Mixed-mood disorder - need info!

[TroubledGirl91]

Hi, I've had severe depression for about 8months now and have been on medication and counselling etc, and i thought things were getting better as i seemed to get these happy episodes, but now theyve become severe episodes where i feel such overwhelming excitment and happiness.... all i want to do is jump up and down and scream and sing and talk to anyone who is there, and if no one is there i will talk to myself.
I get all these ideas of things i want to do and if someone suggests something to me, it's a brilliant idea no matter what it is! I twitch all over, especially my leg will twitch and my hands will shake badly because i have to move fast i cant be slow i have to keep moving and if someone talks to me and i have to stand still, i get soo irritated and angry! I find myself doing strange things, sometimes dangerous, I.E i thought it would be a brilliant idea to go for a walk in the pitch black dark through these woods with my head phones in and music on fullblast for an hour?! Another time i was at work, i sat on the floor in the middle of the staff room just laughing aloud to myself?! Things like that......
They vary in how long they will last..... At first when i thought things were getting better i would be happy for days, then all of a sudden i would wake up one morning feeling miserable and so low..... now I've noticed these extreme episodes last about an hour or two and i will get them once or twice a day. In between these episodes i crash and become soo tired and miserable and i don't want to be around anyone (my depression coming back into play again) as this is how i felt before these episodes started happening with my depression.

I have been to a psychiatrist and they have said i have mixedmood disorder which has stemmed from traumas over the past two years. I am waiting to start my medication (mood stabilzers) not sure which ones yet i have to wait til my GP opens again tomorrow, but they did say if these tablets do not work i will need to be hospitilzed for treatment as they are worried about the high episodes and they need to see it under control by february 1st otherwise they have no choice to hospitilize me.

Is mixed mood disorder bipolar or is this different? Is there anything i can do to manage this? I am scared and i feel like i have tried everything i can to get out of this depression but it has not progressed to this and i dont know what there is left for me to do. I need some information or advice from someone.
Thankyou.

[TroubledGirl91]

Thankyou for your comment. I think i am on the lowest dose to start off with, 2x 25mg but ive been taking them one in the morning one at night, should i take them together?
I havent really noticed a major difference apart from that i havent had a high episode for a few days now.
It is really hard for me to sleep and although ive been falling asleep slightly quicker than usual, it still takes a while to fall asleep but i guess they will kick in better as ive only been taking them for 3 days.
How long was it before you noticed a difference?
Thanks again .

[freebird227]

i have been on seroquil for at least 4 years and i have had wonderful results with it. there happends to be another thread going about the same med, you find it helpful to read that one as well....the only advice i can give you from experience.... if your dosing is at night, make sure you are headed to sleep mode when you take it. it is wonderful to help induce a good nights sleep and yet the window of falling asleep is narrow... at first i took a 50mg/.daytime and 200mg/night.. i weigh 125lbs. so my new dr. cut out the 50mg/daytime and kept the bedtime dosing... we found that the daytime dosing was probably causing more depression qualities than stabilizing... i am on a good level for me now.......good luck :)

[TroubledGirl91]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I think the hospital thing scares me so ive spoken to my psychiatrist and he has agreed for me to take a couple of weeks to see if the meds kick in as i have only started taking them yesterday. But i said if i dnt see an improvement then i will take notice of it and i will go in to hospital. Im gna take some time to do things that i enjoy like reading and writing because my way of dealing with depression and that in the past was to just keep going and keep busy but this made it worse for me because i wwsnt dealing with it properly.
I have cut my days down at work too.  The medication im on is Quetiapine does anyone have any experience with this?

[izabel27]

You are doing an excellent thing by going to the hospital... your doc sounds like a very thorough and get down to business type. You are lucky to know about these options... in 99 there was little or no awareness about mixed episodes.
Def listen to the docs in the hospital have them get u stabilized and they'll provide u with something that will alleviate it. I take depakote great for the mania nothing for the depression.
If the highs return and you find yourself very productive and being the life of the party keep an eye on it its very deceiving and addictive.

[freebird227]

You haven't done anything wrong... everyone needs to feel like they have choices about their treatment plan...but if you continue with the risky stuff then you may decide to go in house for treatment. You may need to ask your partner with some help as long as they can stay focused on what to look for and not get caught up in feelings.....idk what the dr told you to do to help with the highs and lows i only suggest that to the best of your ability follow his instructions....if you are drinking alcohol or using any drugs at all then you need to stop, they will make things worse and hinder your benifits of the meds......some meds get in your system quicker than others...so there may be some wait time...in house treatment at least once is a good thing... you will learn a lot about the mood swings and how to take care of yourself so that you live a good life even with bi-polar.....I will check back :)

[TroubledGirl91]

Just an update, i called him yestersay and he gave me a few tips to help manage this but he really reccomends that i go into hospital and have treatment in there as hese concerned about the episodes. I said i wanted to try the medication first and see how i go and he said OK but if it doesnt improve then i need to go into hospital!
Have i done the roght thing by not going into hospital or should i go in?

[freebird227]

You are in my thoughts.... Koodos to you for calling your Dr. and following his advice.. Keep us posted.

[TroubledGirl91]

I told my psych everything from my depression to these highs and lows and everything ive been doig and he asked my parner questions too to get my behaviour from his point of view.

Yeh he said he was worried about the risky behaviour thats why he sed about hospitilizing me to monitor me and control my meds and give me counselling while im in there but my insurance didnt cover me so he sed he'd try the mood stabilizers first but if they dont show improvement then he has no choice to hospitilize me.
I am going to ring him tody and just ask a couple of questions.
Thankyou for your comments.

[freebird227]

Yes if your Psych is not aware of these mixed states... then they definatly need to know because it may affect the stabalizer being perscribed... The one thing that stands out to me that also raises an eyebrow is the risky behaviour.....that especially needs to be addressed...I would call the psych before filling the other meds in case they want to adjust or even change the meds...but do it all in one day. Meds are so expensive I would hate for you to get it filled and then find out you need something else...Insurance can be a bear to deal with with these meds.... Therapy and keeping a feelings journal would help track the swings and will help you and the doctor to find a pattern and perhaps a trigger.......

[ILADVOCATE]

   Your psychiatrist probably would be the best one to call as he is following up on this and would be able to best help you.

[TroubledGirl91]

Yes thats exactly it, i have mania times and depressive times and sometimes i have them both at the same time. i experience every emotion possible in the same day. He didn't really say much about how to manage. He just said he is concerned about the highs and the depression is still there and because i he was a private psychiatrist hese sent my prescription to my GP to pick them up on the NHS? Should i ring him tomorrow and ask for some advice or shall i ring my GP to ask for advice? I don't really know what to do.

[ILADVOCATE]

  A mixed state is generally when a person has some aspects of mania and some of depression at the same time. An example is an agitated mixed state where a person has the down aspect of depression but the sped up quality of mania and appears to feel angry at the world. Another is dysphoria where a person is depressed but fixated on it in a way that has manic aspects. During rapid cycling a person can experience sudden mood changes in a very short time frame. I have experienced all of these concerns. However,  anly a psychiatrist would understand this in full.
   It would be important to explain these episodes you are having to them fully because from what you are describing there can be some loss of reality testing.  It would be best to ask them what to do to keep safe
until you are stabilized on medication. Also ask them how the trauma you have experienced may have created this and how this might effect the episodes themselves and what might help treat them as well.