yes when i get my menstrual i get irritated as well i know it's uncomfortable but start back on your meds and you should be fine. With the menstrual thing going on i know that emotions hit the fan i know i go through it every month. Best wishes xxx

This is an unpopular opinion im going to voice but ,Yes I agree,I couldnt take normal either .It really lacked alot from my point of view and so Im anti med but,think It through very well I mean are or where the meds keeping you out of trouble .The passions of bipolar can get you into alot of trouble .you say you want your sex life back.Ok what about a pregnancy or a sexual diesese are you prepared for that ,Rember Manic spending ,can you control spending your gas money on a pair of shoes ,what about lossing your temmper on people you love ect ect...think It through.I live in far out in the country theres not to many tempations that present themselves here.Hows your situatuion ? Be carefull.

Dont get off the meds ever !! You feel "fine" because your takeing them! Get back on asap girl ..you shouldent do stuff like that. Take em everyday

DAMN GIRL, YOU'RE NOT ALONE.. I'M ANGRY, IRRITABLE AND DEPRESSED PLUS RAGGING IT TOO.. I THINK IT SUCKS AND I WISH ALL THESE DIFFERENT EMOTIONS WOULD GO AWAY AND I COULD FIND MY MANIA TOO.. HANG IN THERE GIRL, YOU ARE NOT ALONE..

I tried the same thing,getting off meds.I ended up in the hospital from an overdose.Coming off my meds did a real number on me.I will never come off them again.I was like you and thought I could do without them but see what happened.It was not a good thing!

gee i tried to wee a little off of some of my depakote..and found myself feeling bitchy..so i went back on...but now i feeling bitchy again and depression is settting in..but then fall is a season when I have problems with my bp...i really don't think its your rag time causing the problem...I think you need to stay on your meds and share with your doc....just a sucgestion...gl...hugs

You are crazy to think you can do it all without your meds. when i wasnt on meds i lost my house, my job, my love, and my family everything i cared about more than being manic. Your being selfish if all you want is mania. sure we all want to be manic again and enjoy the feelings it gives but its not good for us and its not normal. You feel like shit because you didnt go off of your meds like you were supposed to like a doctor would want to you too and so you are feeling the consequences. You cant just go from meds one day and none the next that causes horrible head aches and mood swings. Plus because of the loss of dosage you could have had a stroke or die. If thats what you want than please go on with your stupidity because you need to be on some medication!

You have to remember that the meds are a HUGE part of why you feel fine. Before i was diagnosed, i dated a BP who stopped his meds regularly because he felt fine and then he usually had a severe manic episode, where everyone was stupider than him, grandiosity, etc. I stopped seeing him because I couldn't take it, and here I am, 15 years later, in menopause and being treated for BP since the depression treatment wasn't working.
i have accepted that I need to be on some mood stabilizing meds probably the rest of my life, but I want to feel normal and realize it ain't gonna happen without the right meds. I just want to get ramped up to the right level so I can do that. I am feeling better after 6 week ramp on lamictal, but am not where I want to be in terms of functioning. my day-to-day behavior is my gauge on how I'm doing.
please take your meds and find someone you can vent to.
I find that I

BP princess, I'm just putting my two cents in here: When Boxrep said he stopped taking his meds, you called him a hypocrite because he had told you to continue taking yours. You urged him to take his meds, saying he needed them. Now you are going off? Isn't THAT hypocritical?

I understand you are going through a hard time, but you really had no right to call him a hypocrite- look where you are now. My advice to you would be to get back on your meds. And next time, I think you should remember how easy it is to go off them before you judge someone else.

((HUGS))

I decided against going off my meds and continue to see my pdoc like a good girl.

Thats great- Hugs to you!

Never stop the meds. It makes everything so much worse.

I am soooo clueless as to why people think meds are bad and they have to stop them. It's not just you, Princess, it's wayyyy too many people. Are you secretly trying to punish yourself? As in another form of cutting?
Seems to me to be outright stupid and I know you all aren't stupid. So why the hell do you do this?
And then you ask why you are angry and irritable....DUH!
Sorry, just don't get it.

Forgot...did it ever occur to you that you felt fine BECAUSE you were taking your meds, and you didn't feel fine when you stopped them?
It's plain and obviously cause and effect!