Night Shift

Hi @Appleblossom I think it's great that you are channeling the extra energy into such a creative/artistic outlet, no matter what the source of the energy is.

The extra energy swings and the excess sleep could possibly be bipolar indicators but there are probably many other things it could be too. Obviously I'm not qualified to say. What I would suggest (and have done in the past) is start a list of symptoms that concern you and that might help with diagnosis. Then over a few days (or even longer) when something comes to mind you add it to the list. Then take the list with you to your referring GP and again to whoever you get referred to. It really helped me when I did this to stay focussed at the appointments and self-advocate and the Dr said they thought it was a good idea.

Hope this helps.

How has your day been today?

Hi @Mazarita once again we must have been typing at the same time! @Appleblossom in my elevated periods I have also had most of the issues Mazarita describes. But much longer periods of major depression in between. And post-traumatic periods were always the most manic, including at least a couple of episodes of full psychosis. Don't forget that bipolar is a spectrum and takes many different forms, some milder, some more extreme, longer or shorter cycling periods etc.

That's true about the bipolar spectrum, @eth. I didn't mention the mixed states and rapid cycling states that occur over shorter and longer periods of time. I find these much harder to articulate. @eth's reminder about the possibility of making a list is also good. I always make notes before seeing my psychiatrist now.

@Appleblossom I also agree with @eth that your creative life sounds marvellous no matter what the source of the energy.

When I was on one particular med I had rapid cycling and it was radically different from anything I'd experienced prior. Full-on. I arranged to see my doctor as soon as possible and with a change of med I was back to my 'normal' longer cycles which I found much easier to handle.

There are also some people who get 'mixed states' where they are depressed and manic at the same time. Like I say, a wide-ranging spectrum of conditions. I think it must be slightly different for everyone and that's one of the reasons it's hard to diagnose.

Also I've read that people are a lot less likely to present for treatment when they're feeling high as they enjoy it, so much more often present when depressed and just get diagnosed with that. That's what happened to me and eventually the doctors agreed with me that antidepressants just make me worse BECAUSE I have bipolar. It is now in my records not to give them to me because of adverse responses. One psych doctor told me it's well-known now that this happens with some patients with bipolar (but not all). I am by no means saying they don't work well for lots of people.

That last bit might have sounded really negative. I should add that I'm really glad I've persevered with the psychiatrist making adjustments and am now much more balanced overall.

@eth I too believe that anti-depressant medication on its own adversely affected my condition earlier on. Anti-depressants are not a suitable treatment for bipolar on their own I think. I still take one now but only with mood stabilising and anti-psychotic medication as well. I wish I didn't need to take meds at all because there are always side effects. I've experimented several times with coming off them but with bad results. So for now and the foreseeable future I've decided to continue with this form of treatment and view it as positively as possible, while being true to my experience.

p.s. I wasn't thinking your post sounded negative, just detailing your experience.

I've always been compliant about what's prescribed by the psychiatrist as I never want to risk another psychotic episode. It's taken a few years but the current anti-psychotic and mood stabiliser combo is working well for me. It's obvious that different meds work for different people with bipolar too, there's no single fix.

It also seems that it will always be a case of managing the condition, not a case of finding a 'cure'.

Yes, the meds that work for different individuals are hard to predict. I accept that it may turn out I need to take medication for the rest of my life but I'm not ready to commit to that as a definite. However, I won't be changing my meds without a psychiatrist monitoring as I have sometimes done in the past. I think I've learned my lesson there.

Well, aside from our enjoyable chats on and off, today has been a bit of a write off here in terms of my usual plan. Haven't been out, haven't done anything much thing except sleep more, computer and a bit of chat with partner. And I did get a call from a peer support organisation I contacted some months ago. My number has come up on the waiting list so I will be getting a visit from someone tomorrow at home. I'm not sure what this organisation offers really. My psychiatrist recommend that I contact them. I'll find out more tomorrow. A bit nervous about what I might be committing myself to.