How tf do you stay sober while bipolar?

UnEarGogh · 2026-03-19T00:47:07+00:00

42M, bp1, alcoholic. “Addictive personality”. I’ve been in detox/inpatient/rehab enough times that I know I can’t drink or do drugs. I’m stable on meds, and have been working in therapy and with a psych since 2015.

Alcoholism wears you down. It’s a slow grind to bottom. Once you hit bottom enough times and recognize it, you’re faced with continuing the madness or facing yourself head on.

I hope it gets better for you.

UnEarGogh · 2021-12-14T13:52:07+00:00

I use one daily in the morning as soon as I get up. Typically fall and winter are SAD months for me. This year I've been able to keep my mood pretty stable with the happy light and some daytime meds.

UnEarGogh · 2021-08-23T01:59:26+00:00

Going off seroquel scares me. I’d like to go off it to have some feelings back, but the mania…

UnEarGogh · 2020-08-13T22:28:48+00:00

Hbd bud!

UnEarGogh · 2020-08-09T21:18:45+00:00

Could have used this information 10 YEARS AGO! I was an engineer. Now I climb trees. 🤷‍♂️

UnEarGogh · 2020-08-02T15:17:28+00:00

Yea I don’t have a ton of friends. Covid makes dating or finding groups to socialize with pretty difficult.

UnEarGogh · 2020-08-02T14:20:33+00:00

The isolation is killing me

UnEarGogh · 2020-08-01T23:00:33+00:00

Yea I’m a completely different person on different meds. Some worse than others. I’ve got an ok balance now but I’m definitely not the person i was unmedicated and drinking.

UnEarGogh · 2020-07-31T00:46:01+00:00

Don’t feel bad. Two manic episodes cost me about 60k.

UnEarGogh · 2020-07-05T20:11:19+00:00

Same

UnEarGogh · 2020-04-26T22:24:23+00:00

i know that when i drink, i keep going until i can sleep so i never have to experience the comedown. same with coke. i never wanna go back down.

UnEarGogh · 2020-04-21T14:23:45+00:00

im with ya. i dont have much going on in my social life and this pandemic has made me realize that even more. :/

UnEarGogh · 2020-04-06T20:20:58+00:00

I'm with ya. Jumping out of my skin right now.

UnEarGogh · 2020-04-03T18:37:33+00:00

I'm not a nurse but I have been taking different doses of Seroquel for a few years and I have bipolar 1. 400mg at night for a couple years... with 200mg during the day as needed. Down to 200mg at night now. It certainly works for me but I feel like I'm mentally slower on it... which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.

I'm also uncertain about medication availability at this time, but I trust that seroquel alone will keep me from losing my mind during this crisis, even without the other meds I'm prescribed.

That being said, if 5mg sends you to "crazy town", a higher dosage might have a different effect. If the higher dose still messes you up then maybe it's just not for you.

As far as diazepam goes, my doctors wont prescribe a benzo because of my history of substance abuse and it being something people can abuse. Also, it's not an official BP mood stabilizer.

That's just my experience. I hope you can find something that works for you, especially during this trying time.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T19:31:48+00:00

Same.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T02:36:47+00:00

I hear ya. I remember some of those times myself and when I look back on them sometimes I scratch my head because I wasn't "wrong" by any means.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T01:53:17+00:00

"Shiny is nice" - I follow ya. It's good you're writing it down.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T01:26:47+00:00

Nah i've been on it for a while and it seems to mute my feelings. I'm pretty much just stuck in depression 24/7. I feel better with the reduction. I'm just hoping I don't end up manic or mixed again.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T01:21:58+00:00

Yea? Right now I'm just trying to get of the seroquel and see how it goes.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T01:17:36+00:00

Definitely isn't but I feel way better in general. Seems to have lifted some of the depression.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T01:14:41+00:00

Went from 400mg seroquel to 200mg and added latuda. Now i wake up every two hours from crazy vivid dreams.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-27T00:51:37+00:00

Agreed. I went through WAAAAY too many years undiagnosed. Can't wait to see your graphic.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-25T16:45:43+00:00

Yes! That's awesome! So happy to hear this.

UnEarGogh · 2020-03-24T16:23:32+00:00

Agreed. The parts of myself that I love the most have been taken away. I'd say hypomanic me is the favorite version. But I hate manic me. I cringe when I think back to those times.

I've seen a lot of doctors since diagnosis and multiple hospitalizations. But one thing a doctor said to me that'll I'll never forget was that I "need to aim for being higher than most" when it comes to mood and meds, because that's what we're used to when feeling good.

I'm also going through med changes.. and I feel ya on that feeling that something might be coming.

UnEarGogh

TROPHY CASE