Hi there.

I haven't been hypomanic since I started taking meds.
I never was full manic.
Gotta stay on our meds.
Take good care of yourself, CaptainFibro!!!!!!!

LOVE,
heathercliff

I used to stop taking meds while I was feeling good and doing quite well. Then mania would set in followed by arrest/hospitalization then depression. Lithium broke the cycle.

I did it once. Ended up suicidal. Ended up in patient. Hopefully will never do it again.

but to answer your question, yes I think many people have felt that.

I would "tinker" with my meds alot....on then off and so on and on...just not believing I needed the damn things......would get myself into some very harsh mixed manic episodes and then the police would have to haul me off to the hospital.......and back on meds I would go.

I just comply now and but I am on a cocktail that works very well for me...took me years to find it.......so I am in a pretty good place atm and don't want to screw it up so I am complying. I did just have a recent upage of my AP.....and am feeling more like myself again......feeling very lucky that I am too!!!

My strange cocktail works okay a lot of the time but I still rubberband up and down a little bit. If I do anything at all to get stressed out, suddenly my cocktail is less effective and I might get manic enough to go off my meds or sometimes, like I mentioned before, I just forget one day and it's a roll of the dice to see what happens next.

I have heard a lot about people being on certain drugs for an extended period of time and developing neurological disorders for the rest of their lives; such as, twitching, constant spasms, other loss of motor control, or seizures. That scares me a lot.

I go 'mildly hypo' a lot, REALLY hypo once in a while, and manic only very rarely.

I don't remember if I stopped taking them with manic, but if I had to guess, I'd guess 'yes'.

If I don't take my bedtime meds early enough, I almost always start going 'up'.
If I let that go on too long, well, by then I'm feeling really good and, damn it, I deserve a good time, don't I!!!!?

Of course I do!!!!
So taking anything that will interfere with that nice 'buzz' seems counterproductive!!!!
That usually only lasts 36 hours but has gone as high as 74.

I'll take responsibility for that choice, though.
Even when I want to skip them, if I have to get up the next morning, I almost always force myself to take them.

But if I don't have anything pending, what's the difference?

And sometimes, I think it's 9:00 pm (pill time) and am surprised to see that it's really 2:30 am!!! LOL!!!

When I was on Lamotragine, I skipped doses occasionally, to get my creative juices flowing.

I was high and happy, followed by a crash and depression.

It has taken a few years and med changes....including the blessed Lithium...and I really, REALLY never EVER want to skip a pill again.

Is it really worth it?

I rarely skip on purpose (those it has happened). Usually it happens due to not calling my prescription in soon enough to get it before I run out OR I am already kinda out of it and just forget a dose.

Oh yes, the ol' I feel great what do I need meds for thing. Yes, been there, and wound up hospitalized a couple of times for it. I'm better now, but I find if I take my antidepressant too late in the day, I get insomnia and sometimes that kicks something off. Fun times.

I am terrified of being hospitalized! Despite that, I've almost asked to be a couple of time. I'm nervous that all the cuts I've made will be seen and someone will try to commit me. I have about 30 that haven't healed yet. Avoided arteries and tried not to get deep enough to scar or need stitches. I have more practice with that than I care to admit.

When I get manic that's all I want so I don't go off my meds.