Menopausal Women and Bipolar Medications.

[Bluetwo]

I was on the same medications since 1994.
I was on Wellbutrin and Clonzepam.
I had my ups and downs with the meds but I recovered very quickly.

This recent episode was a real doozy. It really knocked me off my feet and the recovery has been really slow.
I had to switch to another medication and start from scratch again.

I'm on Lamotrigine...I started two weeks ago and I started the next dose this monday.
No infamous rash yet and my dosage is up to 50 mg.
I take a tablet in the morning and one in the evening.

When I first started I could feel the frontal cortex...if you know what I mean...it kind of tingled!
My moods shifted from here to there.
Some days I feel okay.
Next days I feel tired.
Some days I feel grouchy.
Some days I feel okay.

But it was better than three weeks ago. I was in mania and couldn't come down. I didn't sleep for 5 days.
It's been a hellacious roller coaster ride since early March.

I just wondering if I was going through manopause...I did remember having hot flashes in class.

Or was my Collaspe from the children I had to deal with for two weeks in March.
They were real monsters from hades.

I don't know why I didn't stop on the third day of sub job. It was a ESL class! I was reassured by the head honcho that the students were proficient in English but they were not.

The only reason why I didn't dropped the assignment because I firmly believe I was in my early stages of my mania.
I really thought everything was going swell.
I had a lot of energy...I wrote on the board...very talkative....I must of looked mad but nobody came in to pull me out.

I guess I was doing okay. I figured teachers compromised and didn't want to deal with the little demons even though they would get extra pay.

But I really paid for it with my health. As soon the gig was up I was flying high like a kite!
Then I had all these mixed moods. I felt awful. I went to the doctor because I was afraid I was going to crash into a deep depression.

It's just embarrassing. My kids went to the school and graduated from there. They still have friends in the high school and I'm sure they indirectly mentioned how high mommy was because this is not a common occurance for them. It's like experiencing the Halley's Comet for them.
And you know how the grapevine runs.

[Bluetwo]

I do deal with kids.
I'm just a sub.
When they drive me crazy....I take a five day break.
Teachers get jealous of my arrangement but I don't get the pay or benefits like they do.


Good luck on your meds.

[bastet56]

I am post menopausal as of 3yrs ago and until 2 yrs ago was pretty stable. I am now on my umpteeth antipsych med, just started a new one last night and life is a highway...... mine just has lots of hills and valleys. I've asked for a lobotomy but they won't give it.  I wasn't manic for years then *poof* this year I discovered the 'joys' of mixed episodes. If you remember the muscle cars of the 60's and 70's, think of one going full throttle, tires spinning, chained to a telephone pole.
Seems like a lot of doc get caught up in things like SAD, etc. Just trying to find the holy grail of BP I guess. Good Luck. Stay away from kids lol I drove a school bus and ended up back in the rubber room after only a month.  

[Bluetwo]

Thank you for comments.
I'm just bewildered how it happen.
I know I'll get better.
I do have faith in my med's because I did get well on the first batch I was on.
I should ask my doc about my menopause because that's all chemical reaction, right?
He is a big bug on SAD's.
He always asking if I get depressed during the wintertime. I said no.
I asked him about Spring time because that's when I have most troubles.
I usually get depressed never mania.

"life is like a box of chocolates you never know what your going to get."
Forrest Gump

Yeah...so true...but with our chocolates we don't know what type of nuts were going to get.

[ILADVOCATE]

A fair amount of women I know with bipolar including a friend had the worsening of bipolar at the onset of menopause. Its common. But after that passes it generally stabilizes. Speak to your psychiatrist about it but from what I have seen it does seem extreme for the time it is occuring and then it gradually gets better from there.