Managing bipolar disorder with drugs

[Bananas293]

Swim suffers from depression in the form of anxiety attacks.
Cannabis is a double edged sword, it usually helps in that it helps relax the mind and thus control the train of thoughts that usually lead to an attack, it offers comfort at a time when little else can and more often allows to continue life functioning properly. The bad side is that it only masks the problem and can often push into a paraniod agrophobic depression that makes confronting and managing the anxiety very difficult.
Whatever your circumstance regarding mental health it is important that your doctor knows about any past or present drug taking(they cant bust you!) In Swims sitiuation they chose not to use prescription medication after looking at Swims history yet they have not discouraged(nor condonned) the use of cannabis along with the current cognitive behavioural therapy being undertaken.

[thewomaninagreenhat]

Swim has bi-polar disorder, and smokes throughout the day, every day. Swim hasnt been on prescribed meds for the bi-polar for more than 7 years now, and is actually doing much better without them. Pot helps her keep her emotions in a closer to normal range. She has also adjusted her life and has to avoid certain things, but she is doing much better with just pot than with pot and meds from a doctor.

[Heretic.Ape.]

Basically what the bipolar baboon noticed is that cannabis makes him think more about his thoughts and moods. For example, he may not realize that he is hypomanic but will smoke a bit and realize that the way he has been thinking has been, well, not very grounded. Or he may be depressed and ends up smoking (usually he doesn't feel like smoking when depressed because he sees smoking more along the lines of the cherry on top of a good mood rather than a remedy for a bad mood) and will realize that he really has no reason to be so down, that he's been obsessing over something trivial, etc. It tends to make him think more clearly rather than making him "feel better".

[trips]

They say most people who do have serious problems with drug abuse
most of the time its cocaine
swim finds that the use of drug controls the depression and makes one feel more sane
and calms down the mania to the point were it can be controlled and understood
Anyone here have this illness and use drugs?

[Heretic.Ape.]

I've noted elsewhere (in relation to cannabis) that my lab monkey has bipolar. He does not have a problem with drugs, in fact he rather likes them
He doesn't really even use anything much these days, though he used to be prolific in his experiential meanderings. Now he just does some blow every once and a while (maybe once every few months) and smokes the occasional bit of cannabis (maybe once a month or so). This may have more to do with him being older and not having any access now that he's out of the loop and is much more daunted at the notion of asking around than he was in his more wreckless youth, but even when he was doing a variety of substances with some regularity he never had any issues with abuse.
I've noted that cannabis evens out his thinking (no "I am speaking with gods! " or "I am the total shit of existence "). Blow seems to have more of a calming effect on him than he would expect from other peoples reactions; he doesn't know if this has anything to do with the disorder. His wonderful hypomanic enthusiasm probably did have something to do with his overall experimental exuberance that leads him to want to try everything at least once (and then to do it again, again!), but that just might be a personality trait known as sensation-seeking, related to low levels of MAO.
Monkey wouldn't recommend anyone using drugs that might prove detramental to their condition as self medication who have the disorder, it's a wierd disorder and can be very unpredictable. But monkey tends not to be as cautious as he encourages others to be

[Euthanatos93420]

Swim has bipolar. He doesn't like cocaine. He tried meth a few times and think it may have reduced his ability to produce dopamine surged manias. Hence mellowing out his swings. Swim used cannibis to medicate for about four years and quit when it stopped helping. Though that was due to other circumstances skewing reality. Fucking narcissitic bitches. Swim uses DXM, Salvia and weed occaisionally (once or twice a month, individually or in combinations). nowadays and treats his self with white peony root for mood stabalization. Melatonin and chamiomile at night to sleep. Swim gets along just fine without life-altering delusions of granduer (though he entertains the thoughts from time to time he doesn't act on them). Swim is able to seperate depression and mania from 'reality' and act as one should despite mood. He has learned that the nature of bipolar is that the mood will pass eventually

[thewomaninagreenhat]

Swim has bipolar, and after having terrible terrible terrible side effects from numerous prescribed medications, swim decided to take matters into her own hands. She altered her lifestyle to get rid of as many stressful situations as possible, reducing the swings significantly. She also uses pot to keep her mind straight, as she is sure her mind would explode if not suppressed some.

Swim used to shoot up with coke, meth, and oxy. She used many excuses for why and how it helped her at the time, but now realizes that it just made her life even more of a mess. She doesnt recommend using these things to anyone, but doesnt judge those who chose to.

Altering her life is what has made the best impact for Swim. Working from home, limiting in-person contact to real friends and family whenever possible.

Swim thinks that changing her diet would make improvements as well, but that is so hard to do.

[Heretic.Ape.]

Cutting out stress is definitely valuable when dealing with this disorder: stress=swings. I have also heard good things about changes in diet but have never had the self discipline to carry out dietary changes
Welcome to the forums
h.a.

[thewomaninagreenhat]

Thank you for the welcome! Im sure that all of us would be better off if we had the discipline needed to have healthy diets. That darn chocolate and sugar has me hooked!

Speaking of healthy foods, pizza just arrived.

I look forward to getting to know people around here! It seems like a great forum, and one that I will be donating to as soon as I get the info.

ps....I hope that it is ok for me to say "I" here instead of Swim, as there is nothing incriminating in this post at all. If it is NOT ok, please, could someone let me know. I dont want to break the rules.

[FuBai]

A friend of mine finds that, with his bi-polar condition, it is easy for him to become dependant on cannabis because of it's anxiolytic properties when he is on the down swing. He finds that cocaine, whilst replicating the manic periods reasonably accurately messes far too much with his moods on the come down. In fact, he has left off using all drugs apart from alcohol and cannabis because of their great and lasting effect on his mood. As for understanding the condition - he has no experience with things like LSD, Ibogaine or Psilocybin which supposedly are useful for introspection, but finds that only sober analysis is useful.

[Euthanatos93420]

Hmm...Swim finds pot very easy to quit. There was a time when he was psychologically addicted to it. But not chemically dependant. A few months without and he's back to using or not at will. Is more often without than stoned. Lately he's been once every week or two. But still it averages out to about once a month. Swim's favorite book just came in the mail and he wishes he had a nice joint to sit back and enjoy some poetry But other than that it's not a big deal.

Diet has had the biggest impact on Swim's moods. He doesn't drink soda AT ALL. Never, Not diet, nothing. THe only exception is a root beer float he had about a month ago and he only used half a can. And a ginger beer the other day at a friends house because he'd never tried one before. Swim stays away form sugar Unless it's in his vegetables. No cake no sweets. The only exception is when his mother bakes cookies. OMG they're better than X....not that Swim would know what X is like but he thinks the cookies are that damn good.

It's okay to have pizza or sugar once in a while. But the key is moderation. One skate meal a week is fine. Swim is a professional cook even if he doesn't do it professionally anymore and has studied diet and nutrition. Swim does a fairly routine series of excersies he learned in teh military as well as riding his bike 3-4 times a week (Low impact, SAVE THE KNEES! )

His favorite snacks are Tamato & basil Wheat Thins with Extra sharp white cheddar cheese or Stilton. And a nice glass of shiraz or Vegetable juice depending on his mood.

Swim was watching a short scene from Oprah his parents were watching the other day while making himself a snack and they were talking about pasting up vegetables and putting em in food. Swim thinks it was Jerry seifeld's wife who wrote a book on it or something. If vegetables are difficult for Swiy or Swiy's family This might be something to look inot. Personally Swim love all veggies except Bell peppers.

I always speak for swim. The last thing I need to do is develope MPD too LOL

[thewomaninagreenhat]

Swim likes sugar too much to get rid of it. There are always fresh fruits and veggies at swims house too though. Swim does eat too much of some things, like pasta, potatoes, beef, sweet things. Also lots of cheese and yogurt. Swim absolutely HATES seafood of any type, even though it would be good for her. Swim also doesnt like chicken or pork or any other meat besides beef really, and eats beef almost every day.

Swim is sure that a better diet and more exercise would help with the mood swings, for sure, but some things arent worth giving up. Cutting the stress has worked wonders for her, and she is very level in moods, almost always happy.

[Euthanatos93420]

Originally Posted by thewomaninagreenhat

Swim likes sugar too much to get rid of it. There are always fresh fruits and veggies at swims house too though. Swim does eat too much of some things, like pasta, potatoes, beef, sweet things. Also lots of cheese and yogurt. Swim absolutely HATES seafood of any type, even though it would be good for her. Swim also doesnt like chicken or pork or any other meat besides beef really, and eats beef almost every day.

Swim is sure that a better diet and more exercise would help with the mood swings, for sure, but some things arent worth giving up. Cutting the stress has worked wonders for her, and she is very level in moods, almost always happy.

Beef is god. Sugar in general is bad. Natural, Non-caloric substitutes for stimulations of the sweetness taste buds are available. Licorice is 50 times sweeter than sugar and contains 0 calories unless prepared in a medium with sugar. Sugar is bad for you, Worse than crack and tabacco and equally as addictive.

Excercise is far more potent in maintaining health than diet. But it is best to work the two hand in hand.

[mitchellca]

Swim has bi-polar disorder and found everything doctors gave swim didnt help at all. (Mainly citalopram and diazepam)
Swim however found that almost any substance such as alcohol, weed, coke, ketamine or anything had the same effect of just numbing the depression.
The mania part is different though, with swim still not finding anyway of 'controlling' this.

[Euthanatos93420]

Originally Posted by mitchellca

Swim has bi-polar disorder and found everything doctors gave swim didnt help at all. (Mainly citalopram and diazepam)
Swim however found that almost any substance such as alcohol, weed, coke, ketamine or anything had the same effect of just numbing the depression.
The mania part is different though, with swim still not finding anyway of 'controlling' this.

For the longest time swim doubted he even had manic-depression. From what he has heard from a lot of other manic-depressives, most are unable to discern their state of mind while manic, depressive, or dysphoric. Swim wondered if he was just "moody" and not manic-depressive because he has always been able to discern his state of mind while manic, depressive or dysphoric. Acknowledgment has always given him a little bit of power over his swings when he excercises mental control methods to adjust his state of mind and thought patterns. Swim considers him self highly self-analytical and introspective and thinks that this may have something to do with it. Swim did confirm that he is manic-depressive after visiting the psych who perscribed him several different meds but stopped taking everything altogether and went back to his DOC (MJ) after the doc wanted him to take Geodon. Swim spent his entire life explicitly avoiding opiates, and from anecdotal reports of Geodon swim told the doctor his natural therapy has proved to be far more effective than the pharmies. This isn't a reccomendation for any bipolar, it is merely an anecdotal. Swim doesn't even use MJ anymore and copes extremely well with his bipolar atm.

[Heretic.Ape.]

monkey is currently having a good deal of success with a combination of depakote, keppra (these two primarily for epilepsy) and zyprexa and citalopram explicitly for bipolar, as long as he is regular with them.

[snapper]

SWIM is bipolar and has had all kinds of serious drug habits and has shunned mood-stabilizers, though has been on SSRIs and benzos. GHB and weed worked well to control mood swings, but GHB is no longer legal and weed no longer works. However, SWIM does not think SWIM could function at SWIM's high stress, rapid thinking job if SWIM here not in a manic state all the time. In fact, SWIM does not smoke on work days to allow all that excess energy and activity to ride through the long shifts.
SWIM wonders how many other bipolars are unwilling to give up on the energy, in spite of the often crippling suicidal depression and various degrees of irrational moods and behaviors which upset, alienate and even drive away loved ones and friends. Truly a curse for which SWIM has no clear solution.
SWIM has stopped most drugs and alcohol at this point since they can trigger major manic episodes which are scary for all involved and could in a night ruin SWIM's life if SWIM did not have very tempered mental fortitude. SWIM is almost possessed in theses states and can barely refer back to the SWIM's normal frame of mind. Alcohol and stims have been the biggest trigger for these episodes, and almost always accompanied by stress or a crisis. Never been set off by pot or psychedelics, ironically enough.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Interesting. And very powerful

[eltimmy]

A friend of mine stays comfortably in hypomania (not going into mania) with cannabis and low doses of lithium orotate (that is, about 1/10 of carbonate dose typically prescribed.) He does not consider bipolarity to be a disorder for him, though he knows that others for various reasons have a more difficult time of things. He is one of the most productive, daring, and creative fellows I know. *shrug*

[snapper]

SWIM also uses bipolar tendencies to SWIM's advantage. SWIM does not use any drugs before or at work and can go for 15 + hours with no breaks at twice the speed of anyone else. SWIM cannot function this way when not occupied, and then becomes really manic. So in a sense, SWIM has learned to use this problem to SWIM's advantage. Sometimes it is difficult when the depression takes over, but there is still that baseline hyperactivity that rears its head as soon as the serum THC levels drop.

[eltimmy]

Well, if you truly do have tendencies to mania, I have a feeling that effexor will be ... not good.

But in any case I have an older friend in a law firm as well, who tells me almost everyone working there is a hypomanic. Couldn't handle it otherwise.

Intellectually speaking, the degradation of brain matter (which lithium prevents) is troubling. Probably due to chronic stress (conclusively demonstrated to be neurotoxic) -- abnormally stressed when you're up, abnormally stressed when you're down.

Henry Miller stayed sharp as a tack. I think it is probably going to vary widely from person to person. There are folks whose borderline state is depressive, for instance, with rare violent, dysphoric manias -- others who stay pretty ensconced in a hypomanic phase. Virginia Woolf was elated for most of her life -- her illnesses, however, were extremely severe and long-lasting when they struck.

If I can get off my butt I think I am going to write a little monograph on the possible use of low-dose lithium orotate, which is considered by some reseachers to be a trace mineral, and which I think is worth investigating for many manic-depressives who find normally dosed lithium carbonate too dulling. It may help remove the sharpest edges of the problem without strapping one to the ground so to speak. On a chemical level, lithium is both neuroprotective (preventing the destruction of brain matter -- it seems to block overstimulation) and neurotrophic (encouraging new nerve cell growth). But it can also be quite toxic, to numerous organs -- especially as dosage increases.

Reputation Comments on this post:

interesting

[Alfa]

4 threads merged.

[benzoylmethyl ecognine]

SWIM has bi-polar and taking MDMA is an absolutely horrible idea, the week long depression that follows just isn't worth it, the couple hours of feeling amazing is accomanied by a week of suicidal thoughts and horrible depression.

[dyingtomorrow]

SWIM is bi-polar type II and never had any problem with psychedelics or MDMA. Both always left him feeling good and not-depressed for weeks afterward. Cocaine binges on the other hand would leave him in a ball in a dark room for a week.

SWIM's psych told him that people with bi-polar are especially susceptible to heroin addiction, and that SWIM was probably subconsciously "self medicating" which is why his addiction became so extreme. Heroin sure as fuck works a lot better than the $1000+ a month worth of bi-polar/focus/H cravings/mind slowing medication bullshit that he prescribed, and is much cheaper. More precisely, heroin actually works and that shit doesn't. But maybe that's just SWIM.