From sunrise to sundown I struggle to shake this frown

Hi @Pitz welcome.

Just wanted you to know I'm listening.

I also have bipolar 1 and it's a hard row to hoe.

What I'm reading makes me believe that you're doing your best - taking medication, concern for your wife, being concious of natural convidence versus mania.

It's taken me the best part of 4 years to get the hang of picking warning signs, and it's an imperfect art to put it mildly. It took 2 years to get my medication even remotely right, and it's an ongoing process.

When I look back on the manic episode that landed me in hospital I cringe inside. I feel for my kids and am embarassed. That's part of what motivates me to do my best to stay well. There's positive motivation too - wanting to get some love, joy and peace in my life.

Do you have good health professionals around you? I'm very lucky to have a psychiatrist and psychologist that are a good fit. I trust them.

Sane also have a carer's forum, which you could suggest to your wife.

Try not to beat yourself up. There are a lot of people on here who will understand. You could go to Introduce-yourself-here to meet some of them. If you want to tag someone use @before their name and they'll get a notification.

Take care.

@Pitz Hi Pitz another bp1 here but with schizo as well (Hi froggy @frog). It is tough. I never know until after the event that I am going nuts. The other night I was up and hyper all night talking to @Mazarita (bp1). If it wasn't for the great meds I would have been up to my usual mischief.... I have calmed down alot now thank god for meds.

Just remember you are not alone here. There is always someone to talk with. greenpea.

Apologies to @Mazarita as she is another who is a member of the bp1 club 🙂

@Pitz Hi Pitz a journal is a great idea but yes when you are on a high it is hard to do isn't it ,,,, for me it is getting the medication right without the right amount of medication I get myself into all sorts or trouble. Can you go back to your doc and look at perhaps adjusting your meds if your moods etc are not being fully contained. Personally I think that is vital.

You sound like a really caring person who is on the right road to keeping the relationship together. Talking from a woman's perspective talking and listening to her is crucial but I am sure you do that already. Take care greenpea 🙂

@Bunniekins@frog@Mazarita

Thank you bipolar 1 club maybe I can be part of your pack :). Ok so since I'm new to bipolar and only recently had my first low in my whole life being in my late 20s

I am looking for some advice. I am seeing my psychiatrist on Wednesday and will be telling him about all my thoughts/hyper mania to low moods.

I have never been for medication so it's taking me a while to accept it. I'm just wondering with all of you, when you take your medication consistently and still experience high and low moods is it time to speak to the psychiatrist or wait for the new dose run for a bit longer.

Kind regards

@Bunniekins@frog@Mazarita

Thank you bipolar 1 club maybe I can be part of your pack :). Ok so since I'm new to bipolar and only recently had my first low in my whole life being in my late 20s

I am looking for some advice. I am seeing my psychiatrist on Wednesday and will be telling him about all my moods.

I have never been for medication so it's taking me a while to accept it. I'm just wondering with all of you, when you take your medication consistently and still experience high and low moods is it time to speak to the psychiatrist or wait for the new dose run for a bit longer.

Kind regards

@Pitz Hi Pitz you will be pleased to know that there are many of us (in the bp1 club) on the forums you will never be alone here :).Personally I write everything down for the pdoc (psychiatrist) it is hard for me to remember everything for the once a month appointment. I am not one for meds either and would love to be med free ... but you know they help me alot they really do and I figure I have to take responsibility for myself and those closest around me.

Without those meds I am a fruitcake with the meds I am almost (I don't think one ever gets back to their old self again - speaking for myself here) my original self again. BTW it took a long time to get the meds right for me over a year so don't be surprised if the same goes for you too :).

Great talking with you. Don't be afraid to suss out the various threads like the 'Good morning' thread to start to talk with other people. We really are very nice here. 🙂 greenpea

@Pitz Hi Pitz lack of concentration is a hard one which I think bp1 sufferers all share to varying degrees. I know I have difficulty reading books and even long posts on the forum I cannot get through .... just be honest with your pdoc (psychiatrist) and psych (psychologist) with how you are feeling,. Write everything down about your moods etc. Just remember you are not alone there are many who suffer silently and as for your work colleagues that is a tricky one... people are just concerned when you are going to the doctors,,,, I really don't want to give advice upon that .... ummm ...why not wait until you are sorted with your meds before you tackle that problem even if you have to or discuss it with your pdoc as there would be many with similar problems. Good luck with today will be thinking of you. greenpea 🙂

Hello @Pitz Along with @Bunniekins I'm another one in the don't-like-meds-but-they-get-me-through camp. Without them I would not be able to work, and then I'd be in an almightly mess. There are many things apart from medication you can do. My favourites are meditation, exercise and being outside. If I could spend all day on that I might be well without meds! Best policy is to be really honest with your pdoc. It's hard to surprise them, and they are used to seeing all sorts of responses to medication. Most of the health professionals I've talked to say it can take 6 weeks for full effect, though some medications I've been on have been really fast acting. It's hard when you're in the thick of it, but try and be patient and focus on the long game in terms of finding the right balance. I had a bad time on one mood stabiliser. I stuck it out for 9 months and then refused to continue, as the specialist said the goal was to reduce suffering and it wasn't. We found one that's a much better fit. The one thing I would strongly recommend, is to not go off meds unsupervised. It can go badly! Hope the appointment is really productive for you.