Okay...Question?
Do any of you feel like there is a switch inside of you? What I mean is my depression will all of a sudden come back almost like someone turned the lights out. It happens very quickly within a matter of hours, may last a week or two and then just as suddenly as it comes it goes. I went from the last couple of weeks battling suicidal thoughts, low energy, difficultly eating, etc. to euphoric feeling within a matter of an afternoon. I don't understand it, nor do I seem to be able to control it. Now I cont. to feel great. Sunday I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the day. By Tuesday afternoon, the world was the greatest place to be and I was capable of anything. The thing is it is scary because I don't know what causes these extremes, nor can I predict when the next change is going to happen. Anyone else like this?
Mandy
Have you talked to your doctor? Sometimes I wish I would have some high times. I can't sleep because I'm too busy hoping I won't wake back up. So, I'm halfway there with you. Have you researched bipolar? If you haven't already, please talk to your doctor about treatment. I know first hand how scary depression can be, and although I do have some pretty intense mood swings, I never experience euphoria. Mine always seem to go to anger. I know this probably didn't help, but just wanted you to know that someone's here for you.
__________________ Sandy-29. Single and actually liking it at the moment.
Mommy to a 70 pound lap dog, my big boxer baby Tyson and a 15 year old blind shih tzu.
Diagnosed with PCOS in 2003.
Medications include Lamictal 100 mg, Lexapro 20 mg, and Trazadone 150 mg for Bipolar Disorder. Starting Femcon Sept '08. Gotta get this big ugly PCOS monster back under control!
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it may be bipolar. the sudden mood swings from deep depression to euphoria are a hallmark of this diagnosis. you should go see your doctor and get checked out to rule out anything medical going on though or a possible medication side effect. your md can refer you to a therapist and/or psychiatrist for further follow-up.
i was recently diagnosed bipolar, but i am primarily depressive. my mood swings can sometimes happen quickly and without provocation, which is how my primary doctor picked up on it. i tend to have symptoms that are more "hypomanic" when i am feeling "up"- i get restless, irritable, have more energy, can't sleep... then when i would swing the other way, my mood would "crash", hard. i was like this for years, and just figured it was a personality quirk. now that i'm finally getting medicated i am slowly feeling better. i am at least not having the extremes of mood anymore.
i know how scary it can be, especially when you can't predict how you are going to feel. *hugs*
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The thought of bipolar has occured to me. I am a nurse and used to work in the ER and the thought of that diagnosis scares the crap out of me, because I saw too often how hard that can be to control. I keep wishing it will go away and I won't have to deal with it. I am sure that will fix it! J/k. (Denial, man's best friend) I don't know. I guess if it doesn't settle down I will have to talk to my doc. I do already see a psychiatrist due to the difficulties getting my depression under control this fall. Thanks for your opinions! By the way, isenephthys, have meds worked well for you? And what do you take?
Mandy
Please try not to be afraid Mandy. That kept me away from meds despite knowing I was Bipolar for years. It worsened during that time and now I wish I had started medication earlier.
Bipolar is actually one of the easiest of the mental illnesses to control with medication. It doesn't often feel that way, but it's true! Once your doctor finds a medication or medications that get and keep you stable life becomes much easier. We still have to be careful about getting enough sleep and never going off of those medications, but the difference is like night and day!
You didn't ask me, but I'm going to tell ya anyway I take Neurontin and Zonegran as my mood stabilizers and Geodon as a kind of "back up" mood stabilizer for when things get rocky. My moods cycle rapidly as well, and the anti-seizure medications (like the two I'm on) work best for that they've found. I'm hoping to wean off of the Neurontin this month as it's caused me a bit of weight gain while Zonegran seems to help me lose weight, and I'm all for that! There's a myriad of various medications out there for your doctor to try and the newer ones do not have the horrible side effects that medications had even five years ago.
Life can be so much better without those moodswings! Even if it's a bit rough finding the right medication you generally won't end up any worse than you are untreated, that's for sure.
Dana
__________________ Me (33)/Michael (3o) Together for almost nine long, happy years!
First PCOS dx: 1989 Supplements: One A Day Weight Smart, B Complex, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid (B5), B12, Saw Palmetto, Vit C, Vit D3, NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chromium Piconolate, Cinnamon, Magnesium, EPO, Zinc Gluconate, Green Tea Diet: "Modified" Zone plan
"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her" -Anon.
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mandy, i understand your hesitation in wanting to seek a diagnosis; it does carry a bit of a stigma and being a healthcare worker (especially in er) i'm sure you saw the worst side of things when people were left untreated or off their meds. i'm a nurse also and i put off getting mental help until i just hit rock bottom. i wouldn't wish it on anyone. even caregivers need care and there is absolutely no shame in seeking that care for yourself. talk to your psychiatrist as soon as possible about the rapid mood swings; that is something that he/she will want to know about.
i'm not going to lie and say that life since diagnosis (dx'ed in october) has been a bed of roses b/c it hasn't been. it's not all bad, and it is slowly improving each day. it's taken a some time to find meds that work for me; i need something to pull me out of my depression and stabilize my mood w/out making my weight gain and pcos worse. ugh! i am currently on prozac 20 mgs daily, zonegran 300 mg daily (and will most likely titrate up to 400 mg on that one soon). i also take klonopin 0.5 mg bid and 0.5 mg xanax prn for anxiety/panic attacks (which have been less and less these days! )
the meds that *did NOT* work for me were seroquel- we rapidly titrated that up to 100 mg bid b/c i inititally presented with severe restlessness, insomnia, racing thoughts... had some hypomania/near-mania going on there. well, i slept for a month, gained a bunch of weight (i don't know how much, i didn't have a scale then, but i'd guess about 10-15 pounds.) and swung into a deep depression. i am just now coming out of the depression! we stopped that damned seroquel (although i've got the rest on hand in case of wicked insomnia!) the next set of meds were prozac 20 mg and zyprexa 5 mg daily (generic for symbyax. we did it that way so we could titrate the prozac and zyprexa as needed.) i began to feel better pretty quickly on this combo. zyprexa is pretty good for rapid mood stabilization. after a month or so on zyprexa, i had lost some of the "seroquel weight" but b/c of concerns about developing diabetes and wanting to lose weight and still feeling rather depressed, i asked my md to switch to zonegran.
that's my story, and i'm sticking to it. i know this is a little lengthy, but i hope it helps some.
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Thanks for the info guys! I have been doing a little research today on the internet (yes I know how accurate all that can be), but from what I have seen I definately think I could be bipolar II. With the medication you guys mentioned... are they safe with pregnancy? A big part of the problem is that we are TTC #1 and I am HUGELY afraid of taking too much with medicine because I know that not a lot of meds are class A (completely safe with preg). My psychiatrist and I have combed through the PDR looking for something to decrease the anxiety and irritability that I am experiencing with the Wellbutrin I am on so we can up the dose of that and all anti-anxiety meds are class D. So I don't know. It doesn't feel too promising. (I have already had a bad reaction to SSRI's and he would prefer to avoid those). My "hypomanic" states (as I call them) do not interfe are with anything severely. They just leave me feeling completely overwhelmed because in a course of a few days I have attempted to take on every task in the world. But nothing destructive. So I am not sure if I really need meds or not. I guess I need to talk to my psych and let him know about this. I haven't yet because since they haven't been interferring with anything like the depression, I didn't think it was a big deal. Now I am beginning to think it could be because it leaves me feeling so unstable. Anyhow, I am beginning to ramble. On the plus side I am beginning to feel more myself after the last few weeks. Thank Goodness! Mandy
i jst want to say i know exactly how you feel i'm feeling like that now i was feeling so good on tuesday and then on wednesday and this morning i'm feeling so bad i wanna cut and jst ugh i hate wen i get like this i jst want to feel like i did on tuesday and i don't even have a real reason for my mood to drop so suddenly but then i'm not surprised been like this for years
lyndsey
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Anyone feel like this? 
I take Neurontin and Zonegran as my mood stabilizers and Geodon as a kind of "back up" mood stabilizer for when things get rocky. My moods cycle rapidly as well, and the anti-seizure medications (like the two I'm on) work best for that they've found. I'm hoping to wean off of the Neurontin this month as it's caused me a bit of weight gain while Zonegran seems to help me lose weight, and I'm all for that! There's a myriad of various medications out there for your doctor to try and the newer ones do not have the horrible side effects that medications had even five years ago.
i am currently on prozac 20 mgs daily, zonegran 300 mg daily (and will most likely titrate up to 400 mg on that one soon). i also take klonopin 0.5 mg bid and 0.5 mg xanax prn for anxiety/panic attacks (which have been less and less these days! 
)
