Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1097185

Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

BP depression in Spring...

Posted by Sheilac on March 5, 2018, at 13:55:13

Im BP. Been very stable on 100mg Seroquel (for depression) and 2,000mg kepppra (mood stabilizer). Also take 2-3mg xanax a day (usually 2mg at bed).

HOWEVER, for the past few years I go into a terrible depression in Spring and the beginning of Fall. The time change makes me depressed for a solid week.

Youd think this would be a time of mania. Is my depression a form of mania? Id rather feel mania in the beautiful Spring weather. I dont get the winter duldrums either. Im fine with winter & snow.

Does this depression mean I need more seroquel & keppra? Or does this depression with the season change mean an impending mania after thus awful depression?

 

Re: BP depression in Spring...

Posted by linkadge on March 7, 2018, at 6:40:04

In reply to BP depression in Spring..., posted by Sheilac on March 5, 2018, at 13:55:13

Hi Sheila,

I notice a lot of instability in the spring time too. I usually start to get insomnia as the days get longer. This can precipitate mood episodes for me.

Have your sleeping patterns changed at all?

Linkadge

 

Re: BP depression in Spring...

Posted by Sheilac on March 7, 2018, at 7:12:29

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring..., posted by linkadge on March 7, 2018, at 6:40:04

Yes, actually, I noticed that Im waking up earlier. Ive always had a hard time falling asleep, so a little change there.

 

Re: BP depression in Spring... » Sheilac

Posted by linkadge on March 7, 2018, at 18:48:14

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring..., posted by Sheilac on March 7, 2018, at 7:12:29

Hi Sheila,

Yea I often get early morning awakenings when I am depressed. It leaves me feeling exhausted and over-emotional throughout the day.

I find that the spring usually triggers changes in my sleep (end of hibernation mode) which can upset my mood (in either direction).

As a small thing (which has been helping me recently) is a few teaspoonds of olive oil (which help the body produce olemide - a sleep promoting substance). This seems to help me sleep a bit longer.

Mirtazapine helps my sleep too, but it can leave you feeling very groggy the next day. Somtimes I use a bit of sublingual melatonin (1mg) if it isn't too late in the night.

What are the symptoms of your depression? Is it more fatigue or anxiety / sadness?

Linkadge

 

Re: BP depression in Spring... » Sheilac

Posted by beckett2 on March 8, 2018, at 23:26:40

In reply to BP depression in Spring..., posted by Sheilac on March 5, 2018, at 13:55:13

> Im BP. Been very stable on 100mg Seroquel (for depression) and 2,000mg kepppra (mood stabilizer). Also take 2-3mg xanax a day (usually 2mg at bed).
>
> HOWEVER, for the past few years I go into a terrible depression in Spring and the beginning of Fall. The time change makes me depressed for a solid week.
>
> Youd think this would be a time of mania. Is my depression a form of mania? Id rather feel mania in the beautiful Spring weather. I dont get the winter duldrums either. Im fine with winter & snow.
>
> Does this depression mean I need more seroquel & keppra? Or does this depression with the season change mean an impending mania after thus awful depression?
>
>

Your rhythm sounds like my own. Spring can be very difficult, and I'll even feel very run down. I've a sore throat right now :(

A bad crash is not inevitable. I don't have advice. I try to avoid excess-- like kicking too hard against a mood dip, and get whatever sleep and if not sleep, then rest.

Do you tend toward agitated mania/depression?

 

Re: BP depression in Spring...

Posted by Sheilac on March 9, 2018, at 7:53:56

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring... » Sheilac, posted by beckett2 on March 8, 2018, at 23:26:40

No, it weird. In Spring when others are manic, Im just really, really depressed. Same thing happens in the Fall when the season changes. Its like Im the opposite of oth BPs.

 

Re: BP depression in Spring...

Posted by SLS on March 9, 2018, at 10:53:24

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring..., posted by Sheilac on March 9, 2018, at 7:53:56

> No, it weird. In Spring when others are manic, Im just really, really depressed. Same thing happens in the Fall when the season changes. Its like Im the opposite of oth BPs.

That doesn't sound like SAD to me. You should begin to feel less depressed or manic in the Fall were you to have SAD with reverse seasonality.


- Scott

 

Re: BP depression in Spring...

Posted by bleauberry on March 9, 2018, at 13:32:35

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring..., posted by SLS on March 9, 2018, at 10:53:24

The patterns you describe are consistent with undiagnosed, unsuspected, tick borne infections. You could further explore this hypothesis by documenting your mood at various stages of the moon - most sufferers of Lyme experience their worst times of the month during full moons - but for me it was half moons - but for me it was almost 100% accurate - if I was having an unusually depressed time, I could look up and reliably see a half moon. That was accurate 23 out of 24 months. It is a widely reported phenomenon by Lyme sufferers. I mention this because most people are not aware that Lyme is epidemic or that nearly every patient has difficult-to-treat psychiatric symptoms.

But the point is that recurring patterns are part of the presentation of tick borne infections. It is very often misdiagnosed as bipolar or depression when it isn't either of those. Those are actually just descriptions of clusters of symptoms, not actual diseases.

I would share with you the detailed scientific explanations of why these monthly and seasonal patterns happen, except that the book that does explain it all takes several chapters to do it, and most of it is in scientific/medical language above the heads of most people. But the point is, these patterns have very distinct scientific reasons for their existence.

Psych meds may or may not control your symptoms, as a band-aid may or may not stop the bleeding, but the psych meds are not going to ever cure you, as the bandaid is never going to heal the wound. But we do have a lot of medicines to try to improve quality of life.

Personally I have seen too much real-time real-life success with herbal medicines that it would be a crime not to mention that. I'm not talking herbals for depression. Not St Johns Wort or anything similar. We are talking antimicrobials, antiinflammatories, and antitoxins. Those majorly improve psychiatric symptoms across the entire spectrum, including the seasonal and/or monthly ups and down.

It may sound weird, but in my opinion, the best book on the market to help anybody with any psychiatric difficulties is: HEALING LYME -Natural Healing of Lyme Borreliiosis and the Coinfections Chlamydia and Spotted Fever Rickettsioses - by Stephen Harrod Buhner. You don't have to have Lyme disease to be totally cured by the herbs in this book.

 

Re: BP depression in Spring... » SLS

Posted by beckett2 on March 10, 2018, at 3:05:15

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring..., posted by SLS on March 9, 2018, at 10:53:24

> > No, it weird. In Spring when others are manic, Im just really, really depressed. Same thing happens in the Fall when the season changes. Its like Im the opposite of oth BPs.
>

Could someone experience both? As in depressed/agitated in the spring, and also a major dip starting late August.


> That doesn't sound like SAD to me. You should begin to feel less depressed or manic in the Fall were you to have SAD with reverse seasonality.
>
>
> - Scott

 

Re: BP depression in Spring...

Posted by SLS on March 13, 2018, at 10:24:21

In reply to Re: BP depression in Spring... » SLS, posted by beckett2 on March 10, 2018, at 3:05:15

> > > No, it weird. In Spring when others are manic, Im just really, really depressed. Same thing happens in the Fall when the season changes. Its like Im the opposite of oth BPs.

> > That doesn't sound like SAD to me. You should begin to feel less depressed or manic in the Fall were you to have SAD with reverse seasonality.

> Could someone experience both? As in depressed/agitated in the spring, and also a major dip starting late August.

Beckett: I don't know. I just read an article that argued that SAD wasn't a real disorder separate from major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. I disagree with this. However, I do think that SAD might be over-diagnosed. True SAD seems to be uniquely and robustly responsive to light therapy in the absence of drug treatment. I guess the term "seasonality" is appropriate in some cases. Perhaps there is some seasonality involved here. However, without demonstrating a regular seasonal remission from depression or a switch into mania at any point during the year, I don't see how SAD can apply.

Sheila: It might be time for you to keep a mood chart and document your drug therapy on a daily basis. Here is one that I like:

http://www.bipolaraberdeen.org.uk/assets/Uploads/PDFs/blankchart.pdf


- Scott


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