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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 7:50:19
Hi,
Is it just me or do people with bipolar disorders get in more debates, arguments, etc? I've been diagnosed with bipolar II in the past but I don't know... my only predictable "cycle" is elevated mood and energy starting at around 6:00pm that goes late into the night and turns into depressed mood and low energy in the morning which usually starts to improve by around 10:00am. Of course there are other reasons but that's my only real cycle. I guess labels are less important and it's a matter of *how* bipolar you are. Well anyway I like to take up causes and if I can bother the people in charge while doing it that's even better! I know that's immature, but that's how I tend to be. Anyone else relate to this kind of thing?
Jon
Posted by beardedlady on June 27, 2002, at 9:59:58
In reply to Argumentative BIPOLARS!!!, posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 7:50:19
I'm not bipolar. I argue all the time, even with myself. And now with you! Ha!
beardy
Posted by Gracie2 on June 27, 2002, at 10:36:10
In reply to Argumentative BIPOLARS!!!, posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 7:50:19
Posted by beardedlady on June 27, 2002, at 15:41:53
In reply to What! We are not argumentive!! (nm), posted by Gracie2 on June 27, 2002, at 10:36:10
Posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 15:53:09
In reply to Re: Are too. (nm) » Gracie2, posted by beardedlady on June 27, 2002, at 15:41:53
Posted by Ted on June 27, 2002, at 18:15:23
In reply to Are not! Are not! Are not! (nm), posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 15:53:09
Posted by beardedlady on June 27, 2002, at 18:19:36
In reply to Cut it out or you'll all get timeouts! (nm), posted by Ted on June 27, 2002, at 18:15:23
Posted by wendy b. on June 27, 2002, at 22:48:47
In reply to No. Argumentative people get in more arguments. » JonW, posted by beardedlady on June 27, 2002, at 9:59:58
Posted by IsoM on June 28, 2002, at 1:25:57
In reply to Argumentative BIPOLARS!!!, posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 7:50:19
Posted by Zo on July 1, 2002, at 15:55:10
In reply to Argumentative BIPOLARS!!!, posted by JonW on June 27, 2002, at 7:50:19
Ever since I got on Lamictal last fall (on top of all my other meds) I am so boringly not in your face. No big dramatic temper. Few life or death arguments. Then when I added Provigil to the mix this spring. . .well, I rarely find myself hysterically funny at all.Nevermind that I am getting more actual writing done. That I finally have some clue just how other people have a life.
So. . .if you haven't been treating your BP long. . .dullness may still await you. If you have, and you still love a good argument. . dig it.
Zo
Posted by IsoM on July 1, 2002, at 19:33:47
In reply to Re: Meds take away all the fun » JonW, posted by Zo on July 1, 2002, at 15:55:10
Zo, do you mean to say that Provigil has dulled you down? Has it taken the edge off your wit, so to speak? That sounds horrible. I never had thought of myself as a funny or witty person at all but whe I first switched from TCAs to SSRIs, I suddenly had wit & it really boosted my sense of humour. Now with adrafinil added, I'm even better - faster & sharper (but not nasty - I hold that in control but sarcasm quips pop up surprisingly fast).
So does Provigil just help you concentrate? Or what else does it do?
Posted by ShelliR on July 1, 2002, at 20:20:26
In reply to Re: Meds take away all the fun » JonW, posted by Zo on July 1, 2002, at 15:55:10
Hi Zo,
Welcome back!
I also thought you were doing great with your meds. So now it sounds like you are doing better production wise, but you are losing parts of you that you like?
Shelli
Posted by Gracie2 on July 3, 2002, at 15:48:36
In reply to Re: Meds take away all the fun » Zo, posted by ShelliR on July 1, 2002, at 20:20:26
Since starting meds for bipolar disorder, I no longer experience the manic highs that brought such energy and great creativity. As an artist, this was very important to me. I would stay up most of the night painting or cleaning or both, and go to my "regular job" after only a couple of hours of sleep. I could sustain this level of energy for about two weeks at a time.
But the lows were oh, so low. All I wanted to do was sleep. I became depressed and cried frequently. I would become hysterical, paranoid, depressed, even suicidal.
With medication, my creativity and motivation has suffered. I have less energy. My memory is not as good, my thinking not as sharp. But I no longer suffer from anxiety, insomnia and hopelessness. I have accepted this as a fair trade-off, at least for now.
-Gracie
Posted by Zo on July 3, 2002, at 16:42:50
In reply to Provigil and Humour?? » Zo, posted by IsoM on July 1, 2002, at 19:33:47
I *may* have overstated the case.
I find my humor is not so edgy, not as pointed. . but probably pointed enough. It was probably overly-pointed before.
I'm a litttle bit nicer person. But just a little.
Provigil helps me concentrate even more on what I like. It has also made it even more difficult to focus on the linear, clock-driven world. So I have to do even more workarounds and reminders for that. And when I don't have to, I don't. It's so pleasurable to follow whatever engages my mind.
I also notice, even tho I experience myself as more unable to focus on linear things, in reality the manuscript pages are piling up. The previously impossible things, because uninteresting--like printing--seem to swim into consciousness of their own accord. This has been a lifelong problem, which yeilded to no amount of trying to learn "self-discpline." So something is vastly improved.
Sounds like magic, but with Provigil, the inner emptiness is gone. The inner sense of well-being, that things are okay, even if things are difficult or sad. .. I never had that. It also never yielded to many years of therapy, or even the deepest understanding. I even tried Vicodin and Buprenorphine as ADs, because they temporarily made me feel okay. Took that gnawing away.
No one could have predicted Provigil would work that way. I am very happy to have stumbled upon it. This only confirms the theory that insufficient care in childhood, stress, abuse, neglect--carves ruts in the neocortex that are very hard for the thoughts to pull out of, without a nice chemical hand up.
This post is digressive. . .I go with my digressions if I'm writing. . .and I go for countless hours, and don't think to count them. . .and I don't call it hyperfocus as a negative any more. This is wonderful stuff that's given us, with ADD. We have fun, we enjoy, we're funny, quirky. We love our ideas. I guess my ability to capitalize on that and balance whatever odiousness, when I must, is improved.
A lot. My son noticed certain tasks are sooo inherently odious for me, like unloading the dishwasher, because they hold no interest to my brain, which makeseven the perception of them sooo difficult, I just avoid.
Hard to explain--Provigil has intensified the very strong pull of interest and engagement, so you would think, then, has "aggravted" my ADD. .. but apparently it also decreased the odiousness, or made it easier to think upon, 'cause I seem to be getting a lot more done.
Hope this ramble makes sense. (Now, when I have to write a letter to my lawyer, it takes all afternoon to be concise!) I find Provigil (in combination with Dexedrine) to be very relaxing.
Zo
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