bipolar after mtbi
 

Hello everyone,

I know I haven't been on here in a while but that's because I've been hospitalized since May 14'th in the psychiatric ward of my hospital. They are trying to find meds that can help me. It appears I am suffering bipolar episodes and it is unknown if the concussion caused it, triggered it or if it was always there just not bad enough to need help.

We have tried Effexor(became manic), Cymbalta (depressed,suicidal), Cypralex (extremely aggressive) and I am now on Zoloft with Seraquel to help as a mood stabilizer. I also take elavil 10mg for headaches which has always helped. They are lowering my dosage of Seraquel and are going to put me on Lamotrodine with the zoloft.

Is anyone familiar with this occurrence or had any luck with medications or resolving the bipolar symptoms without drugs? I know I've probably spelled all of the drug names wrong but I'm tired.

I hope everyone is doing well. It's good to see some of the old names not on here as much. Maybe it means they have gotten back on with their lives.

Take care,
CC

Goodness!!
 

Dear cyclecrash,

I have no advice at all and wish I did.

What a turmoil you have been through. How scary for you too.

I hope others weigh in soon with any advice for you.

Is lithium a possibility for you or not?

Anyhow, take care,

poetrymom

Hi CC,

I don't have any particular suggestions - just wanted to send you positive thoughts as you deal with the rollercoaster of PCS. I can say that I know at least one person with bipolar disorder whose life turned around dramatically with the help of meds and a good psychiatrist. It took her a while to find the right combination of meds, therapy, lifestyle choices/routines, etc. so hang in there.

I can't speak to the bipolar issue but my recovery has taken 2+ years. I have made enormous gains and am regaining my former life but it has been a slow process requiring much patience.

My best to you.

Hi cyclecrash,

Years ago I hit my forehead on a steel dock plate (used for unloading trucks) and now looking back a lot of my mental health issues began shortly there after. I have been diagnosed with bipolar /depression. And I have been on most of the meds you listed. All with the same nasty side effects.including smoking in bed & not remembering it & I never smoke in the bedroom. Very scary!

Until this latest concussion I have chosen to live med free. I am currently weaning myself off Lexapro. I plan on using the L-Tryptophan since Mark from Idaho has been having good success with it.

Like with my PCS I have to learn my triggers so I can avoid them and/or develop work arounds.

It hasn't been an easy road not taking the psych meds but I have had to maintain a strong support network of family & a couple of really close trusted friends and learn to pay really close attention to how I feel and my behaviors, like is this shampoo any better than the other 4 bottles I have, or do I really need 3 bags of chocolate candy, can I afford to go to the casinos, things like that.

I still have depressed days but I allow myself to be human and know that not everyday is going to be an up day and every one has a "blue" day and I give myself permission to be blue. It's what I do the next day that counts.

I attend 12 step meetings and use the "take the body and the mind will follow" approach to feeling better. Going for walks, doing something I enjoy doing even if I don't feel like it. I have to do something to keep the depression from swallowing me up.

My thoughts are with you on this journey.

I have two brothers who have struggled with bi-polar. It is not a life sentence. Getting stabilized can help you develop life skills to reduce the highs and lows. One brother had to change careers to avoid the cyclical stress levels of intense projects with intense let downs when the projects get finished.

I hope there are support groups where you can share your struggles and victories. I know there is a group called Emotions Anonymous.

My best to you.

Cyclecrash - Sorry to hear what happened to you. I wish I could advise but I am not in a position to, take care of yourself.

Cyclecrash,

Bipolar Disorder, with the help of meds and therapy can be taken care of. Mood stabilzers (Anti-seizure meds, antipsychotics such as Zyprexa and Seroquel), antidepressants are used for depressive cycles. Manic cycles are managed by mood stablizers and antipsychotics.

Therapy may also benefit you at this time, if you haven't already done it.

Get well soon,

Consider :):hug:

Thanks
 

Thank you all for the support, suggestions and success stories. I know that eventually we will find the right meds to help with this, it is just such a roller coaster ride that it sometimes feels like nothing is going to work.

The hardest thing we are dealing with, aside from my extreme sensitivity to meds, is that we don't know what is being caused by concussion, what is being caused by psychiatric issues and what is just my normal moods or issues.

I have some great doctors helping me along the way and a couple of very supportive friends and family members. Hopefully it will not take much longer to find the right combination of drugs. We have been having some success with the zoloft/seroquel mix but they want to get me off the seroquel and onto lamotrogine because supposedly it is better for brain health.

It's hard to come off something that is working and go onto something else which is unknown and with all the side effects/withdrawal that accompanies but I'm trying to be patient that the right mix will be found!

Thanks again for all your support!

CC

CC,

Have you had a thorough hormone blood panel done ? It would need to be done at a specific time in your cycle. The effect hormones can have on mental health issues can be extreme. I noticed that the makers of Cymbalta are now trying to get it approved for PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) Check out PMDD on wikipedia. The symptoms parallel bi-polar cycles. It ties to a perceived lack of serotonin. L-Tryptophan, a serotonin precursor, was found in two studies to provide significant relief when supplemented daily in a large dose. There is some evidence that vitamin B6 can alleviate symptoms.
Learning to chart hormone cycles and help the body properly maintain them would make sense to me.

When you understand how brain function and hormones are related to mental health, this angle makes sense to pursue. A good source for referrals in the US is https://www.womensinternational.com/..._referral.html I don't know if they have referrals for Canada but it is worth a check. Just like the psychotropic drugs have side effects, the commonly prescribed patented hormones have side effects. Bio-identical hormones do not have these side effects.

My brain naturally knows what to do with L-Tryptophan. The SSRI I was taking seemed to force my brain in un-natural ways.

My best to you.

Thank you Mark for that suggestion. Unfortunately, I have had a hysterectomy due to cancer and would not even know where I was in my hormone cycle! My swings are weekly and not monthly. I have about three days a week where I am completely not myself. I will be sure to ask my doctors about hormones and do more research into it.

It is very hard in Canada to find anyone that looks at that sort of thing. I have contacted the people at the link you gave me, in the past, and they basically say the same thing...not much available where I am.

I am currently still working on getting a neuropsych test done and I also, finally, have an appointment with a neuro ophthalmologist for September! Slowly but surely things seem to be falling into place.

I will keep looking down that avenue. Thank you

CC

After a hysterectomy, your cycle should be flat. There are mail order saliva tests. They are not as accurate but lacking ovaries should mean you don't have wild swings. If you did a few saliva tests at the various days and times of day, you may find a problem. An integrative medicine physician may be helpful. Google "saliva hormone testing for women" and you will find lots of in formation.

Adrenal fatigue, cortisol dysfunction and other hormonal issues can all contribute to your struggles.

I understand the difficulty finding the right doctor when limited to a government based/directed health plan. The US Medicare system has many of the same barriers.

My best to you.

hormones, yes
 

Cycle Crash

Mark has nailed some important things to look at here. Our hormones and brain chemistry are very linked.

I learned a lot from the book Female Brain Gone Insane -- it's where I learned about the supplements I take.

Anyhow, I don't always understand the medical words here, but I get the gist and do look into your hormones.

Praying for your recovery.

Sincerely,

pm

Whenever I read of troubles suffered by persons going through the turmoil of Bipolar disorder and treatment, and the poly-pharmacy approaches practiced by varied Psychiatric groups, it always brings me back to wondering if we will ever be able to find the panacea for that care.

Anyway, this one article comes to my mind so often that I bookmarked it, and when I see folks on so many different medications I always re-read it:

The Most Important Article On Psychiatry You Will Ever Read............ its just something I have to keep reading...... because years ago, we were always told "shot gun approaches were not the way to treat people" however with some conditions a little of this and a little of that may just be the way.

Best Wishes on your recovery, CycleCrash........... :grouphug:

I should have specified that I still have my ovaries so I still have those hormonal issues too. Fun wow!

Concussion, that article was really something. Quite a hard read for me right now but very interesting and explains a lot of things! They are definitely trying a shotgun approach with all the different meds I am on right now for everything from sleep to depression to anxiety. I never even thought that pleasure seeking might be a "symptom" too I just thought those were good days ;)

Too much to think about. I tried going off all meds because I wanted to know what the real me was like again and I was in bed for over 40 hours and was suicidal so that test didn't go well. It's tough when your brain does not feel like it's you anymore.

I hope everyone sleeps well tonight. Thank you for the advice and support.

CC

You can discover your cycle with an ovulation test. Women trying to get pregnant use them to find their most fertile time. They will tell you that point in your cycle.

Some women develop an allergy to the eggs that need to be absorbed rather than expelled. This can happen to women with tubal ligation. The same happens to some men who have vasectomies. Some immune system testing may be worthwhile. Inflammation from immune reactions could be an issue.

Have you found any doctors who are willing to think outside the box ? It may be the key to understanding your condition.

My best to you.

Mark is right
 

Yes CC

Mark just said it so well. See about hormone testing. It is just that important.

When my hormones took me for a wild ride back in 09, I had such anxiety -- and the book I mentioned really helped me.

I know you have a lot of medical issues on your plate.

Here's wishing you healing and better health to come.

Sincerely,

pm

Cyclecrash, your postings here have given me so much help and insight as I recover, I just wanted to give you some light and healing from sunny Berkeley.

I'm sorry you have another issue to address on top of the tangle that is pcs/mtbi, but I hope you keep advocating for yourself to find the right help - whatever the form it is.

Day by day---

Sorry to hear you are going through so much!
 

I wasn't able to read the other posts, but I wanted to say that my brother has bipolar disorder, and he is living a very happy, very productive life. His worst period, he was so bad off, they thought he was schizophrenic, but it's ten years later and he hasn't had a serious problem since then (fingers crossed!) even through his personal life has had many ups and downs. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I will definitely have to check out that book and thanks again everyone for all the words of support and advice. Still plugging along upping one med and lowering another and adding another. Such a juggling game! I feel pretty good at the moment but tomorrow's increase could change it all in one moment.

The great news is that I finally have a neuro opthalmologist appointment for July 23'rd!!!! Finally going to get these eyes looked at. I had great success with an optometrist that prescribed prism glasses but I still have too much eye strain and cannot progress so I'm very hopeful the neuro opth. might have some ideas.

Take care,

CC

Hi cyclecrash
 

Sorry you are going through all that. I am 61 and just dx'd last year being bi-polar too. Evidently I had tendencies toward that all my life. I am over emotional at times. Currently I am on zoloft and serequel as well. Moods have stabalized. I have 5 auto immune conditions,and I wasn't handling them particualry good. I don't know if a concusion can cause bi-polar, the doc. said I might have been born this way. My parents complained I was antsy all my life. So.... are you feeling any better these days? I know the hospital isn't any fun. The meds you are on, should work for bi-polar to my knowledge. I am not familiar with the medication you mentioned that they wanted to switch you to.
I know all these emotions, are difficult, I do wish you all the best. There are alot of bi-polar people on this site. Check out that forum OK? I just wanted you to know, you are not alone. Life throws some real left hooks at you at times. Not all of us are equipped to handle many stresses at one time. You will find some friends here also. On the bottom of the page, there is also Neuro Talk for mental health issues. Both sites, do both medical and mental issues. Explore all you want. I am glad you found us. Hope your 4th was a good one and didn't get rained out like we did. ginnie:grouphug:

Hey CC
 

I'm now an infrequent lurker but am glad to hear of your update. Even though it is a tough diagnosis it is also empowering to know what you're dealing with... remember how frustrating the big unknown can be? I'm sorry you're going through tough times though!

I am just an uneducated opinion but frankly even the so-called educated doctors don't seem to know that much about the chicken/egg conundrum of mental health versus physical injury. For what it's worth... whether you had the tendencies or not before injury, if it's indeed clear that you have bipolar disorder now, then that is what you must deal with and treat, alongside whatever else helps you cope with PCS. So whether its caused by injury or not, it shouldn't change how doctors deal with it, right? I'm hoping! I don't understand why they are trying to even figure out the cause, maybe I'm missing something.

As you can see I'm not up to snuff these days, I'm giving all my good marbles to my workplace and there's not much left upstairs for anything else. Lol

I hope you find healing, and peace. Good to hear from you. :hug:

Hello MsRrio!

Good to hear from you too! I'm glad your back to work plan is going fairly smoothly. I don't think the doctors here are trying to figure out what caused what they are just trying to figure out if it is really bipolar or concussion symptoms to decide the best course of treatment. I've been here 2 months now and have been told I will be 8-10 more weeks minimum of medication changes.

It's great to be finally getting some help and I've had days where I see some great improvement but it's sad because then they change a med and it all changes again! On the good days I really don't want to be in here, especially during the summer on beautiful days! But, when they've adjusted a medication and I'm having a bad reaction to it then I know this is where I need to be.

Still just taking it one day at a time! All the best to you!

CC