It's me again and my randomness...

This is my story:

I have had mood swings ALL my life... since I remember... probably since 5 years old... I remember myself crying non stop in my room all alone, all sad because I missed my granma... but I mean, I think you will agree with me that sadness is different from depression you know... I mean, I barely met my grandma, she died when I was 3 years old... but I would get depressed...

Later on, as you can imagine, things got worse with adolescence... But my mother used to think it was just my character... which was horrible but nothing to take me to a doc for...

When I became an adult and could took my own decisions, I decided to go to doc and ask about my mood...

First, I was depressed.... then, I was bipolar, then, I had hypothiroidism, then, I have fibromyalgia, now, I have Policystic Ovary sindrome...

So basically, my question is, all the above cause bad mood swings... and even when I have been treated for all of the above, I STILL have bad mood swings... I mean, when Im happy, Im EXTRA happy maniac like... when Im sad, Im depressed digging deep in a hole...

Today for example, I swear I have changed my mood every hour... to extreme moods...

So my question is, do you still have mood swings ? Or have you and your doc find the right med for you and, your mood swings are barely non existent any more ??

I wonder if they really go away with meds... ever...

Thanks for reading and for your ideas and suggestions...

I have mood swings still, but normal people, unmedicated people have mood swings so it would be abnormal to not have any mood swings.
That is life.
If you mean do I get manic, yes sometimes I still get manic when I am on medications, I obsess about certain issues and can get out of kilter like this last time when I dieted myself sick and fell and broke my collar bone.

I don't usually suffer from depression thank goodness.
but I can loath myself on occasion....
sorry I am not being helpful.
bizi

Younwere indeed helpful Bizi.... Thanks for sharing.... I was wondering if my mood swings were supposed to stop definetely... But it seems thats impossible....

Well. The moods continue. I can sometimes think of mine as good. They keep life interesting.
Also . . . . . we have an advantage over other people in that we are aware of our moods and how to deal with them. We are better off than other peopel in that regard -- I'm being serious here.

M

Dear Majo

some meds do not work for some people and can even make things worse.

so you do have to figure out wiht your doc what works.

it is also important to address the conditions causing the moodswings in order.

1.the pcos will have to be treated and hormones allowed to straighten out. hormone fluctuations can confuse the clinical picture quite a bit in terms of mood swings.

2. hypothyroidism... dx'ed AFTER bipolar? generally hypothyroidism has to be ruled out or completely treated BEFORE a dx of bipolar can be made. so i don't know what the deal is there. if yours was dx'd after... it might be time to rethink things. regarding hypothyroidism, alhough it is systematically treated with T4, some experiments have shown that complements of T4 and T3 produce better results in individuals with residual sx. however some docs do not prescribe T3 and may not even test to see what your balance is. so that is something to hash out with your endocrinologist, but, if you are taking psych meds still, also worth mentioning to your pdoc. my pdoc tried me on a mix of T4+T3 for some time because even though my thyroid tests were normal, i was resistant to many psych meds and he suspected "sub-clinical hypothyroidism." had to stop because my levels (low end of normal range) adjusted back to their original values for every change he made so ... we were going in circles. it seems my pituitary promptly adjusts for any exogenic "stuff" thrown at it... it won't tolerate interference!

3. bipolar/depression/grief. people are not all the same. whenever you feel extra happy does not mean you are hypomanic or manic. more sx than that are required. same with depression. grief is again different because it is a normal reaction to an extraordinary, concrete event and in proportion to that event. grief has to be watched because it can give way to depression. situational depression can occur even in "normal" people.

getting the order right is important, but also giving different meds a try is important. if you are in fact bipolars, you may have a hard time with antidepressants taken alone. they can be too activating for some.

when under stress everyone is more vulnerable to mood swings. if the mood changes are transient, especially if they occur in response to specific events, and do not otherwise interfere significantly with daily life, they are not considered abnormal. if stress is a big factor in your life, you need to find ways to reduce it and/or increase ways to cope with it... get enough rest, some physical exercise - can be "tame" like tai chi or yoga, take extra B vitamins, zinc etc.

there are also some personality disorders which do cause mood swings and respond better to psychotherapy than to medication.

in your case one thing i might suggest for starters is having your gyn, pdoc and endo talk to each other and coming up with a treatment plan. because with so many things going on it seems pretty scary to me to have 3 doctors independently prescribing for conditions with overlapping symptoms... there has to be some ordering, imho.

i am sorry there are no easy answers... wish there were...

~ waves ~

you are so wise waves
((((HUGS))))
bizi

Dear Majo,
Hi. The short answer is "Yes they mostly go away." Many people can reduce the volatility / frequency range of the moods.

Listen to Waves.
M

After a failed try with Abilify to stop my spiraling depression, my pdoc has me on a cocktail of 25mg Topamax, 30mg Cymbalta (down from 60) & 20mg Celexa (never had before). Any comments?

This is day 3, nothing bad so far...actually feel the same as before. Am I past the likelihood of bad stuff happening?

Thanks.

Hi, CarGirl,

Yes. I often notice the side effects within the first few days.

The Topamax will need to go be higher and will take a little while to work. Topamax can work for some people but it is generally considered a weak mood stabilizer that is given with a second mood stabilizer.
The two anti-depressants can work together I suppose. When it is time to go off them you have to taper down carefully.
I'm sorry you are depressed. I hope this mix works for you. Keep an eye on possible mania. I hope you feel comfortable letting the pdoc know where you are.

M

Thanks, Mari.

Pdoc & I are in phone contact daily. I'll see him the 27th after I'm back in FL to evaluate. But mostly he just asks questions.

Thanks for some feedback!