2009 March « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

Inspirational, Funny and Educational Podcasts

Did you know you can download free podcasts from Itunes that are very helpful in all areas? A reader commented yesterday that listening to sports radio made him happier than listening to the news these days. I agree! If you love sports, the Dan Patrick Radio Show podcast is hilarious. And free! I literally can laugh for three hours when I listen to the show – and all of the biggest names in US sports are interviewed regularly. If sports are not your thing, there are weight loss podcasts, prosperity podcasts, spiritual and language podcasts!

All free. Ipods are certainly not the only way to get this great information. Most people have their podcasts on a website. You can also listen to live streaming radio. Believe it or not, I listen to Dan Patrick before bed every night. It’s so great to laugh before sleeping.

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me (very funny) and Fresh [ Read More ]

Thank you for your reader comments!

Thank you so very much for your kind reader comments. I had NO idea the blog was helping so much. I know it helps me to write it! I wish I could respond to each comment on this blog individually. I will do what I can- and will get to as many questions as I can! Reader comments of any kind- positive, negative, confused, disagreeing with my post, scared or wondering about the future are all appreciated.

Julie

Many of the answers to questions I get on the blogs are answered in my books. There is a link about that says About Julie’s books- it’s hard to find that link sometimes!

Bipolar Depression and Mania (euphoric and dysphoric)

I often wonder how to describe the difference between mania and depression.

Depression: Feel you are the only person in the world. Mania: Feel completely at one with the world. Depression: Living in the past Mania: Living completely in the moment- this is particularly true with euphoric mania Depression: Silence Mania: Chattering nonsense when it goes too far

I could go on and on! Things get really complicated when the moods are combined- this is known as a mixed episode or dysphoric mania. People with dysphoric mania have all of the energy of a person with euphoric mania, but it’s agitated, uncomfortable mentally and physically and often comes with psychosis.

I have had a few mixed episodes myself. Anti psychotic medications- including Zyprexa, Abilify, Risperdal and Serequel are often used for dysphoric mania along with the mood stabilizers Lithium, Depakote and Tegretol. I find that Lamictal helps me a lot, especially since I can’t [ Read More ]

FDA Approved Bipolar Disorder Drugs

Here is an interesting list- the FDA (federal drug administration) has to ok a drug for use with bipolar disorder before a drug company can advertise that the drug can be used for bipolar disorder. Here is a list of the approved drugs with their initiation dates. I will write more on this topic in the next few days:

FDA: Acute Mania * 1970: Lithium * 1973: Thorazine * 1995: Depakote * 2000: Zyprexa * 2003: Risperdal * 2004: Seroquel * 2004: Abilify * 2005: Geodon * 2005: Equetro (Tegretol) FDA: Acute Bipolar Depression * 2004: Symbyax (Prozac-Zyprexa combo) * 2007: Seroquel

FDA: Maintenance (for use in managing bipolar disorder in general) * 1974: Lithium: both * 2003: Lamictal: depression * 2004: Zyprexa: both * 2005: Abilify: both

This list can be a bit confusing- especially when it comes to how the drugs are categorized- I will go through this information step by step in [ Read More ]

Bipolar Disorder and Suicidal Depression Downswings

This post actually follows a thread I started about four entries ago….

Surviving a Terrible Down Swing

I got very hypomanic yesterday. I wrote about it earlier and wrote a newsletter about it. Of course, it’s very easy to write when you’re hypomanic. But when it was going on, I could tell it was going to spin out of control. I managed to stay well enough not to do something stupid.

The problem is what I’m going through now. I woke up in a terrible downswing. Just terrible. Crying with suicidal thoughts. Just awful. I feel sorry for myself! Then my good friend Karen had to cancel our evening plans. I always feel better when I go out with Karen, so this was a blow. I just cried and cried. The tears come so easily when you’re suicidal. I started talking myself out of this downswing. I thought of what I said in Get [ Read More ]

Bipolar Disorder Mania- Hypomania

Beware of mania if…

You had a tough winter depression. Things are starting to look good and you think to yourself- “I’m finally feeling better! It’s so great to feel good again!” A stable mood doesn’t usually talk that way. Your skin looks better- your hair looks better- your eyes are clear and you have a lot more energy. You feel like doing things you did in the past when you were manic- such as getting up at 4AM because you think you’ve had plenty of sleep even though it has only been about five hours. You want to go out more.

I could go on and on here. If you have the Health Cards, now is the time to get out your mania card- and definitely read my mania Health Card as it shows the really subtle signs that mania is starting. People certainly do get manic in the winter- and there are many [ Read More ]