http://www.christianforums.com A new subforum for the support of those with bipolar disorder. en Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:18:11 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.christianforums.com/style/misc/rss.jpg http://www.christianforums.com http://www.christianforums.com/t7417634/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:14:09 GMT Hi everyone. :wave: First of all, I'd like to request your prayers for my boyfriend. He is bipolar nad he cut his wrists yesterday and is now in the mental hospital for a week or two. Please keep him in your prayers.

Second, how can I help him avoid hurting himself? This really worries me. I, myself suffer from borderline personality disorder so I know what the mood swings are like. I had no idea that he was even depressed. Is it possible for a bipolar person's moods to just suddenly plummet without warning? I know it is possible for a person with borderline personality disorder to do that. So anyway, if you could offer me some advice as to how to help him, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

By the way, this is not the first time that he has been hospitalized for trying to kill/hurt himself. He was in a state hospital a few years ago. ]]> Bipolar Disorder Ave Maria http://www.christianforums.com/t7417634/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7417558/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:58:45 GMT Hello again fellow crazies;

If you hang around in the outreach thread you may have seen my post about my opportunity to study in North America in 2011 for a year. This is an awesome oppertunity, and I can't really pass it up! But I'm quite worried about how I'm gunna handle it with my BP and all. I've never lived out of home (my home is walking distance from my uni, work, doc, free rent/food/utilities, etc, no need to move!) so jumping to living overseas is gunna be a leap. So anyway, I need your advice, as I havn't figured out which area or uni to attend. I'm starting my research but it's always best to ask the people themselves, no?

I was thinking California, probably san fran because I'm a bit 'alternative' (think white girl dreads and fleshies, haha). Also, weather is a huge trigger for me, so I thought something similar to home would be good. However, I'm worried that the US doesn't have public healthcare, so am considering Canada. I can deal with cold, it's just wet and rainy for long periods that does my head in. I know Canada is cold, but is it wet and rainy and dark all the time? I did have the option on London where I'd be able to stay with my brother, but the weather there would screw with my head too much!

In terms of living, I need my own space for those times when I get a bit funny and all that (I rapid cyle so that can happen alot to me). I'm fine to have a room mate/s, so long as I have my own bedroom and then maybe a communal living space or whatever...how do your uni dorms work over there? Is that kind of thing an option? Or should I just look for an apartment or whatever out of the campus (lol....apartment...I've never lived out of the suburbs or semi-rural areas...)

Yeah...as I mentioned, I'm quite worried about moving to the US without public healthcare. I've already looked it up, and I can't get travel insurance that will cover mental health stuff. Should I be worried? Even though I rapid cycle I'm generally pretty stable, so I'd only need to go in for check ups and maybe the occasional script.

I'm studying youth work, but also do units in psych and councelling. Any ideas what the best unis for those sorts of social worky things would be?

Any info would be appreciated, cheers guys :D

The Real Pixie. ]]> Bipolar Disorder RealityPixie http://www.christianforums.com/t7417558/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7416814/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:56:55 GMT A couple of years ago now I was diagnosed with ADD and started on medication to balance the chemicals in my brain right away. I didn't notice any changes in my mood, only in my school performance. And I think the school performance change was really from meeting supportive people who got me motivated.
My mom talked me into going to this ADD clinic held at the hospital. I had to fill out a bunch of papers... Most of it I said 'never', even though I really felt it all the time. When I knew it was ruling out other disorders, I knew I wasn't honest. I went online and took numerous tests and found out that most results came up bipolar.
My life finally makes sense. Why I feel depressed sometimes. It sometimes seems as though I am 2 people. I feel so bad sometimes (Kinda like now), but I hold it in, hoping no one will notice. I told some of my friends, and one is going to help me with getting help/treatment, but it is so hard. I have been through a lot in my life.
One thing it really effects is my relationship with God. I will be either super close and loving Him, to being upset with the struggles in my life.
I feel as if I have this horrible relationship with my dad. I know he doesn't treat me right sometimes- yells and stuff. But inside I feel as if it's worse.
I don't want to be bipolar, I don't want to deal with it. I have been working with it, sometimes skipping my ADD meds because I know they will make what I think is the mania worse. I am a really gentle person but it tears me up inside.
In a way, I am super nervous. I have been avoiding getting help for a while, but I know going without treatment will make it worse. I have already done stupid things caused by whatever disorder I have.
Oh man, this sounds confusing.. and a little crazy! ]]> Bipolar Disorder mich_ellie http://www.christianforums.com/t7416814/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7416686/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:48:59 GMT I know I posted some of this in the coffee shop thread, but since not all members who frequent the board frequent that thread, I thought I may as well post here also. I saw my NP on Saturday and she put me on two new meds, Abilify (titrating onto it and off of Geodon) and a tricyclic called... I know I posted some of this in the coffee shop thread, but since not all members who frequent the board frequent that thread, I thought I may as well post here also.

I saw my NP on Saturday and she put me on two new meds, Abilify (titrating onto it and off of Geodon) and a tricyclic called desipramine. I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience(s) with either drug? I started them both today and had a really bad hypomanic "blip" 3 hours after I took them... it felt like I had ingested 400mg caffeine (equivalent of 2 NoDoze tablets) when I hadn't had caffeine since the day before. I wasn't sure that I could sit through my classes and actually went to the prof who teaches my first class and asked him if it would be okay if I had to leave early (I explained why and since he has experience with bipolar [immediate family members], he was very understanding) - but it was that bad. I hope not to repeat the experience tomorrow - I had to take an extra Klonopin and also some white hot chocolate (the closest I could get to hot milk), which both seemed to help after a little while. It just felt AWFUL!!!

I have also been having troubles with my temperature today, which could either be me catching the flu, or desipramine messing with me. I don't know which. Given that I haven't felt sick, I doubt it's the flu, but who knows... I need to check once more the list of side effects that desipramine can cause. Ugh.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Thanks for reading, and please post if you have ANY comments or suggestions or support to offer!! :hug::hug::hug: ]]> Bipolar Disorder Soulwings http://www.christianforums.com/t7416686/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7415751/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:46:27 GMT Urg.

Ok I'm just going to have a bit of a rant right now, they say one of the most effective parts of therapy is just talking it out...helps you to put all the mental blocks together in your head, apparently....

So.

I'm sure all of you are very familiar with the giant crunch that comes after a manic episode, or for all of us of the second type, a hypomanic episode. I rapid cycle a lot, so thought I was used to it, but a couple of months ago got into an epic hm. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, but about a week ago I hit the ground hard.

Now why is it that as soon as a depression comes in, everything else seems to decide to screw up too? Are my depressions really that bad, are their black holes strong enough that they escape my head and start pulling in the physical world too? Hmmmm...

So here's what happened.

For halloween my boyfriend and I were going to a party about 1.5 hours away from where I live. I was feeling a bit down so was looking forward to getting to this party and picking up the good vibes. I put lots of effort into my costume (a pixie, of course) and we were on our way. About 20 mins from the party black smoke started billowing out from under the hood of my car. Long story short, 7 hours and $111 tow truck bill later, we got back to my place. We never made it to the party, and my car's only real use now is for parts.

Then I went to the denist a couple days later. I hadn't been in about 2 years, the whole 'getting diagnosed with bp, having my life break down and then building it back up' thing sort of made my teeth seem insignificant. So I got there, and now I need about $2000 worth of dental work. I grind my teeth, and have actually started wearing them down (I don't have any points on my canines anymore), so now I have to get this mouth guard thing to wear to bed.....sexy. I have to get 2 fillings urgently and anoher 4 in the next 6 months. Oh and I have a huge phobia of needles. Should be fun!

Then...my folks are on holiday in Bali right now. I'm taking care of my dads pride and joy, his koi pond. So I woke up the other day and went down stairs to feed them only to find 4 dead koi bobbing around in the water....3 of them were his favourites. So I fished out these dead koi (pun not intended), each of them weighing a good 2-4kg each. NOT LITTLE FISHIES. Got an earful on the phone from dad, did some pond tests and basically found out the algae in there had turned poisonous.

Oh did I mention I have exams next week? And no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to pull myself out of this semi-comatose stupor to get some study done? And the stress from all this has given me a cracking tension headache that normal painkillers just can't quell.


Urg. I know I only have to wait it out and this will be over. Thank god I'm on meds or it would be a different story.....probably me curled up in the faetal position bawling my eyes out. Feels good to have a bit of a rant anway.

Cheers;

The Unreal Pixie. ]]> Bipolar Disorder RealityPixie http://www.christianforums.com/t7415751/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7415609/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:26:08 GMT Well I'm starting my prescription today. Anyone have any tips or anything to look out for? ]]> Bipolar Disorder Yab Yum http://www.christianforums.com/t7415609/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7415496/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:42:49 GMT Hey guys;

I've put a few posts in the outreach section, then scrolling through your other forums stumbled across this one.

I may not be xtian, but feel I may have something to add to this forum. I was diagnosed with BP2 just over a year ago, and after some rocky periods have gotten control over my condition using therapy and meds and am now living a happy and fulfilling life. I may be an atheist but don't worry, I won't even talk about that in this forum.

So anyway, hi, nice to meet you!

Best wishes;

RP ]]> Bipolar Disorder RealityPixie http://www.christianforums.com/t7415496/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7414650/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:12:09 GMT After a decade of struggle and wondering why treatment for chronic depression wasn't really helping that much, a few weeks ago I was finally diagnosed bipolar. Everything finally seems to make sense. :idea:

I feel relieved that at last we seemed to have really nailed the problem. :clap:

Anyway it's nice CF has a this subforum, I'll be hanging out here. ]]> Bipolar Disorder Yab Yum http://www.christianforums.com/t7414650/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7413296/ Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:02:57 GMT i become so low to the point where i'll do anything to get better
but then i in a few days i'll be manic and feel like nothing is wrong
so i'm not even sure if i want help
how do i know if i really want it? ]]> Bipolar Disorder ryo88 http://www.christianforums.com/t7413296/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7413113/ Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:21:24 GMT Since being employed and staying employed is such a struggle of mine I was hoping to start a thread on this issue. I've come to realize many
people with Bipolar struggle with this sphere of their lives. Finding a
job and keeping it seems is so hard for me to do. About 5 months into
a job I get stressed and freak out. I then quit and it makes things worse.
I wonder sometimes if I create many of my depressive episodes due to
this pattern in my life.

Does anyone else struggle with holding down a job? Do you ever get overwhelmed by the pressures of work? ]]> Bipolar Disorder bomichaels http://www.christianforums.com/t7413113/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7412433/ Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:27:49 GMT I'm new to the Christian Forums. My name is Kristy and I'm a Christian and have Bipolar I. I think right now I'm having a mixed episode, because I was manic a couple of days ago but today and yesterday I've been depressed. I cycle rapidly most of the time anyway.
I would like to share some of my history, but I feel kind of anxious about sharing such personal information (most of which my own family doesn't know) with complete strangers. How do you all manage to open up to people on these forums? Although I have a few close friends I talk to, I feel like I need more support, especially Christians.
Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself! ]]> Bipolar Disorder sundogkm http://www.christianforums.com/t7412433/