I’m beginning my third week on Abilify and I am still enjoying a delicious Hypomania. Just did a little bit of research and it seems some people experience the same. However, my manic searching didn’t turn up any info as to whether the hypomania would lessen and/or disappear over time. Part of me hopes not, but I feel sorry for my poor husband and son. At least I have been able to dig into the genealogy project and trace five generations on each sided of the family in the last three days. Hypomania has its benefits.
Monthly Archives: December 2010
Bipolar and Medication
Wellbutrin, Abilify, Klonopin, Prilosec, Ambien – and let’s not forget the supplements. All of this on top of the med I already need for muscle spasm? I feel like I need one of those geriatric daily pill containers.
Physical Illness and Bipolar
For the past week, I’ve enjoyed a hypomanic episode while my medication is tweaked. But the last two days, I’ve felt as if the upper resp crud that’s been attacking since Thanksgiving is trying to make a comeback. And I think it’s also been squelching my delicious hypomania.
So, a little research was in order. And, was I ever surprised to find this:
H1N1, Swine Flu, May Compromise Bipolar Disorder in Mental Health Patients
While mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, do not cause H1N1 risks to rise, they can delay your recovery by suppressing your immune system further. For this reason, be sure to discuss your bipolar treatment with your doctor to ensure you are given the best possible outcome.
Once your infection of swine flu has resolved, you will want to make an appointment with your mental health professional to have an evaluation done to determine if your bipolar disorder medications are still working properly. Typically, once resolved, H1N1 will not have long term affects on the bipolar condition. However, the reverse is true in that your H1N1 may be delayed in recover when your mental health is not ideal. For this reason, your mental health professional may need to collaborate your treatment with your primary care doctor.
I’m a bipolar newbie, so I didn’t pay much attention to articles like this when they were first published. The more I read about how colds, flu, upper resp and antibiotics affect bipolar people, the more I am convinced the mood swings of the last 3 days are a product of my silly URI.
Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?
Mood Logs
It’s pretty sad, but being an IT professional left-brainer by day means being completely jazzed by empirical data. In true geek fashion, although my Dr never recommended it, I broke down and bought a sweet mood tracking application for my iPhone called MyMoodTracker.
I’m not far enough into it to see any real trends, but if anyone out there has experience and/or seen any benefits from mood tracking, feel free to share a comment or two.
