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A Reader Question for Julie Fast<\/p>\n
I just received a comment from Reanna about her rapid cycling that won\u2019t stop. I have been there so I understand! She asked a question about bipolar disorder treatment. Here is the question and my answer:Julie,Reading your posts has been very helpful\u2013thank you! I have been having a horrible time with \u201cmixed episodes\u201d in where I will be up for a few hours, then out of no where, boom, I am down, then up, then down! My dr. ordered blood tests, but any suggestions on coping methods until the tests kick in?Reanna<\/p>\n
Hi Reanna, Oh yes, I certainly understand. I have done that rapid cycling. It\u2019s hard to get all of the terms straight with this illness! When you go up and then down- that is rapid cycling. A lot of rapid cycling. We are similar. I can have five or more mood swings a day. I always say it makes me feel like a rag doll someone is throwing up in the air over and over again!A mixed episode (also called dysphoric mania) is not up and down in discrete mood swings- it means that you are depressed and manic at the same time- which is also called dysphoric mania. The best way to describe this is that instead of the rag doll being thrown up and down, it\u2019s begin yanking from all sides. It hurts inside and out!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s interesting that you\u2019re getting a blood test- that is always important. It is used to rule out thyroid problems as well as to check the levels of meds you may be on such as checking lithium levels. There is no blood test for bipolar disorder. One day there will be!Also, if you have rapid cycling like this- it\u2019s rarely a good idea for you to take anti depressants- and if you ever do, they absolutely must be with a strong mood stablizer such as Lithium, Tegretol or Depakote- or with an anti psychotic such as Zyprexa, Risperdal or Serequel- you can take them with Lamictal- but Lamictal is often not strong enough to hold back the rapid cycling caused by anti depressants. Also, anti depressants in people with rapid cycling have a chance of causing suicidal episodes. I just went through this with Zoloft! I\u2019m glad you have a doctor to help you with this!<\/p>\n
These drugs help- but they can have a lot of side effects- so the right combination at the right dose is essential.As for tips, I really love my Health Cards Treatment Plan, but as you are going up and down so much- I think that Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder is your best choice for now. It has a lot of explanation, but also a lot of tips. It\u2019s an easy read. Remember, even if you just implement a few changes- you can get a lot better.\u00a0 I use my treatment plan every day- and I stay well enough to have a good life. You can defintely do the same!<\/p>\n
Julie<\/p>\n
There is more information on rapid cycling and mixed\u00a0mania\u00a0in the categories to your right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
A Reader Question for Julie Fast<\/p>\n
I just received a comment from Reanna about her rapid cycling that won\u2019t stop. I have been there so I understand! She asked a question about bipolar disorder treatment. Here is the question and my answer:Julie,Reading your posts has been very helpful\u2013thank you! I have been having a horrible time with \u201cmixed episodes\u201d in where I will be up for a few hours, then out of no where, boom, I am down, then up, then down! My dr. ordered blood tests, but any suggestions on coping methods until the tests kick in?Reanna<\/p>\n
Hi Reanna, Oh yes, I certainly understand. I have done that rapid cycling. It\u2019s hard to get all of the terms straight with this illness! When you go up and then down- that is rapid cycling. A lot of rapid cycling. We are similar. I can have [ Read More ]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11969,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806\/revisions\/11969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}