Uncategorized « Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder Medication Woes

I’ve been on my medication (Lamictal– generic Lamtrigine) since 2005. Unfortunately, the Lamictal has stopped working three times in the past six years. Well, it hasn’t stopped working exactly- if it did I would be suicidal pretty quickly. I should say that it is not working as well as it usually does.

All medications have an average/recommended dose as a guideline for prescribers. But this is only a start. People have such different brain chemistry that the dosage can be all over the place.

My problem is that I’m on the highest dose as possible for the Lamictal. 700mg. When the lower dose stopped working last year, my prescriber and I upped it to get me out of a really serious rapid cycling depression. (A few mood swings a day- waking up crying in the middle of the night, etc. )

And now it’s happening again. I can’t raise the dose. I use the management plan I write [ Read More ]

Poll: Bipolar Disorder and Travel. I need your opinion!

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The Free Bipolar 101 Call Recording is Now Available.

Yes! The free recording of the excellent and fun Bipolar Disorder 101 coaching call is here. Please click ‘Free Bipolar 101 Call’ on the menu tab for more information. Make sure you listen with the phone below! 🙂 Julie

Hilarious!

What is so great about lamictal for bipolar disorder depression?

Here is the link to one of my most popular posts. You may notice that I write a lot about Lamictal on this blog. I’m not someone who believes in drugs only- but I do know that of all of the drugs on the market for bipolar disorder – this is the best depression drug used today. It’s always a risk for people with bipolar disorder to take anti depressants such as Prozac or Zoloft as they have a high risk of mania if not used with a strong dose of a mood stabilizer. I believe that my constant rapid cycling is due to the 10+ antidepressants I was put on the first three years after my diagnosis.

Lamictal is a much, much safer drug for those with bipolar disorder and has relatively few side effects- [ Read More ]

7 Ways You Can Help if I’m Having a Euphoric Bipolar Mania Episode

The Health Cards Help Prevent and Manage Mania

Help Your Friends and Family Help You Manage Bipolar Mania

Here are just a few of the tips included in the Mania Section in my Health Cards Treatment System. The cards create a list of all of my mania symptoms and what the people who care about me can do when they see that I’m starting to get manic. It’s my responsibility to tell the people around me how they can help. It’s not innate for them!

1- Know the signs and symptoms of what you see when I start to get manic.

2- Remind me that I wanted you to tell me if I seem to be too excited.

3- Do not match my behavior. In other words, [ Read More ]

Bipolar Depression- Hello darkness my old friend….

I was very depressed a few days ago and the only way I can decribe it is Debilitating Depression

I would certainly never call darkness a friend, but the Simon and Garfunkel song gets the mood right.

The depression was so bad I could hardly hold my head up. When I get depressed like this, I sit in a chair and put my head in my hands. A cacophony of terrible thoughts, sounds (often songs) and an unbelievable feeling of DOOM crawl in to every cell in my body.

This is the kind of depression that keeps people in bed for months.

But… I knew what it was and started to fight and fight and fight and told myself- you will get out of this Julie. You will start now.

Here is what I did:

1. Forced the real me to talk to the depressed me.

Julie. Get up. This is bipolar. Don’t forget [ Read More ]