Hi. I too am bipolar. I was dx'd w/PCOS last year. I had a hysteroscopy and d&c. The gyno sent me to an endo bc she wants me to take OCP to protect my uterus but my PCP thinks it's too risky bc of my cholesterol. The endo wants to put me on Met, Lipitor, and OCP. I already take meds for Bipolar, hypothyroidism, asthma, and anemia. I'm a little scared to take so much more. But I feel so tired all the time I can't do anything and no matter what I do I can't lose weight. I feel like a failure. I can't think - my brain feels like it's in a fog. So if this will work I guess I'll give it a try. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Does PCOS make the Bipolar worse? I know my PMS is totally out of control and I take 40mg of Prozac. So if the new meds will help I'll try. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
i decided to jump on the banwagon
i was diagnosed just a few days ago, still new to it all and trying to learn more. i look forward to getting to know everyone. :]
Greetings
I was diagnosed w/ ADD when I was very young, Bipolar 2 a few years ago, and w/ PCOS in March (symptoms for longer then that). I'm currently taking 125mg of Lamictal (on my way up to 200mg) and once that is right I'm going back on Adderall and maybe a antidepressant/antianxiety med as well. I went through a little denial phase about the Bipolar thinking it was just bad ADHD when i was hypomanic but all it toook was Adderall on it's own to tell me I was wrong. It made me so jittery I was practically climbing the walls. It's good to see this forum here
hey everybody,
I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was sixteen. I've always been known for my peculiar mood swings, ranging from violent fits on people I never, ever would hurt when I feel stable, for no visible reason, to moods where I am completely reclusive for months at a time. Sometimes, I have difficulty sleeping and can't find a way to relax. I'm afraid to go to the doctor because I don't want to be told that there's nothing wrong, because I know the truth. What am I supposed to do?
By the way, I'm starting to believe that there truly is a link between PCOS and Bipolarity. This is definitely something that should get studied more.
__________________ everything was beautiful & nothing hurt
U could be right. I have awful mood swings at times, but feel so bad afterwards, but u can control it. Hard I know, but in my experience it is normally only some people u feel comfy enough to be grumpy with. I have decided I need to try harder not to be so moody, hard but a good chat helps, good luck.
This is all so interesting! I just had my fourth (and last) daughter on Feb 26th this year. I finally got pregnant with Grace after being treated with Metformin which helped me to start ovulating again. I have also been treated for bipolar 2 for about two years. What I find interesting is that I still had mood swings while pregant, but over-all felt much better than I have in a while. Now that I am 3 months post partum I feel terrible again. Tired, depressed and growing facial hair. :-( ...sigh. I am taking small doses of Paxil and Lamictal, and occasionally Ambien to help me sleep. I can't handle much more than the smallest doses of medication without terrible side effects, and often times I have to break those in half. I am really curious about the relationship between bipolar and PCOS. I just came across this tonight so I have alot of reading to do!
It is so frustrating to be taking so many meds, and still feel like !@@#$%.....I also have severe PMS, and have been treated for PCOS in the past. I am going to have my thyroid checked again soon to see if it is making me feel so depressed. I know I have some "baby blues" going on as my hair just started falling out and baby is 3 1/2 months old. The mood stabilizer makes me feel so zoned out! No wonder it works for bipolar, it's like a labotomy in a bottle! I do not go into a full blown manic episode when I am off... jut get EXTREMELY irritable and mad at everyone which is not fun.
She has been diagnosed since she was 18, a couple decades ago... although she is not too stable at this moment. I just never knew before, but her hair has thinned growing up, she has weight she can not get rid of and excessive hair as well as a lack of cycle. I think it might help her to know there might be a possible reason behind these.
Thanks, I think I will, one of her biggest regrets is going from curly thick hair to straight thin hair, so I might start there.
Thanks much!
Liz
Are you treating your PCOS with diet and exercise, or both Bipolar/PCOS? I work with a girl who I believe is bipolar, but keeps herself thin, healthy, and exercises alot. She takes no meds, and does well most of the time. I am intrigued. Did you fins any particular research on this that I could read up on?
Don't forget me, jk lol.
I was diagnosed bipolar when I was 14, after many bad "situations," so it has been almost 9years...Im still on meds, not the ones that help the most due to lack of insurance but am doing better than when I was a teen (tg). Im also diagnosed, of course, PCOS, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis and now my doc upped my metformin not only for pcos treatment but for high blood sugar...argh.
Thought I'd add my list, it does help to know there are others.
Take care all *many hugs*
Also any of you tried abilify? My physchiatrist put me on it when I was 17 and it worked wonders I was on it for a couple of years until I lost all insurance and my Tribal doc office/pharmacy stopped giving it to "direct" patients(decendants not enrolled members)...now back on depakote and effexor (keeps me ok, but still get depressed and sometimes majorly for a month or longer, manias are fewer than w/out meds). I see the comercials a ton now, for using w/othe antidepressants, but it is also used for bipolar and some other illnesses)...just wondering if anyone has had it and did it work well for you too?
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DF 30 DD 7yrs(2/06/02) miscarriage(12/28/03) fur babies and many nonfur babies (ratties hairless and haired) aziza kitty AKA Meowmeow.(all black fluffy with sweatpants) and Mr. Chinchy the chinchilla.
Last edited by missyrooloo; 06-13-2009 at 05:58 AM.
Reason: addeed a Q
I'm 20 years old and I was diagnosed as being bi-polar when I was 13. (I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 12) I was in a very severe manic state. I was hallucinating, lashing out at people, harming myself...among other things. It took months of talking to doctors, staying in the hospital and trying different medicine before a diagnosis was finally made. It was a very difficult time for me. Later on, when I was 16, I began to go down hill. I went through it for months without anyone taking notice to it. I stopped taking my medication, and before too long, I ended up in the hospital with bandages around my wrists. People often ask me about the very noticeable scar I have on my left wrist that runs down and sideways, and I always tell them that I cut myself on glass because I don't want them to know the truth behind it. I'm so thankful that I was found that day, or else I wouldn't be here. I'm glad that I'm now back on track, taking my medicine every day like I should, and feeling good emotionally.
I was diagnosed Bipolar type II at 16, and the diagnosis has been confirmed by each psychiatrist I have seen. I've been on and off medications - spent about 3 years trying to find the right meds, then I just gave up trying and determined that I had to learn how to manage it myself. Besides some severe PPD after my son was born, I have managed to control my symptoms fairly well, but I still have pretty bad days now and then. I found that going off of synthetic hormones made a *huge* difference. I still have the hypomanic and the severe depressive episodes, I still rapid-cycle occasionally, but I can manage it a lot better without meds since I'm not on the synthetic hormones. I find exercise and vegetables incredibly helpful with controling symptoms.
When life gets hard, I take a walk.
I'm 22 now, and separated from my husband, and will be filing for divorce in September. I was just diagnosed with PCOS yesterday, and I'm worried about how my brain will react to being on provera frequently.
Feeling Overwhelmed by so many Meds 
