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Bipolar and psychosis
A few months after being diagnosed bipolar I was put on antipsychotic because I was seeing stuff, and believing paranoid things, and cracking up in lots of ways, this had been going on for 4 years. I am now much less scared and feel more 'normal' even if depressed. My question Is my normal state without tablets psychotic and is there no going back now? or would I have got better eventually. The doctor has said I will have to be on antipsychotic for the rest of my life, but don't some bipolar people stop using them after a period of time and be OK? How can the doctor be sure I have psychosis for life?
Your feeling as though the doctors are out to get you is the paranoia I am talking about. Don't worry about what happened yesterday. They know you were not well then and they will still work with you because they want to help you. This is why they are doctors rather than plumbers or construction workers.
Even when I have been at my worse, the doctors have always treated me like a good human being, with dignity and respect and genuine care. Keep at it.....
Even when I have been at my worse, the doctors have always treated me like a good human being, with dignity and respect and genuine care. Keep at it.....
About tiredness / meds, yes I will definately bring it up in my Jan appointment, I am trying to stay with this one for now (seroquel) because except for tiredness there are no other side effects, but there may be a better alternative who knows!
Hi, and thankyou for your advice, I am happy to take the meds prescribed to me as it stands because this is still a recent experience for me, and I realise it would be way too soon to even consider stopping. I know I was a terrible patient in the past, I would not accept what the GP said. I complained about everything because I felt they were making stuff up because they had it in for me, including the psychiatrist. I only hope now that this won't stop them from taking me seriously in the future.
I can also identify with what you said about not realising how bad things were until things got better. The paranoia for me would seem to come out of the sky and be totally unrelated to my environment at times, and rather than be connected to 'real life situations' involved some bizzare and totally impossible ideas. Only as I got better I realised that I had also had some completely grandiose plans and unrealistically elevated views of others and the future. Knowing that things weren't this way at all made me feel very foolish (and depressed), and I now can't imagine how I could not see things for what they were.
I can also identify with what you said about not realising how bad things were until things got better. The paranoia for me would seem to come out of the sky and be totally unrelated to my environment at times, and rather than be connected to 'real life situations' involved some bizzare and totally impossible ideas. Only as I got better I realised that I had also had some completely grandiose plans and unrealistically elevated views of others and the future. Knowing that things weren't this way at all made me feel very foolish (and depressed), and I now can't imagine how I could not see things for what they were.
Also, you just may be more sensitive to a certain medicine, or all meds, than some people. So perhaps even a low dose would still be affecting you this way. If the tiredness is a bit too troublesome and doesn't stop, then perhaps the dose could either be lowered or your medication could be changed to another one. But yes, it would probably be best to discuss it with the only person who is authorized to actually do something about it, that being the doctor.
Ah, no, you see, thyroid is different than parathyroid. Most people have not heard of parathyroid, so they may just think of thyroid if they were to ever see or hear the word. Your thyroid gland is different. You have four smaller glands that are located near it that are completely different, called parathyroid glands. Any testing or questions they would use for diagnosing a thyroid problem would not tell them anything about the parathyroid.
Interesting though to know that their thyroid problems even had a link to their bipolar symptoms, if that is what you are saying surely was the case.
Interesting though to know that their thyroid problems even had a link to their bipolar symptoms, if that is what you are saying surely was the case.
The best thing for you to do is discuss this with your psychiatrist. Share what you have learned on this forum. He may be able to explain things better that pertain directly to your situation.
I have taken anti psychotics, and then stopped and felt fine, only to need to start taking them again. I didn't realize just how bad I was experiencing symptoms until I got onto the medication and they pretty much went away.
Before your stopping any medication, talk with your doctor about it. The pros and the cons. The majority of doctors don't put people on medication unless there is a clear indication that it is needed. Don't just stop because of what people say on this forum. Non-compliant patients are a problem for a doctor as well as for themselves in treating for illnesses of any kind. Work with your doctor. If you can't seem to trust him then find somebody you can trust. But part of Bipolar/psychotic symptoms is paranoria.
I have taken anti psychotics, and then stopped and felt fine, only to need to start taking them again. I didn't realize just how bad I was experiencing symptoms until I got onto the medication and they pretty much went away.
Before your stopping any medication, talk with your doctor about it. The pros and the cons. The majority of doctors don't put people on medication unless there is a clear indication that it is needed. Don't just stop because of what people say on this forum. Non-compliant patients are a problem for a doctor as well as for themselves in treating for illnesses of any kind. Work with your doctor. If you can't seem to trust him then find somebody you can trust. But part of Bipolar/psychotic symptoms is paranoria.
Wow, I had no idea. I thought it was just diseases like schizophrenia that had a lifetime tendency to go back to being psychotic without medication, and with bipolar I could just carry on without antipsychotics and just take mood stabilizers after a given time. I am a bit sad about the thought of this, but at least I have got somewhat better. Does anyone else struggle with tiredness? I am only on small dose 300mg seroquel, and have thought I would have picked up by now.
Actually that is quite rare. In general bipolar with psychotic features has one aspect that is different from schizoaffective disorder such as I have made a relative recovery from. In schizoaffective disorder a person experiences psychosis all the time. In bipolar with psychotic features a person only experiences psychosis during moodswings so it may appear to come and go but if a person experiences psychosis then generally that doesn't go into remmission and a person needs an antipsychotic for life.
It is interesting what you said about thyroid problems mimicing bipolar symptoms. My grandmother and her mother both spend considerable periods of time in mental institutions, and later found out that they suffered from thyroid disorders, had them treated and recovered. This also happened to a former work colleague more recently.
I don't think that it applies to me, because when I had a thyroid test it came back bordering on clinical hypothyroid, which is puzzling as when my aunty had it she got really overweight and I am still quite thin and am eating normally, so I guess I have nothing to worry about, but I do have to go back for tests every now and then.
I don't think that it applies to me, because when I had a thyroid test it came back bordering on clinical hypothyroid, which is puzzling as when my aunty had it she got really overweight and I am still quite thin and am eating normally, so I guess I have nothing to worry about, but I do have to go back for tests every now and then.
I believe that some people do at some time level out. And sometimes it turns out that they didn't have exactly what they were diagnosed with in the first place. But doctors love to push pills. It is possible that someday you may be better. But it is also possible that you may not.
I was diagnosed with it as well, and on pills since age 10. But I always wanted to be able to go a day without being run by chemicals. I wanted to stop meds and never be on them again. So I did. And ironically we soon later found out that my bipolar was caused by something else. A parathyroid tumor. Most people haven't heard of the parathyroid. But there are four little glands located near the thyroid gland called the parathyroid glands. I had an uncommon disease called Hyperparathyroidism that many doctors don't know much about. I believe that there are a lot of people who do that are only getting the symptoms, such as bipolar, treated, rather than getting the actual cause taken care of due to not knowing there is something else.
Hyperparathyroidism causes other things aside from mental disorder. A common sign of hyperparathyroidism will be kidney stones, bone pains, and high calcium levels in your blood. You can also be checked by having your PTH (parathyroid hormone) level checked in your blood. Having high calcium in your blood is almost NEVER normal, despite what most general doctors think, because they don't know. Even if your regular calcium level is not high in your blood, your ionized calcium in it might be. But this isn't tested for as often because it is more expensive and specific.
Anyway, once we found out that one of my parathyroid glands had grown into a benign tumor and caused all of this, I had a surgery in which it was removed and that cures everything. Though I may have another that was not seen at the time which is still affecting me, but to a lesser extent since there are not two. But most people only have one. Or they have four overly large glands that are not adenomas (benign tumors) and it needs to be dealt with as well. But my mental symptoms got better immediately. Changed my life forever, in a great way. So you may want to have that checked out. Not saying it will be the case for you, but it's possible.
I was diagnosed with it as well, and on pills since age 10. But I always wanted to be able to go a day without being run by chemicals. I wanted to stop meds and never be on them again. So I did. And ironically we soon later found out that my bipolar was caused by something else. A parathyroid tumor. Most people haven't heard of the parathyroid. But there are four little glands located near the thyroid gland called the parathyroid glands. I had an uncommon disease called Hyperparathyroidism that many doctors don't know much about. I believe that there are a lot of people who do that are only getting the symptoms, such as bipolar, treated, rather than getting the actual cause taken care of due to not knowing there is something else.
Hyperparathyroidism causes other things aside from mental disorder. A common sign of hyperparathyroidism will be kidney stones, bone pains, and high calcium levels in your blood. You can also be checked by having your PTH (parathyroid hormone) level checked in your blood. Having high calcium in your blood is almost NEVER normal, despite what most general doctors think, because they don't know. Even if your regular calcium level is not high in your blood, your ionized calcium in it might be. But this isn't tested for as often because it is more expensive and specific.
Anyway, once we found out that one of my parathyroid glands had grown into a benign tumor and caused all of this, I had a surgery in which it was removed and that cures everything. Though I may have another that was not seen at the time which is still affecting me, but to a lesser extent since there are not two. But most people only have one. Or they have four overly large glands that are not adenomas (benign tumors) and it needs to be dealt with as well. But my mental symptoms got better immediately. Changed my life forever, in a great way. So you may want to have that checked out. Not saying it will be the case for you, but it's possible.
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