Cyclothymia advice
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| Tue, 05-30-2006 - 12:51pm |
Hello! I'm new to the board, but very glad to have found it. I was diagnosed by a counselor a couple of years ago with cyclothymia. Since then, I have been on Paxil 20 mg and Seroquel at night.
My family history is filled with alcoholism, which is believed to stem from self-medication. My father was an alcoholic, along with most of his brothers and my cousins. He started drinking at around 30 and died at 43 from cirrhosis. I have battled depression since college, but didn't start on meds until after the birth of my second child (my first child was only 9 1/2 months old when my second was born). That, in itself, is stressful enough. I was pregnant for basically 18 months straight. My hormones were a mess and I didn't care about anything. I started on Paxil and got relief. However, I have always had mood swings. I can do the whole spectrum of emtion in less than 60 seconds. I have anxiety attacks to where I don't want to leave my house, but at other times I feel there is nothing I can't do. At times, I can't force myself to do anything, other times I want to do everything at once. I want to be organized, but can't quite seem to get there. I feel like I'm fighting against myself and losing. Thankfully, I have a job that I do from home and the schedule is flexible.
I feel like I have ADHD, depression, and OCD with some mania sprinkled in and don't know what to do. I was on Strattera for ADHD (my sister has ADD and dyslexia), but really didn't notice a change.
I guess my question is how do I deal with the constant mood changes? The Seroquel makes me so sleepy that even the next day I feel "drugged". I want to be the good and happy mom and not have my head spinning. I have really great kids, but think they deserve a mom who has it "together".
Sorry this is so fragmented, just my mood today. Any suggestions would be great and thanks for reading so far.
Amy

Hi and Welcome !!
God could not be everywhere, so
I've never tried a stimulant. I'm going to make an appt to see about tinkering with my meds. I don't really want to be "normal", but I would like to be the outgoing girl I used to be. I've always had a gift of meeting people and I really enjoy that most of the time, but it seems that is a struggle now.
Any meds that have worked for you?
as far as add/hd meds?
God could not be everywhere, so
My kids are now 4 and 5. My son (5) is in T-ball and my daughter (4) is in dance. I go to activities, but find myself dreading them. Once I get out I'm usually OK, but the thought of going anywhere makes me a little anxious. I wonder how much of my anxiety is related to my menstrual cycle. It seems to be worse the week before. I'm 34 and you would think I would have this figured out. My 20s were horrible because I wasn't on meds until I was 30. I had three major depressive episodes where I contemplated suicide, but never followed through, thank goodness. My first major episode was right after college graduation. I really had no idea what was going on with me, but now I know.
I think I'll make an appt with my GYN and see if she can shed some light on it. If not, her husband is my family doc, so they can get together and see what needs to be done.
Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Amy & welcome:) Cyclothymia is basically the "outer-fringes" of bipolar disorder. In other words, the dsm IV doesn't yet recognize it as true bipolar, but anyone who has the disorder or any doc that knows what to look for knows better. You know your body and you know your mind. If you feel the seroquel is making you too groggy, talk to your pdoc and see if you could try something else. Sometimes it just takes a while to find the right med(s). Some people are lucky and find the right cocktail relatively quickly but then you have people like me who it's taken close to 2 years to get me on the right path. And then there are those who fall right in between. You sound like you're pretty stable so that may lead to a quicker resolution:)
So, my advice to you is to contact your pdoc and talk this out with him/her. And, always feel free to come here and post. We're a great group of ladies and are here for you:) Hang in there and keep us posted.
Hugs,
Traci
Thanks, Traci. I am fortunate that I don't have extremes of either mania or depression, but enough of a disturbance to affect parts of my life. I've had a job at home with a flexible schedule for the last 3 years, which has been a blessing, but until then going to work was somewhat of a challenge. I don't mind working, but find it easier to cope with things if I can do it at 2 in the morning if I want. Now, if I can't sleep, I can work at night and if I want to sleep during the day, I can do that. I now have a job that fits my schedule instead of me having to fit my work schedule. That has really helped tons. I think I'll make an appt to see what I can do. I have a friend that is an LCSW who can maybe point me in the right direction.
Thanks again to everyone!
Amy
I totally understand you. My mood swings have always been bad. I remember they started during elementry school and just got worse. Now I'm 31, still cant find the "right" medication for my bipolar disorder, and I'm so frustrated. I have a 16 month old son that I think the world of. I dont want him to grow up with such a strange mom. I try to be upbeat and fight my mood swings. Usually I just stay quiet if I feel like I'm raging. I never want him to see my anger. I'm in counseling and on this and that medication. I'm so frustrated!!
just needed to vent
jessica
I'm 34 and you would think I would have this figured out.
Well, I'm going to be 34 in another week...and I don't have it figured out either.
God could not be everywhere, so
It's so good to hear that there are others like me :) I know my PMS is terrible, but I can't take BCP because of my age, I'm a (closet) smoker (I know it's disgusting) and my mom has a history of DVT caused by hormone replacement. I really need to get back to the gym because I do feel better when I exercise, but just getting there is a job!
I do medical transcription. I originally started out doing it so that I could stay home with my kids, but I love it and it has really helped on my anxiety-filled days when otherwise I wouldn't be able to leave the house. I don't ever see myself going back to a job outside the home. Call me a hermit. My schedule is flexible, which is great, and a lot of people who do it have kids at home so my bosses are great about schedule tweaks.
I can't say thank you enough. It's a big relief just knowing I'm not the only one. I've been reading a lot on the anxiety board to for coping skills and there are awesome suggestions there, as well as here.
Thanks again.
Amy
Amy,
Not really anything new to add, but just wanted to say welcome.