Straight Talk on Managing Bipolar Disorder

Sleepy vs. Side Effect Drugged Sleepy

Oh wow. At age 46 I started having a very different reaction to my medications. I take brand Lamictal. I said in an earlier blog that I would write out the whole story in a newsletter and I will do that soon! If you are not on the newsletter list, you can sign up on the right.

I upped my meds a few weeks ago and am now having the sleepiness side effect I have not experienced for years. I often get blog questions asking about tiredness and if it means they are not getting enough sleep or good enough sleep. or if it is directly related to the medications. Here are some differences between the two:

Not Enough Sleep

1. It’s obvious that sleep the night before was not refreshing. You wake up tired and a bit cranky and worry that you will be tired in the afternoon, but you eventually wake up.

2. You are sleepy in the afternoon, but don’t really have a desire to take a nap as it would be a waste of time. You know you will have to go to bed early.

3. It only happens once in a while and is not constant.

Side Effect Drug Sleepy

1. You are so tired your head feels numb.

2. ALL you want to do is get into bed- and it’s not related to being depressed.

3. Your tongue, jaw and cheeks feel tired.

4. The tiredness is pervasive- in other words, it feels like every cell is tired.

5. It feels EXACTLY like jet lag.

6. Even if you had enough sleep, you can get into bed in the afternoon and sleep for hours and then wake up just as foggy as before.

I could go on and on about drug side effects as I have experienced them all, but this tiredness is hard to fight. The main way to know if it’s the drug is if it goes away when you lower the dose or change drugs!

Julie

PS: Thanks for all of the comments and reader questions. I read everyone and answer them in as many blogs as possible. My video plan is getting closer and I will have regular video answers to blog questions soon. It is always great if you answer the questions from others- some would love a pen pal – remember those!

True Hope EMpowerplus Supplements

I just received the following question from Allan:

Julie, do you or any of your readers have any knowledge or experience of an alternative micronutrient product called EMPowerplus sold by a company called Truehope? I have a 15 year old who has still not been accurately diagnosed by some of the best physicians on both coasts. This has been a 10 year battle costing a fortune. We have tried just about every medication listed in your blog. All of the symptoms overlap. Bipolar, ADD, ADHD, OCD, OCD, etc etc are all a part of this. I just ordered some of these micronutrient vitamin supplements to try as everything else has failed over the years. A family member sent me an article from a newspaper about this stuff. As with everything else, some people claim its a scam while other are having great results. Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

Hello Allan,

I get this question so often- it’s a good time to answer it here. Please remember I am not a doctor and this is for informational purposes only.

TrueHope’ s EMpowerplus is a very controversial. Some swear by it, some have no response and some like myself, have had a negative response. TrueHope is marketed as a supplement, but I see it as a medication in that it has similar results to synthetic meds. All herbs/supplements and other natural treatments have the potential to cause mood swings for people with bipolar disorder. There are many over the counter products such as 5HTP that are serotonin acting drugs that can definitely cause mania. St. John’s Wort has a warning about mania. It really depends on how sensitive a person is. It’s important to know that just because you don’t need a prescription for something, it’s not necessarily safe.

True Hope was investigated in Canada for making false claims, but the lawsuit was dropped. It is not a US product.

It made me psychotic- which is not safe. When I called their customer service and said I was having trouble, the person replied that it was impossible that it could cause psychosis. The person was wrong. But…. I have a client who swears it helps keep her mania down.

I do NOT suggest this product if your son has severe rapid cycling or is not able to get his mania or psychosis under control. I feel it can make it worse.

But, having said this. If you are at the end of your rope in terms of helping your son, I do know that you need to try all that you can. If you and your family have a VERY good system in place to recognize negative changes in moods, then it makes sense to try a product that may help- but is this the right product? That is the question. It just might be. I use my Health Cards to have a plan in place when I try a new medication. They work well for children and their families.

But please go in knowing there is NO real research data behind this product. I believe your son’s health care professionals need to know as well. If it even starts to change his mood negatively, that is a problem. I would definitely work with a health care professional. Would you buy some Abilify and see if it works without knowing the research or how it affected others? Probably not- it makes sense to use the same caution here.

Please keep me posted. All that matters is that your son finds relief- while staying safe. This may be what you’re looking for- but please use caution!

Julie

PS: Informational purposes only! And please ignore the misspelling of the word Supplements- for some reason the blog will not let me correct the title!

Bipolar Happens Poll – Symptoms and Family Members

Bipolar Mania and Hypomania Test

Mania and Sunshine Test

I live in Portland, Oregon and we are having a spectacular winter. It’s the best I’ve experienced in my seven years here. We are used to very, very dark winters. It’s usually dusk at four and dark at five. It’s depression and very bad for bipolar disorder. I was dreading it once again. And yet this year has been at least double the sun as normal. This got me to thinking about mania and sunlight. If you are newly diagnosed with bipolar or care about someone newly diagnosed- here is a test to see how the sunlight has affected your mania in the past: Give yourself one point for each yes.

1. Do you have more depression in the winter and more mania (or hypomania- the milder mania) in the summer?

2. Have you ever had a summer that was happy and enjoyable after a winter depression- but just thought it was the real you- even though you slept less, ate less and had more fun outside?

3. Do you start to feel a lot less depressed in the spring?

4. If you have been hospitalized for mania- was it in the spring or summer?

5. Do you crave sunlight and feel your brain clear when you get out in the sun?

6. Are you a lot more social in the summer- to the point that people comment on it? Is it a lot easier to get out of bed?

7. Do you tend to go off meds when it’s sunny?

8. Do your mood swings have a distinct pattern from winter to summer?

If you answered yes to two or more of the above, your bipolar is probably affected by sunlight. I know that mine it. My hypomanic episodes are almost always in the summer.

I can say that living in constant sun doesn’t mean you’re constantly manic. I lived in Hawaii for years and was rarely manic. I feel the body adjusts. If you’re from Australia, have probably experienced something similar. It’s about the CHANGE in seasons, not only the sunlight.

My first hypomanic episode was at 17 when I went on a school trip to Europe. It was in July- very sunny – with a time change and a lot of excitement. A mania cocktail!

What is your plan to prevent mania for this spring?

Julie

Here is a link to this bipolar mania test if you want to send it to your friends:

Bipolar Mania Test

Bipolar Medication Woes

For an unknown reason, my Lamictal stopped working for a few months. I do have some ideas on why this happened, but to be honest, they are not great explanations:

1. I really got off track with my dosage for a few weeks. It was hard to remember what I had or had not taken. I tried a variety of ways to deal with this. I have special pill boxes and reminders. I did everything that was needed. (I got back on track quickly and it seemed like things were getting better. )

2. I have more stress in my life than normal. This can definitely make it harder for my meds to work effectively. ( I use my Health Cards Treatment Plan for trigger management and dealing with stress.)

3. I had a different bottle of Lamictal. I don’t take generics as they don’t work for me, but the bottle was definitely a new design. ( I researched this idea and realized that unlike generics that can be made all over the place with different recipes added to active ingredients- my brand Lamictal is quite regulated but Glaxo Smith Kline. So there went that theory!)

I actually think the above reasons did contribute to the two months of terrible mood swings, but I’m pretty sure that the real problem was that the dosage I have taken for the past few years simply didn’t get the job done. I get a lot of side effects when my meds are low. I actually have a lot less side effects when I am on the right dose. My main indicator is that I twitch like a marionette when the Lamictal isn’t working. It makes my friends laugh a lot and it doesn’t hurt, but it’s scary.

I seem to have found a solution to the problem as I am feeling better. I write about this in my next newsletter. Right now I am happy to have a focused and get it done mentality mind. I always take advantage of these days!

Julie

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Living with Uncertainty is Hard

I just have a phone conversation with my dear friend Gayathri. She has dealt with serious depression for most of her life. I asked her, “Do you have a hard time with your depression when you’re in a situation where you don’t know whats going on?” She laughed and said, ‘YES! I have learned to live with some of it. But I do get stressed. We can’t make other people tell us what they are feeling. It’s up to them. And we can’t control when something will happen.” She is so right. I’m going through this right now and can feel the depression and anxiety boiling inside of me simply becuase I am in a situation where I have almost no control and have no idea of the outcome.

I have two options:

Option #1 Let it eat me up and affect my work and other relationships. I can let it grow and grow inside me until I have a panic attack or forcefully ask the person what is wrong or what I did. (Been there! Done that! Doesn’t work! )

Option #2 Let people be who they are. If you think about it- no one does anything that has any relationship to you. It’s 100% about their feelings and their reasoning. Unless they know why they are doing something and want to tell you about it – and many don’t, you will not have any answers.

That is living with uncertainty. The feeling is terrible for those without bipolar, it often feels unbearable for us. But we can live with these feelings and let life unfold naturally without forcing the situation due to our bipolar needs. If the time comes where you need to make a decision based off of what you need, think very carefully before you speak. Time is the best option in all cases as it gives you time and the other person time to decide on what needs to happen in the future. I have ruined many a relationship with angry emails and phone calls. Don’t do it.

You can learn to live with the rocky emotions of uncertainty.

Julie