Hallucinations while on meds? Bipolar

Hi @uncertainty and welcome to the forums where I hope you'll find lots of friendly support.

Although I don't have BP I do occasionally have some psychotic moments, hearing voices and thinking those around me are discussing me.

I suggest you discuss it at your next appointment.

Take care.

Hi @uncertainty

I have been “hearing voices” and to a lesser extent experiencing visual hallucinations as far back as I can remember.

In my early 20’s I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I now realise the “voices” were probably a major part of the reason for this diagnosis.

Many experts regard bipolar disorder and schizophrenia as having much in common. Both are considered psychotic illnesses and both are usually treated with anti-psychotic medication.

Only a few years ago, I discovered that “hearing voices” was common to at least 5% of society and possibly as many as 15%. The majority of these people are not considered mentally ill and live perfectly normal lives. It has also been suggested that many people who hear voices are too frightened or ashamed to reveal or discuss these experiences with others in case they be considered mentally ill and treated accordingly.

I started doing my own research and discovered that this information was entirely correct. Furthermore this information has been known for about the last 30 years or so but no doctor or psychiatrist prescribing my anti-psychotic medication ever mentioned it to me.

Even today, in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, (DSM-5) which is used by the majority of psychiatrists world wide, auditory hallucinations are still listed as one of the main symptoms for schizophrenia.

My experience of voices vary from ones that are commanding and authoritative that appear to be similar to what you have described to ones that sound more like a radio playing in the background.

While these voices can be distracting and annoying I have learnt to live with them. The have become just a part of who I am. The biggest problem I have found is the associated stigma and the near impossibility of discussing it with anybody, including mental health professionals, in any sort of informative way. Fortunately there are now groups around who are able to help people with these issue such as the Mental Health Foundation of Australia’s -Hearing Voices Support Group. There are also others that you should be able to find easily enough online.

Hearing Voices Support Group

Unfortunately there still seem to be many mental health professionals around who seem to be totally oblivious to these discoveries and still regard hearing voices as a symptom of serious mental illness that requires drastic treatment.

Without doubt, the treatments for schizophrenia that I have been subjected to by various psychiatric professionals and state mental health authorities over the years have caused me far more grief and distress than the original voices and the effects of social stigmatisation that resulted from them.

Regards

Willy

Hi @@uncertainy - i was given an antibiotic which made me psychotic as a side effect (I also couldnt breathe and stuff either - physical symptoms which the ambos didnt believe me!) - but yeah i also *heard* real or not voices - which caused me to get super angry and kick a wall twice lol - my brain was ticking over with random thoughts too which i havent had in years - finally, i have the worst diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder for 20yrs ago now.. oh well

Hello @Willy and thank you for your in-depth reply

I have read that both Bipolar and Schizophrenia have a degree of overlap to them.

I just want to point out/add that my hallucinations aren’t common at all.

Do you find this is the case with yourself?

I know in Manic episodes auditory hallucinations can occur

Definitely not fun when you can’t distinguish real life and whatever is happening in your head.

Not sure why it happened this time around… can’t remember it happening!

Hi @uncertainty

You said "just want to point out/add that my hallucinations aren’t common at all. Do you find this is the case with yourself?"

I am not exactly sure what you mean. As I said in my earlier posts, my auditory hallucinations vary quite a bit in content and form. I can also be hallucination free for months at a time and then have several occurrences in a week. This often but not always happens when something significant is going on in my life.

Fortunately I have only ever had one really bad experience which happened many years ago The voice kept persistently and convincingly urging me to take the life of my daughter who was 5 years old at the time. I have always loved my daughter and any conscious thought or intention of harming her in any way fills me with dread. To this day I don't understand what that voice was about or why it happened but the experience was horrific.

My understanding of your description about what happened to you is that you believed you could hear friend(s) close by talking about you which turned out to be an hallucination.

I experience this type of thing from time to time. Usually I can't tell the difference between reality and hallucination.

Over the years I have evolved a way of handling these sorts of situations which most of the time enable me to get by with a minimal amount of hassle or embarrassment.

For example I might say " Sorry I wasn't listening. Did you say something?"

If they did say something I would ask them to repeat it. If they respond with something like "No , I didn't say anything" then I might say "Sorry. It must have been my imagination", which is probably not too far from the truth anyway.

Regards

Willy

I suffer severe bipolar an anxiety/depression an have had similar experiences. wld love to chat an keep in touch as I find it very hard to find or get any support. Hope to hear bk from you kind regards Mjayy