What should I do? Bipolar Question?!
Question: I found out i had Bipolar last September after major manic-ness followed by an overdose. I was in college at the time doing a nursing degree. i think the course was a trigger (i had tons of other stuff too) as topics we covered were very close to me personally, abuse etc. i had racing thoughts n hallucinations in college plus everything else. but i was still a good student and got great marks. Ive just started back at work after being signed off but i still want to continue my training. i dont wan to be stuck in a dead end job 4 eva.
Im thinking of doing an Open Uni course for as much as possible, then do the practical stuff at the hospital. Do you think this will still affect me? i really REALLY dont want to go thru another manic phase.
Thanx for reading my rants!
Help please???
xxx
Answers: I found out i had Bipolar last September after major manic-ness followed by an overdose. I was in college at the time doing a nursing degree. i think the course was a trigger (i had tons of other stuff too) as topics we covered were very close to me personally, abuse etc. i had racing thoughts n hallucinations in college plus everything else. but i was still a good student and got great marks. Ive just started back at work after being signed off but i still want to continue my training. i dont wan to be stuck in a dead end job 4 eva.
Im thinking of doing an Open Uni course for as much as possible, then do the practical stuff at the hospital. Do you think this will still affect me? i really REALLY dont want to go thru another manic phase.
Thanx for reading my rants!
Help please???
xxx
keep taking your meds , take things slow , a manic doesin't just come over night, keep a mood chart ,
hope this helps xx
Do you have medication for it ??? If so then if you keep taking your pills then you should lead a 'normal' life.
Your doctor would be able to answer this better, but i don't see why you couldn't do it !!!
Do you feel strong enough ???
Its hard to say what will trigger another manic phase. bipolar is very tricky. I think that cutting out any extra stress in your life is a must. are you on medication? how do you think it is working for you? what about a mood stabilizer? i also think that you need to get in touch with your doctor and discuss what you went through. Your doctor may know way more about the pattern of your cycle. I wish i knew more, but hey if you ever want to talk, i have suffered from mental illness for 9 years and i just graduated college so Ive been there.... I'm here anytime.
I am really pleased that you are getting yourself together here, my advice would be to talk to the university where you did your original training and see what options you have there.
If they are aware of any problems you have they can offer solutions that will minimise the impact this has on your mental health while continuing to study.
Also contact the OU and see what your options are there too, that way you can decide which is the better option for you.
I wish you good luck for your future studies.
I too am bipolar, and it is important that you speak with your doctor, and get put on to the right combo of medications. Once your on the right combo of meds, you will feel so much better, and your moods will stableize a little better. It is very important that you get in to see your doctor though, and explain your feelings.
I do not mean to be distasteful, but you are asking for help. There is one study that is interesting. In a double blind study in a insane asylum, they found that people that had mental disorder pleasure themselves and those that did not got better. Something about the self absorption robs you from thinking about others and thus making your problems bigger than they really are. Hope that helps.
for starters healthy diet
low in saturated fat
at least 10 servings
fruits and veggies a day
nuts and whole grains
now some vitamins
st john's wart take as directed
on the bottle {if you take prozac
do not take st john's wart}
a good multi vitamin
omega 3,6,9, 800 mg 1 time daily
cq 10 100 mg 1 time daily
vitamin C with bioflavonoids 500 mg 3 times daily
magnesium 400 mg 1 time daily
vitamin E 800 iu 1 time daily
CONSULT YOUR DOC
this is just what my brother does
but should help
I hope they didn't give you antidepressants, that is not proper treatment for bipolar. If you got lithium, that should help tremendously. You can take your meds and be as normal as any one else. The school is not concerned with your personal life, just that you pass the requirements and you are able to do your job properly.
If you get worse under stress, I wonder how much stress you have to endure to get your assignments done and pass your tests. Pulling an all-nighter is sure to bring on another bad episode. Be sure and get as much sleep as you can, (although that sounds crazy saying that to a college student.) Watch out for too much coffee or too many uppers, that could bring on another episode. Try not to skip meals, I know that's hard sometimes.Try and get your B complex vitamins, it will help calm you down. And if you start to feel too much panic or stress try drinking some orange juice. It has lots of Vitamin C, potassium and magnesium. That should help calm you down and help you get it back under control.
If you have the least worry, your health is a good clue to how well you will endure. It's never a bad idea to eat plenty of fresh fruit and green vegetables. If you start eating a lot of junk food for a quick fix instead of eating properly, you can be sure you will have a manic episode shortly thereafter. And definitely, no partying, no alcohol, no drugs. The longer you party the worse it will be in the morning. You don't need that. Plan for a nice big party after graduation.
Hang in there. You can do this. Nurses get paid big bucks. Stay in focus and just endure until the end.
I hope this helps you.
loads of creative, inspired people are diagnosed with this.
you've discovered something that is useful to you and requires your acceptance. take care in determining if medication is gonna help, it probably will i'm sure you can balance your career aspirations. get your nursing designation and academic footing in place before taking low skill hospital jobs. do something other than hospital work while you're in nursing school so you don't burn out.
Hey, I think its great, I too consider my education an investment for the future when I am well enough to hold down gainful employment. I'm at uni doing my honours year in English Lit, but I'm doing it part time and as an external student, similar to open uni because I've got bipolar and I haven't properly stabilised yet, even after 3-4 years.
Right now I'm a disability payment and receiving treatment to help me stabilise, but the thing is the bipolar hasn't affected my ability to study some of the time, so I do what I can at the pace I can.
I think by taking it easy and with good time management concerning study sessions and planning my submission deadlines, I've avoided too much stress and putting myself into a compromising position. I've made individualised arrangements with my professors and university who know about my condition and special needs.
I say go for it, but remember its okay to know your limitations and stop when you need too. Get your mental health team on board and talk to your hospital, they will probably be very supportive of you as nurses are needed every where.
As to medications and supplements, take ONLY what your doc or shrink prescribes and HOW they prescribe it, simply check if you want to take something like vitamins. I am on an antidepressant (low dose SSRI which is becoming more common) to treat my bipolar depression. Also avoid ST Johns Wart because it has a nasty habit of interacting with medications and causing adverse reactions or reducing drug efficacy.
If you're properly medicated and close to symptom-free, you should be able to do your course fine.
Why not consider taking an antipsychotic? In my opinion, lithium is a scarier drug than most atypical antipsychotics. And if it gives you a chance to become a nurse like you want to, why not give it a chance?
just go to your doctor and let themknow nothing changed,go back to school and dont let nothing stabd in your way! you'll graduate if you dont give up good luck
The truth is that there are no guarantee's. No matter how stable you are and how well your meds are working you will always be prone to relapse.
Of course, managing your stress will go a long way to preventing the relapse.