leanabeana

I have bipolar disorder and I've been sober for 142 days. For the past two months, I've been dissociating more. It happened on Thanksgiving and also at work twice. My therapist and psychiatrist don't seem to have any solutions for me. It's a really hard symptom to treat and manage. It seems like it's connected to being sober because it's been more frequent and severe since I quit drinking. I think of it as a different way to "check out" when things get too intense for me to deal with.

Anybody else deal with this?

SportsFan15

I also have bouts of dissociation. I agree, for me it is a way to disconnect to cope and preserve mental energy.

You may want to move your post to the Newcomers thread for more responses.

leanabeana

Thanks SportsFan. It scares me. And there is really no effective treatment for it as far as I know.

MindfulMan

Ive never had that as a symptom of my bipolar disorder, but I also don't have florid mania.

I did have really bad depersonalization/derealization in benzo withdrawal.

THAT was nasty.

Hope the dissociation abates for you soon.

leanabeana

Thanks MindfulMan. Benzo withdrawal is the worst. I had the full gamut of psychological symptoms when I went through it.

I don't go into full mania either because I have bipolar type 2. The dissociation is a stronger indication of Borderline Personality Disorder, but I'm certainly not eager to obtain that diagnosis.

MindfulMan

I feel ya Bean, I'm kinda having the bipolar blues.

Started lamictal, lexapro and wellbutrin in mid-june.

I feel great, but my hair is falling out and I have strong symptoms of hypomania. The former is unacceptable, the latter is great because I'm very productive, but I'm afraid of the crash.

Saw the p-doc last Thursday. Decreased the Wellbutrin (I had raised it in September). Doc is worried that I'll break into full-blown mania, and prescribed Abilify. I took one pill and started to eat everything in the house...so I stopped. I do have the scrip filled just in case though.

Dropping the Wellbutrin seems to have taken the edge off of the hypomania, I'm watching the manic side. Hopefully the hair will start regrowing, or I'll have to stop the lamictal and do something else.

If not Abilify they want me to take another anti-manic mood stabilizer. I do NOT want to take an antipsychotic; unfortunately all of the anticonvulsants have the hair falling out uncommon side effect. Which basically leaves lithium, which I've never taken and also sounds nasty.

Sigh.

Hope you're doing better.

leanabeana

I take both Abilify and Seroquel. Needless to say, I'm overweight. Trying to get off the Seroquel, but I may have to stay on Abilify because I've tried every anticonvulsant and can't tolerate them. I can't take Lithium because of other health issues, so my options are pretty limited. I've read reports of antipsychotics causing dissociation/derealization/depersonalization. Seroquel definitely makes me feel dead inside so I don't doubt it can also cause other disconnected feelings. I will be happy to be off it.

Lamictal gave me derealization/depersonalization and I also heard voices. That's the only time I ever heard voices but it was scary as hell.

MindfulMan

Wow. I never had much of a negative reaction to Lamictal, it just worked. I can trace my latter drinking career to going off of it. As I tend towards the depressive end of the bipolar spectrum, it's usually pretty effective.

The decreased wellbutrin seems to be doing the trick, and the hypomania was almost certainly medication-triggered.

I can almost watch the hypomania slowly trickle away. Bipolar disorder is such an odd disease, it's so medication responsive you can almost taste it.

Ugh on the seroquel. I took it once for sleep and I felt numb and terrible for days.

I've heard that Latuda is very similar to Abilify but has far less weight gain. Might be worth a try. (Adds the obligatory "ask your doctor" here).

leanabeana

I'll ask my doc about Latuda. I hadn't heard that it has a better metabolic profile.

I wish Lamictal worked for me because it is very effective for most people.

MindfulMan

Sometimes meds work on a second try.

Were you drinkind/using when you tried it previously?

Its like a miracle drug for me.

leanabeana

Good point. I was drinking quite a bit when I tried Lamictal. The voices were really rough though. Wouldn't want to risk that again, but it would be nice to take a real mood stabilizer that is also weight neutral. I'll ask my pdoc about it next time.

Right now the main goal is to get me off of the Seroquel and I do best changing one thing at a time.

MindfulMan

Voices not good.

Again, the only time I heard voices was during benzo withdrawal. It freaked me the hell out.

Clmjr

I've been sober for 5 months. In rehab they diagnosed me as having BP1 and I saw another psych when I got home and he gave me the same diagnosis. I was surprisingly relieved because it helped to explain a lot of my behaviors and moods. I was initially prescribed lamictal, gabapentin, and seroquel. That combo killed the mania and just left me antisocial, depressed, and with constant suicidal thoughts. The last time I saw him, he prescribed a small dose of adderall. I don't get euphoric or high but my focus and mood have improved along with being more social and I don't have suicidal thoughts. The initial concern was it could make me manic or be abused. No abuse or mania so it works for me

leanabeana

Hey Clm. Glad to hear the Adderall helps you. I also take Vyvanse which is a stimulant and it helps me focus and gives me the boost I need.

MindfulMan

They also suspect ADHD so i may also.be getting.on.the Adderall train.