Hey Holz,
Yep, all those symptoms sound familiar. I don't know if you are currently in a hypomanic stage or not..those terms don't mean that much to me. The important thing is you recognize your behavior is not okay and you want to do something about it. There are lots of people here who can identify and help you. They are just asleep at the moment.

I hope i don't turn you off by talking about my daughter (who is just a few months younger than you) and sounding like a Mom ...but notice the name...I am one lol! But all the symptoms you listed sound so much like the things she struggles with. Plus more. And I looked at your profile and saw the drugs...she has tried them all. The two that are helping right now are Celexa and Lamictal. You are on a baby dose of Lamictal. As that increaes...I predict you feel sooooooo much better. Things will suddenly start to slow down. She is on 400mgs. Kinda high but totally wonderful. Our lives have changed. Then all the behavioral skills you have learned on this journey will kick in.
I'm glad you have nursing. You must be an awesome person! My husband is an HIV nurse. AND.....we raise sheep and spent six months in NZ before the kids!! You'll be right Holz. No worries Honey. You're in the right place.

thankyou for answering its 1.19am in new zealand here lol. I just don't know the difference between hypomanic and mania. Your daughter, you said she does what i do what phase is she in - hypomania or mania. Im scared very scared with the seroquel and lactrimal that I will put on weight, so much that I want to go off it, i see the dr in 2 weeks, am wanting to try topamax but dont' think they believe in it in new zealand. I am always worried that i will get so sedated that i won't be able to study. Life this semester in nursing has been particularly difficult, i couldn't concentrate, blurting out things, people say i shouldn't be a nurse if i have bipolar. May i ask what behavioural skills you are talking about? My friends tell me they want the old Hollie back, i don't know who that is, I only know myself as the "high" hollie, and im scared about the depression which will follow. Before my diagnosis I had a diagnosis of chronic PTSD and Obsessive compulisive personality disoder. Its weird that suddenly i get all these highs, i feel like I have 2 personalities one is the high hollie and the only is the depressed hollie

Hello again,
The "skills' I was referring to are the ones you mentioned in your profile under psychotherapy. that you have learned stuff in therapy, but it's very difficult to act on what you've learned when your brain is pushing you at the speed you describe. So when you find the right combo of drugs, life slows down a bit and then it is up to you to do the rest. Am i making sense? i can give you an example if not.

Also...I doubt you will have a weight gain on lamictal. Maybe on Seroquel. My daughter gained about 40 pounds on this trip to find the right meds. I used to be FREAKED out by that. But now her life is so much better....the wieght is slowly coming off. Risperidal was the worst. At least for her. Topomax gave her huge headaches and made her bitchy beyond words. But it may be different for you. My advice is to be patient until the lamicatal gets to a theraputic dose. If you want to do anything to help yourself now, it could be giving up energy drinks, cut down on the partying, and SLEEEEEP. It must be time for bed down there!! Feel free to message me any time. I'd love to talk NZ. Bring back memories.

I'm bipolar 2 and it sounds like hypo-mania to me. I could be wrong of course. I was diagnosed with major depression for years until I swung over to bipolar disorder. Don't know if I always had it and it wasn't as bad as it is now. It got worse for me. Mumzy is right take the seroquel to sleep. Sleep is very important. She's right about the lamictal too. As it increases you'll feel a lot more even.

Hey there Holz..I'm BPII also and I have the same symptoms and am told it is hypomania..but whatever the word you need to get it under control and you're seeing a Dr and getting on meds and that is an excellent first step. I don't know about the lamictal except that i have heard it does wonders for some...I personally take lithium and it has saved my life though I still have hypomanic phases but no nearly as bad as they could be..I also take lexapro...the seroquel sounds like a good fit for you at night..but just follow your Dr and ask questions..it takes time to find a good fit and then you're a whole new you...hang in there hon

I've gone through alot of what you are, I am also Bipolar II. My pdoc put me on Zyprexa cuz the "crazy thoughts" as I call them were getting more and more disturbing and bizarre and I was feeling very impulsive...just hanging on by a thread not to act on them! The Zyprexa IS working but I'm putting on the weight that Zyprexa is famous for.

I'm also on 200mg of Lamictal and .25mg of Xanax. After a couple weeks on Lamictal I went hypomanic and posted about it and found that alot of people experienced this but it went away as the dosage increased so hang in there!

The Seroquel should help. Maybe give it a little time and (I know this is hard) try not to give in to the impusivity. Keep yourself safe. If you're still feeling this way or it gets worse, call your pdoc right away, maybe your meds need to be increased.