Cyclothymia
Rapid Cycling
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Return to McMan's Web
About Me
- John McManamy
- I am an award-winning author and mental health journalist. I have been writing about mood disorders since being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1999, ranging from a website, an email newsletter, a book, articles for HealthCentral, and this blog. More recently, I have been producing videos. Writing about my illness has played a very strong role in my healing and recovery. Writing allows me to come to terms with my past, gives meaning to my present, and gives me the courage to face the future with hope.
Your Opinion Matters
Followers
Blog Archive
7 comments:
I would like to hear how the story ended.
My partner was diagnosed with cyclothymia and I would like to talk to someone about how to deal with this confusing disease. Are there any happy endings?
It annoys me when I see that cyclothymia is supposed to be mild.....Cyclothymic people have mild depression and hypomania?
Thats just horse shit.
I'm diagnosed with it and I have been very ill and suicidal.
How can cyclothymia be mild if it can borderline on Bipolar type II and sometime develop into type 1?
The moods people experience are subjective and fluctuate in life......
I have been experiencing symptoms of cyclothymia for my whole adult life. Doctors diagnosed PMT or depression. Finally at the age of 54 and having had a breakdown my psychotherapist agreed with me that I have cyclothymia and need referral for psychiatric treatment.
This seems to be an unknown quantity to many in the mental health field and I have to thank you so much for the articles and information on this site.
I am anxious about treatment, but nothing can be worse than living with this condition.
the big question for me is, "do we cyclots consider taking lithium?" i believe most of us who suffer with this turbulent disorder struggle greatly with feelings of failure.i
vehemently agree with the previous entry...not
much can be worse than this because we have
such a difficult struggle even trusting ourselves, since the cerebral/mood dynamic is so out of our control.i take an antidepressant every day, but it just does't seem to be enough.help!
This story sounds a lot like my most recent relationship. My ex-girlfriend of nearly two years suffers from some form of bipolar disorder. When we first met she was the kindest sweetest and most loving person I had ever met. Then soon into the relationship I saw the depression for the first time. There was no external reason for it. She became insecure and often times mean in our relationship. A few times It was so bad I walked out on her. She always followed and pursued me. We tried to work things out but just as things started getting better there would be another episode. About a month ago It happened again. Only this time she stopped calling. After two or three weeks she told me she has moved on with her life. I dont understand this. She is the love of my life and now I dont know how to talk to her. My biggest regret is not doing more research on how to cope with this disorder. For the time being I am heartbroken and desprate for a solution. If you have any answers please contact me @ Jaydz@live.com
I've recently been diagnosed with Cyclothymia and whilst it doesn't appear to disrupt my life, when I sit and review life...it actually wreeks havoc. I've just read the rapid cycling entry......and I feel I'm not crazy finally. I seem to have the daily fluctations and they're getting worse....it's given me hope that I might be able to treat this illness...cause that is what it is...not me just being a f**k up.
Thank you for sharing--here is my account of over 23 years of rapid cycling.I hope this helps others understand what Rapid Cycling is like and how its managed. I have been cycling for decades. I noted a pattern of 4-6 week cycles for years split between depression and mania.Then diagnosed w/bp.My med therapy for the next 18 yrs.was a combo of lithium,tegretol,& bupropion. Now I am using lamotrogine alone F/oil that helps with cycling. I thought I could go it alone. I lasted drug free from one spring to summer by taking high levels of omegas w/epa level 1500 mg,but that changed in Sept. Even though fish oil wasn't the natural wonder it still holds true today that lithium and /or omega III's help protect the grey matter of the brain which bp contributes to deterioration of grey matter. Going back on lithium then became far less effective and the "kindling effect" may have contributed. By going off lithium for almost a year resulted in less efficacy when I resumed it. Any way I really wanted to try lamotrigine with or with or without lithium this time. It seemed to make sense for bp and most important to me,Rapid Cycling. Lithium always affected my cognition so I weaned myself off lith/lamotrg combo and went solo on lamotrg currently 200mg. My bpII depression coexists with seasonal affective disorder. As I aged the sad has become more relevant and the hypomania is much shorter lived,a few days only and the depressions are predominant (fall to spring). I have never used light therapy--I am afraid it will induce the mania side which will counter affect the mood stabilizing properties of lamotrogin which also has an anti-depressant effect without inducing mania to an unmanageable level. However being that I live in the north east--I should finally give it a try (light therapy)in small regulated doses.
My pdoc for years has always said rapid cycling is the hardest to treat. I do consider myself fortunate when at the age of 29, the very first therapist I sought out--suspected bp when there was not as much info as there is today, and sent me to a reputable bp pdoc--whom was lecturing in nyc re: bp, as well as practicing, and prescribing combo-drug therapies (fairly new at the time) of lithium/tegretol back in the early 1980's. We did add wellbutrin which often induced an agitated mania when coming out of a depressed phase which needed to be closely regulated.
I have tried relatively few different drug therapies over the years compared to most and although I am not satisfied with the med treatment options available for bp--and especially rapid cycling,.... I am still here.
I consider myself as John M. does an expert patient--granted probably not on the same level. I have educated myself reading a few books (like John's living well, and Mind Moode and Medicine-Wender & Klein)and intense research on the internet by which I found John M's web site as many others.I have developed a good understanding of this illness. My pdoc and I together regulate my meds--and always shares updates re: bp as to what is available even though we have basically stuck to only two different regimens of therapy over the years.
When I first met my pdoc on the very first visit he showed me a book he contributed to regarding a graph depicting rapid cycling--it was so reasurring to see at that time that I wasn't going crazy. The road to managing our illness is to have it diagnosed correctly and to know you are not alone.
I have been probably like so many men have kept my illness to myself--only my wife and one sibling knows of my illnes. In fact this is the very first time I ever blogged period as well as sharing my experiences. I hope this give others some relief that knowing those of us who suffer silently and do manage.
Post a Comment