Posted by Ella Iverson on September 21, 2000, at 19:28:14
In reply to Cyclothymia - Anybody else out there with this???, posted by djr55409 on September 21, 2000, at 16:55:44
i was recently diagnosed with cyclothymia (possibly tetering towards bipolar II because my depressions are a little intense) my psychiatrist REALLY wants to put me on lithium and i am scared to death to take them. i am new like you, so i can't really be much help, i guess. but i have read just about everything on the subject. what has hepled me a little is keeping a mood chart with a diary of al my quirky feelings for the day. it has helped me deal with what to expect and since i cycle pretty frequently i can se how long i have left. you also might realize (as i did) that you actually HAVE periods of "normality" which i didn't notice before. i would say more than anything though: read, read, read! let me know if you need some titles :)
ella> I will try to keep this short enough so that you can get through it without NODOZ... I am a 45 year old man, who was first diagnosed with dysthymia about 5 years ago and then had a second diagnosis of cyclothymia about three years ago (different therapist). I have tried a number of medications - Lithium, Wellbutrin, Paxil, Zoloft) - but am not now taking any because the meds did not really help and the cycles seem to be manageable (I am not suicidally depressed or manic). I am also not currently in therapy because my last therapist closed her practice and I just don't have the energy to seek out and break in a new one. I think that I have probably been cyclothymic since my late teens - I have kept a diary since then and the cycles are quite clear once one knows what to look for. So, I don't really know what "normal" feels like. I am struggling with social isolation, have not been able to hold a job for a while and can't face the thought of working 8 hours a day, every day - my moods just are too unstable for that. What I would like more than anything is to have contact with other people with this disorder to find out what your experience(s) have been and what has worked for you. Thanks for any responses!!!
poster:Ella Iverson
thread:601
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20000813/msgs/607.html