what I am having now. It seems now that I know what this feeling is that I have had a lot of them over the past four to five years and each time it gets a little worst. I don't get rage at all but I am more agitated then normal when I am in one of the attacks. How long do you think it took for you to get to the highth of the illness. I am scared of the manic times getting any worst then they are but I have seen my step bro in a bad attack and it scares me.

I couldn't even tell you how long a manic period lasted for me. Maybe a few weeks? By the time I got into the height of it I pretty much was oblivious to real time & space. The last one was so bad that a concerned casual acquaintance actually drove me 30 miles to my parent's house and had a talk with my Dad while my Mom was listening to me talk 80 miles a minute.
Boom - straight to the doctor - straightforward diagnosis of bipolar given my history of depression - straight to the psych ward.

If you are Type II Bipolar you'll never have full mania!! So let's hope for that, ok? You'll have the hypomania, and need meds like we all do, but it doesn't "turn into" Type I Bipolar as far as I've ever heard.
Do you have a feel for how often you cycled when you weren't on meds?
Like I would have "two lows and one high" a year.
Every Bipolar has their own timetable.. It helps if you chart your moods in a simple journal or calendar - doctors love it, and it may help you know when a better time might be for a vacation or new venture.

You would be amazed how healthy the fear is that you feel. It will help keep you med compliant, it will help you cope with public things and jobs because you will be on your toes all the time as much as we can be anyway. I am the most over-analyzed person on earth - by me!!! I think it is too much, but better than too little.

How are your kids at noticing your moods? I don't have children and often wonder how on earth I could have dealt with kids on top of this kooky disease!!!
Take care, and welcome to the Club!!!
:angel:

Ruth...

Rapid thoughts and talking. You know the more I learn about this illness that more I wonder if my oldest girl has it too. Anyway that is off the subject. I had an attack back in 99 that I can remember real well and I think it was full blown mania or close to it. I was up for at least a month went down for a couple weeks and then back up for a couple more months. Hubby and I were having problesm. He had a little things, with a friend of mine and that is what sent me into the attack. I was happy I felt in a good mood all the time. Then I thought it was just my med. Anyway I started going out on lunch at work and getting high. OH I have an addiction on top of this illness. Anyway, I did this knowing I could loose my job. I was doing things I would not do at any other time. I was talking like crazy to anyone that would listen. I made a few friends during that time because I came out of my shell.

I have not figured out my cycles yet, I am going to take you suggestion and start a diary after we move. I don't have any paper around to do it on now. Most of my stuff is all packed up.

I know my oldest two kids have noticed my moods but I don't think they ever knew what was going on with mom. My 17 year old is trying to find answers for herself right now. My other daughter who is 15 will be told next weekend.

take care,
Frazz