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    Long depressive episodes

    Hi everyone,

    I'm new to this forum. I wanted to see if anyone has some tips.

    I was diagnosed with bipolar type I four years ago after switching to a manic episode after taking Effexor. I used to be pretty stable on Seroquel and Cipralex. October 2015 I was switched to Latuda during a depressive episode. I stopped Latuda in May 2016 due to side effects and regret terribly doing so. I didn't notice for a while but I went into a hypomanic phase. I didn't have a psychiatrist following me where I lived. I finally got help in August 2016. The hypomania went away after trying Abilify and then Epival while keeping Cipralex. However I fell into a crippling depression and I've been on sick leave for 6 months now.

    I am now on Lithium and Cipralex which seemed to be helping me improve initially but now I just feel like I'm going backwards. I can't be motivated to do much of anything. I worry that I'll never be able to do my career. I do see a psychologist every 2-3 weeks but I give up on her homework too fast. I can barely eat now- I'm so anxious and stressed that I get nausea, sometimes vomiting, diarrhea. My tinnitus has come back too.

    I really want to help myself get better but all I seem to do is lay in bed. Sleep is okay but I have to take a zopiclone every night.

    Does anyone have any tips on what I can do that can help me overcome this long stretch of depression?
    Last edited by unknownwonder; February 16, 2017, 11:30 PM.

    #2
    Hi unkownwonder,

    Welcome to the forum. I am thinking about your situation and am not clear if you now have a psychiatrist. I hope you do. I know it can take a long, long time to get on the right cocktail of meds and it's so frustrating when something that initially seemed to be working stops being effective. I hope you can keep working with your doctor to tweak the meds. That said, I also want to tell you that it is important that you don't lose hope. I have recently been through a very long depressive episode and it was very hard for me to believe that things will ever get back to normal. But I persevered with doing small things that at the time felt overwhelming (like taking a shower, emptying the dishwasher, etc.)and worked hard with a psychologist to manage the anxiety that went along with the depression (yes, doing the homework was hard). The other thing I did was to connect with people (I had become quite isolated). At first just through texting, then the odd phone call, and eventually getting together for coffee, etc. These were people, mind you, who I could talk with about my experience who supported me and didn't make me have to put on the fake mask. It was a while before I could socialize with other people. Anyway, my purpose of writing this is to encourage you to not give up hope. Believe it WILL get better! I've been off work for two years and now I am finally feeling well again. I'm getting ready to return to my pre-illness life! I remain on meds and always will but I know they will have to be tweaked from time to time and I know I will have to go back and see my psychologist when stressful things happen (which of course will happen - that's life). Take care unkownwonder, and know you are not alone.

    Neli

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      #3
      Welcome to the forum Unknownwonder. It can be a long road to recovery. I went thru a few 'helpers' along the way and many combinations of medications before finding the right balance. I agree with Neli, as hard as it is, hold on to the hope that it is possible to be well again.

      It sounds like your medication might need to be adjusted. I would also encourage you to tell your psychologist that the homework is too much for you right now. Perhaps he or she can modify the course of therapy to accommodate this difficulty.

      Feel free to share as little or as much of yourself as you are comfortable with. Ask questions or simply vent when needed. You'll find the people on this forum to be a friendly supportive group.
      AJ

      Humans punish themselves endlessly
      for not being what they believe they should be.
      -Don Miguel Ruiz-

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        #4
        Hello Unknownwonder. I agree with the others. I wasted far too much time on medication that just wasn't working. A medication change or tweaking may help, my own rule of thumb is that if it doesn't work in 90 days, it isn't going to work. Take Care. paul m
        "Alone we can do so little;
        Together we can do so much"
        Helen Keller

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          #5
          Last year I found myself in a depressive stage for over 6 months it wasn't going away ..I was trying always with my doctor to find the right combo..when I would get out of the depression I was in a severe manic state that I could not control my habits .gambling ,spending ,racking up bills ,lieing stealing and so forth ...it was scary ..sometimes I thought it was best to stay depressed because I was only hurting myself where as if I got in a manic stage I was hurting others as well.we have all suffered severe but I think these forums do help out because we see what others are going through and we are not alone..I know people feel that a psycolgist is usually the way to go but I look at it like this ..he\she can teach us the science of our illness but we all know the facts because we are going through it ..I wish there were more live support groups in my area that I could actually talk with people with the same disorder.

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