Posted by fluffy on March 7, 2004, at 17:06:21
In reply to Re: Bipolar success stories?, posted by bark2323 on March 7, 2004, at 14:28:37
Bark--
That was a very thoughtful post. I've been thinking a lot about this matter lately. Incidentally, the thread was from about a year ago. But I've had my share of trials with drugs and such in that year. I tried almost all the mood stabilizers. I also really liked Trileptal, but I started to have that very rare side effect of losing sodium, which can't be corrected, and can end up being deadly!! I don't want to complain too much about all of the drug failures, and there have been quite a few. This board helped me keep my sanity during that time, though I wish there had been more positive threads like this one. I just didn't have the positive energy at the time to expend.
In the end, Depakote seems to be helping me a great deal. At least it takes care of about 75% of my symptoms. And that's pretty good, since I could barely function for almost a year straight due to ultra-rapid cycling and depression. I'm at 750mg right now, and I may titrate up further if needed. No side effects for now, really. It's been 2 months of stability.
I guess it took a year and 4 drug trials to find this stable spot. It was very difficult, but I'm glad to be alive and (mostly) well. I have about 5-6 icky depressed days a month, 4 hypomanic days and the rest NORMAL.
I agree that dwelling on yourself is the most difficult thing to free yourself of if you've first been diagnosed bipolar or if you are depressed. The doctors want you to be aware of your symptoms so you can tell them if you need help, or if you're heading for another major episode. But obsessing over your symptoms and your diagnosis just exacerbates the feelings of helplessness and worthlessness, etc. It's a difficult line to walk.
It takes time, practice, meditation, and support of good friends.Anyway--just thought I'd share my two cents, and see what others are thinking.
Katy
Bipolar II
(taking Depakote ER 750mg, 15mg Restoril for sleep, 2.5g fish oil)
poster:fluffy
thread:221828
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040304/msgs/321701.html