feeling the spiral

[hell1971]

I havent been on here for along time which is good because this means for me that I have been well, so some red flags are coming up to me and shouting out to me that I am getting sick again, at this point I am still in control and am not overwhelmed but I know that I am having mixed mood swings at the moment, I know I am having some hypomanic episodes and I feel the depression coming as I feel the slippery slope of sadness and obsessive thinking happening. I guess I dont know what to do, I am in the midst of a change of meds and I know that I am not at theraputic levels of either the epilim or the lamotrigen, I am weaning off the epilim and slowly very slowly increasing the lamotrigen, I am having to do it very very slow because although this was abit of a wonder drug for my last time I had it, I got the dreaded rash so my doc is trying to eliminate the risk by reintroducing it slowly to see if I can take it as it has been the only drug that has really worked for me. In the meantime what can I do to stay at least stable enough until my meds kick in......help I dont want to get sick again I just cant......

[lindahand]

I agree that a voicemail to the pdoc may be appropriate.

Use any relaxation systems that you know of. For Hypomania taking a breath in to the count of six, holding for three, breathing out through your mouth. Sounds too simple to work but it really does help 'trick' the brain into believing everything is okay and slowing it down. It is a help, no shooting stars or anything but it does help to cope.

Tanya

[yarrow]

Could you call your psychiatrist before your appt to at least leave a message saying that you think you might be in trouble?  My shrink lets his patients leave a voicemail if they're really concerned, and he always gets back to them quickly.

[hell1971]

Well just a little update, I think I am having a mixed episode, I am frantically driven and sorting things that dont need sorting till late into the night/morning, reading books in the late hours etc..etc.., feeling like I am fantastic and then suddenly I am exhausted and tearful and unmotivated and everything is a problem, even creating problems that logically I know are minor but I seem to not be able to control myself and I am blowing things out of all preportion. I know at the moment it is still very mild compared to the past but im scared of the huge crash I am probably going to get, I dont want to decide I have had enough, thoughts are frantically going through my mind, I am becoming obsessive and I have some anxiety about my daughter ( she is also ill ) and currently going through an unstable time and im sure this was probably the trigger as it has been in the past, I am having to deal with so many doctors its doing my head in. Not sure what I am asking, not anything really, just venting, no-one around me understands so I have no-one I can trust enough to talk too, just my physciatrist and Im not seeing him until late dec...

[jbaurley]

sometimes the flags arent anything to worry about.  i have had bipoar since 2002 and have been on what seems to be everything under the sun.  the lamotrigine is my wonder drug.  i am still at a fairly low dose but it does help.  i went through the constant mood swings/mania for years.  hopefully increasing the lamotrigine will help.  if you need someone to talk to i am here.

[adel_ezz]

forget about these flags. ignore them a little.
sometimes i have severe mood swings then all of a sudden they disappear.
weaning off the epilim and slowly very slowly increasing the lamotrigen is a good idea though.