Why do I still have mood swings?
I am bipolar, diagnosed as Type I (though lately it seems more like rapid cycling) and I am on Lamictal (over a year) and Seroquel (about 3 mnths). I would say about 95% of the time I take my medication as prescribed and yet I still have pretty severe mood swings.
Now keep in mind – the things I am about to describe don’t happen on a daily basis, but they do occur often enough to make me worry:
At night I notice that depression hits me really hard and I end up feeling so low that suicide starts to cross my mind again, and that can last for over an hour.
During the day up until late evening there are times when I feel EXTREMELY frustrated, I feel angry for no reason, sometimes I even feel violent. My muscles will tense up, I want to throw things and scream and it takes a good 30-45 mins for me to cool down.
What could be causing this? Bad reaction to my meds? Wrong dosage? Maybe a need for different or additional meds?
Any advice would be helpful.
I should also point out that I have mentioned the wild mood swings to my therapist and she has some concerns as well, as I am between psychiatrists at the moment.
I used to have the crazy up and downs all of the time before I began treatment, I had gotten used to it and when I started on meds they faded quite a bit, I always assumed that was part of being bipolar. Honestly, I wouldn’t be concerned except that it feels like they are getting worse.
Comments (8)
Since you have taken the first medicine for so much longer than the second medicine, the chemicals could be reacting to the pacification the first medicine already has on your brain. I would tell your doctor about these symtpoms since you are honest and have them documented. The brain and body adapt to the same routine, which causes us to learn to do things subconsciously. Since you take your medication most of the time, your brain may be accustomed to the first medication and may be adjusting to the second, causing these symptoms. I would tell your doctor about these problems and your concerns to get a professional input. If he gives you an answer you don’t like, I would try to see another doctor or a specialist for a second opinion. Hope that helps!
is there any outside problems that could be enhancing your mental problem … you could need a high dosage … i doubt its a bad reaction to meds … try to wear blue clothes (it calms the mind)
I think the best thing for you to do is talk to your doctor about this. It might be the medication, or you may need something to help you control the anger you are experiencing. Only a doctor can tell you what to do though and help you with your medication. You should not have to be feeling so frustrated all the time and angry. Best of luck!
Rapid cycling is a confusing concept. The episodes that define bipolar disorder last much more than an hour. DSM criteria state that a mania lasts a week or more and a depression lasts 2 weeks or more. DSM defines rapid cycling as 4 or more of these episodes in a year. Hourly episodes don’t count toward that.
Yet many if not all bipolars have briefer moods that seem excessively intense. I have with my bipolar disorder. I have had an emotional lability since my first mania at age 34 that I never had before. The thing is these are often reacting to some circumstance, which is usually different from those prolonged episodes that allowed one to be diagnosed as bipolar. Are they all the same thing?
Many patients and doctors say yes, a mood is a mood. So the concept of rapid cycling has been stretched by some to include even moods lasting less than a day, so-called ultradian rapid cycling.
What gets less publicity is that may be wrong. The emotional lability you’re describing here may have a very different pathophysiology than prolonged moods that might have more to do with the time of the year than any circumstance. There are other reasons to be moody than bipolar disorder. Borderline personality is one. Here is an article that discusses the possibility of having both conditions:
http://mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=4185
This doesn’t mean that every bipolar with emotional lability has borderline personality. Borderline personality should be throughout someone’s past, not just showing up with the bipolar disorder. Unfortunately the term “emotional lability” can be misleading also. If you search on that, at least half of what comes back is neurological conditions like pseudobulbar palsy that make neurological patients emotional in a way that has nothing to do with mood disorders.
So while some individual doctors have decided that everyday moodiness in bipolar disorder should be called ultradian rapid cycling, while others would rather call it emotional lability and see it like the moodiness of borderline personality, no one has to wait for everyone to make their minds up to be treated. Your doctor may want to adjust your mood stabilizer, but the symptoms you describe aren’t a failure of your meds. These moods might get better with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It is important what you are reacting to with these brief moods. The key may be how you are doing with these psychologically rather than pharmacologically. At the same time antipsychotics can supress just about any feeling so you can work with your doctor on finding a higher dose of Seroquel that supresses some of these brief moods, but not too much of your feelings. There are many things that might help.
See suicidal thoughts and anger at http://www.ezy-build.net. (.net.nz/~shaneris) on pages 4, and 5, and practise the muscular tensing/relaxation method, or one of the other relaxation methods on page 2, and try the EFT. The bipolar section is undergoing reconstruction, but check it out again in a few days. A change of medication may help.
you need to go back to your doctor and tell him what is going on it could be your meds need readjusting
A lot of your symptoms sound like borderline personality disorder, particularly the mood swings. Have a look on http://www.bpdworld.org. There are stories from other sufferers on there, and go and have a word with your GP. Good luck.
The meds don’t seem to be working for you. Try something else or even a higher dosage. Tell your therapist immediately before it gets worse!
I was on bipolar meds for years and everyone of them made me worse … I went threw everything you’re describing except I attempting to kill myself and strangle my sister and I can’t tell you how much of my stuff I broke! So yes before any real damage is done …