Have you had your meds evaluated recently? Using Haldol and Zyprexa together can cause Restlessness, Agitation, Irritability, Irregular/Increased Heartbeat...a lot of the symptoms patients attribute to hypomanic episodes.

Although they are both anti-psychotics they're different, Haldol is an older generation "typical Anti-psychotic", Zyprexa is a new generation "Atypical Anti-psychotic". They work differently on different receptors in the brain and the newer generation drugs were created because they have less long term neurological damaging effects. These 2 meds have many side effects, but Haldol can actually exacerbate psychiatric symptoms like anxiety, euphoria, agitation and apprehension. When mixed with another Anti-psychotic triggering some of the same receptors in the brain, those side effects may be increased.

It might be worth it to have a conversation with your Pdoc about your meds and see if there's anything to be done about the combination.

hey thanks for info this is all they can offer me i was on haldol for years high dose 65-80 mg then on zyprexa with lamictal that caused such a tremor that i stopped it and do not even notice a difference except no tremor they added haldol `15mg for some reason sleep i guess cannot take benzos had reaction stopped sleeping for a year yes a year for real and they just kept me on the haldol i have a new nurse practitioner see her on the 11th i may ask to see the doctor nothing works for me and i have paradoxical reactions the haldol helps with the depression so i take it it helps a little with sleep 10 at bedtime i do not always take 10 most of the time i do but they cannot give me antidepressants trigger mania i have been doing better with minor depression and hypomania never stable never will be this is long i may have a talk about meds but this is about all there is the others do not work

Having a difficult medicine treat-ability does make it more difficult, but not impossible. I would see an actual Psychiatrist when you get a chance, Nurse Practioner's don't have the specialty in Psychiatric Medication, so they don't always know of other options. There are other Anti-Psychotics that aren't as strong as Haldol, nor cause the same problems that might help you, there are also other class meds that can help with sleep, besides benzo's and Anti-D's, if that's the only reason they put you back on it.

I have a Cyclic Rhythm Sleep Disorder, my brain doesn't know when its supposed to sleep, so I have to take multiple meds to make it do that function, otherwise I don't sleep. I've had that since 2006. I sleep 4 - 4 1/2 hours per night, and that's what my body is used to. So I get you when it comes to the importance of sleep.

Glad the Depression and Full Manic Eps are not a problem anymore, that's definitely a good thing.

i agree they seem to think i need strong like haldol i have psychotic tendencies hear voices all i mean all of the time they have gotten to be my friends talk to them constantly just like you would family so i really do not know why they stick to same meds i do have the paradoxical reactions and they are afraid of what will happen if they change meds that is what they tell me new antipsychotics but no new mood stabilizers i feel good sleeping 4 hrs a day too i hate to sleep which is probably why i do not i do not know when i can see a doc and it may just be best to learn other ways other than meds since i have these weird reactions too dangerous to change now meds do not even touch the voices funny the voices started with the 1st hospitalization and never left not for a minute

I hope you figure this difficult med issue out.

I will say, the typical pattern with bipolar, is to get lower and more depressed as you get older. Which actually would fit if you are not getting manic.

That being said, I went through a very rough menopause, moods were bad, so much dysphoria, or mixed states. When I got through, I became very euthymic. I’m mellow, happy as opposed to hypomanic, and I was able to drop about 5 psych meds.

So I think the normal pattern doesn’t fit all of us!

There are charts of this, if you google it. My phone didn’t want to move one here.

@MarleneJ: can you give me the hyperlink to those charts? I'd love to see what you're talking about.

Interestingly the research I've seen says that in unmedicated people with bipolar they tend more and more to mania. I don't know if that also applies to those who are medicated.

I honestly wanted that link. I'm buried in Re-cert coursework right now so I've been studying and writing and all this stuff is buried in my head more than usual.

I've never seen a Research Study or reputable site that claims BiPolar Symptoms calm or reduce with age. As people get older, higher percentages of patients tend to get proper treatment for the condition and that can cause a decrease in symptoms, but it has nothing to do with age....it's Treatment Related.

In women menopause can increase episodes as hormonal shifts cause increased chemical imbalance, when hormones return to a more balanced state, the episodes tend to go back to the patients more regular routine.

as i become older they are becoming more rapid too odd