Does anyone here ever feel a 'pre-warning' that a manic or hypomanic episode is coming on? I felt pretty bad anxiety for a couple days before the hypomania started both times I've had hypomanic episodes. Just wondering... :) thanks!
I feel like I get that built up tension feeling as well. This is why it is still hard for me to believe that my actions are bi-polar. I just feel like it is my emotions getting the better of me. I am still having a hard time understanding all this bi-polar stuff, so I am also curious if others have this same built up tension that we seem to before we have our manic episodes?
I was also wondering what you were terming as a manic episode. For me it generally is raging at my daughter, or hitting her and not really stopping. Yes I know I need more help, and I am trying to get it. Would you classify this as a manic episode?
I don't know a whole lots about BP, this is relatively new to me too. Manic episodes need to last a minimum of a week and hypomanic episodes need to last a minimum of 4 days for the DX of BP I and II respectively. Shorter durations might mean BP NOS (Not otherwise specified - or doesn't fully meet the criteria for either I or II). I get quite irritable when I am hypomanic.
My hypomanic symptoms are something like this:
-Decreased need for sleep
-Feel "high as a kite", very happy but at the same time easier to irritate
-Feeling hypersensitive to things around me like different noises, conversations, touch etc. I feel like my skin is 'crawling' and that everything around me is just buzzing.
-Thoughts racing through my head faster than I can process them. All I can do is think think think and can't relax my mind at all because when I'm hypomanic all I can do is move around and think and talk.
-Increased energy. I feel like I can accomplish alot in an unreaslistic time frame. I have worked a 12 hour day and still cleaned my house top to bottom, exercised for an hour and had several phone conversations.
To some degree mania/hypomania feels good. I feel like when I get the pre-signs like more anxiety its like its building and building up and that eventually the episode will reach a peak. During the peak I feel very strange like I almost feel like I'm floating out of my body. I am also constantly paranoid when I am hypomanic, like someone at work or a family member will comment on my unusual behaviour and I try really really hard to hide all the energy. I've had people joke around saying things like 'Are you drunk?!' 'Slow down!!!' etc and it shows me they notice the increased energy and the change in my behaviour but I'm just so scared they will figure out the BP or think I'm on drugs or something.
I'm so happy to have this board! I find it really hard to talk about BP with people in person and haven't told many ppl in my family. Just DH, a cousin and a close friend. I'm seeing the pdoc today so I can get some more anwers and talk about meds (I'm not on anything right now).
Hope I've helped somewhat! Tell me more about you.
Thank you for all that information. That really helps me. I can see myself in a lot of what you said;
-the nerves being really sensitive. Even when my husband touches or hugs me can my nerves go crazy and make me cringe
-not feeling the need to sleep, or laying in bed for hours upon hours and not feeling one bit sleepy. And wanting to get out of bed and clean all night long
-wanting to accomplish a lot of things in a short amount of time
-I also have a lot of thoughts running threw my head making it hard for me to concentrate on simple things like buying something; trying to remember my pin number, or how to slide the card threw the machine. Things I normally do with out thinking
But in other ways I don't feel the same as you. I feel happy but I am more stressed and irritable than I am happy.
I haven't normally noticed it being days or a week long period of time, but right now I feel have been noticing it for a few days, and it seems like I keep getting irritable more and more each day. I ended up hitting my daughter a lot last night (right before I posted to your message). And while I was hitting her, I kept thinking "I shouldn't be doing this...I don't want to hurt her" But regardless of these thoughts I kept right on hitting her. I simply didn't feel in control of myself. But yet I was in control at the same time, because I had a urge to smack her across the face but at the last minute I hit her shoulder instead. After it was all over I ended up going into the other room and immediatly got on the internet trying to find ways to help myself. I am currently on Celexa, but only 10 mg. I was on Paxil at 20 mg but got off due to my pregnancy and didn't even want to get back on any medicine but was fearful of what would happen to my dd if I didn't. But I think I might have my doctor up it to 20 mg again. Even though I hate being on these drugs.
Sorry I went on and on like that. But long story short, thank you for helping me understand a little more what your manic episodes are.
Alisha
Mother to Taylor (4), BreeAnee (22 months), and Stacie (10 weeks)
Normally when I am edging towards mania it happens very gradually. First, I start to have trouble sleeping. Then, I have lots of energy for a bit. Then, I stop eating (that's when I start to worry and really try to get something done about it.)
So yeah, I'd say I normally have a lot of warning. But this weekend, I went delusional without warning. More on that in another post...
Alisha, first of all congrats on the new baby. This is just something that I have read and heard about a lot but if you are BP you should be on a mood stabilizer first before going on any anti-depresents ie. Celexa, and Paxil. Anti-depresents without a mood stabilizer can cause rapid cycling so that your cycles are very short and more of them. Just my two cents but I would talk to my PDOC about it before he ups your Paxil. Brenda
I never knew that!!!! WoW!!!! That is good information, I am suprised that no one has told me this before. Especially my doctors! I am going to call them up immediatley. I have been on anti-depressants for over 3 years now, and this is the first time I have heard that.
My friend's son was just diagnosed with BP, and they put him on a mood stabilizer, but I thought it was just equal to anti-depressant not that I needed both. Thank you so much.
Alisha
Mother to Taylor (4), BreeAnee (22 months), and Stacie (10 weeks).
P.S. Thank you for the congrats on my little Stacie!!
I feel like I get that built up tension feeling as well. This is why it is still hard for me to believe that my actions are bi-polar. I just feel like it is my emotions getting the better of me. I am still having a hard time understanding all this bi-polar stuff, so I am also curious if others have this same built up tension that we seem to before we have our manic episodes?
I was also wondering what you were terming as a manic episode. For me it generally is raging at my daughter, or hitting her and not really stopping. Yes I know I need more help, and I am trying to get it. Would you classify this as a manic episode?
I don't know a whole lots about BP, this is relatively new to me too. Manic episodes need to last a minimum of a week and hypomanic episodes need to last a minimum of 4 days for the DX of BP I and II respectively. Shorter durations might mean BP NOS (Not otherwise specified - or doesn't fully meet the criteria for either I or II). I get quite irritable when I am hypomanic.
My hypomanic symptoms are something like this:
-Decreased need for sleep
-Feel "high as a kite", very happy but at the same time easier to irritate
-Feeling hypersensitive to things around me like different noises, conversations, touch etc. I feel like my skin is 'crawling' and that everything around me is just buzzing.
-Thoughts racing through my head faster than I can process them. All I can do is think think think and can't relax my mind at all because when I'm hypomanic all I can do is move around and think and talk.
-Increased energy. I feel like I can accomplish alot in an unreaslistic time frame. I have worked a 12 hour day and still cleaned my house top to bottom, exercised for an hour and had several phone conversations.
To some degree mania/hypomania feels good. I feel like when I get the pre-signs like more anxiety its like its building and building up and that eventually the episode will reach a peak. During the peak I feel very strange like I almost feel like I'm floating out of my body. I am also constantly paranoid when I am hypomanic, like someone at work or a family member will comment on my unusual behaviour and I try really really hard to hide all the energy. I've had people joke around saying things like 'Are you drunk?!' 'Slow down!!!' etc and it shows me they notice the increased energy and the change in my behaviour but I'm just so scared they will figure out the BP or think I'm on drugs or something.
I'm so happy to have this board! I find it really hard to talk about BP with people in person and haven't told many ppl in my family. Just DH, a cousin and a close friend. I'm seeing the pdoc today so I can get some more anwers and talk about meds (I'm not on anything right now).
Hope I've helped somewhat! Tell me more about you.
Thank you for all that information. That really helps me. I can see myself in a lot of what you said;
-the nerves being really sensitive. Even when my husband touches or hugs me can my nerves go crazy and make me cringe
-not feeling the need to sleep, or laying in bed for hours upon hours and not feeling one bit sleepy. And wanting to get out of bed and clean all night long
-wanting to accomplish a lot of things in a short amount of time
-I also have a lot of thoughts running threw my head making it hard for me to concentrate on simple things like buying something; trying to remember my pin number, or how to slide the card threw the machine. Things I normally do with out thinking
But in other ways I don't feel the same as you. I feel happy but I am more stressed and irritable than I am happy.
I haven't normally noticed it being days or a week long period of time, but right now I feel have been noticing it for a few days, and it seems like I keep getting irritable more and more each day. I ended up hitting my daughter a lot last night (right before I posted to your message). And while I was hitting her, I kept thinking "I shouldn't be doing this...I don't want to hurt her" But regardless of these thoughts I kept right on hitting her. I simply didn't feel in control of myself. But yet I was in control at the same time, because I had a urge to smack her across the face but at the last minute I hit her shoulder instead. After it was all over I ended up going into the other room and immediatly got on the internet trying to find ways to help myself. I am currently on Celexa, but only 10 mg. I was on Paxil at 20 mg but got off due to my pregnancy and didn't even want to get back on any medicine but was fearful of what would happen to my dd if I didn't. But I think I might have my doctor up it to 20 mg again. Even though I hate being on these drugs.
Sorry I went on and on like that. But long story short, thank you for helping me understand a little more what your manic episodes are.
Alisha
Mother to Taylor (4), BreeAnee (22 months), and Stacie (10 weeks)
Normally when I am edging towards mania it happens very gradually. First, I start to have trouble sleeping. Then, I have lots of energy for a bit. Then, I stop eating (that's when I start to worry and really try to get something done about it.)
So yeah, I'd say I normally have a lot of warning. But this weekend, I went delusional without warning. More on that in another post...
Express!
Beth "Petrouchka"
This is just something that I have read and heard about a lot but if you are BP you should be on a mood stabilizer first before going on any anti-depresents ie. Celexa, and Paxil. Anti-depresents without a mood stabilizer can cause rapid cycling so that your cycles are very short and more of them.
Just my two cents but I would talk to my PDOC about it before he ups your Paxil.
Brenda
I never knew that!!!! WoW!!!! That is good information, I am suprised that no one has told me this before. Especially my doctors! I am going to call them up immediatley. I have been on anti-depressants for over 3 years now, and this is the first time I have heard that.
My friend's son was just diagnosed with BP, and they put him on a mood stabilizer, but I thought it was just equal to anti-depressant not that I needed both. Thank you so much.
Alisha
Mother to Taylor (4), BreeAnee (22 months), and Stacie (10 weeks).
P.S. Thank you for the congrats on my little Stacie!!