I am relatively stable and I assure you that it will get better. It's been two weeks and it's going to take a little time for your doctor to figure things out. There is lots of hope to be had. A couple of weeks ago, I would not have said that, but now that I'm at myself, I see things how they really are. You WILL get back to normal. You just have to be as patient as possible and take it easy in the meantime. Don't do anything rash, just remain calm. Use the moments of clarity (when you cycle upward) to jot down notes to yourself that you can read later.

You'll be fine. Just hang on.

I have managed to stay stable for 3 years. I was once in a boat where I was bouncing back and forth such as you are. As of right now, it may be like this for some time, however things will get better. Make sure you talk to your doctor/therapist about things that are going on in your life to see if you can find certain triggers that ignite or worsen your episodes. This will allow you to get help or take appropriate actions before things get out of control. Finding the right combination of medications is tough as well but in time it will happen. There is hope out there so keep holding on to that hope!

Oh one more thing, we all are given mountains to climb in life, but each mountain has its own beautiful view. Keep climbing and you will reach that view!

Thanks for the support. I know it's only been two weeks but the period before that wasn't great either. We;ve been working on my meds and trying to identify triggers for over a year now. It's just really hard to have any hope when things seem so bad. I just don't know how I'm ever gonna get a life of my own.

The future always seems bleak when you are at your lowest. Keep going, eventually you will get your footing on this disorder and you will be able to make a life of your own.

Hey Ivy, there is hope. I've lost years of my life to BP. But now life is treating me well. We go in cycles of good and bad.

So, what else are you doing besides meds to take charge (to the extent you can) of your BP?

Do you:

1. Keep stress down.
2. Put your worries to bed (do what you can and then put file them away till you have time and energy to deal with them again, rather than constantly obsessing)
3. Get enough sleep. This is huge
4. Exercise. This works better for me than the drugs. When they had me on anti depressants, for example, I went off the deep end. Exercise works for the highs and lows.
5. Get out of the house. This is huge. Just get out of the house and into the world where the sights and sounds can distract you from yourself.
6. Learn about the disorder. Read as much as you can. Get the tools to help you deal when the bad times hit.

7. Never forget that this is a cyclical disorder. At times, you will be a mess, other times good. Make the best of the good times and, while you are crashing, remember that the depression will eventually lift.
8. Be kind to yourself. I tend to beat myself up. If we're not nice to ourselves, who can we expect to be nice to us.

All the best to you.

I've heard it takes awhile to get the meds. correct. I do know of people that find stability.

T

Just hang on for now and work with your pdoc. It's only been a few weeks and I know in BP land, that's centuries, but it does take the meds a few weeks to get into your system and a little longer before you start seeing results. Try to keep your environment as stress free as you can and your obligations to a minimum so you can focus on resting and letting the meds do their work. If you are up to it at all, a short walk to get some fresh air and get you out of the house, even for a few minutes, actually helps (that's what I've been doing and it's working!). Started out at 5 up to 20 min. Make sure you're eating and sleeping as regularly as you can and have your support system in place (including us) in case you need it. Take care and you're going to be ok.

I'm not going to BS you. Sometimes there's hope and sometimes there's none. All the flowery, hang in there crap is garbage.

Every day in my life has been one big fake...there's no hope for me and there may be none for you.

I'm not saying kill yourself, but life sux for some of us. Period.

Sorry, I'm on a new med...Saphris. This morning I was high, now I'm in the pits of despair. Fuck this disease!!!!!!!!!!

I have short periods of stability amongst the chaos in my life. I guage how I'm doing based on the length of my stable times and the frequency of the chaos. Slowly I am getting better. Do you chart your moods? If I didn't chart my moods I would think that I'm nit getting any better. My mood charts do, however, that I am slowly improving. I think it's important to realize that we are most likely to show gradual improvement over time, and mood charting helps you see this improvement.

Sorry and do hope you get better.

I was diagnosed a year ago and we have been adjusting meds since then. I have cycled quite a bit since then but the last two weeks have been hell. I just don't feel like there's a chance, after a year, that I'm going to get any better than this. I'm not looking for a cure, just a chance at a life worth living because right now the only reason to hold on is to not hurt the people I love.

After I was diagnosed, I went thru 2 years of pure hell. Then last may I decided to stop my meds altogether and my life has never been better. I swear those meds f'ed me up royally.

It can take quite some time to get the meds working for sure. I am pretty stable for the most part now but still have struggles just not as bad as years ago
Free gave really good advise there is a lot more to do on top of meds to help with stability
I found therapy was just as empowering as the meds for me
Hang in there! There will be much better days ahead
Bless you