EDUCATE ME,PLEASE

[Flopsie]

Well Ladies,

[bipolarwoman]

Well, need a little more info on that dx, are you depressed, not manic?  To have bipolar depression, you would first have to have had a manic/hypomanic episode.  Otherwise, it would be unipolar depression.  Does that make sense?   Basically, here's the cut and paste that saves me typing, lol.  (Not laughing at you at ALL).  BTW, what meds did your doc prescribe?

[Flopsie]

No meds today, will go back in am for results of all lab work. have always had bouts of anxiety and depression. Anxiety/Panic. My moods change swiftly, I can be up and cleaning house for 2 hours and the next hour , in here crying over something I saw on the puter( and it does not have to be anything sad). have always had problems with people following my train of thought when talking to them, cause I talk real fast and keep on talking, till I get out of breath, then ask "Did you understand what I just said?" LOL, did you understand what I just wrote?

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow

[bipolarwoman]

LOL of course!  I've had 40 years of it to practice with lol.

Anxiety/panic often goes with BP, (me too) but how many symptoms on the list did you have besides pressured  speech and fast train of thought?  Manic episode needs to be a week or more.  Not sure about moods changing every few hours.     Did you see a pdoc?

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Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key

[bipolarwoman]

BTW I am not trying to dx you!  Only get a feel for what 's been going on

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Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key

[Flopsie]

no , he gave me no tests, but I have all of those S/S except, drug use, and incresed sex. I have a lot od other things going on for me that would include the leaden paralysis. i think we were typing at the same time as indicated in above post.

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow

[Flopsie]

no pcp today. saw a pdoc when i was put on disability. Didn't think you were DXing me, i am not familiar with this DX and did not find anything when I ran search. What screening tests should be done and what meds do they usually use, the only one he mentioned today was Cymbalta, but did not write it yet. Sorry so many questions, this is just scary to me. No psych experience, except with my daughter in law and she is Bi-polar, that is only DX she has, can stay up for days and prominent manic episodes, Then she will sleep for days also. I do not do that.

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow

[bipolarwoman]

EEK!  You may be.  There was an MD on here last night named ckgMD and he mentioned the Hamilton depression scale and the mood disorder questionnaire.   These are to my knowledge the most effective screening tool to use in dx BP and other things, but it is very thorough in weeding out BP.   If you are BP, you sound like a rapid cycler, which Nickie, Sandra and myself are.  It's the hardest one to treat becuase it fluctuates too quickly and often.  But, there are times when it's tamer, thank god!

[bipolarwoman]

Flopsie, Cymbalta is an SNRI, basically same as SSRI and is NOT recommended to use in BP.  It causes mania.  I was afraid of this, that's why I asked what med.  PCPs dont know much about BP and if they suspect any kind of depression, BP or otherwise, they tend to hand out the latest samples of whatever antidepressant there is.   I would advise you to get an eval from a pdoc, and not start the cymbalta until you do.  If BP is ruled out, fine.  Read the thread about need information started by Portia, in the second page ckgMD, a PCP in NY wrote in about this very thing.  He is a particularly well informed doctor who realizes the dangers of writing SSRI/SNRIs for BP patients. 

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Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key

[bipolarwoman]

Also, you can google mood disorder questionnaire (I would give you the link, but can't here) and take the test.  It's pretty dead on and it may help you get a better understanding of where you are.

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Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key

[Flopsie]

Yikes 7+. looks like Bi-Polar 2 to me from reading the links, Oh Lord what do i do now. Although it says it does not have the manic episodes

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow

[kittycat27]

Have you ever been dx for depression before? What made you go in, and how long did it take for him/her to dx you? Sorry if I missed that, I was first dx with depression ( MD), then 1 year later dx with Bipolar. I always doubt this dx, however I think everyone around me knows it's a true dx. Shannon we talk all the time, have you ever actually seen( hehe) me manic? I don't recall in the last months if I have been besides med induced. I know STOP with the denial. Also Sandy, I will email ya when I have more time like tomorrow, about the dreams, wow now i am freakin out, I had similiar dreams, ohhhhhhh... that's creepy. Love ya chicks. Nickie

P.S. I dreamed that one of the instruments I am learning for surgery was trying to attack me. Oh my God..... I never want to touch that one...it's a frazier, a neurotip suction , how weird is that.

[ckgMD]

Hey Flopsie ...

I completely agree with Shannon .... cymbalta is a recimic mixture of Prozac. Although SSRI's may be effective in treating depression, they do carry the greater risk of inducing a manic switch (where a patient who might be depressed might flip totally into a hypo/manic stage). I would strongly suggest that you consult with your physician about initiating therapies other than an SSRI therapy (or, referring to a psychiatric consult before initiating treatment).

hope this helps!

best,
ckgMD

[bipolarwoman]

http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/MDQ.htm

 

Yes, I think this is pretty thorough, although of course you can't just diagnose yourself over the internet.   But I do wish  more docs (even pdocs dont all use this) would.

 

BP II is hypomania, a milder form of mania which is dangerous enough to cause a lot of problems with relationships, financial status, keeping jobs, etc.  The difference between type II and type I is full mania with psychotic episodes as well i.e. hearing voices, hearing your name being called all the time even when there is no one there, thinking you are something grand, the president, having special supernatural powers, special connections with God, smelling things burning or that just aren't there, extreme paranoia are some of the things type I experiences. 

 

BP II is no light matter.  If you are scoring high on the mood disorder questionnaire you need a pdoc in the worst way and to show it to him.  This is the first application of working WITH the pdoc.  You will always have to in order to be as successful as possible with your treatment.

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Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key

[Flopsie]

Hi kittycat, yes I have fought depression for many years, have been on several meds in the past, the most recent being Paxil, which I could not tolerate. It had some bad side effects, made me want to do seriously bodily harm to other people.Before that I was med free for many years, and now it has come back.

I could go on and on about my life, but I will leave it here,and thank you all for your input. Will see what doc has to say after the labs come back tomorrow. Not to happy with him anyway, wanted to take me off my Lanoxin, cold turkey after 15 years and change to Coreg.

Thanks again,

flopsie

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow

[bipolarwoman]

Flopsie, did you ask the doc why Coreg instead of Lanoxin?  One possibility, and this is just an idea, is that you run the risk of dig toxicity, which I'm sure you already know, so dig levels are needed.  However, you may still need glucose levels done with a beta blocker.  Coreg works on both hypertension and CHF by stimulating the heart muscle, so not so necessary to take potent diuretic medications.  You still may possibly have to, but dig may not be necessary.  Just a thought.

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Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key

Post Edited (psychnurse) : 9/27/2005 6:06:35 AM (GMT-6)

[Flopsie]

nope did not ask him why, just said NO and left it at that, Been on lanoxin, get my dig level done every 6 months. They are theraputic range and I am not changing . Once this diabetes is under control, a lot of things will prob be different.

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow

[Arenace]

Okay nurses, by the time you two are finished we're all going to need an education, and an asprin!!! LOL

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BP brings new meaning to Life's Little Ups and Downs

[Arenace]

Thanks Jennifer!!

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BP brings new meaning to Life's Little Ups and Downs

[Flopsie]

ok, LOL, finished... take an aspirin and call us inthe morning..LMBO. Have a good day!

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Don't walk in front of me....I may not follow