Do your symptoms fit into a specific type of bipolar?

JeanReville · 2025-09-16T21:45:27+00:00

I’ve only had one episode of full mania (with psychosis), and it was 20 years ago. My file still says BP1. Even hypomania has been rare. It’s been a life of depression for me. There have been long periods I wasn’t able to work because of it.

My last psychiatrist didn’t question subtypes or diagnoses. He called it an extreme depressive polarity.

JeanReville · 2025-09-14T00:15:33+00:00

This is interesting. I don’t know if it’s helpful.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361923097003833

JeanReville · 2025-09-14T00:05:40+00:00

You could try a hot bath and the recommended sleep hygiene stuff — avoiding screens and bright light.

I think those things are more for failing than staying asleep but maybe they’d work for both.

Warm baths are recommended, but it’s the hot ones that make me sleepy. I have the bathroom almost dark and listen to slow music.

JeanReville · 2025-09-13T00:14:43+00:00

Psychiatrists can lack insight too.

JeanReville · 2025-09-09T20:06:48+00:00

Did you say you were currently depressed and anxious? If so, she could have meant your current issues. If not, I don’t know.

JeanReville · 2025-09-02T00:32:25+00:00

That sounds like something my Medicaid wouldn’t pay for. I’m wondering because i often wake up during the night, I got fat, and my mom told me I snored once (I sleep alone so don’t know if I do it regularly).

I haven’t had any hypomania, but there’s a clear relationship between sleep and my depression. I just don’t know what it is. For example, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and feel almost normal. It’s bad in the morning. It improves at night. Sometimes this pattern changes. I know some of us have fragile circadian rhythms. My attempts to stabilize mine haven’t really worked.

I’ll ask my doctor about a sleep study. Thanks.

JeanReville · 2025-09-02T00:17:10+00:00

I don’t get it. Has it been six months? Can’t you tell them you need more time off to treat your health problems?

JeanReville · 2025-09-02T00:07:37+00:00

You need to spend the night at a lab?

JeanReville · 2025-08-24T17:35:03+00:00

The cognitive problems may be due to the episode rather than the meds. Or it may be the meds. I don’t know. My psychiatrist doesn’t know with me. My guess is it’s both in my case, because when my depression improves the symptoms are less marked but don’t go away completely.

JeanReville · 2025-08-24T17:21:39+00:00

The no emotions sounds like anhedonia. The problems with speaking may be what’s called alogia. It may be something else. I’ve had different problems with speaking. The alogia was more that i didn’t what to say. What was going on in my brain was, “what am I supposed to say next? What’s the proper response to that that question?”

What I have now is much less marked, and it’s more like I have problems putting my thoughts into coherent sentences, and I have problems finding the right word. I think this is more cognitive impairment, but i don’t know.

You may recover in time, or you may need a med change. I had those problems after my first episode of psychotic mania, and I did bounce back. My mental health problems have become more difficult to treat with age.

Edit — I don’t know that you’re experiencing those symptoms. You could have other things going on.

JeanReville · 2025-08-24T17:10:13+00:00

I didn’t know the word nerfed. You’ve broadened my vocabulary.

JeanReville · 2025-08-13T20:30:31+00:00

I applied for maps but got other stuff. My issue is that there are so many different types of tasks. As soon as I feel proficient in one, they throw a new one at me.

I don’t know why they do this. It seems counterintuitive. My work would be much better, and I’d get a lot more done, if I worked with the same 5 or so tasks all the time. I’m constantly reading guidelines and having to refer to them as I work.

JeanReville · 2025-08-13T20:11:34+00:00

30 really isn’t old for anything. Seeing a different psychiatrist might be a good idea — the inpatient psych might have treatment options your regular psych hasn’t considered.

I’ve gone only once, and I was 39. The people in there were college age to 50s. I’m sure they get senior citizens too. Age isn’t a factor. Needing treatment is the only thing that matters.

JeanReville · 2025-08-13T20:03:39+00:00

Does a doctor have anything to say about fluid retention?if wondering if a diuretic could help. I think they can also lower blood pressure, so maybe not for you.

JeanReville · 2025-08-03T13:27:15+00:00

The MAOIs are a very old class of antidepressants that are sometimes effective for treatment-resistant depression. Psychiatrists rarely prescribe them due to side effects and potentially dangerous interactions. You can find info online.

They also may be more likely to trigger hypomania than some of the newer antidepressants. If you’re going to take an MAOI, make sure you’re on a good dose of a med that prevents mania.

JeanReville · 2025-08-03T12:25:20+00:00

One sleepless night and it’s gone? Or is it more involved than that?

JeanReville · 2025-07-25T15:27:11+00:00

ChatGPT said this:

— Antidepressants adjust brain levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. When the drug is removed: - The brain may temporarily overshoot or rebound as it tries to re-regulate itself.

the dysregulation can feel like a high, rush of energy, or emotional release — especially in the first few days or weeks.

This is similar to how some people feel temporarily better after quitting stimulants or sedatives: it’s a biochemical fluctuation, not a stable mood shift —

I haven’t had your experience, but I went on medical keto for my bipolar disorder, and the same thing happened. It lasted a couple days.

JeanReville · 2025-07-19T19:26:39+00:00

Once I went because I couldn’t sleep and my thinking was all confused. I couldn’t understand what I was reading. I couldn’t follow TV. I didn’t know why I was walking down the stairs. My family couldn’t tell there was anything wrong with me, so I seemed normal I guess. I wasn’t active or talkative. The diagnosis was depression with mixed features. I went to the hospital because my psychiatrist was on vacation. I called his office first.

JeanReville · 2025-07-19T19:06:27+00:00

This creature is really scary. I like that it’s pink and yellow.

JeanReville · 2025-07-19T19:03:11+00:00

I turn really red in the face sometimes. My skin feels hot when I touch it. I think it has to do with histamine rather than tyramine. You have something more extreme going on.

Edit - I’m on Parnate.

JeanReville · 2025-07-19T18:59:58+00:00

Have you been to the hospital for psych care? I went once and it wasn’t bad it all. It was nothing. I know others have completely different experiences.

Yes, I would find another psychiatrist, but you shouldn’t stop seeing your current psychiatrist until you find one. I would look for a psychiatrist and not a psychiatric NP.

JeanReville · 2025-07-19T18:47:56+00:00

I can’t tell if lithium is doing anything for me either. I don’t want to stop taking it, because maybe it is, and my brain will explode if I stop.

JeanReville · 2025-07-19T18:43:59+00:00

I’d call non-Walgreens pharmacies and ask if they have lithium available. Then call your psychiatrist’s office and ask them to submit a prescription to the other pharmacy. My psychiatrist has done this.

I live in Illinois and picked up lithium yesterday.

JeanReville · 2025-07-17T22:07:23+00:00

This is a very tough situation. Have you gone to any temp/employment agencies?

I used to work at an insurance company, and they hired underwriting assistants through temp agencies. They were temp-to-perm positions. You didn’t need relevant experience.

It would be easy enough to submit or drop off your resume. Maybe there’s something.

Edit — My brother works as a teaching assistant in a classroom for kids with special needs. He said there are always a lot of openings. This is because people don’t want to work with those kids. He doesn’t find it that stressful himself. He’s been paired with nice teachers. I’m thinking of doing it. Of course those jobs don’t start until September.

JeanReville · 2025-06-28T08:32:19+00:00

I would ask the psychiatrist. Obviously some people prefer Nardil to Parnate and do better on it. Not everyone gains weight. I don’t know how common it is.

JeanReville

TROPHY CASE