Posted by B2Chica on October 13, 2004, at 11:48:54
In reply to Re: mania from meds if not Bp? » B2Chica, posted by delna on October 13, 2004, at 8:22:49
delna, delna, delna!
THANK YOU.this is Great information, andthat you got it from several doctors is reassuring.
i'm fairly sure that i am bp2 but am glad my pdoc is questioning everything. but when i first went to the doctor (just over a year ago) is was actually for mania not depr. looking back i realized that all my symptoms for past months WERE depression (atypical-oversleep, overeat, crying all the time, could hardly move, terrible concentration...etc.)
anyway i experienced this BEFORE i ever went on any medication.
i got Dx of Bp2 right away and they started me first on effexor and i KNOW i experienced Extreme depression AND EXTREME mania while on this rapid cycling like every other day...it was HORRIBLE. (i was Dx by several doctors with bp2.)so to know that what i have experienced was....well it just validates these 'episodes'.
And THANK YOU! for the name reference, 'Dr Akiskal'. i'll be looking up his info.
as for these...
> 1. Early onset ( before 20) (yes)
> 2.history of alcohol and drug abuse (shyly...yes)
> 3.psychotic episodes (no)
> 4. Extereme exhaustion and vegetative depressions (yes)
> 5. Aggression and agitation (yes, yes AND yes)
> 6. Oversexed even during depressive phases. (unfortunate to my husband...no)
Again, thank you so much. i really don't even care about the label anymore i just want to get on some medications so i can be stable again (whatever that is), i want normal sleep, no night bunnies, no more days that i can't get out of bed, and no more intense anger and agression -that one scares me...i am NOT a violent person...
i did really like my trileptal when i was on that and i hope to get back on that and wellbutrinXL.
i guess in time. Maybe if i drink a cup of coffee the morning before my next appt. with him...that'll show'em ...(that's all it takes for me to shoot into hypo/mania)
ok, maybe not.With every fiber delna...Thank You
B2c.> Hi
> This a question I have asked myself alot. According to every psychiatrist I have seen, I am not unipolar but have bipolar II. However I can only remember getting blatantly hypomanic after I started SSRI's and then at high dose of venlafaxine.
> My doctors agree that a unipolar patient will not switch into mania regardless of the doses of antidepressants given. Apparently the pathologic mechanism of Bipolar is different from unipolar depression.
> Once I became clearly hypomanic, my history was looked into closely and it was found that i did have bipolar all along but i didnt have distinct periods of highs and lows. Infact I had many mixed states and rapid moodshifts since childhood.
> according to papers and 'Dr Akiskal' a leading voice on the bipolar spectrum, bipolar depression looks very different from unipolar and presents at a different stage of life. From what I have read and experienced these are the unique defining points of bipolar illness
>
> 1. Early onset ( before 20)
> 2.history of alcohol and drug abuse
> 3.psychotic episodes
> 4. Extereme exhaustion and vegetative depressions
> 5. Aggression and agitation
> 6. Oversexed even during depressive phases.
>
> There are ofcourse many others and everyone is different. These are just a few points that made it clear that I had BPII and not unipolar. I have resisted this diagnosis for 10years but I finally gave in and took Lamotigine along with my effexor and wellbutrin. the change has been amazing; i hardly swing. Lamotrigine has been a great help for me as a moodstabalizer.
>
> Best,
> D
>
>
poster:B2Chica
thread:400896
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041012/msgs/402652.html