Hello, my 11 year old is meeting with a psychiatrist tomorrow who specializes in pediatric bi-polar. My daughter (just turned 11 years old) was referred after having a manic episode with psychotic features. All medical origins for the episode was ruled out. She is now feeling down (not manic at all) and concerned about demons & has fashioned crosses from clay to hang on all her walls and corners to keep the demonic energy in her room at bay. She has blindfolded all her stuffies because she feels watched all the time now. We are culturally Christian but she has never attended church so this religiosity isn’t in our wheelhouse. She is not violent. She can break the rules but she’s never talked back to me or anything. She has never yelled at me or had a cross word, really. Once she rolled her eyes at me when I sent her to her room (that’s the extent of her “combativeness”). She had mania with psychosis and now this….depression? She was referred based on the mania with psychosis but now she is doesn’t have those symptoms.

They want her to sit in on the first appointment. We haven’t used words like “delusions”, “psychosis” or even mental illness with her. Will the doctor speak frankly in front of her? Are they likely to immediately put her on medication? We had waited to rule out all medical possibilities before we considered medication. Those have been ruled out. We thought at 11 she was too young to give her the labels she was being assessed for (bi-polar, rule out pediatric schizophrenia). Do you agree? What would you guys have wanted?

I get this is young for bi-polar. She is being assessed by a pediatric specialist upon referral. She is not diagnosed. I get the impression they will want her to take medication. Is there red flags or bad medications I should question? Because she is so young?

I’m a nervous wreck. I don’t want her to feel like we think there’s anything wrong with her.

Original post here

So, update, in my last post I asked if I should take certain symptoms more seriously, and I'm grateful to everyone who encouraged me to seek help. I ended up doing just that about a month ago and am seeing someone regularly. We're actually looking into a primary psychotic disorder. They don't want to diagnose me just yet, but since my hallucinations seem to have little to do with my erradic mood and the anti-psychotic treatment is doing something, we're pretty sure we're on the right track. I guess if enough people are interested I can report back when I have more to report, but I really just wanted to thank everyone and promise that I'm getting the treatment I need and headed in the right direction.

I started Vraylar about three weeks ago. I had headaches the first week and then started to feel really good. Now, third week in and it’s almost 5 am and I’m still up. I’m not frustrated or trying to sleep, I’m just sitting up on my phone. I have Bipolar Disorder and the older I get, the more easily I get manic. Has anyone had anything similar to this. And, if so, did this improve? Although I don’t really mind staying up late, I do have responsibilities, as does everyone. I can’t be doing this for any extended period of time. I thought my sleep would improve on this med.

couldn’t sleep until 6am last night. no matter how much i tried, i was wide awake. my sleep has been progressively worse lately. i thought maybe mania was coming on but i woke up today feeling completely dead inside. not sleepy, or like i need to sleep, or even eat, just numb.

any thoughts on what might be happening? i don’t have an appointment w my psych for two weeks and could use some advice

I’m 24F, and I recently decided that I want to pursue becoming a physician. When I told my family and my best friend, the reaction was basically laughter and concern that I’m manic.

And I understand why they’re cautious because I do have bipolar disorder and my history has been messy.
A few years ago, I was in an accelerated BSN program. I was working full-time night shift while going to school and still maintained around a 3.7 GPA, but mentally I was falling apart. At the time, my bipolar disorder was undiagnosed. I had been diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Adderall, which in hindsight contributed to some pretty severe manic episodes. Eventually my mental health deteriorated to the point that I had a suicide attempt and left nursing school.

Afterward, I spent a long time feeling completely directionless. I knew I wanted to stay in healthcare because I genuinely love patient care, but I kept trying to convince myself to go back to nursing simply because I had already invested so much time into it.
Recently something finally clicked: I don’t actually want to be a nurse. That doesn’t mean I look down on nursing at all I work alongside nurses and know how important and difficult their job is. It just isn’t the role I want for myself.
I want to become a physician.

Part of what has made this feel so personal is my own experience with mental healthcare. I’m a Black woman who went years without understanding what was actually happening to me. I was treated for ADHD while an underlying mood disorder went unrecognized, and the consequences were pretty devastating. I keep thinking about how many other Black women have similar experience having their symptoms misunderstood, minimized, or attributed to something else.

I would love to eventually be in a position where I can help make sure fewer women like me fall through those cracks.
The frustrating part is that because of my history, it feels like any time I become intensely motivated or excited about something ambitious, people around me immediately question whether I’m manic.

I’ve been paying attention to that myself. I’m sleeping normally, I’m not making reckless financial decisions, I’m not trying to quit my job tomorrow or enroll in 25 credits, and I’m not under the impression that becoming a doctor is going to be easy. I’m literally starting with rebuilding my math foundation at community college and planning to work through the prerequisites one semester at a time.
I know this would take years. I know there’s chemistry, physics, organic chemistry, the MCAT, applications, medical school, residency, debt, rejection, and probably many moments where I’ll wonder what the hell I got myself into.

But I still want to try.
I guess what hurt was finally feeling like I had found something that made sense after years of feeling lost, only to have the people closest to me laugh when I told them.

Has anyone else with bipolar disorder dealt with people assuming that a major career goal or sudden sense of direction must automatically be mania? And for anyone who started pre-med later or after a really rough academic/personal period how did you keep yourself grounded while still allowing yourself to be ambitious?

Hi all,

I'm not sure what I am looking for here. I guess similar experiences and maybe someone who came out on the other side?

I have bipolar 2 and generalized anxiety disorder. I have been on medication since I was 21 after my first hospitalization and diagnosis. I've been told twice that my mania manifests as anxiety so I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is anxiety or bipolar symptoms. I only wonder about this for medication/treatment options moving forward.

I have had anxiety symptoms since as far back as I can remember. Really terrible, crippling anxiety. I have been in and out of therapy since 16 and on medication for what feels like an eternity. I've tried them all it seems. Nothing really touches my anxiety except klonopin which I'm not looking to be on every day for many reasons.

Anyway, I'm tired and I'm desperate for an answer. There has to be something that can be done, right? Exercise, sleep, nutrition, coping skills, meds... They might help a little but it doesn't feel like there's much of a dent in my anxiety. Does anyone here struggle with chronic anxiety? What should I be advocating for in my med checks? What should I try? My anxiety affects absolutely everything and everyone in my life. I struggle with communication due to irritability, I struggle to keep and make friends due to social anxiety, my kids are probably a bit smothered because I'm so worried about them although I try so hard not to let this affect them, my body is tense..everything just absolutely sucks because of my anxiety.

Thanks for reading and sorry about the jumbled text. I'm writing through tears

BRO this is infuriating
So, doc 1 sees me since my postpartum psychosis. She thinks I have catatonia for touching my hair weird, puts me on Ativan, increases that Ativan after I get depressed and is finally now weaning me off it. Refused to clear me for work. Well I need insurance so off I go to get a second opinion and hopefully cleared for work
This psych np asks if I ever thought about just being on a mood stabilizer, is totally unconcerned about my risk considering I’m out of the postpartum window, and I kid you not just says I can stop taking the lorazepam cold turkey.
I’ve been going down on lorazepam by 0.25 every four weeks. HOW CAN THEY BE SO DIFFERENT WHEN I THE PERSON HAVE NOT CHANGED AT ALL
I hate this field. I had to stick up for my need for antipsychotics. What an absolute basket case this field is. Being a patient could not be more confusing

BP1 here. I went through a bad break-up a few weeks ago, and I’ve been going on more dates to distract myself.

After the dates, and just in general, I feel so empty and keep ruminating on him. We weren’t even dating that long. The worst, or more frustrating part, is that I didn’t even tell him I was bipolar. And he still noped out.

I’m dipping in and out of stable to depressive episodes. My sleep is poor, and I’m so distracted throughout the day. Besides the bad nights of sleep I am exhausted from the emotional pain.

My question is how do you keep yourself busy during a break-up and stay stable?

Hey so I have been all over the place. Was manic for months and developed health issues. Didn’t care. Mood shifted to depression and health issues got worse and I got worried. I have an MRI tomorrow and my asthma has been bad. I got a steroid inhaler and since I used it yesterday I have noticed my mood improving a lot. Like I’m no longer feeling depressed/suicidal. I am no longer worried about what the MRI will show or if I will need other tests. I’m not worried about anything anymore. I’m in a pretty good mood actually. Just chill. I feel myself wanting to get hyped up. Like listen to music for hours kind of thing. It’s almost 1am and I have to get up at 7am for my MRI but I’m so tempted to not go to sleep. Hoping my night meds make me tired so I can sleep a little bit. I have to wonder if this is just a normal reaction or if it’s my mood changing again.

For anyone with mixed states, do you have any suggestions for how not to impulsively unfriend/disconnect from associates on media during mixed states? When I’ve had bipolar depression mixed with hypomania/mania, I’ve unfriended most of my Facebook friends and disconnected from all of my associates on LinkedIn.

This is going to be a long post. I am seeking support. I don't feel well. My mind is spinning and i am trying to get it to stop ....

Quick edit: I want to clarify what i meant by "treatment resistant" -
My therapist was conveying to my psych NP that i may not be cooperative to being medicated - not that ive tried other meds and that they are not working.

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Hello fam... I am trying to ground myself. My safety plan includes reaching out on this subreddit to ask for support - so that is precisely what i am doing this morning... I am sooo grateful for this space 🙏🙏🙏

I've been an active member of this subreddit since June - when I found out that I am bipolar type II. I have posted and shared with folks a little about my story / experiences. I'll provide a quick recap

In a nutshell, my experience with bipolar follows a different trajectory. I am 50 years old and only learned a few months ago that bipolar exists in my family - i have known my whole life that schizophrenia exists in my family and my family members with schizophrenia are diagnosed, they are in treatment, and they are deeply loved and cherished (not without its problems, however!)

Well - as it turns out, bipolar can split from schizophrenia - and now i've come to find out that a number of us in my family are bipolar - including me.

I have always struggled with my mental health. I have been in therapy since the second grade. Somehow, the fact that i have bipolar type II was missed. I am diagnosed with GAD and periodically went to the psychiatrist to treat for depression - took SSRIs .... i know today that was a BIG no no...

I have felt a little timid at times on this subreddit about sharing too much about my experience. I have lived my entire life with undiagnosed and unmedicated bipolar disorder. This is not something i take pride in. It just happened. The reason i often feel at odds about sharing my experiences is that i am 50 and i live a stable* and happy life (stable with an asterisks means that i understand that my definition of stable might be a little different - nevertheless, my life is stable* and mostly predictable from day to day) - one thing that i am very clear about is that i don't want to go around advertising and encouraging people to not medicate their bipolar... that is absolutely NOT where I am coming from at all.

Before I knew that I am bipolar, I was actually on meds to treat anxiety. I was treating with Propranalol - which, i now know, if you have an underlying condition, like bipolar, it can trigger mania. Cue: how I found out i am bipolar ....... (one of the MANY ways I managed to figure it out - its a much longer story than this, of course)

I share that becasue i am trying to make myself very clear to all of you where i come from with regards to mental health treatment. I believe in it. I believe in treatment. I believe in medication. I believe medication can help. Medication HAS helped me throughout my life. I have not always been on meds, but when they work, they work, and i am good with it.

Finding out that I am bipolar was literally one of the biggest shocks of my entire life - i have spent these last 4 months moving in and out of a state of shock and disbelief. Ultimately, i accept it.

In my family, we are pretty open when it comes to talking about mental health. There isn't that a sense of shame and secrecy to it..... My relatives take their meds, they are open about it.

THIS is where i come from.

Please forgive me - i am pretty dysregulated right now

But omfg ... my therapist called me "treatment resistant" ... like WHAT?!!!!!!!!

I am LIVID

I think the reason why this feels so destablizing is because i literally feel betrayed by my therapist.

Something else i have openly shared on this subreddit is that i have been lining up for treatment.

Here is some more context: when i first learned that i am bipolar, i couldn't make sense out of it. My second session with my therapist after learning i am bipolar (literally one week later), my therapist tried to have "the talk" with me about treatment and medication. After that session, i told them to back off and slow their roll. I had only JUST found out and before i could even process all of it, they were already on me about meds.... okay, fine. Not a big deal. But i told them directly that i had only known a week and they needed to slow down....

For more context, my own therapist is also bipolar. I have known this the entire time i have worked with them. My husband is bipolar type I, and working with a therapist who is also bipolar has been really helpful .... i have worked with them for over 2 years and it has been the BEST therapy ive ever had.... so i think this is why all of this stings soooooo deeply and is destabilizing me

In subsequent sessions - i will absolutely share the things that i said to my therapist. I know a lot of people may disagree with me about some of these things, but please bear with me and hear my story in its entirety .....
In the subsequent weeks, i shared with my therapist that i felt hesitant about medicating now that i was out of depression. I had been depressed for 6 years. So coming out of it felt like a huge relief. On top of it, i learned that this is where my baseline is - in a "manic state" ... i didn't understand what any of it meant by this point in the subsequent weeks after i found out i am bipolar. I was literally just trying to understand myself....

I am fucking 50 years old. I am a 50 year old woman. I have spent my whole life trying to arrive at self acceptance. I dont know if what i am saying even makes sense.... but i already arrived at my place of self acceptance when i learned that i am bipolar. I fucking accept it. My ass is bipolar. I have had bipolar my WHOLE life. I was born this way. I am bipolar because there is schizophrenia in my mothers family. I accept it. I accept me.

And then i learned that I do mixed episodes.... EEK!!!!
Yes... i have done them throughout my life - now i know what the HELL that shit is ....

I want to be painfully honest here: when i realized this past july that i do mixed episodes, i was flooded with flashbacks of things that i did to other people when i was in a mixed episode. It's not good. At all. There are two instances in my life that i can think back to where I truly hurt somebody and maybe even violated them somewhat. I definitely caused one person some trauma becasue of how i treated them : (

I take this seriously.

I take this extremely seriously.

I am not okay with walking through this world hurting other people.

I have often thought back to these two moments in my life - never knowing how to make sense of it.... now i understand. I was in a mixed episode when i behaved badly.

From here, it was an easy decision for me to decide to treat with meds.

I made this decision on my own in July. Literally 5 weeks after I learned that I am bipolar.

I informed my therapist. They seemed happy about the decision.

From there, i did it all myself. I began researching and calling psychiatrists, psych NPs. It took me several weeks until i finally landed on somebody that i felt i would really click with ....

I had my first appointment in September. It was a 90 minute appointment. It went very well. I was really happy. I felt really good. Really at ease. There was a plan in place for my treatment.

I am going to start Lamictal. I have done my research - after reading all the things and reading peoples lived experiences iwth it (on this and other bipolar subreddits), lamictal seemed to be exactly what i was looking for. I felt really positively about my decision. And the appointment with my new psych NP felt collaborative and i felt heard, respected and understood. We had scheduled a follow up appointment 3 weeks later to begin to land and solidify decisions. I would get the script and would begin the titration process

Well, my second appointment with my new psych NP was last Friday. The appointment was horrible.

It wasn't collaborative. He went back on a bunch of decisions that he and i discussed. And then at the end of the appointment, he practically yelled at me when i really gently asked him about why he was changing the process on me - and then he ended the appointment.

That appointment absolutely fucked me up. I felt so disrespected. I get the script from the guy, but is this the person i want to be checking in with as i titrate with this medication?

And then Sunday, i remembered something....

I had asked my therapist and my new psych NP to consult with one another between my first and second appointments wtih him. I signed all of the consent to release paperwork - I like to consider myself transparent... especially on mental health stuff.... remember, all, i come from a family where mental health is pretty openly discussed (not all the time, but the shame and stigma is not there in my family) ..... so that was my approach here too

I realized, my therapist has been labeling me "treatment resistant"

They told me that they informed my new psych NP that i am "treatment resistant" - when i reached out to my therapist yesterday to ask them about this - they apologized immediately, understanding that this likely fucked up my relationship wtih my new psych NP

I know full well that i can absolutely find other psych NPs or psychiatrists that i will work well with.... The fact that this breakdown in my treatment process is already starting to create a domino effect in my life - i have put so many things into place in order to support my treatment process ... and thats fine, its not like i cannot rework these processes again. I can and i will

But thats not really what i am struggling with

On top of feeling wholly betrayed by my therapist, i have a genuine question for poeple

I want to know what on earth would possess a mental health professional to label their client / patient as "treatment resistant" when that client is literally taking the onus to plan out an entire treatment plan WITH medication?

Can someone please explain this to me?

Is it because my instant reaction wasn't to automatically and enthusiastically jump into "the talk" that my therapist tried to have with me about meds literally 7 days after i learned (at the age of 50, mind you) that my fucking ass is bipolar????? Like what?

Do mental health professionals expect a scripted canned response from us?

"Oh! I have bipolar disorder. Let me get on the phone right now and call a psychiatrist to get onto meds"

I didn't do that automatically. It took me about 4-6 weeks to process and arrive at that point on my own.

I am 50 years old. That i am also bipolar is also part of my identity. I embrace it. But I cannot undo the 50 years of my life that i lived not knowing i had this condition. There is no way for me to undo that. And i also won't apologize for not knowing. The fact that i have been in mental health treatment my whole life and that bipolar was never "caught" is not my fucking fault. I took responsibiltiy for myself and i have showed up to therapy sessions my whole fucking life week after week after week after week after week for DECADES.

My coping skills toolbox is AWESOME.

I have learned how to "white-knuckle" bipolar disorder my life. Please understand that i am not encouraging other people to "white-knuckle" their bipolar. It's just what happened to me. We all have different stories and experiences with bipolar. I need to talk about my experiences with it too. Just because i spent my whole life not knowing and not treating with meds does not make me bad or irresponsible or wrong.

But why are some people trying to make me feel like i am bad and wrong for that?

I have also shared with people on this subreddit that i come from an immigrant family. I am of color. I also work in healthcare and i understand very very very well that people of color are systematically neglected in the healthcare / mental healthcare spaces and that conditions like bipolar go missed.

Bipolar is NOT the only major condition in my life that was missed by health professionals. That issue is an entirely separate can of worms that also involves missed brain tumors, multiple brain surgeries - and i dont think i really want to open that can of worms at this moment.

It's just to remind myself taht being neglected in the medical space is part of my life experience too. I also know that i am not alone in this experience.

My bipolar was missed my whole life.

It was my bipolar husband who pointed out to me: "honey, you are hypomanic right now - this is what hypomania looks like" is what my husband said to me on the night of June 2nd. My life has not been the same since

I take my bipolar seriously. I do not minimize it. I get that it is serious.

But what i am not okay with is being treated like shit just becasue i am bipolar. Because, lets be honest here, that is also a thing.

I am a healthcare professional. I already knew this fact.

My story of discovering that i am bipolar is a really long story - you all now know that i also had a brain tumor. There is a lot to my story.

What i want to say is that i am already feeling the shift-yness of healthcare professionals because of this discovery. My ass is bipolar. I accept it. I do mixed episodes. I understand this fully. It is a problem. I fucking need to do something about it. This is a hard line i have with myself: I do not wish to walk though this world ever hurting or violating somebody again. That is who I am to the core. I need support with making sure i can get my mixed episodes under control.

But what gives? Why on earth would somebody label me as "treatment resistant"? What i have been doing since July is not waht treatment resistance looks like.

Somebody please help me out. I am fucking going crazy. I am trying to stop spinning.

What stands out to me are the healthcare workers who treated me wtih a lot of dignity before they knew i am bipolar. And now i am noticing something so fucked up that these same professionals, now knowing that i am bipolar, speak to me completely differently (the PA at my primary cares office did a 180 on me - when literally the conversation i had with her right before she learned was pleasant and equitable)

There is a lot of forceful communication. Multiple healthcare workers have raised their voices at me over nothing. Literally my thoughts are, "okay, i'll gladly do __, but you don't need to raise your voice at me to get me to do this task"

I desperately need to name something: i am now experiencing a LOT of coercion in these spaces, where coercion was once not there. I am deeply uncomfortable. There is a "comply or die" tone to everything

Yeah. So that is where i am at today.

I am going to say something really controversial - but i say this hoping that people can understand the deep nuances of my story ....

I almost wish i never learned i am bipolar.
I am trying to do the responsible thing and approach treatment with meds - just like i have always been shown is the norm in my family. My aunts, uncles and cousins who are schizophrenic, all treat wtih medications. I was literally trying to do the same thing that was taught to me.
Learning i am bipolar and trying to do the responsible thing seems to come at a cost for me. I am being humiliated. My therapist of 2+ years fucking labelled me as "treatment resistant" for god knows what the fuck reason, and now that shits following me around and i am getting "punished" like an insolent child.... its like my new NP wanted to sit me down in a corner and force feed me meds when i was already asking for a prescription - is it because i was showing too much agency? Am i too confident and not unstable enough in my presentation? Are they trying to break me in order to justify their treamtment modalities becasue bipolar people can only be desperate and broken and always have their families, careers, and intimate relationships falling apart? (mine aren't)

What the actual fuck happened to me? What the hell is going on? I literally cannot make sense out of this.

All i know is that i want to fire my therapist. I will probably fire my new psych NP as well.

I want to drop out of therapy entirely. I feel so betrayed. I work in healthcare and this is fucking with me badly. I dont tell my colleagues i am bipolar. Now i am too afraid to tell anyone. I have been trying to carry an open demeanor about my discovery... now? 4 months later after dipping toes into this new reality, i want to run away far and fast.

There it is now: treatment resistance.

I am spinning. This was not where i was trying to arrive.

But self fulfilling prophecies are real. Its almost like my mental health team was imposing non-compliance onto me.... literally a figment of their fucking imaginations. But its almost like they had to beat this narrative into my treatment space in order to make it work for them.

Fuck this. I need treatment. I want to be responsible. I am pretty sure that my ass needs to be on lamictal. But i am DEFINITELY not doing it like this.

Am I really treatment resistant? Or am I asshole resistant?

Someone please help me out.... i am genuinely trying my head is spinning and i need help.

Thank you for reading 🙏

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TLDR: I am too dysregulated to provide a synopsis. I am seeking support. My story is really nuanced and if you have the time and energy to read though everything, i would really appreciate the support.

Thank you 🙏

I don't just struggle with bipolar II, I'm also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as well as ADHD and insomnia.

I feel like I'm experiencing so many issues and symptoms, and am on so many medications, that's I barely know what to do anymore. I'm so overwhelmed I feel like I'm nearing my breaking point.

I'm currently on 6 medications. Yes you read that right, I'm on 6. Adderall for ADHD, Klonopin and Lexapro for anxiety, Remeron for sleep, and Latuda + Wellbutrin for bipolar/depression. Every time I talk to my doctor about worsening symptoms or issues, it feels like he is more inclined to add new medications rather than adjust existing ones.

I'm going through a daily roller coaster where I feel fine and energized while my Adderall is in effect but feel such a big crash in my mood when it wears off. I'm having trouble adjusting to the Remeron so it's hard for me to wake up. On top of that I feel like the Lexapro, although helping my anxiety, is causing a lot of emotional blunting. I also get tired by 7:30 pm a lot of days and I'm so fatigued I feel like I'm losing a big chunk of my time. I also don't like the idea of being on benzos long term either...

I have a supportive family, so I don't have to work while I figure this out. But I want to get back to living and I feel like I'm getting deeper and deeper into a hole and I can't see the way out anymore. I know I need to move up my psychiatrist appointment and bring these concerns to him, but I just want to feel better now. I'm just sick of the slog and I'm running low on hope right now.

I'm going to ask for FMLA for absences related to my disability. I'm asking for enough hours for one doctor's appointment and therapy. I've refused to take it befoe because of stigma. I didn't want anyone to know. Yay or nay? I will ask my pdoc tomorrow.

Hi guys!

I've been diagnosed with an eating disorder (anorexia nervosa) when I was 15, BPD when I was 18, and bipolar at 20.

I've been on a lot of stuff, but I gained weight mostly because it was part of a treatment for anorexia, and then I developed binge eating disorder (sucks, I know).

So I'm at a healthy weight, and I've lost some weight during my last hypomanic episode. Now I'm in my low mood state: basically I can't sleep, think, or be happy, and I eat A LOT.

My weight is still healthy, but I'm so scared. My doctor wants to put me on quetiapine, lamotrigine, and fluoxetine, and I'm so scared because I know that they can affect not only appetite but metabolism issues as well.

Any tips on how to manage this situation? Maybe try another medication? I can't gain any more; it would destroy me completely.

Can you not gain weight from this treatment?

Would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

24 female here I’ve been on lithium since I was 17 although it did increase after I got Covid and my other medication stopped working. It took a couple years for me to finally get my bearings back and be doing a lot better. I talked with my psychiatrist and we both agreed that it was safe to start lowering my lithium since I take 600 mg twice a day so 1200 overall and he prescribed me a 450 twice a day so 900 mg daily. I started my first round this morning of the 450 and I feel a a little foggy, but I haven’t started to go into an emotional depression, had a little bit of manic energy, but nothing extreme and I can’t really focus all that great at the moment but overall so far it’s been Ok. Because I’m doing this of my own volition and my psychiatrist told me that I’m not in any danger. I am allowed to go back up on the dosage if I find that, I don’t like this I’ve been trying hard to see if I could find any symptoms for lowering the dosage of lithium, but all I’m finding is lithium withdrawal symptoms, which is not exactly what I’m going through or at least I have an experience them all the way yet has anybody had experience with this? I’d love to know.
I should add that lithium has helped me a lot. I know some people have not had great reactions to it but overall, I haven’t had any major issues with my lithium the way I know a lot of people do. The main thing is I don’t want to get to a point where I might have to lower it and I’m not in a good place too anymore because even though it hasn’t been affecting me, I do know know that 1200 a day is a lot even if as my doctor told me it has just now started to register that I’m taking it in my blood work report, it wasn’t even showing up in my results until I got to 1200mg and even now it’s on the much lower end of the safety range

I cant keep taking these meds Im having side effects akathesia and nausea akathesia and nausea I dont wanna go through more and more meds and more and more side effects part of me would rather deal with my depression even though when Im in my severe depression I cant take it and I cant function but I feel like crap on my meds I feel like crap off my meds I cant take it anymore I cant keep taking these meds has anyone got better off meds or is that not an option because I wanna get better but its rough super rough .... please please is it not an option guys ahhhh

I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I was just hospitalized and I believe am in a mixed episode. My current job is making me scidal but also providing me with health insurance for psych and therapy. I’m thinking of quitting but not sure what that would look like next. I’m contemplating IOP that takes Medicaid (I have a place in mind and have done IOP with them in the past). My adoptive family has enough money and has agreed to help me afford food. My adoptive family— highly dysfunctional but seems to be on their best behavior — is offering to fly me out to stay with them for a while. I really want to do it because I want to see many members of that family that I haven’t seen in over a year. My whole family it seems wants me to move abroad to live with my bio family as they have a lot of experience with mental illness. I’m also trans so that wouldn’t hurt. What do I do? This is all so overwhelming, I’m not sure where to start. My current living situation is in a different state from my entire family but I have wonderful roommates who are very supportive. What would you do? What’s my first step? My brain is spinning. I can’t imagine walking into my job, working all day, and leaving in any state other than s**cidal

Hi Everyone, my neurologist has instructed me to go off of Depakote and Seroquel— very slowly

I am a professional musician and teacher. I’ve had to quit because I have terrible tremors due to these meds. I’m sure you can imagine how this has a negative impact on my psyche

Lamactil is wonderful but I’m allergic to it.

So, the plan is to very very slowly, reduce these meds and possibly, very very slowly start me on Lamactil

How small of a reduction in the Depakote or Seroquel would be safe? I want to be very careful

I am currently 16 with ADHD, anxiety and unspecified mood disorder. and I have been on many medications throughout my childhood and i'm curious what it means. I was first put on Abilify when I was 8 years old because I had crazy temper tantrums and outbursts. They diagnosed me with ODD. At 11 I was put on lexapro and Vyvanse. At 13 a new psychiatrist took me off of abilify and put me on lamictal and concerta. I still take Lamictal. I was put on Zoloft, Ritalin, strattera, guanfacine etc. after that. Currently I am on Adderall, Lamictal and zoloft. The diagnosis of ODD was taken out when I was 13 because my anger and mood wasn't limited to authority. At 13 I had a major manic/psychosis episode for about 2 months. I haven't experienced something that severe since then but I still have symptoms of bipolar. I am curious if anyone knows if my history of meds and stuff can help infer if I will be diagnosed with bipolar as an adult? I see online it's pretty rare to diagnose such a young kid with abilify but idk. And a diagnosis of ODD sometimes gives a higher chance of being diagnosed with bipolar.

I have been applying and applying and it is getting disheartening being rejected with every application. It seems like the job search is getting more difficult overtime as I am unemployed longer. It feels like my mental health is getting worse too, I feel burnt out just from job searches and feel my physical health getting worse, I don't know if I am getting into a depressed episode. I don't have the energy throughout the day nowadays, all I want to do is sleep. I wish I could apply for disabilitiy, but I don't even qualify for that either. Anyone else going through this? Or has been through this situation and got a job? How do I keep going without my mental health getting worse, because it even feels like if I do end up getting an offer, I'll be starting a job being in a low affecting my job performances.

Rn in my life i am stuck in the same loop again and again it's like a bird in a cage who feels like he can cure himself but falls back in the cage after failing and this continues till he dies in real life.i want friends who can listen to my story and help me who are like minded have bipolar.i have a exam in few months and I really wanna pass it , if I do it I'll be better and happy that i never did till now.it will make my mom proud, happy.

I was recently diagnosed with Bipolar 2. My psychiatrist prescribed Caplyta, and my insurance denied it. She sent it back twice after, still got denied. So then she sent a prescription for another one, same thing! DENIED. So far all I’m taking is Lamotrigine & Prozac but I’m still having mania. Did anyone else have such a hard time getting their meds??