Help. Just diagnosed as bipolar

[bringerofdestrution]

I'm looking for some advice, maybe an ear or two from those who understand and may be able to help me a little.

I've just been diagnosed as bipolar and I'm very much struggling. In ways it makes a lot of sense, but I'm currently finding dealing with the diagnosis and the current depression I am in incredibly difficult. Are there any of you who may have been through this who may be able to share some advice to get through this? I really want to CTB, but now I'm struggling with wondering whether I should give treatment a chance, but life is so so incredibly difficult it just seems hopeless.

Any advice would be so we'll received.

 

[Holu]

WELCOME TO THE CLUB FELLOW INSANE PERSON. (I'm BDBP2 so my experiences are gonna be less than similar if ur BP1).

As for whether or not you should give treatment try the antipsychotic(or if ur like me antipsychotic + antidepressant) and after 2-4 weeks where u genuinely feel more in the right state of mind, then evaluate if u still feel like continuing to ctb. Humans have the wonderful awareness that even when we aren't afflicted by significant pressures, our experiences and beliefs can still lead us to believe suicide is the answer. My advice is to just make sure it's you, not just the disorder which is causing your beliefs.

Anyways, aside from the sleepless nights and losing 100s of dollars in a week it's not so bad. Even if u are one of the overly silly people whose mania makes them think they have superpowers!

 

[DeathSleep]

I will share what happened to me and maybe it'll help in some little way. (or maybe not).

I went on the up and down roller coaster that is bipolar for years before I was diagnosed. Once diagnosed I was in denial even though it did make a lot of sense. I was put on a med that I kept going on and off of because I didn't believe I actually needed it. (I also seemed to think that the bipolar was kind of fun sometimes and it seemed like part of my identity or something because I'd always been like that.) Eventually I got so fed up with the bipolar that I gave the med another chance and I stayed on it for years finally realizing that it was in fact helping. That med was lithium. It seemed to help my bipolar but I got sick of the side effects that I put up with for far too long. Eventually I did stop taking it around the time that I took a whole bottle to CTB. (Before I realized how unreliable ODing is.) I was off meds for a few months then put on a different med... abilify. I greatly disliked the extreme restlessness that it caused but I stayed on it because it was keeping my bipolar in check and I didn't know what I should do at the time. The restlessness side effect eventually went away (after quite a while) and I'm still on it today. I'm actually kind of afraid to go off it now because of the side effect of starting it again but also because I know what it's like when I'm not doing anything for my bipolar.

Overall, does the med stop me from being bipolar? No. The swings are just not as extreme. I'm on an antidepressant as well. I don't know if it's because I'm a little older now but it seems exhausting looking back at what it was like and will be like if I stop my med. Sometimes I do miss being manic though. I have found that if I miss a day of taking my med I slip pretty hard into mania the next day. Which isn't as fun as it used to be for me.

That said, has being on a med for bipolar stopped me from wanting to CTB? For me, personally, that's a no. Being on a med may have actually made it a little harder to CTB though. I feel like I'd try more if I was super manic. I didn't feel like it hurt anything by trying meds for bipolar. Maybe it will change how you feel. Maybe it won't.

Sorry this got a little long.

 

[Worndown]

Not the end of the world. Therapy, meds and your accepting the reality go a long way to tackling the problem. Life may never be smooth but you can reduce the highs and lows.

 

[bringerofdestrution]

WELCOME TO THE CLUB FELLOW INSANE PERSON. (I'm BDBP2 so my experiences are gonna be less than similar if ur BP1).

As for whether or not you should give treatment try the antipsychotic(or if ur like me antipsychotic + antidepressant) and after 2-4 weeks where u genuinely feel more in the right state of mind, then evaluate if u still feel like continuing to ctb. Humans have the wonderful awareness that even when we aren't afflicted by significant pressures, our experiences and beliefs can still lead us to believe suicide is the answer. My advice is to just make sure it's you, not just the disorder which is causing your beliefs.

Anyways, aside from the sleepless nights and losing 100s of dollars in a week it's not so bad. Even if u are one of the overly silly people whose mania makes them think they have superpowers!

Thank you so much for your reply

I will share what happened to me and maybe it'll help in some little way. (or maybe not).

I went on the up and down roller coaster that is bipolar for years before I was diagnosed. Once diagnosed I was in denial even though it did make a lot of sense. I was put on a med that I kept going on and off of because I didn't believe I actually needed it. (I also seemed to think that the bipolar was kind of fun sometimes and it seemed like part of my identity or something because I'd always been like that.) Eventually I got so fed up with the bipolar that I gave the med another chance and I stayed on it for years finally realizing that it was in fact helping. That med was lithium. It seemed to help my bipolar but I got sick of the side effects that I put up with for far too long. Eventually I did stop taking it around the time that I took a whole bottle to CTB. (Before I realized how unreliable ODing is.) I was off meds for a few months then put on a different med... abilify. I greatly disliked the extreme restlessness that it caused but I stayed on it because it was keeping my bipolar in check and I didn't know what I should do at the time. The restlessness side effect eventually went away (after quite a while) and I'm still on it today. I'm actually kind of afraid to go off it now because of the side effect of starting it again but also because I know what it's like when I'm not doing anything for my bipolar.

Overall, does the med stop me from being bipolar? No. The swings are just not as extreme. I'm on an antidepressant as well. I don't know if it's because I'm a little older now but it seems exhausting looking back at what it was like and will be like if I stop my med. Sometimes I do miss being manic though. I have found that if I miss a day of taking my med I slip pretty hard into mania the next day. Which isn't as fun as it used to be for me.

That said, has being on a med for bipolar stopped me from wanting to CTB? For me, personally, that's a no. Being on a med may have actually made it a little harder to CTB though. I feel like I'd try more if I was super manic. I didn't feel like it hurt anything by trying meds for bipolar. Maybe it will change how you feel. Maybe it won't.

Sorry this got a little long.

Thank you for replying, this does help, a lot in fact

Not the end of the world. Therapy, meds and your accepting the reality go a long way to tackling the problem. Life may never be smooth but you can reduce the highs and lows.

Thank you

Not the end of the world. Therapy, meds and your accepting the reality go a long way to tackling the problem. Life may never be smooth but you can reduce the highs and lows.

Thank you

 

[Metalhead]

So relatable, you describe it so well.