Hi and welcome! I have bipolar 1 myself, diagnosed about 7 years ago. How are you handling the diagnosis, if you don't mind me asking? I remember having a tough time while also being relieved I know what I have.
Honestly I'm just happy my medication (lamotrigin) works as well as it does. I'm not too hung up on the diagnosis itself (even though there's a lot of stigma surrounding bipolar diagnoses), since I've been on and off anti-depressants for more than half my life now, nothing much matters outside of me feeling more like myself
I read the recent diagnosis post (it was very good! I appreciate the time and effort you put in it) and found the note about mood-stabilizers and antidepressants particularly interesting, since I'm currently also on sertraline (no adverse effects that I know of). So I guess anecdotally I'm in the 'works in bipolar 2 camp' (but since I've not been off it, I can't compare), I'll report back if my psychiatrist suggests we try to taper off it in the future 😉
Good list, I'd also like to add Asenapine (saphris). It's an atypical antipsychotic. I had a lot of trouble finding a med that worked well without having terrible side effects. I started this about two years ago and in combination with my lithium, it's been a godsend, I've never felt more even-mooded for this long a duration ever before.
Thank you so much, I added it to the list. I feel like the new atypical antipsychotics are great, for me it was Vraylar (cariprazine) that helped a ton along with lamotrigine.
They've definitely come a long way with medicinal treatment for bipolar, even just in the last 20 years. When i was first diagnosed the meds helped level out the bipolar symptoms, but basically made me a zombie; now the meds successfully even me out, but I'm still functional.
Absolutely, it's so much better now. You can actually hope to be functional and more or less "normal." I always liked that meme that says we would have been lobotomized 100 years ago... dark but probably true.
Oh yeah, being bipolar in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a horror show. First off, the general care in most asylums of the era were non-exist at best, and constant torturous abuse at worst; the most common treatments were powerful sedation drugs, electric shock therapy, or a lobotomy. My mom (who was also bipolar) didn't remember most of her teenage years because of electric shock therapy. Nasty stuff.
No peeking! Just kidding, I can't talk to most people about my REAL struggles, so I depend on my friends figuring it out.
I'm actually really lucky to have a best friend who also has BP2. We met when I first moved out here 10 years ago, and neither one of us were diagnosed. I got mine a few years later, though I had been in remission for a long time. And then he got his just a couple years ago. Now we both have someone to talk to about things and it makes such a huge difference. I hope you have one too, Mr Sackles.
You're definitely not alone! Type 2 doesn't get as much attention, but that depression can be absolutely debilitating. If you like podcasts, here's an episode specifically on type 2.
Thanks for the recommendation! I know there are a bunch of us, but it's just so surreal to see my same experience, which I don't talk about much, explained in such detail. It's heartening.
While finding out your dose did you ever get songs playing in your head absolutely non stop? Around 125-150 I seriously had my own personal radio station going on 24/7. I then looked on Reddit and it is supposedly a thing
Hmmm, I honestly don't remember, it's been a while. But I am familiar with the feeling of having a radio station in my head, so it may very well be related.
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