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Mental Health > Bipolar Disorder Forum > Bi-Polar and Drugs (my story)
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Q: Bi-Polar and Drugs (my story)
asked by: illectronic on February 2nd, 2008
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I'm a male. At age 15 I woke up throwing up my first day of sophmore year in high school. I didn't go because I was sick. This continued for 2 weeks until finally my parents took me to see a pdoc who said I had social anxiety disorder. I was knocked out from the paxil for a few months but I was able to go to school as long as I took 5 hour naps when I got home. Several months later, while taking only celexa, it happened again. This time I went to an adolescent psychiatric facility. The doctor there said I probably have bipolar but she wasn't sure. I was put on risperdal and depakote. I was also a skinny kid and I gained an enourmous amount of weight. My drugs were changed numerous times until I was on only a low dosage of seroquel and lamictal when college started at age 17.

I had a lot of people that I knew in college and I started doing drugs. They would only do marijuana so that's what I did. It felt great, but I ended up failing out of school that year because I was still depressed and the weed was just a quick fix for a few minutes. For the next 6 months I worked part time and traded stocks at home. I continued to smoke weed even while trading. I got lucky, and I was still able to make good money despite bieng high while trading. When I was 20 I started doing drugs such as PCP, Ketamine, random perscription drugs. I had a good per/hour job and I was starting to act in an offensive way to my superiors and my clients. Eventually I was fired in late 2006. I was 20 years old. In January 2006 I went on vacation with a friend of mine who also did certain drugs with me at clubs where I live. We did an extraordinary amount of weed, alacohol, and special k that we snuck onto the cruise ship. I was skinnier then ever and was I thought I was back to my old self. I got into numerous fights on the ship and was almost left at port. I thought I was the man, nothing can stop me. I was better then everyone else. Right after arriving home in NY, I went to a club with my friend right off the boat. We even checke dout suitcases. This friend then moved back to California and I got in contact with an old acquaitance who was into the same things as me. By thhis time I had an apartment that my parents let me live in downstairs. All types of clubheads came to do different types of party drugs, mostly ketamine(although I have tried meth a few times).

Eventually I got manic and went to the hospital. I got out after 3 weeks. A few weeks later I snorted ecstacy filled with meth and then one of my druggie acquaintances came and demanded I hand over my $6000 Rolex watch as payment for something that I supposedly owed someone else. He was with someone I didn't know so I got scared and handed it over. After he left I went manic in my paren'ts apartment downstairs and wound up in the hospital again. It gets shady after this. But I starting hanging out outside. I lived in a bad neighborhood and I would speak to the kids outside bragging about how im rich and powerful(I wasnt'). Eventually they led me to older con-artists who had me buy jewelry and give it to them because they saw I wasn't in my right mind. Adding to this they gave me weed that was probably laced as well. I ruined my excellent credit rating by not bieng able to dispute these charges. The companys would not believe me without a police report for anything that happend. MY mother and I tried getting a police report for the watch and jewlerly but the cops just shrugged us off since drugs were involved. The watch kept eating at me and I just kept getting worse a few days after a got out of the hospital, relapsing on drugs. Finally after 5 hospitalizations and a 30 day rehab I have been clean since july 2006 and am back in school. I worked all last year but just quick to go to school full time. Now I just turned 23 and I entered a terrible depressed state where I have racing thoughts, erroneous thinking, negative thinking, and it will lead me to do poorly in school if I don't see the right people. I really don't want to do any drugs to feel better, but it has been more tempting then ever. Anybody else here an addict with bipolar or I am I the only one? WOuld appreciate feedback on non-medical things I can do ti get out of this. I'm suffering every day.
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MandMs
replied on February 2nd, 2008
Extremely eHealthy
Hi!
Have you tried psychosocial treatments?
There are some forms of psychotherapy that provide support, education, and guidance to people with bipolar disorder and their families.
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illectronic
replied on February 3rd, 2008
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They grouped me as a drug user so I did try group activities after I left rehab but I found it boring and unhelpful. I felt the people that were there were more addicts then mentally ill and could not relate to them.
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the_colossus
replied on February 4th, 2008
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When I was first becoming manic and diagnosed as BP I was doing lots of Marijuana each day. After I stopped right away, I'd like to take credit due to strong will power but it was more due to not having access to any due to stuff that happened while manic. I think my paranoia might have made me over think what my source was thinking and would do to me if I showed up. Hard ot tell as Im still kind of paranoid.
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MandMs
replied on February 20th, 2008
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illectronic!
Try to find a bipolar support group. It'll be beneficial for you in many ways.
You'll educate yourself about your mental problem, get advices how to cope with that every day, what to except from the new meds treatment.
The only way to keep your mental disorder under control and get well adjusted life is lifelong treatment with medication, education (to manage bipolar disorder and prevent its complications) and psychotherapy.
Dealing with bipolar will help you dealing with drugs, since bipolar people are more prone to addictions.
Also, substance abuse doesn't cause bipolar disorder, but it can bring on an episode and worsen the course of the disease.

All best to you!
Marija
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