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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Angielala on November 11, 2003, at 14:42:11
I have had Bipolar as long as I can remember. I'm now 24. I have never been big on drinking or anything like that, though I do smoke weed. I find that it helps level out my moods (it actually lets me laugh at things and not take silly things too seriously!) I am on Depakote and Paxil right now and I am having a tough time with the side effects and getting to a point where I feel good. I have been on the Depakote for a year and the Paxil for two. Before that I was on Zoloft and BuSpar. Nothing seems to work and I'm afraid of lithium... I'm constantly tired, out of it, dizzy, etc.... I wasn't like this before I was on meds.
Anyways, my first question is, does anyone know if weed, in the long run, is keeping me from my goal of getting my meds straightened out?
Second- am I alone with this habit of smoking pot to alleviate my moods?
Posted by pixygoth on November 11, 2003, at 15:21:48
In reply to Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by Angielala on November 11, 2003, at 14:42:11
Hi There - I'm diagnosed depressive, but i think i may be a bit BP II... i'm gonna ask my doc about it when I see him...
the point is I smoke quite a bit, have for a while, and it definitely takes my mind off my swinging moods if nothing else.
The doc hassles me all the time about stopping, but I think about it this way...
I was 'taking' this long before i started any ADs, and so stopping without stopping them first wouldn't be clever... get me? Not that I'm keen on stopping anyway... I've never found anything else that makes me lift at all in the short term.
There needs to be better research done in this area!!
S x
Posted by sarita0001 on November 11, 2003, at 16:41:57
In reply to Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by Angielala on November 11, 2003, at 14:42:11
Hi,
I found that smoking pot made me more depressed- while on lithium. Supposedly people with depression are cautioned against smoking pot because it can cause depression. Substances in general can cause different reactions (eg. substance induced mood disorders). I was diagnosed bipolar at 17 but it is possible it was substance induced because I was using marijuana and drinking at the same time. The doctors still aren't sure but I think that is what it was.
Sara
Posted by Bananafish on November 11, 2003, at 18:06:44
In reply to Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by Angielala on November 11, 2003, at 14:42:11
I think smoking pot makes bipolar much worse. Especially in the manic phase--when ideas are flowing fast and loose to begin with, marijuana can nudge you into a delusional state. Just my personal experience.
Posted by panic_attack on November 11, 2003, at 19:31:42
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar » Angielala, posted by pixygoth on November 11, 2003, at 15:21:48
Hi There.. I have panic/anxiety disorder.. (possibly Bi-Polar) and weed makes me really nervous. I freak out so bad and just feel miserable. Then a couple of days later I go thru really bad depression. I get mood swings and I am really mean to everyone. I curse people out for no reason and just hate everyone. Weed effects me in a really bad way, it's like im allergic to it or something.
But I was not always like this. When I was a teenager.. I use to smoke alot of weed and felt great. I think that once I developed panic disorder (and possibly Bi-Polar), it just totally screwed me up. I cant do anything anymore without feeling like crap :(
Just my experience :)
Posted by pixygoth on November 12, 2003, at 8:27:59
In reply to Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by Angielala on November 11, 2003, at 14:42:11
I by no means want to give the impression that weed is harmless - everybody is different and i do myself have two friends who have, i think, been pushed from latent mental illness into full blown psychosis by too much of it. However, I can't bear the thought that the bad reactions of some people might make my doctors try to force *me* away from weed. Of course this may be denial or somesuch - but still. And the idea that mental illness is always going to result from cannabis use is just not true. Loads of people smoke and get no bad effects. And MS sufferers and so on need to have the option left open...
Sorry for the rant, but I feel strongly about this and need to defend the availability of my drug of choice!!
Posted by NoMotic on November 12, 2003, at 9:00:14
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by pixygoth on November 12, 2003, at 8:27:59
Pot stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain running from the Nucleus Accumbens with the Ventral Tegmental Area. THC receptors supposedly release dopamine into this area. So long as THC is artificially stimulating this area, think about how much pleasure your brain will REALLY be able to derive from life itself, such as enjoying a nice warm outside day, which can stimulate the pleasure center of the day. As long as anyone here does drugs and hasn't had like a month or two of 100% drug free life (caffeine, alcohol, pot), I will suggest the notion that there will be a lowered ceiling to how much pleasure you get from life. I might even suggest that indeed pot is the CAUSE of your depression, or simply that genetics allows pot to be the breaking point where you experience depression. My friend is like this... he doesn't enjoy things fully unless he smokes, thus artificially giving himself pleasure that the THC provides. Sorry if I come off too strongly, but my core beliefs are that drugs stimulate pleasure centers that life itself should be stimulating - and isn't that our core problem anyway? Lack of full enjoyment and functionality from life? To be fair, I drink alcohol and caffeine fairly often - but at least I know the effects they have on me.
Posted by pixygoth on November 12, 2003, at 9:29:36
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by NoMotic on November 12, 2003, at 9:00:14
Hmmm.
My position is that I was depressed for... well... my whole life. From as young as I can remember. I got to a point (in early teens )where I'd never taken any drugs, but I got no pleasure from life any way, so I thought I'd give weed a go. And I haven't looked back. I *do* know what weed does to me, as much I'm sure as you know what alcohol does to you.
My problem is with people who *know* that certain things make their condition worse, and yet take those things anyway. These people's experience is then used as evidence that my own self-medication is doomed.
I don't want to get confrontational when there's clearly no need for it, so I'll stop now. I'm sure you all understand me.
S
Posted by octiigon on November 13, 2003, at 14:42:34
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by pixygoth on November 12, 2003, at 9:29:36
I don't know..... I also had panic disorder when I was smoking heavy pot. I found that it did have its "fun" moments, but after I quit (twice) I went into these huge depressive states that left me worse off than to begin with.
I do drink occasionally.... I hate it though because I get that same depressive feeling for a few days after. I also drink caffiene.... don't seem to have any problems there...
Posted by Angielala on November 13, 2003, at 15:04:59
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by pixygoth on November 12, 2003, at 9:29:36
See- this is the bus I'm on too. I have been depressed forever- and I never touched drugs or alcohol. When I discovered pot in college- and actually gave it a shot, for the first time since I could remember, I could feel things. There were no side effects. My appetite became healthy again and I was able to get off my thyroid meds because of that. I have never felt bad from pot, nor have I felt as though I was hallucinating, as I have heard some claim.
I think it depends on how open minded one is for their own healing.
I guess what I was looking for was support from others in my shoes, like pixigoth, rather than what I hear from doctors everday. I want to know, honestly, from other people who use pot as a drug to help them (not as a crutch) through the day.
Since pot is never a real option, there are hundreds of people who all wonder what the true positive effects of pot are to a depressed/BP person.
> Hmmm.
> My position is that I was depressed for... well... my whole life. From as young as I can remember. I got to a point (in early teens )where I'd never taken any drugs, but I got no pleasure from life any way, so I thought I'd give weed a go. And I haven't looked back. I *do* know what weed does to me, as much I'm sure as you know what alcohol does to you.
> My problem is with people who *know* that certain things make their condition worse, and yet take those things anyway. These people's experience is then used as evidence that my own self-medication is doomed.
> I don't want to get confrontational when there's clearly no need for it, so I'll stop now. I'm sure you all understand me.
> S
Posted by NikkiT2 on November 14, 2003, at 6:55:47
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar » pixygoth, posted by Angielala on November 13, 2003, at 15:04:59
I smoke to help control my anxiety, and help my sleep.. I've smoked for about 12 years now, but every 2 months have one week off.. And that week is always much harder to deal with.
My pdoc knows I smoke, knows how much I smoke, and is perfectly happy with it. He understands that I use it in a similar way to how others use Xanax or Valium. He also knows me well enough that if my smoking increases, he knows I am feeling worse, so knows that intervention is needed then (I'm very bad at actually being able to tell him how I truly feel, so he finds this a really useful tool in measuring my mood).
I don't expect everyone to support the use of marajuana, but I don't like the tone of somne of the posts here. I'm not a kid, and my pdoc is not a kid, and I am quite aware of any health risks associated with smoking. But in my opinion, the risk of suicide when left to my own devices is much worse.
Plus, I find smoking very sociable with my husbands and friends.. I rarely drink alcohol, and haven't been drunk in a long time really.. But I guess alcohol is acceptable, as it only causes violence etc.Nikki
Posted by pixygoth on November 14, 2003, at 8:40:29
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar » Angielala, posted by NikkiT2 on November 14, 2003, at 6:55:47
Hee hee, good point Nikki which I always try not to throw at people actually. You're UK, aren't you, have you heard the Streets album? There's an excellent song there, a duet with a smoker and a boozer, where the whole sad story is explained. The smoker says, "why should I, a peaceful guy, go to jail, for the choice of herbs i inhale" (approximately) , and the boozer basically threatens him with violence.
love
S
Posted by TexasChic on November 14, 2003, at 15:42:48
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar » Angielala, posted by NikkiT2 on November 14, 2003, at 6:55:47
Its true pot interacts with your meds... alcohol interacts, coffee interacts, nyquil, benadryl, whatever, everything interacts. What you choose for yourself is up to you. I for one prefer pot over alcohol – less side effects, and its a nice relaxing way to hang with my friends and just chill out and have fun for a little while. No different from drinking as far as I'm concerned, just more frowned upon. The thing is, why condemn someone for the way they've learned to cope. We're all here looking for answers. Let's keep this the safe haven.
Posted by JBreda on November 14, 2003, at 19:11:00
In reply to Re: Marijuana and Bipolar, posted by sarita0001 on November 11, 2003, at 16:41:57
I was just recently diagnosed depressed and I'm pretty sure weed had something to do with it. I'm not saying weed caused my depression but I'm pretty sure it made it worse. I was depressed long before I started smoking weed and when I started smoking weed I could feel myself getting more and more depressed but I ignored it and kept on smoking. I dunno whether or not it was the physical weed making me more depressed or the fact that I felt like I was betraying myself and God in the process that made me more depressed.
This is the end of the thread.
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