I can definitely relate. Sometimes a good mood is just a good mood. But it is good that you are taking the precautions.

I agree with mini. Sometimes feeling good is just feeling good! But the fact that you are aware of it is a great thing - keep good watch! Hugs!

You have self awareness now. Before daignosis there wasnt any I suspect. Anyway try and stay between the score of 4 and 6. 3 and below is depression. 7 and above is in the realms of mania. By the sound of it you are doing really well at about 5 or 6.

Best of luck


Mark

Good to be aware. I know sleep is most important for me when I get in an elevated or possibly elevating mood.

I find pain medication can put me in a good mood. For one, relief from pain is a boost on its own.

As other posters have commented, continue self awareness is good.

Glad you're feeling better :)

You didn't say what narcotic your on. You said you are now pain free....any Chronic Pain patients knows that the possibility of being pain free is almost impossible. We go to Pain Management Dr.s so that our Pain can be Managed down to a number that we can handle and live with each day, but almost never is it all gone.

Is there a chance that your on too high of a dose, or too many pain meds? If your taking too much narcotic it will most probably cause a Manic Episode. Did you ask your Pdoc if it was okay to mix this med/meds with your BiPolar meds? If not, that definitely needs to happen to make sure your meds agree with one another

Otherwise just be careful, because you will become tolerant to the pain pills pretty fast and you don't want to end up with an addiction to deal with.

I agree if you are aware you can help yourself the most in telling your doc what is going on so they can help you. I am glad you are doing better. We are all here for you. Big Hugs:)

Thank you all for all of your kind comments. My mood has evened out a little. As for the person who said chronic pain patients are almost never pain free, I want to say I also take 3 non-narcotic meds, a pain cream, have a tens unit and have a very restricted diet, so I work really hard on it.

I am seeing my psych a week from tomorrow. I am taking half the amount of ativan I used to take, finding I am just not anxious anymore. My mood is definitely mid-range.

THanks everybody.

Ayla

Ayla,

Hi I'm the one that talked about Chronic Pain patients. I myself have been one for 27 years now, since I was 17. I've had 30 surgeries and countless procedures in the last 20 years until I stopped the Surgery train 2 years ago, because I wanted a break. I realize that you can take meds to help your pain, I myself take 3 narcotic meds, 2 muscle relaxers, an NSAID and Voltaren Gel to manage the 6 major illnesses that the Powers That Be have decided I deserved.

If you've managed to get to completely pain free, I'm impressed, because I've never been able to reach that and most everyone I know in real time and on various Chronic Pain Health Boards have never made it to a pain-free existence, they can manage the pain.

With the help of Dr.'s and Physical Therapists, and Talk Psychologists who early on helped me to learn coping skills for ways to integrate my daily pain into my normal life, I can keep my pain down to a 4 most days with a flare up here and there and I have short acting narcotic meds to deal with that. I also use heat and ice and a tens unit. I'm a firm believer of different modalities to control pain. LOL and on top of that I've had to manage my BiPolar Depression so it fits in my life as wel.

So, I wasn't judging you, really I'm not that kind of person. I just think it's pretty great that you've managed to be pain free.

Take care,

OCP