just a small question.

[kroxrose]

This is my first time posting. I'm kody I'm 22 I have bipolar disorder I'm not on meds and no i wont ever go back on them unless it is life or death. I was wondering if any of you have weird smells when you are in the middle of a cycle, mainly manic cycles. I get really weird smells, everything smells bad even rose or something that should smell good. It all smell like trash or something rotting. It becomes hard to eat or focus cause all i can smell is the horrible smell. I have never come across someone else who has this so i thought i would ask here. so does any one have this problem? how bad is it? when does it start and how long does it stay? can you do anything to lessen the smell? thanks for the help if there is any..

[doctora]

Why are you so against meds? They might stop the bad smell you experience when you are manic? I used to hate meds., I was on and off them twice, but when I was off them my manic states were severe, so now I am on them again, and determined to get my head straight.
I have never had the "bad smell" problem, but everyone is different, especially during a manic phase. Sometimes when I am going through a manic phase, everything looks like it is in high definition. Its like watching your standard TV then watching a HD flat screen, its kinda weird, and like you, I havent heard of anyone else having this happen.
You should ask your Dr., about it, there is a chance that it may not be connected to your bi-polar, it just seems to occur during your manic phases?

[Xila31]

Well, actually, I don't know much about smells but I have phantom smells sometimes but they are not bad things and they don't disrupt my life. Like I'll smell bacon or cookies or things like that but there is nothing to be making the smell. But this is not everyday. Although sometimes when I am feeling particually out of sorts I seem to be unable to go down the bread aisle at the store. The smell of the bread is just overwhelming and it makes me choke and cough and nausious. This lasted for about 2 months over the summer this year, but it was only at the store.

There are 2 things I can think of that are smells that are bad suddenly creeping up on you and sticking around for a while. The first is pregnant. When your pregnant things that normally smell good can smell like the worst thing ever. Or things that you normally don't considering having a smell suddenly are the smelliest things in the world. It can make you sick and not able to eat and makes morning sickness 100x worse when it happens.

If you're already 100% sure you are not pregnant, then my second thing I would say this is a big issue to bring up to your doctor. I have no idea what it could mean but if it is causing trouble with your life it is not something to ignore. (Also, if you are pregnant see your doctor anyway because that's important, too.)

[kroxrose]

im against meds but cause i dont like how i feel when i am on them. i feel plastic or fake or like i am numb from the inside out and i have tired lot of different kinds since i was 14 or so and none worked the way they should. yes i do know it can take years and years it did for my mom but it wasnt for me. i dont feel like im as bad off as some of the other people i have met. no offense but i feel like most of the time im in control of my BP not the other way around. my cycles have started to slow way down and i only go up or down once every few months like 3 or 4 now which it used to be once a month for each. im not against meds for every one i just dont feel the are right for me.. i dont have a doctor i lost my insurance and i dont have the money to go anymore. i just wondered if anyone else had the smell problem. yea it is only during the manic phase it rarely happens when im down but i dont go down very often.  i dont have the HD thing but i know some other people who do..

[kroxrose]

it is kind of like your bread store problem but it is with everything. i cant seem to eat i just feel like im going to puke.

i know for sure im not pregnant i just got a IUD a few months ago and the gyno said it is in the right place when i got check a few weeks ago. i also had the test that day it is was negative.

i have ask the doc before when it first started and he said the body is just weird it does what it wants. i was like that is helpful. then he went on to say that because i have BP that all my scenes become overloaded and that might be why it is happening. he also said that meds prolly wouldnt take it away but make it worse. but i dont have insurance to go see him now i lost it a year ago. so im **** out of luck so that is why im trying here. thanks for your help by the way.

[ILADVOCATE]

Yes well some medications can cause cognitive blunting and other side effects that make life difficult but each person responds differently to each medication and there an increasing number of options and myself being in clinical study for a whole new class of antipsychotics in Phase II FDA study and having made a full recovery know that those options will increase in the future. If you want to know about current options as regards mood stabilizers this site might be of help:
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/moodstabilizers.htm
If you don't have health care coverage you could apply for Medicaid. If you are working see if your state has the Medicaid Buy In for Working People with Disabilities. You could find out more about health care coverage options. at your local independent living center:http://www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/index.html

[kroxrose]

thank you for the info but im not in disabilities or anything. i might think about the buy in option though that might be ok. i just dont want to take away from people who need it worse then i do.. idk i think my BP is the least of my problems over all. so idk i just wanted to know if someone else was like me that is all.. thanks though i will look in to the buy in option.

[Xila31]

Well, bipolar is a recognized disability and we are protected by the Americans with Disabilities act or whatever it is called. So even if you are not claiming disability and working, you have rights and so on just because you have bipolar. You do need insurance, though, for emergnecies. Bipolar is a sneaky one, just when you think you're all better and things are fine if comes up and bites you from behind. I've been through it more than once and struggled my whole life. Just take care of yourself and I hope you find something that works for you.

[kroxrose]

thank you and i do know what you mean by it biting you in the *** later. i has happened and i dont think ill ever be all better but i think i know better ways to cope with it now then i did when i was 14 or 15. i watched this disorder kill my mother and im not going to let it kill me. ill look in to the insurance thing and its funny you mention the ADA cause im researching it right now for a paper i have to write for a class.. i hope you are doing well today...

[Xila31]

Oh thank you for your well wishes. I'm actually pretty nuts today but I'll get through. I'm also not medicated but mostly because I'm financially not well and my insurance is too expensive. I'm one of those people who is screwed. I can't get help because I make too much money but I'm too poor to take care of myself properly. >.>

But, I've been through a lot and I just pray and hang on for dear life.

[Delusion]

Would you say you are smelling things that shouldnt be there? Olfactory hallucinations are pretty much the most common hallucination a person can have even the ''sane and normal'' i wouldnt worry about it to much

[doctora]

Hi Kroxrose, how have you been doing, I just got back from a road trip over the weekend, and my body is paying for it now.
You know I am sort of in the same position that you are in. I need to see a psyc. and need psyio., but I cant afford it. I applied for disability through the Canadian Gov. a year ago, and it is still going on, I hope the last report I sent in will be the last one I need to send, but until I get approved, I cannot afford these treatments. I am lucky though that my husband has a plan through his work, so my prescriptions are covered, and trust me, I spend a small fortune on those.
When I was in the car on the road trip to the in laws, one of my fears was that the car would break down, and sure enough, I must have asked my husband at least 5 times "do you smell that", I could smell tar and rubber burning and of course I thought it was the car, but there was no smell, as far as he could tell, and the car was okay - so what was that?  I think it was a case of mind over matter. I worried about the car breaking down so much that my mind was creating things related to it that really werent there??
How are you doing?  Last time you posted you didnt sound like you were in the best of shape, how are you now?

[kroxrose]

i also just got back from a trip and i am paying for it big time as well. it ***** doesnt it.. how you have to build your self up to go on a trip then when you come home you pay for it.. my smell are a little like that but they dont happen when im nervous or anything they happen to everything. like when im in that state flower smell like rotting eggs or good smells like vomit or has the feeling in my mouth of it. its quit nasty. it hasnt happened this month but im sure it will when my up cycles come. im sorry to hear about you thinking your car was going to burn. i get like that if i think some one is going the wrong way or a different way then what i think they should. i have to keep asking where are you going over and over till i can feel ok with what they are doing. no the same i know but i get the situation.  i would agree that it is mind over matter but i dont think in my case it is.. i physical feel these things and smell them. i know my mind has something to do with it but even if i try forcing my self to not smell it, it doesnt work it just gets worse. so idk what it is. i have no clue which is why i asked here thinking maybe just maybe some one else would have it too.. i think what you had is similar  but not quite what im talking about. im feeling ok thanks for asking. im beat up but im ok i still feel misunderstood and confussed about what is happening to me but i guess it is part of this disorder.. i dont have many people to talk about it with so thank you very much for responding. how are you? how is your day going.

[doctora]

Hi ya;
Im doing okay today, went and spent money that I prob. shouldnt have, and spent today re-decorating the apt. a bit. I made a point of being lazy today, well  not totally lazy, you know the standards, washing dishes etc. but other than that, I didnt do much.
I woke up at 7 this morning and though there is no way I am getting up, so I took a Clonazepam, and went back to sleep til 11:00, I needed to do that.
Otherwise today has been symptom free, so I am enjoying that now because I know it wont last.
Hey, whenever you feel like talking about it, drop me a line, maybe I can help.

Cheers.