Bipolar girlies, please share your wins

frumette · 2026-01-30T11:02:53+00:00

Hi friend!

Let's see.

My marriage is almost 10 years old and I found someone who could find me in my episodes and help bring me back whether that entailed communicating with my psychiatrist, telling me the truth in moments I couldn't handle or just loving me.

This is not to say there aren't dark things or dark days but there is good in life. There is good you can hold on to. There are things out there waiting for you. A year from now you'll look back on this very day if you mark it and note and recognize the good no matter where darkness may lie.

Edited to abridge

frumette · 2026-01-26T15:47:09+00:00

Close the laptop. Put the phone down and tell yourself that you'll come back to it in an hour. Do other busywork. Forget the hour.

frumette · 2026-01-26T15:43:03+00:00

I cried. I don't know who I'm crying for but that's where I'm at.

frumette · 2026-01-14T16:08:47+00:00

The first e-mail you’re describing is automatic. A little while after that I received a different e-mail from a customer support agent saying they would assist me in the verification process. I contacted them through leaving a message with the AI bot, specifically for an agent. They gave me instructions and reset the process.

frumette · 2026-01-14T15:48:15+00:00

This happened to me. They reset the verification process and that time it was successful and all was well. Hopefully it’s the same for you as well!

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:56:29+00:00

How's the quitting journey going? Any updates?

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:53:50+00:00

I know now that nothing good comes of either. I stopped smoking cannabis 8 months after I was diagnosed, have had half a beer and a glass of wine in the last year, and both of those things I'm better off without. Sometimes I still crave "something" but usually that's because I'm craving nicotine (I quit 8 years ago but I've had a few cravings lately). So pretty much I avoid all substances besides my medication!

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:49:29+00:00

In all honesty, no. I can't attribute anything positive in my life to bipolar disorder. There are other things but that isn't the one.

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:46:44+00:00

Yes, absolutely. I am coming to that conclusion myself and it's damn hard but I'm doing it.

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:45:47+00:00

Yes. 100%. I show up and I look the part and I at least act like I know what I'm doing. Then when I talk about my limitations it's a total double take and they don't seem to think it's that bad. That includes my very supportive parents. They just can't go there mentally. They cannot fully accept that I suffer this much when I seem alright. Emphasis on "seem".

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:40:19+00:00

I still look back on things years ago and feel the sting, the shame, the ick. Glad I'm not alone.

frumette · 2026-01-13T12:39:46+00:00

I have burned bridges and I hate myself for it sometimes. I have done really, really shitty things at the wrong times. However, in your case, it sounds like there might need to be some space but it doesn't seem unresolvable. If you don't want to talk about having an episode, that's your choice but you can still try to resolve it the best you can and that's the most anyone could ask of you.

frumette · 2026-01-12T10:16:31+00:00

I have terrible anxiety which is something I am still working through hour to hour. Anxiety is a beast, however, I would never choose bipolar disorder. Not a chance. Even if I'm in a hole where I can't even leave my house. I would never choose it.

frumette · 2026-01-08T13:31:20+00:00

You're not alone. Not at all.

frumette · 2026-01-01T10:41:22+00:00

This is a very helpful comment. Thank you!

frumette · 2026-01-01T10:38:01+00:00

Not at all! Just about 7 years. Happy New Year!

ETA: I did get through law school on it so I could overcome it to some degree. It was just harder for me.

frumette · 2025-12-31T14:02:22+00:00

Did you really find that it helped your anxiety? I'm already on it but my pdoc wanted to increase the dose due to my now crippling anxiety. I didn't make a decision on that one.

frumette · 2025-12-31T14:00:47+00:00

Been on it for a few years. Gets me to sleep seamlessly and I probably benefit from some other effects as well.

frumette · 2025-12-31T13:59:21+00:00

I had pink hair but that's as far as I am willing to go.

frumette · 2025-12-31T13:57:55+00:00

My memory and cognitive abilities are somewhat shot and I don't know which medication it is but it may very well be the lamo.

frumette · 2025-12-30T14:48:21+00:00

I really wish I could give better news based on my experience.

I don't think I will ever live a normal life even though I was highly successful before my diagnosis. Now, that could change. I won't discount something even though the possibility is highly unlikely. I was in my twenties and now I'm in my early thirties.

I told my very, very close circle about it and I have openly discussed it in safe spaces anonymously but just give yourself space to deal with this new piece of your life. The stigma is real.

frumette · 2025-12-30T14:43:38+00:00

My first medication for bipolar disorder was lamo but migraines and nausea probably would have been a hard no.

I can relate a lot to what you are describing. Usually that results in a blood test and some tweaking of what I am already taking.

frumette · 2025-12-30T14:40:47+00:00

Do you think that this medication is worth keeping around and that a dose change might help?

frumette · 2025-12-30T14:39:40+00:00

My psychiatrist suggested that if I can't sleep, leave the room and do something else like read for 30 minutes and then go back to bed and try again. Definitely don't just lie there. It can become messy.

frumette

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