Wondering if I'm bipolar

[metal_matt]

Last week I posted a thread about how I think I may be bipolar. Heres a link:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Bipolar-Disorder/Do-I-have-Cyclothymia-Bipolar-Disorder/show/987275?personal_page_id=580125&post_id=post_4611128


I haven't seen a doctor or therapist or anyone yet, but I will. Recently I've had a greater need for sleep. 2 days ago I slept for 11 hours and yesterday for 7, but I was still tired, I only woke up because my dad woke me up.

I've also had a lesser need for food. I don't feel like I'm full, but I don't feel hungry. I can eat,  but I don't feel the need to.

Also I was going through the forums and clicked a post about fluoxetine and taking it while your bipolar. Many people said that it was bad and could cause a manic state. I reading about manic states, I believe I had one while i was taking fluoxetine. I could never stop talking and everything was funny. I had too much energy then I could handle. I also think I may have had pressured speech at times.

[ILADVOCATE]

There's a lot of misinformation out there on the web. Wikipedia is only as accurate as the people who edit it and some of the studies they link to are not clinically accurate as well. Marijuana has never been of any help as a mood stabilizer or anti-depressent and might in fact worsen things including for people I know with depression or bipolar who tried it although it has a temporary effect of self medication which in the long run is actually detrimental. I've known family members who were in the recovery process and succeeded and it can be difficult but best to find a way to discontinue it as over time it does worsen things.

[metal_matt]

My parents broke up about 2 and a half years ago. It didn't bother me much because ever since I was little they would go through times where my dad moved out and they would both tell me they were getting divorces, so I was already prepared for that.

Last year when my depression started was when my mom got a new boyfriend and he was a drunk loser. He quit his job as soon as he met her and moved in in less than a month with his two kids who I hate. At first it was ok, I think he was just acting good around me at first because he didn't want to make a bad first impression, but after a month or two I started hating his whole family, as did my sisters also. They would drink every day, every night, and every morning. He got my mom to be an alcoholic and her personality just totally changed... I think that's what made me depressed. He even let his 13 and 16 year old kids drink and smoke. One day they were all wasted and they got in a fight with my sister, the next they were wasted again and got in a fight with my other sister. They went to court and got restraining orders. I testified in court and told the judge I wanted out of the house. She told me what I had to do, but she said that my best chance was a foster home, but I definitely didn't want that. So on my birthday my mom finally let me go to my sisters house and I stayed there for a few days then moved in with my dad. That was in August.

And about the drugs and alcohol. I am totally against alcohol, I've seen it screw up too many people's lives. I would never do cocaine, heroin, or anything else of the sort. I have however started using marijuana. It really helps my depression without making me manic. I don't use a lot of it. $20 can last me a month maybe 2. When I do I only take a couple hits for a day and I only do this once or twice a week. I've read it can be used as a mood stabilizer.

[Xila31]

Well, I will also say then that if your dad has a history of drug problems then you should try to avoid drugs and alcohol as that is also hereditary, and it really isn't good for anyone but especially for bipolar people or people on meds. I'm glad you feel better with your sisters. Perhaps you can all work together toward a better life. Just know that the whole world isn't like what you're living in right now. There are better places out there. I hope you find a better place.

[metal_matt]

Thanks Xila, reading yours it sounds alike also. Another thing I forgot to add is that my dad never let's me see my friends. So I'm always home. The only time I get to go out is when I'm with my sisters. I feel a lot happier with my sisters than with my dad. Due to my dad's bipolar disorder he got into cocaine in his early twenties. And when I was younger I saw him about once or twice a month. Every once in a while he would actually stay home. His excuse was he was at work because he worked pretty far away, but there's no reason for him to be gone weeks at a time. I guess that may be the reason I feel uneasy with my dad, but generally he makes everyone feel that way too.

[Xila31]

My doctor gave me a test to determin if I was positive for bipolar, and I did test positive on it. It is a written test you just check yes or no mostly. He then put me on this mood stabalizer but not an anti-depressant.

When I was in trauma a few years ago I would sleep for about 10 hours a day. I felt like I was frozen. I would force myself to eat, but the stress was so bad I was always sick to my stomach - not hungry or full. My depression was really bad. I wouldn't shower sometimes for a week. I was having major "flash backs" and grief and panic all the time. I could not drive anywhere alone without weeping the whole time. I read your story and it sounds like you live in trauma, my heart goes out to you.

My advice is to tell your doctor about how those other meds effected you. Take the test or whatever they need to do and get help. Also, maybe you should let someone know about what is happening in your home life, maybe there is some one who can help you. It seems like you're a teen from what I remember. If you can get into a more stable environment with a good routine that will probably help you with your moods.

[ILADVOCATE]

Pressured speech is when someone talks in a way that is rapid and they cannot focus on things and is a common symptom of mania from bipolar.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

What exactly is "pressured speech" anyway?  It makes me imagine someone with a tea kettle for a mouth about to blow up from pressure.

[metal_matt]

At first I thought that is what the fluoxetine was supposed to do, but After about a year I couldn't take it anymore. I was being weened off when i quit taking it. I decided i was going to stop taking it for a few days and if I had any bad changes I would go right back on it. When I stopped I felt a lot better. I wasn't depressed, but I wasn't manic. Everything's been fine, but recently the sleep and appetite issues have come up in the last few days.

[ILADVOCATE]

Generally psychiatrists would not use an anti-depressent alone for treating bipolar and use one with caution in addition to a mood stabilizer as they (especially an SSRI anti-depressent) can easily trigger mania. However, if you went to a psychiatrist and only explained about any depressive thoughts you had perhaps they misdiagnosed you. It would make sense to see another psychiatrist and explain fully what was going on so they could better treat it. I had the same experience with Anafranil (which was what was available at the time and in the same class) with a misdiagnosis and that made me manic so they might need to rediagnose you and then figure out treatment from there.