Reddit Reddit reviews The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Third Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know

We found 2 Reddit comments about The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Third Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Third Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know
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2 Reddit comments about The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide, Third Edition: What You and Your Family Need to Know:

u/_B-26354_ · 3 pointsr/BipolarReddit

My story is similar to yours. I had been diagnosed with major depression as a teenager. Over the years I was put on various anti-depressants and nothing ever truly worked. Had a mental breakdown at 30 and was then put on another anti-depressant I'd never been on before. And slowly over time it brought on full hypomanic symptoms--and I had no clue what was happening. Was eventually diagnosed as BPII and over a year later we're still trying to find the right combination of meds to best help me. Like you it was a difficult diagnosis to accept but I was also relieved to finally have an aswer.

I'm glad you were correctly diagnosed at a younger age than I was. That means you'll be able to get stabilized and move forward with your life!

My main advice is to always take your medication(s) as prescribed and to get in touch with your doctor if there's an issue (side effects, etc.). Edit: Also, I've been keeping a log of what medication(s) I've been on, for how long, dosage(s), other notes, etc. I started it at the beginning and I feel like it's been a big help for me to keep track of everything and have my own record to refer back to.

I've found The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide to be very helpful (the third edition was just released). You might consider having family and/or friends read it as well.

Daylio is a great mood tracking app and it's free. You can setup alerts to remind you to check-in.

As far as Depakote goes, it dragged me down too much both of the times I was on it. Almost like a persistent mixed state. Just bad. But, I'm extremely sensitive to medications. Everyone has different experiences and Depakote helps many people. It's trial and error, ultimately.

Hope this helps!

u/rockerbabe28 · 1 pointr/bipolar2

I've been on this combination for about 2 years and I really like it. I started the Wellbutrin first, this was after trying Prozac and Paxil, both of which caused weight gain and didn't help much. I just looked at my Wellbutrin and I also take 100mg 2xday and the Lamictal is the extended release. Something interesting about Lamictal is that its also known to help with depression. Wellbutrin is also supposed to know to lower the risk of going into a manic state.
Before they put me on the Lamictal I was on a slew of anti-psychotics(3 different kinds), none of which helped and had many adverse side effects. My current doctor couldn't figure out why they would put me on the anti-psychotics.
From my understanding Latuda is a anti-psychotic. Anti-psychotics did nothing for me, at one point I actually went to the hospital and the only reason they let me go that night was because I had my fiance(now husband) at the time to watch me.
It's worth mentioning this to your doctor. When I finally got a doctor to listen to me about concern with the meds I was taking, they realized I was on the wrong combination of meds.
My diagnosis is bipolar 2 with mixed episodes, heavy on the depression.
Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide 3rd edition I read the 2nd edition and a workbook(there a lot of different ones) helped me the most. The survival guide book is kind of pricey in my opinion but I found mine at regional library so I had them send it to my local library.