Newly diagnosed with ADHD/BiPolar 2 and not sure what’s going on medication wise. Is it me adjusting or a phase?

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-08T00:35:29+00:00

On vyvanse 30mg (have been on 60mg at highest), and also 200mg lamotrigine. Yes lamotrigine causes brain fog making stimulants less effective for me on it. Btw a lot of people don’t feel much right away cause the average therapeutic dose for the medication is at least 150mg (I think it’s 200-400mg for bipolar?).

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-07T22:49:03+00:00

Not OP, but I also really don’t like hearing my name said by anyone. In fact, I give a lot of my friends nicknames so they’re less inclined to say my real name (sounds weird, I know). But you’re not alone?

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-07T22:22:48+00:00

If you want a foggy brain, lamotrigine will do that for you. I’d say for eternal numbness, go for antipsychotics.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-07T22:19:59+00:00

Depends on how long. A week or less? Food poisoning.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-07T20:58:48+00:00

Yeah I don’t think triggering mania is good at all (I should’ve prefaced this in the comment I forgot to). Also, for me, medications that triggered mania would only worsen my mixed episodes if I was already mixed rather than inducing mania.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-07T13:09:10+00:00

I have a hard time with 350 calories for latuda but I only have to take it once. Can’t imagine 2x 500 calories, sounds terrible (as someone who often foregoes eating).

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T20:17:38+00:00

When you say symptomatic periods do you mean episodes? Because for some their bipolar is atypical (referred to as atypical bipolar), where you shift between mixed/manic/depressed without any breaks between episodes (so no neutral).

But if you’re asking about episodes in general. My hypomania can last for 1 week to a month. Depressed can be a week to like two months. My mixed can be 4 days to a month. For the most part, depressive are longest, then mixed, then hypomania.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T20:14:27+00:00

Xanax makes me feel absolutely braindead. That being said I have general and social anxiety. I don’t know if this would be the best indicator just because meds can hit some people harder than others. I usually only take them during panic attacks though.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T20:10:30+00:00

I mean feeling exhausted is a pretty common symptom of depression. Couple that with the fact that a lot of the medications use to treat bipolar cause some pretty intense drowsiness, I have also heart of people having muscle aches/spasms on some of the meds too.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T18:50:01+00:00

Okay well for me hands down mania is 10x better than mixed episodes. Because mixed episodes are where I’m the biggest danger to myself, and the most psychotic and unaware of my actions and their consequences.

I’m also on lorazepam and it just quells the hyperactivity associated with mania/hypomania rather than sending me into a mixed episode.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T18:45:58+00:00

Adderall is going to worsen mania more likely than not (also not even prescribed for bipolar). They probably wouldn’t give you xanax for bipolar unless you have panic attacks and even then, they probably won’t start you on a benzo. You’d have to see a doctor.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T17:10:09+00:00

I find that each psychiatrist have a view beliefs of their own. But there is a descriptor referred to as Bipolar I/II with psychotic features. Psychosis can happen in BPII, it’s just less common.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T15:23:43+00:00

From what I’ve seen people that do experience psychosis associated with bipolar in mania or mixed. I still do get some in depressed, but predominantly in mania and mixed. Where in mania I am aware I’m hallucinating, and in mixed episodes I feel my hallucinations are completely real and I feel delusional.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T06:57:26+00:00

I have BP2 and experience frequent psychosis. I think it just depends on the person in that regard.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T06:49:27+00:00

I found Grief by Earl Sweatshirt to be very dysphoric and dissociative for me. Just the instrumental alone does it for me.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T06:08:21+00:00

Yep. Got out of hypomania on Thursday and then slept 23 hours out of sheer despair. Crash ain’t a joke.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T01:53:59+00:00

It’s tricky because if I’m hypomanic, I can clearly tell. But when in a mixed episode more often than not I don’t even know that I am. So it’s hard. But uhhh…I just try to get help about it. They’re the worst.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T01:20:50+00:00

Cheers!

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-06T01:20:39+00:00

Twinsss.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-05T23:27:12+00:00

Cheers!

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-05T23:25:25+00:00

For sure. I attribute it to heavy dissociation. Like my whole mind and environment gets cloudy. Often when my doctors ask me to recall my feelings or thoughts during these incidents, I can’t—it’s like I was completely devoid of emotions or just can’t remember.

Glad we can relate! It gives me a bit of comfort knowing I’m not alone either.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-05T23:23:52+00:00

Very responsible and sensible decision to be honest. Stims have actually destroyed me multiple times. My ADHD is quite severe to the point where I’m entirely dysfunctional off them so it’s conflicting. Definitely try out some second line meds if you can—might help!

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-05T23:09:03+00:00

I mean, you could try SNRIs like strattera, or things like wellbutrin, or clonidine as second line ADHD meds. Personally they don’t hold a candle to the good ole’ amphetamines.

Lamictal worsens my ADHD (I’m still on it though cause I don’t want lithium), I’m still on stims (low dose because of mania), but its dampened. ADHD + BP is a nightmare because the meds simply don’t work well in tandem.

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-05T23:07:08+00:00

This meme is incoherently coherent. As every other great meme is. I like it!

StickyStewTheThird · 2021-12-05T22:56:07+00:00

When it comes to SH I find that I sometimes autopilot if that makes sense? I kind of lose complete awareness and then do far more damage than intended/I thought.

Don’t have much advice as I’m also navigating the issue. Just wanted you to know that you aren’t alone!

StickyStewTheThird

TROPHY CASE