Posted by Mark H. on March 10, 2000, at 19:10:20
I am diagnosed as "Bipolar II," which means long-term cyclic depression involving mild highs at times and limitless black-hole depression at others. It took experimenting with 28 different anti-depressants and adjunctive meds over the course of 4 years to find a mix that would reliably put a floor under me without the need for ever-increasing amounts of the primary antidepressant. (For those interested, I take Cytomel (thyroid), pindolol (a beta-blocker for the adrenalin), Effexor (an anti-depressant), and methylphenidate (generic Ritalin) to stay awake during the day AND to potentiate the Effexor so that I do not require ever-higher doses.)
I have always needed at least 10 hours of sleep a day, and I feel better with 11 or more hours. On weekends, I frequently sleep 12-14 hours. At this point in my life, I would not be able to hold down a desk job without the methylphenidate to keep me awake during the day. If the outside temperature goes into the 80s or higher, my sleepiness becomes overwhelming. Happily, we live on the cool coast and mostly avoid the heat.
I believe that my depression has always been mixed up with allergies and a life-long overproduction of adrenalin. Usually sometime in July, I start experiencing a slowing of my cognitive abilities, similar to what I experience if I'm exposed to known allergens. My body reacts to this sluggishness by creating more adrenalin -- any excuse will do. The adrenalin keeps the messages flowing along the synapses. As the "depression" gets worse, more and more adrenalin is produced to compensate. Eventually, I run out of adrenalin and experience profound depression.
In "Listening to Prozac," the author notes that autopsies done on suicides showed that a high percentage of them had enlarged adrenal glands. I suspect that allergies and adrenaline will eventually be shown to figure into the kind of depression I experience.
Sometime in November or early December, it tends to lift. December and January are usually good, productive months, then I start the slide again in February or March. May and June are often good, but not always. The timing of my cycles does not tend to correspond to likely airborne allergy seasons in our area -- mold spores or pollens, for instance.I can trace my "bipolar" disorder back to at least the fifth grade, earlier if being "borderline hyperactive" was part of it as well. As I got older, the "highs" became less high, but the "lows" got worse and worse until I undeniably had severe clinical depression by age 44. Therapy only began to help once the condition was stabilized with meds -- before that, therapy was useless.
I'm a 50 year old caucasian male, happily married and productively employed. I felt I owed this brief medical bio if I'm going to participate in this forum. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
poster:Mark H.
thread:26672
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/26672.html