I was diagnosed yesterday with?!
Question: manic-depression. It runs in my family and this is the 3rd diagnosis for me. (never accepted I had it) I am very upset and I still feel like maybe they are wrong and I am ok. What is going to happen to me? I am on Lithium and Klonopin. I just need some advice and maybe some stories of people with it that are doing well. My mom has it and it has really wrecked her life. I do not want to go through what she has gone through.
Mine is atypical bipolar with manic tendencies and also OCD.
Answers: manic-depression. It runs in my family and this is the 3rd diagnosis for me. (never accepted I had it) I am very upset and I still feel like maybe they are wrong and I am ok. What is going to happen to me? I am on Lithium and Klonopin. I just need some advice and maybe some stories of people with it that are doing well. My mom has it and it has really wrecked her life. I do not want to go through what she has gone through.
Mine is atypical bipolar with manic tendencies and also OCD.
"Bi-polar" is such a loaded word for what really is a physical problem.
Your body doesn't make enough Lithium - if they were accurate with the disease, they'd call it "Lithium deficiency".
That means that you're no different than the millions of people with Type 1 diabetes ("insulin deficiency") or those who are anemic (iron deficiency) or those with deficiencies in B12 or any of the other vitamins or trace elements.
You're just deficient in Lithium.
The most important thing to remember, once they've found the right dosage for you, is to take your medication every day.
Most bi-polar people get in trouble because they start to feel OK and then they stop taking their medication.
This is a sneaky disease - you can't tell when you're off the beam because it doesn't give you any warning signs. Your reality just shifts, and THAT's where you get in trouble.
Check in with your doctor on a regular schedule, take your medication regularly, and you should be OK.
I hear your pain and have gone through the process of acceptance and denial of my condition. I have atypical mania which usually shows up as agitation rather than a flight of fancy. The first thing I would like to share is the use of Klonopin. It took me a year to get off the stuff. It is for use for 2 weeks only. I was starting to get rebound anxiety as my body was getting immune to the dosage. Lithium works well but there are many different meds and med cocktails. I tried going off meds with horrible results. As all of us are different, different drugs work for different people. When I was improperly medicated it was horrible on my life and that of my family. Now that I have accepted my disorder and take my medication like clockwork, the right meds that is, my life has never been better. I could never even think that life could be this good. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Modern psychiatric meds are so much more improved and be open to these new treatments.
Janice