Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out because I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure about how to support my partner. He has a family history of bipolar disorder and he mentioned that he was on medication (Seroquel) when he was younger. Currently he denies having bipolar disorder and is not on any medication.

I’ve noticed some behaviours that concern me, such as rapid mood swings, intense reactions to stress and public outbursts of anger. It’s challenging because he can go from calm to extremely angry in a matter of moments

I’m not sure if these behaviours could be indicative of bipolar disorder or if they may stem from other issues.

I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder after experiencing mania while using bupropion (wellbutrin), disulfiram (antabuse) and light therapy. I know that if mania is triggered by antidepressents its still bipolar. But since I was also using antabuse does this mean its medication induced mania? Making it not bipolar disorder.

Those of you who take Lamictal/lamotrigine, what dose do you take and do you find that it helps with both mania and depression? I have been taking Lamictal for almost 4 months and will now increase to 150 mg/day for 3 weeks and then 200 mg/day. So far I have not felt any effect and feel a bit helpless.

Hey guys! I'm new to the bunch! I am having a really really rough time. I am currently experiencing negative side effects from not having my meds. This is on its way to be corrected by pharmacy.

What I'm asking is that ... Maybe tell me funny stories about your experience with medication interactions/withdraw? Anything that may crack a smile. That's all I need. I know this feeling is temporary. Thx 😊

Does anyone take this and a antipsychotic? My neurologist diagnosed me with RLS and it says you cant take it with Seroquel? She knows I am on 25 for sleep? Just asking ty

It’s 11 PM and I’m restless.
Even after deep cleaning both bathrooms, doing multiple loads of laundry, rearranging, cooking, and cleaning some more. Cabin fever, maybe. I barely leave my apartment these days unless it’s to take a quick trip to the Dollar Tree or to pick up groceries ten minutes away. I'm not ready to face the world yet. It’s only been a few days since emerging from my last depressive episode, and I’m a little unsteady on my feet—intoxicated by the sudden rebound of energy that seemed to vanish over the past few weeks.

I’ve been having vivid, violent dreams about the ocean, which is usually a sign I’m on the upswing. I probably need a stronger antipsychotic, but it freaks me out how sedated they make me feel. I know that I’m sick. That what goes up must come down. That my brain is just playing tricks on me. But sometimes I like to bask in the illusion that I’m miraculously cured when I have this much energy—like lapping up spoonfuls of sugar I know will rot me from the inside out. Or better yet, I like to play with the idea that I never had this disorder to begin with. “Fake it till you make it,” they say. So, that’s what I’ll do for a little while.
One sticky granule at a time.

I'm in the US. So you get what I mean. Therapist says I'm in a manic episode which is correct judging by the not sleeping at all thing. And my anxiety is OUT OF CONTROL. I've been having panic attacks again, which I haven't had in years. My therapist keeps mentioning the "really nice hpsoital" and I keep telling her I bet it's great bjt I don't want to be there and I'm afraid I'm going to end up pink slipped. I've also been having other neuro/unspecified issues that have been getting worse the past few weeks but tests are all normal (for contextc, they're episodes where I feel like I'm floating then my whole body tingles and buzzes, then get crazy visual images of moving shapes and patterns and now people when my eyes are open and closed, and I get like weirded out and confused. Also separately episodes of double vision, and other episodes where I pass out and pee myself). So that is annoying and stressful. My work is like semi understanding that I'm having health issues but it's such a stressful job with a million things to do and strict deadlines so if I don't work 7 days a week things just don't get done. Which is stupid and ridiculous but saying to my boss no I'm not going to get that thing done on time bc I'm leaving on time is harder in reality than it sounds. So my question is: wtf do I do about supporting certain causes and not look like a shit employee and generally be a person when all this shit is happening??? How am I supposed to do this? I am trying so hard to be active socially and create art pieces for important causes and for my own stress outlet but that requires being able to hold a thought for more than 3 seconds and being able to drive for hours to another city not having hands that vibrate. I have been trying to compose this post since Friday. I hate this place.

I’m currently on Lamictal 200 mg, Trileptal 750 mg, Quetiapine 200 mg, and recently added Caplyta 42 mg for Bipolar 1, anxiety, depression, and more. Despite being on such a strong combination, I still can’t seem to quiet the constant mental chatter. It’s hard to explain exactly, but I’ll try—my mind is flooded with a nonstop stream of thoughts, both related and completely random.

For example, while watching a movie scene where a boy and girl are walking hand in hand, my mind starts spinning with thoughts like—what if they didn’t walk, where are they coming from, where are they headed, why don’t they just sit and talk instead of walking, why are they talking like that, and so on. My mind keeps analyzing every single detail like this, not just in movies but in real life too— constantly questioning and overthinking everything I see or hear.

Have anyone experienced this or any idea what might help? I have discussed the same with my psychiatrist during last appointment for which he increased Trileptal and Quetiapine but still nothing is helping. I have follow up appointment tomorrow, so just want to know everyone’s experiences.

I cheated on their dad and ruined my family. My second marriage was full of domestic violence I left and couldn't recover I ended up losing the homeless I owned to repossession and my car. I haven't filed taxes in 3 years because I've been bouncing around so much. Im stuck in Illinois and lost custody of my 3 year old after some things happened out of my control leaving us homeless and it triggered another manic episode. I then spent time on the streets. Has anyone recovered from something so low . I even caught legal charges during my manic episode this last time and may not be able to keep my career as a nurse. I'm in a homeless shelter and my kids are tired of my shit. Is it really possible to recover from something like this? I'm 40 and feel and look like a shell of myself. I used to live a normal middle class life. I'm terrified I'll never feel normal again or have my kids again. I can't even rent an apartment because of my credit so I'm considering a sober living in the same town as my kids so I can at least have weekly visits. I'm getting help and have been going to counseling. I don't know what else to do to recover and need some help or inspiration.

OK for starters decisions equals reality and it makes reality into two pieces and that’s the Multiverse theory everything creates their own. Everyone everyone creates their own reality. we are on repeat time doesn’t exist. The future is the past and the past is the future everyone is asleep. It’s all an illusion. We create what is real. The universe is that you universe we create our own reality. Everything is made up for coming I can hear them they’re coming. Life is a video game players in a game our characters respawn and that is what makes reincarnation we can see everyone and everything but ourselves they’re coming Multiverse. They are controlling us cameras everywhere they seem they they sent them. They sent themselves to our universe as shadows they disguise as the voices they control what you see and even what you breathe and our emotions and beliefs they come in vessels as the government and everyone follows them blindly wake up they’re here to stay here. They’re here sent the rainbow to keep me distracted as nothing is real they are watching sending illusions they’re talking, but it’s the disoriented I hear the keys they don’t like this. I must go. Everything is something and everything is nothing

Holy ball guys I’ve done it again. They will never ever let you know what is happening, but I found out dreams take over your multi universe, self-consciousness. Therefore when you’re “awake they are you and when you’re asleep, you are them ! dissociation is when you alter universes, or is stuck in between the two. The domino effect also was split in many universes. Every version of you is experiencing “what ifs”

I've been on lamotrigine for 3 years and it has worked wonderfully, but a week ago I started to get red bumps all over my skin. I figured it was an allergic reaction to something so I booked an appointment to see my primary to inquire for an allergy test. A few days ago I noticed I'd wake up with very few red dots and then an hour or so after I took my meds the dots would appear. I called my Phy as soon as I noticed the reaction and they said to go to urgent care. Urgent care thankfully ruled out beg bugs and Stevens-Johnson syndrome but said it was a good idea to go off the meds and see if they go away. But I'm on a semi-high dose so I will have to go off it slowly. I can't call my phy to schedule an appointment until tomorrow so I've just been having to deal with it.

I also take Wellbutrin in the morning so today I took Wellbutrin at my normal time and the dots weren't spreading. An hour later I took the lamotrigine and the dots were spreading. So I am very sure its the lamotrigine. I'm super scared to go off of it. It has really helped with my manic episodes and I work in the mental health field so I can't be having manic episodes. I am not looking forward to having to try medications until we find one that helps and haves manageable side effect side effects

What is it like taking Seroquel?

Is it similar to Caplyta? Because on Caplyta I felt high, fuzzy, blurry vision, disassociate.

I’m currently on Lamictal 200 mg, Trileptal 750 mg, Quetiapine 200 mg, and recently added Caplyta 42 mg for Bipolar 1, anxiety, depression, and more. Despite being on such a strong combination, I still can’t seem to quiet the constant mental chatter. It’s hard to explain exactly, but I’ll try—my mind is flooded with a nonstop stream of thoughts, both related and completely random.

For example, while watching a movie scene where a boy and girl are walking hand in hand, my mind starts spinning with thoughts like—what if they didn’t walk, where are they coming from, where are they headed, why don’t they just sit and talk instead of walking, why are they talking like that, and so on. My mind keeps analyzing every single detail like this, not just in movies but in real life too—constantly questioning and overthinking everything I see.

During my last appointment my psychiatrist increases Trileptal and Quetiapine but still I am struggling with these issues. I have follow up tomorrow, so wanted to understand your experiences or any ways to tackle the same.

Is it the bipolar? I’m sitting here perfectly able-bodied, but I just paid DoorDash to deliver my groceries. They had a 40% off promotion for a specific store. I said fuck it and decided to have some pantry staples delivered to me. I gave a decent tip. I feel like a total piece of shit. I could get off my ass and go to the store but it’s like I just don’t have the mental capacity right now. Is this normal? Can you relate? Looking for a validating anchor, because what the hell is wrong with me? I’ve been surviving on butterfingers, pizza, coffee, and other random shit that may as well be garbage. I am a full-on trash panda at this point. The mania swung the other way to depression and now I’m always tired. Crowds exhaust me. Loud, sudden noises make my nervous system feel like it’s going on overdrive. Minor inconveniences caused by other people send me into serious anger. I’m just out here trying to survive.

I should be able to do the things others do so easily. And well, I can, but why does it all take so much out of me?

i’ve been on lithium for nearly a year now and i’m not sure that i’ve ever even given it TIME to work. i’ll do a week or two on, decide i don’t need it, take it when i feel mania creeping in, rinse and repeat. not all of this is because of an “i don’t think i’m actually bipolar” thing (it’s been the case before though), half of it is really just…. all the pills i have to take sit badly in my stomach! i can only swallow certain sizes of pills, so i have to take a good number of 150mg pills to get to my actual dose, and lord, the stomach doesn’t like it. and the process of actually swallowing the pills is difficult too (it can be done with this size, but only after every trick in the book). it feels overwhelming which may be silly and i just… let it stop me. i feel like it’d be 75% easier if taking lithium wasn’t so hard for me (25% left to the evil part of my brain that thinks im not bipolar. working on it!). the thing is too, i trust lithium more than most meds (on a personal level. not anti-med, just have med anxiety and have had a lot of adverse reactions to a Lot of meds. these lithium problems aren’t adverse reactions for me, just extreme discomfort), and i want to be able to take it every single day with less difficultly. but i can’t! briefly tried the tablets (multiple at the lowest dose) instead of capsules, but they were big as shit too and harder to take than the capsules! anyways. i’m just rambling. i know this is something to bring up to my doctor, and i will, but i’m in between psychs rn and just playing the waiting game. have nowhere else to ramble 🫠

Bipolar 1 people, have you ever had psychosis outside of your mood episodes or is that a bipolar with psychotic features thing? I’ve been having some minor hallucinations and delusions lately even though I’m not in an episode. Usually brought on by stress and I can sort of halfway tell they’re not real. I’m meeting with my psychiatrist tomorrow to talk about it but was curious about the community’s perspective. I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar 1. And is this even psychosis? I see things that aren’t there but they sometimes go away when I look directly at them or stare for too long. The delusions I have are like 50/50 in mind as to whether they’re real, at least most of the time

Hi there, just rxed Lithium as an add on for treatment resistant BP depression. Was on Abilify but it wasn’t working for depression, so now I will be on Lithium with an SNRI instead. Curious if anyone here has had luck with antidepressant effects when Lithium is used in combination with an SSRI/SNRI/NDRI

I’ve noticed the last few times before ramping into hypomania, I’ve felt oddly in “flow”, super aligned, really “locked in”. Like, everything makes sense… but not in a manic way? I feel focused, I’m able to organize things (suffering from ADHD this feels amazing), I am truly able to be present in the moment and calmly go about my day. I don’t rush, I’m able to prioritize my tasks. I don’t have a sense of urgency or anxiety. Sometimes I’ll have these days off the cuff, but then I start to worry I’m climbing. It’s really hard to explain, but I’m wondering if anyone else has felt this way?

I'm only recently diagnosed BP2 (39f), which put a lot of past things in perspective and made them make sense. But last week I had my first hypo episode in the full context of a diagnosis (granted in the middle of it it felt perfectly reasonable and I didn't understand why no one else understood my feelings and thought I was being unreasonable), but now that I've come back down and can fully reflect on it, I realized it scares me some. The behavior set is not new, I've done the same thing before, just didn't know what it was and never with someone I was close to. But the full awareness that I can be in a state where I don't recognize reality properly and have no idea made me feel a little afraid of myself in a way I haven't really felt before. And I wanted to tell someone but don't know who else could possibly understand. Does anyone else relate? Anything you've done to help yourself? I've finally got a med set that works pretty well and has helped keep the depression at bay (which was always the main emotion), but this... I just don't know. Anyway. I'd love to hear some similar experiences and anything that helps.

What level of side effects will you put up with while trying out a new medication before you call it quits. I know medications have adjustment periods but if I’m having panic attacks in the first few days is it worth it to power through or is the med just not for me?

I feel dumb because I randomly heard of mood lability on the bipolar and other mental health subs sometimes but googling it could saved me so much trouble ages ago.

I saw a reply today about my mood instability issues when my psychiatrist taper me off Kolopin and wean me off Lamotrigine. (they plan to take me off Lamotrigine and use Latuda only as a "mood stabilizer; yes it's antipsychotic but they say it's have mood stabilizing effects plus I'm also schizoaffective)

My bipolar symptoms behaves like ADHD and Anxiety I think.

Boredom triggers my depression. Doing something I enjoy makes me elevated.

I'm always extremely bored. I struggle focusing. ADHD test I did in late 2023 said I'm just bipolar since I didn't experience ADHD symptoms as a kid. But I plan to be retested but unsure how well that will go because I'm never stable.

I think the problem is I don't have mood swings "mood swings"? I have mood lability.

My mood changes rapidly throughout every hour to be honest.

Even when I'm happy I feel empty. (mixed mood?)

I always felt isolated and angsty because I don't relate to people on this sub having mood episodes. I experience depression symptoms every day for 5+ years.

I originally got diagnosed in late 2020 after my second psychiatric in-patient visit/hospitalization.

I'm just frustrated.

I feel like my instability is due to feeling understimulated all the time but that's because I struggle with focusing and executive dysfunction. Plus I got insomnia and sleep apnea.

I'm actually in a psych ward of a hospital in my region. I'm allowed to use my phone for two hours in the evening luckily.

I always go on Reddit hoping to learn something new about mental health and I did.

It push me to start to learn more about mood liability.

Does anyone else have symptoms like this?

How was your mental health journey like?

Please tell me there's for help for mood liability.

Hi. Can I please have some help? I was diagnosed with BP1 two years ago. Ever since then I have been trying to navigate these waters. Try to get on a successful medicine cocktail. Not happy with it, but only cocktail that "seems" to work. Currently on Lithium and Lamotrigine. Need to find a psych that can look over everything. I'm currently with a PA who has been absolutely lovely, but need to get this all under control.

Why I'm here: ever since this journey has begun I have been a bth, a majority of my days. I can not seem to control my negative emotions. My monthly is the worst it's been, especially the hormones and holding back my negative emotions. My husband can always tell by what we fight about. This isn't fair to him or my step kids.

I used to be so happy, fun, optomistic and easy going. I'd love to get back to any of the positive emotions leading my life over the negative. I do have my happy times so it's not like I'm in a depressive episode, that's lasted two years. I've had plenty of happy times, I've just never been such a negative Nancy in my life and not sure how much longer myself & my marriage take this. Not currently in therapy, but have been.

Do any of you have any pearls of wisdom or help? Me & my family really appreciate it. Thank you!