Possibly Dealing With Bipolar Disorder? Posted: 10-30-06 23:07pm
I have been real hush hush just trying to
figure this out for myself over the past
while, but it tends to be easier to
investigate the contents of a small box
from an outside point of view, and so i'm
here. My real only question for anyone
who might come across this is whether or
not what i'm dealing with is particularly
normal in someone my age, or whether I
might want to try to find someone to talk
with about it, and if so, who maybe? I'm
a pretty big introvert, and so most of my
frustrations in life are turned inward,
and I think that has a good bit to do with
the fact that i'm confused pretty badly
over how I relate to everyone I know.
I'm a 20 year old university student right
now, comp. Sci major, trying to work my
way through this whole process. Things
have been difficult for the past 3 weeks,
however, and I recently thought of my old
best friend from kindergarten through
probably the 8th grade or so, who I found
out was recently diagnosed with this
disorder, leading me to ponder it a bit.
The past 3 weeks of my life have been
plagued with but haven't been limited to
the following: shifting sleep pattern
(sleep between 11pm and 6:30am, or
sometimes not at all), a powerful lack of
motivation (especially towards things I
know I need to do), changes in appetite
(usually a regular eater, was down to a
meal a day for a week and a half of the
past 3), thoughts and dreams of suicide,
feeling particularly taxing on my parents
(though I imagine this to be kinda normal
for college students), and the feeling
that my life is culminating toward either
unbearable mediocrity or failure and
nothingness. I've also been facing
increased anger levels (shorter fuse, if
you will) with my suitemates in my dorm
and my family; not so much with outside
friends, but they're usually older friends
from back in high school who I don't see
often. Auditory hallucinations have been
a fairly normal part of my life for at
least a couple of years now. Examples
would include hearing footsteps or
whispers in empty places, or being alone
with someone, and hearing them say
something they claimed not to have.
I've had...Not necesarily problems
with...But at least some small contact
with some/several of these in the past,
reaching back at least 4 years now i'd
say. Recently they've all been present
within hours or days of each other, if not
coexisting.
|
Balch
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 30 Location: Sunnyvale
Bipolar Disorder Posted: 12-12-06 21:23pm
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder
characterized by alternating states of
depression and mania that follow each
other in a repeating cycle.
People with bipolar disorder may cycle
through these states quickly or may
experience long periods of depression or
mania. Often one mood state predominates,
while the other occurs only infrequently
or briefly.
Symptoms of the elevated mood stage of
bipolar disorder include an exaggerated
sense of confidence and well-being, racing
thoughts, excessive talking,
distractibility, increased desire for
pleasurable activity, decreased need for
sleep, impulsivity, irritability, and
impairment in judgment. The depressed
phase includes symptoms of sadness,
fatigue, pessimism, feelings of
helplessness, low self-esteem, and loss of
interest in life, possibly with thoughts
of suicide.
Medical options for bipolar disorder
prescription drug treatment of bipolar
disorder includes lithium carbonate
(eskalith®, lithobid®), valproic acid
(depakote®, depakene®), carbamazepine
(tegretol®), and lamotrigine
(lamictal®). Antianxiety drugs,
antidepressants, and antipsychotics are
also common components of treatment.
Psychological counseling and sleep
management is sometimes recommended.
Severe cases requiring hospitalization due
to rapid or pronounced mood swings might
also require electroconvulsive therapy
(electrical impulses applied to the
brain).
Lifestyle changes that may be helpful
exercise influences the production and use
of neurotransmitters and hormones in the
body, and its antidepressant effect is
well known.1 a preliminary study of the
effects of vigorous exercise on the body
chemistry of patients with bipolar
disorder found that exercise increased a
specific chemical associated with better
mood.2 however, exercise may adversely
influence the effectiveness of some
medications used for bipolar disorder.
Many people with bipolar disorder take
lithium, and because lithium is lost in
sweat, exercise that involves significant
sweating may change blood levels of
lithium. Such a change has been reported
in one person;3 therefore, people taking
lithium who intend to start a vigorous
exercise program should be monitored by
their doctor.
Vitamins that may be helpful
people diagnosed with depression may have
lower blood levels of omega-3 fatty
acids.4 5 a double-blind trial found that
bipolar patients taking 9.6 grams of
omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil per day
in addition to their conventional
medications had significant improvements
compared with those taking placebo.6
