Self-test for Bipolar

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My personal opinion is it's not a good idea. Studies have looked at bipolar creativity while on and off medication, and most people in the studies feel they are just as creative and productive, if not more productive, while on medication than when off. That's not saying that some medications won't make you feel "dulled." But hopefully, there's a mood stabilizer out there that both works for you and doesn't make you feel zombie-ish. Also, there seems to be a trend in bipolar disorder where the more episodes you have the more severe they become and the quicker they come (sometimes to the point of developing rapid cycling). So, that's another downside to being unmedicated. Plus, if you're bipolar-II, there's always a chance that more episodes could mean you eventually becoming fully manic, switching you to a bipolar-I diagnosis. And bipolar-IIs tend to have many more major depressive episodes than they do hypomanic ones, which would mean that periods of hypomanic-driven creative inspiration wouldn't be all that common.

Your concerns about medication and creativity and such are valid ones, though. It's definitely something that you should talk about in detail with your therapist and/or psychiatrist. However, with bipolar disorder, taking a mood stabilizer is usually the best form of treatment. I am not bipolar myself, so I do not have personal experience with this struggle, but bipolar disorder is my area of expertise, so I am very familiar with common struggles of the disorder in and of themselves. I have taken a mood stabilizer (Lamictal) in the past, though, for my AS mood swings. I stopped taking it after a few years just because I didn't really feel it was doing all that much, but while I was on it, I didn't have any sort of "dulling" of my mental processes. I did have dulling the one (and only!) day I tried Strattera for my chronic fatigue/hypersomnia. (I'm on Daytrana patches for it now.) So, I have experienced that side effect, and it is terrible. But again, there are lots of meds out there to try, and hopefully, you and your doctor will find one that works for you without the brain fog. In your case, though, I wouldn't recommend lithium, despite it still being the "gold standard" for bipolar disorder; some do experience brain fog while on it, and lithium tends to work much better in bipolar-Is than in bipolar-IIs, anyway.

Which medication would you recomment for Bipolar II?

And which one that doesn't cause any:
- Photodermatitis
- Dyskinesia

Those side effects are not that common under a mood stabalizer, are they?

First off, everybody's neurochemistry is different, so what works for some might not work for you. Secondly, I am not a psychiatrist, so I do not know the nitty-gritty behind drug interactions or drug safety. My area is the neurobiochemical basis of bipolar disorder and its medications. If you have worries about any side effects or medication in particular, be sure to discuss this with your psychiatrist when you go get evaluated.

With that being said, speaking in general terms, the anti-epileptic mood stabilizers often are more effective for bipolar-IIs than lithium. The most common anti-epileptic mood stabilizers are Depakote, Tegretol, and Lamictal. Lamictal seems to be particularly effective for bipolar depression. Atypical anti-psychotics are much more in use now for mood stabilizers. The most common atypicals are Seroquel, Risperdal, Zyprexa, Abilify, and Geodon. The last two seem to have much less risk of weight gain as a side effect. Seroquel seems to be the best atypical for bipolar depression, as well as for augmenting a traditional anti-depressant for unipolar depression.

I haven't heard much about photodermatitis and bipolar meds, but for skin conditions in general, Lamictal is the big one to watch out for. About 5% of people taking Lamictal will develop a life-threatening skin rash known as Steven-Johnson Syndrome. For dyskinesia, that would be more of a factor with the atypical anti-psychotics, since they work on the dopamine system. The atypicals were created because of how traditional anti-psychotics (Thorazine, Haldol, etc.) often cause tardive dyskinesia after long-term use. Since the atypicals work on both D2 and D4 receptors, as well as serotonin receptors, the risk of tardive dyskinesia is much less than with the classic anti-psychotics. However, less drastic extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) are still common with the atypicals. Abilify works differently than most of the atypicals, because it works as a partial dopamine agonist rather than a full dopamine antagonist, so EPS with Abilify may be less common.

Thank's for the Information, that'll help a lot.

Well yes, but I still like to inform myself.
I made really bad experiences with side effects in the past.



Okay, that's interessting, espessially because I have epileptic waves in the EEG, but no epilepsy.
I really would like try Valproic acid.



Me neather, but I think it's not that common anyway.
But I have to check befor taking them or of course my psychiatrist.
Because I can't take them at all, I had very bad photodermatitis after taking Citalopram two years ago.
I'm very lucky, that it got better this summer, but I still have to be carefull.
That means meds who can cause that are a total no go.
So a lot of Antidepressions are a total no go for me.



Thank's for the information, but I would rather try those first who don't cause a dyskinesia.
I once got a blepharospasm after taking Promethazine.

hehe 51

I got 37 on the test. I suspect that I may have BD but I'm not sure.
I wanted to ask something: How often do you get Hypomania or Mania?

I often have phases of deep depression, sometimes lasting very long. It started around 14 years of age. But when I was 21 I suddenly had a phase of maybe one year or many months (not sure anymore) where I felt like I've never did since. Very energetic, I wanted to do a lot of things, I felt confident I could do everything I set my mind to do, and I indeed did a lot of things, I didn't need much sleep and I wasn't sleepy. I felt confident about myself. I sometimes felt really fidgety when I had to just sit or read, I wanted to do something all the time. I spoke my mind a lot, even to the point of saying rude things (I couldn't control it), probably even hurting other peoples or their relationships with me. I made jokes, I was much more open and social. People asked me what had happened to me and looking back at that time, I wished that everybody who knew me at that time, forgets what I did or said at that time. It wasn't really me. But that was the only time I ever felt like that (now I'm 24).
(On the other hand, I'd like to feel like that again because I would accomplish a lot more than usual.)

Does that sound like a phase of hypomania or something?
And how often does it occur?

I'm on Valproate (Epilim) and it's been a lifesaver for me. Lithium wasn't all that effective and had way worse side effects whereas I get next to no side effects from Epilim so long as I'm on the right dosage. I have ultradian (ultra ultra rapid) cycling bipolar most recent diagnosis type 1 though previously I was type 2.

You only get a diagnosis of any mental disorder (including bipolar) if it causes you clinically significant distress in your daily life. If it's not severe enough to be a problem then it's not a disorder and it's considered just part of the spectrum of different personalities in people.

Also, if you have type 2 bipolar it's definitely not worth forgoing meds as the depression side is way worse and meds will probably only improve your overall productivity and creativity. In fact, with any type of real full blown bipolar (as opposed to social stereotypes or perhaps cyclothymia in some mild cases) meds are vital and essential to be able to function.

Right, the only exeption is, so far I know, Ticdisorders (including Tourettes) you get it diagnosed if you have a certain amount of tics in a certain period of time despide the fact if it distresses you or not. That's because otherwise too many people with Tics would fall out.



I totally agree.
I went through two years of depression now, without meds, because I had many side effects and doctors didn't really wanted to give me any meds anymore. But I have enough from the depression and everything I really want to try something again so bad.

I want to try lithium or valproic acid, because that's a totally other directions and I haven't tryed them now.
(I know that lithium orotate works for me, so I have good changes that lithium carbonate also works for me)

Can anybody answer those questions?

That's totally different and you can just be sure if you get tested.

In Bipolar II depression is usually much more common than hypomania.
Hypomania and Mania can last from a view hours to a fiew months.

It really debends how fast you cycle and so on.
You can just be sure if you get tested by an expert.

Thank you.
So it depends on cycle-speed.
And, of course, to be sure you need to get tested. Makes sense.

Oh thanks, I totally overlooked you comment first.
I really want to try Valproate or Lithium, what works best for me.

I printed out all my Bipolar-tests for my psychiatrist when I see her next time and some studies on Autism and Bipolar.

The problem is with me, that I was depressed most of the time and even when I get hyper, I'm not that outgoing because of my autism.
My psychiatrist is still a bit confused because of my symptoms, but she is not an autism expert.
So it's not an ideal combination at all and first she tryed a whole bunch of other diagnoses with me but nothing really fit.
I was diagnosed befor on autism and she had trouble accepting it.

Nope, deffo not bi polar then i guess.... My moods are pretty steady... I definitely don't get lows the way they're described.. and i guess i don't get the highs either...

Well, i'd always wondered if there was a possibility, esp over the last year, just now i see it written down and explained i guess there's no chance im bi polar. My lows this last year have been purely down to the situation ive been in, and that was down to plain old not knowing wtf had been going on over something.... Now it's sorted it's back to plain old steady moods, yay me.

Scored 41

I don't even have depressive lows, so why the heck am I schizoaffective???