Hypomania turning into full-blown mania?
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Hypomania turning into full-blown mania?
Hi everyone,
I'm just wondering if anyone has personal knowledge of whether someone who has been diagnosed bipolar and has hypomanic episodes might one day out of the blue have a full-blown manic episode.
I just finished reading A Brilliant Madness, by Patty Duke, and it scared me a little bit. My boyfriend is a rapid cycler with frequent hypomanic episodes. To my knowledge he has never had a full-blown manic episode. He is 33. I'm hoping that if he were to have one, it would have happened by now. There is a case study in the very last chapter of the book where this woman was married to a man with bipolar I and right after they had a child, he completely lost it, after 6 years on lithium and no severe manic episodes. Also, there is a section in the book where Patty Duke is talking about the end of her second marriage--she was having a manic episode and thought she had it in her, for the first time, to do physical harm to her husband.
I don't know if this is just my own anxiety problem trying to anticipate things that may never happen (I have a problem with crisis-anticipation). He is responding pretty well to the medication, although the low level depression seems to be ever-present. I suppose it's an issue for me because I'm almost 36, and as far as having children, there's not a lot of time left. I'm scared of what might happen if there is a child and he starts having full-blown manic episodes like I read about in the book. On the other hand, I guess, too, an asteroid could slam into earth tomorrow, so perhaps I should live in the moment and not try to predict bad things that may never happen.
Any opinions?
I'm just wondering if anyone has personal knowledge of whether someone who has been diagnosed bipolar and has hypomanic episodes might one day out of the blue have a full-blown manic episode.
I just finished reading A Brilliant Madness, by Patty Duke, and it scared me a little bit. My boyfriend is a rapid cycler with frequent hypomanic episodes. To my knowledge he has never had a full-blown manic episode. He is 33. I'm hoping that if he were to have one, it would have happened by now. There is a case study in the very last chapter of the book where this woman was married to a man with bipolar I and right after they had a child, he completely lost it, after 6 years on lithium and no severe manic episodes. Also, there is a section in the book where Patty Duke is talking about the end of her second marriage--she was having a manic episode and thought she had it in her, for the first time, to do physical harm to her husband.
I don't know if this is just my own anxiety problem trying to anticipate things that may never happen (I have a problem with crisis-anticipation). He is responding pretty well to the medication, although the low level depression seems to be ever-present. I suppose it's an issue for me because I'm almost 36, and as far as having children, there's not a lot of time left. I'm scared of what might happen if there is a child and he starts having full-blown manic episodes like I read about in the book. On the other hand, I guess, too, an asteroid could slam into earth tomorrow, so perhaps I should live in the moment and not try to predict bad things that may never happen.
Any opinions?
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Hi Q3,
I read that same book by Patty Duke. A very good example of BiPolar out of control. I believe some of her extreme Manic episodes were when she was off her medication and she was drinking. I will share my own experience with BiPolar I and of course this can't be taken as a cure all because these illnesses can be treated but not cured.
I was diagnosed with BiPolar I back in the 1990's and started on Lithium. At first the dose was too high and I became toxic on the Lithium and had to enter the hospital to go off all meds for three days and start over again with a smaller dose of Lithium.
I have had about five or six serious Manic episodes since then. It was finally discovered that medications....usually new ones being tried for my depression..set me off into a Manic State.
After about ten years of taking Lithium I asked if I could try going off Lithium to just see what did happen. I went to my PsycDoc who monitored my meds for me, and we went over a plan to go off Lithium very slowly, to reduce my Xanax very slowly, and also a medication for muscle spasms related to my arthritis. Now, I asked to do this and was promised no miracles.
All went well, and I have been off Lithium two years now and no Manic Episodes. My Xanax is reduced from 1.0 mg. three times daily to 0.5 mg. PRN up to two times daily. I take one muscle relaxer at bedtime from four times daily. I am not sedated feeling anymore.
I went back to my PsycDoc after one year and she was so pleased with the progress I had made. I also lost some weight. Then she asked me to try a new medication to augment my Effexor XR for depression, which I have taken over ten years at 300 mg. daily as a maintenance dose. It was Lexapro 10 mg. every day.
I tried the Lexapro and miracles did happen. I was motivated, had energy, and my depression, anxiety, and sleep were much improved. I have taken the Lexapro a year now and continue to feel very stable and maybe a little bit depressed once in a while due to outside stress.
My PsycDoc explained it this way...I must have a need for the chemical Serotonin in my brain and get it from both the antidepressant and the SSRI. My medical doc felt the same way and told me he thought Effexor was the first antidepressant that addressed two or more chemicals where others affected one or another.
I feel so lucky to feel so well these days. I am 67 years old and was first diagnosed with depression when a teen. I took medication on and off for a long time until I discovered alcohol in my 20's. I then proceeded to self-medicate my depression with alcohol until I had two problems to deal with.
In 1988 I asked for help. I was detoxed in a hospital situation for six days and when released I started AA...going every day for a solid year. I recieved counseling for my alcoholism with one counselor and depression from another counselor for about one year. I am still sober and continue follow-ups for my depression and continue to have blood work done to monitor the level of my meds.
I hope this will help you some. This illness of BiPolar is unpredictable. Many have recurring episodes of Manic behavior, some go off their meds and fall into a deep depression and/or a manic episode. Each of us is different in how mental illness and medications work for us.
I read that same book by Patty Duke. A very good example of BiPolar out of control. I believe some of her extreme Manic episodes were when she was off her medication and she was drinking. I will share my own experience with BiPolar I and of course this can't be taken as a cure all because these illnesses can be treated but not cured.
I was diagnosed with BiPolar I back in the 1990's and started on Lithium. At first the dose was too high and I became toxic on the Lithium and had to enter the hospital to go off all meds for three days and start over again with a smaller dose of Lithium.
I have had about five or six serious Manic episodes since then. It was finally discovered that medications....usually new ones being tried for my depression..set me off into a Manic State.
After about ten years of taking Lithium I asked if I could try going off Lithium to just see what did happen. I went to my PsycDoc who monitored my meds for me, and we went over a plan to go off Lithium very slowly, to reduce my Xanax very slowly, and also a medication for muscle spasms related to my arthritis. Now, I asked to do this and was promised no miracles.
All went well, and I have been off Lithium two years now and no Manic Episodes. My Xanax is reduced from 1.0 mg. three times daily to 0.5 mg. PRN up to two times daily. I take one muscle relaxer at bedtime from four times daily. I am not sedated feeling anymore.
I went back to my PsycDoc after one year and she was so pleased with the progress I had made. I also lost some weight. Then she asked me to try a new medication to augment my Effexor XR for depression, which I have taken over ten years at 300 mg. daily as a maintenance dose. It was Lexapro 10 mg. every day.
I tried the Lexapro and miracles did happen. I was motivated, had energy, and my depression, anxiety, and sleep were much improved. I have taken the Lexapro a year now and continue to feel very stable and maybe a little bit depressed once in a while due to outside stress.
My PsycDoc explained it this way...I must have a need for the chemical Serotonin in my brain and get it from both the antidepressant and the SSRI. My medical doc felt the same way and told me he thought Effexor was the first antidepressant that addressed two or more chemicals where others affected one or another.
I feel so lucky to feel so well these days. I am 67 years old and was first diagnosed with depression when a teen. I took medication on and off for a long time until I discovered alcohol in my 20's. I then proceeded to self-medicate my depression with alcohol until I had two problems to deal with.
In 1988 I asked for help. I was detoxed in a hospital situation for six days and when released I started AA...going every day for a solid year. I recieved counseling for my alcoholism with one counselor and depression from another counselor for about one year. I am still sober and continue follow-ups for my depression and continue to have blood work done to monitor the level of my meds.
I hope this will help you some. This illness of BiPolar is unpredictable. Many have recurring episodes of Manic behavior, some go off their meds and fall into a deep depression and/or a manic episode. Each of us is different in how mental illness and medications work for us.
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Join Date: May 2007
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Kelsh,
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences. I am thinking that Patty Duke's experiences might be extreme...When discussing Bipolar Disorder, eveyone tells me that the solution is finding the best combination of meds, which it seems you have. I am very happy for you! I think it's amazing how some drugs work so well for some and others work for others.
My boyfriend is taking 300 mg of Lamictal and 60 mg of Cymbalta. If he forgets to take the Lamictal for even one day he gets very hyper and can sometimes be innapropriate and mean. It is SOOOO obvious to everyone that he has not taken it. The drug has helped a lot, but it is not the miracle cure-all I was hoping for. He has also been sober for almost a year now, which is definitely great. I do get scared though that he will get worse (even though this is not the case right now and nothing points to this happening). I also get scared that if we have a child it will suffer from mental illness and/or alcoholism, or probably both. He is bipolar and an alcoholic, I have anxiety problems and my father is an alcoholic. Plus, all of our siblings seem to have something, ranging from depression to borderline personality disorder! On one hand, some of the greatest people I know are mentally ill and/or recovering alcoholics, but on the other hand I don't know if it's responsible to bring someone else into the world with these odds stacked against them. I struggle with that.
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences. I am thinking that Patty Duke's experiences might be extreme...When discussing Bipolar Disorder, eveyone tells me that the solution is finding the best combination of meds, which it seems you have. I am very happy for you! I think it's amazing how some drugs work so well for some and others work for others.
My boyfriend is taking 300 mg of Lamictal and 60 mg of Cymbalta. If he forgets to take the Lamictal for even one day he gets very hyper and can sometimes be innapropriate and mean. It is SOOOO obvious to everyone that he has not taken it. The drug has helped a lot, but it is not the miracle cure-all I was hoping for. He has also been sober for almost a year now, which is definitely great. I do get scared though that he will get worse (even though this is not the case right now and nothing points to this happening). I also get scared that if we have a child it will suffer from mental illness and/or alcoholism, or probably both. He is bipolar and an alcoholic, I have anxiety problems and my father is an alcoholic. Plus, all of our siblings seem to have something, ranging from depression to borderline personality disorder! On one hand, some of the greatest people I know are mentally ill and/or recovering alcoholics, but on the other hand I don't know if it's responsible to bring someone else into the world with these odds stacked against them. I struggle with that.
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Anyone who is bipolar I (if properly diagnosed, which most often is if they've been given this diagnosis) will always be suseptable to a manic episode. That is what bipolar I is.
So the case study at the end of the book...that person was bipolar I, that person was on Lithum (which usually doesn't work well for bipolar IIs) and that person could have gone off the Lithum (i don't remember from when i read it) and if not then probably stress a induced episode.
I am bipolar II. i can't take Lithium and it wouldn't work very well for me anyway. I've never had a full-blown mania and probably never will since i am 31 and have never had one. So chances are VERY slim to none that i ever will.
Same goes for your boyfriend. ALTHOUGH....it iss possible that he HAS experienced a full mania and never realized it. There is a girl in my day-treatment program who is new and in her 50s and even though she is a medical transcriptionist and works in the health field she said she wasn't bipolar even though a recent pdoc said she was. The girl said she's never had a full mania or even hypomania. That was totally false as i already had heard her tell her story and knew that to be false. the truth was just that she had never recognized her actions and thoughts as being "manic".....
As she is learning more....she is starting to see that she is bipolar, but still doesn't understand much or that she is bipolar I.
Now...here's the BIG thing to remember...don't ever generalize anyone because of a lable. Not all bipolar I people become violent or have violent thoughts or hop on a plane at the last second and fly off to the other side of the world without even a bag of clothing. Not all ...not even most or even a majority.
And if a bipolar I stays on meds then a full manic episode is usually not something that will happen. And if memory serves me correctly....the part of the book where Patty Duke talks about her once thinking she could do physical harm to her husband...i'm pretty sure that was before she got leveled out on Lithium...wasn't it?
Anyway....we can't live our lives constantly worrying about things that will most likely NEVER happen. If you love your boyfriend and it's a very healthy relationship and he is committed to keeping on his meds and keeping himself healthy....then count yourself EXTREMELY lucky!!!
Don't let your worries dictate your current and future possiblity for love and happiness in your life.
hugs,
jenna
So the case study at the end of the book...that person was bipolar I, that person was on Lithum (which usually doesn't work well for bipolar IIs) and that person could have gone off the Lithum (i don't remember from when i read it) and if not then probably stress a induced episode.
I am bipolar II. i can't take Lithium and it wouldn't work very well for me anyway. I've never had a full-blown mania and probably never will since i am 31 and have never had one. So chances are VERY slim to none that i ever will.
Same goes for your boyfriend. ALTHOUGH....it iss possible that he HAS experienced a full mania and never realized it. There is a girl in my day-treatment program who is new and in her 50s and even though she is a medical transcriptionist and works in the health field she said she wasn't bipolar even though a recent pdoc said she was. The girl said she's never had a full mania or even hypomania. That was totally false as i already had heard her tell her story and knew that to be false. the truth was just that she had never recognized her actions and thoughts as being "manic".....
As she is learning more....she is starting to see that she is bipolar, but still doesn't understand much or that she is bipolar I.
Now...here's the BIG thing to remember...don't ever generalize anyone because of a lable. Not all bipolar I people become violent or have violent thoughts or hop on a plane at the last second and fly off to the other side of the world without even a bag of clothing. Not all ...not even most or even a majority.
And if a bipolar I stays on meds then a full manic episode is usually not something that will happen. And if memory serves me correctly....the part of the book where Patty Duke talks about her once thinking she could do physical harm to her husband...i'm pretty sure that was before she got leveled out on Lithium...wasn't it?
Anyway....we can't live our lives constantly worrying about things that will most likely NEVER happen. If you love your boyfriend and it's a very healthy relationship and he is committed to keeping on his meds and keeping himself healthy....then count yourself EXTREMELY lucky!!!
Don't let your worries dictate your current and future possiblity for love and happiness in your life.
hugs,
jenna
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and the question about having children...i struggle with the same questions for myself, but just in this moment as i wrote that i struck me that:
God created us to have children
God allowed or created for mental illness to be in so many of our lives (haven't a clue about if he allows it or created it, probably both, but that could be debated for eternity so who knows)
God knows our hearts
Some of the most intellegent, world-changing inventors and artists have been mentally ill.
I don't think God expects us to not have children for fear of passing on our genes.
Our genes are HIS planned out mapping system.
no one is perfect and therefore able to know they won't pass something onto their children
the important thing is to take child bearing and raising seriously and be devoted 200 percent to the child and their future. which includes teaching how overcome or work beyond any deficits they are born with (as everyone IS born with deficits).
and even if you did pass on both addictive personalities and mental illness, how do you know that it wouldn't be a part of God's plan to teach that child how to move quickly beyond all that, early in life, and become the person who invents a cure for cancer or a cure for ALL mental illness?
i guess none of that means anything if you aren't spiritual and don't believe in a higher power. if so then i'm sorry for saying all that, but it was just as much for myself.
hugs,
jenna
God created us to have children
God allowed or created for mental illness to be in so many of our lives (haven't a clue about if he allows it or created it, probably both, but that could be debated for eternity so who knows)
God knows our hearts
Some of the most intellegent, world-changing inventors and artists have been mentally ill.
I don't think God expects us to not have children for fear of passing on our genes.
Our genes are HIS planned out mapping system.
no one is perfect and therefore able to know they won't pass something onto their children
the important thing is to take child bearing and raising seriously and be devoted 200 percent to the child and their future. which includes teaching how overcome or work beyond any deficits they are born with (as everyone IS born with deficits).
and even if you did pass on both addictive personalities and mental illness, how do you know that it wouldn't be a part of God's plan to teach that child how to move quickly beyond all that, early in life, and become the person who invents a cure for cancer or a cure for ALL mental illness?
i guess none of that means anything if you aren't spiritual and don't believe in a higher power. if so then i'm sorry for saying all that, but it was just as much for myself.
hugs,
jenna
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Ahhh, Jenna, you always have such words of wisdom!
And if I am remembering correctly, I believe Abraham Lincoln had bipolar? Scary to think what would have happened if the world hadn't had him....
And if I am remembering correctly, I believe Abraham Lincoln had bipolar? Scary to think what would have happened if the world hadn't had him....
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Tracee,
Thanks for sharing that info. A wellness plan sounds very cool. I have been trying to find a counselor for us to go to that would help us come up with a plan that sounds like what you are describing. You don't happen to be in Missouri, do you? If not, do you know where I might find such a resource? Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that info. A wellness plan sounds very cool. I have been trying to find a counselor for us to go to that would help us come up with a plan that sounds like what you are describing. You don't happen to be in Missouri, do you? If not, do you know where I might find such a resource? Thanks!
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