RE: FEEDBACK: INDUCED BIPOLAR DISORDER
ISSUE #3 JUNE 13, 2011
I would also like to respond to the Feedback topic of induced Bipolar Disorder. I have not been diagnosed with it but way back in 1991, just after discovering I had Multiple Personality Disorder (now usually called Dissociative Identity Disorder in Canada), I had what could only be called a hypomanic episode. Hypomania is simply a milder form of mania. I had a number of the symptoms of hypomania - I needed a lot less sleep, was extremely productive, full of new ideas, and talked a mile a minute non-stop. I had never been like this as far as I can remember.
I believe it was a few years later that I had another similar episode. And now, in the past two or three weeks I have experienced some of these symptoms again. Of course, I blame it on this blog and my sheer excitement about it. Hey, even one person from the MDA support group I go to, who has Bipolar Disorder himself, told me I was “flying high” and that’s exactly how I have felt lately. Less sleep, very productive, full of new ideas, talking even more than usual, very excited, and sometimes even a bit more irritable than usual. Whether I have the disorder or not is not of much significance to me. I don’t think I need medication to control it as it doesn’t really interfere with my daily functioning. In fact, the opposite.
I also reduced my medication around the beginning of the “hypomanic” time. I take 40mg of Paxil, an anti-depressant. I also have been taking 10mg of an anti-psychotic called Loxapine for many years, now mostly for sleep, as well as a medication called Kemadrin or Procyclidine to combat any side effects of the Loxapine. Two weeks ago I decided to stop the Kemadrin altogether. I had already lowered both the Loxapine and Kemadrin to 5mg each and figured I may not need the Kemadrin anymore. So then I was only on the very low dose of 5mg of Loxapine. Two days ago I even lowered it down to 2.5mg.
So what does that have to do with hypomania? Well, it’s possible that the higher doses of Loxapine and Kemadrin have kept me from being hypomanic over the years. But right now I can’t be sure about that. The Loxapine is a sedating drug so I think it might calm down any hypomania in me. All of this is complicated as well because of being multiple. It’s possible that only one alter, one of “my” personalities has the hypomania. He claims he does but we can’t be sure about that. It's been reported that some multiples do have Bipolar Disorder as well.
It seems, now, to be a matter of time to see what happens from here. With the lower Loxapine and the ongoing excitement about this blog I may continue to experience signs of hypomania. On the other hand, I am beginning to tire just a little and that may be enough to bring me back down to earth.
I believe that Bipolar Disorder and mania in particular are complicated and I sometimes wonder if all human beings might have the potential for symptoms of mania or hypomania at some point in their life, just as many people experience depression in their life. Maybe these are the highs and lows of living and some of us experience them more severely than others. As well, these more extremes may be brought on by a number of things.
Who knows?
A NOTE: Medications tend to affect different people in different ways. What works for me and affects me in a certain way, may not affect you like that at all. I know many people say we shouldn’t mess around with our medication without consulting our doctor but my GP is the one prescribing my meds and she has actually left it in my hands, most likely because the meds are not high doses and my multiplexity doesn’t really rely on medication. HOWEVER .... being one of the editors here, I want to stress that I am not recommending you play around with your medication without consulting your doctor. Hey ... I will be telling her next week.
Caer Weber
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