What does this look like to you?

I went to the doctor for depression about 5 weeks ago. She put me on Zoloft 50mg. About 2 weeks ago a friend of mine suggested this website so I can track my mood and sleep cycle. I don't know much about all the disorders which is why I'm asking for opinions. Take a look at my chart please and tell me what you think. Is it depression? Is it cyclothymia? Is it Bipolar? I go back to my doctor tomorrow to see how I'm doing on the meds. I just want you guys' opinions before I go. Thanks in advance!

Hello nasotm,

A friend of mine got dx'd with bipolar til he got a sleep study done ~ they gave him one of those C-"something?" machines to use while sleeping & his mood swings totally went away & he got "undiagnosed" from BiPolar.

My biggest problem has been trying get consistent sleep - supposed to be right now!

My insurance will not pay for me to get a sleep study (non-standard medicaid). I take Seroquel; an anti-psychotic that helps me fall asleep. I can sleep a very long time on it BUT its the getting to sleep thats hard for me.

I'm no Dr. but it looks like you have some rapid cycling going on...WHY R U not on a mood stabilizer? Like Lithium or Depakote. Some people that are more depressed than manic like Abilify or Lamictal. Try to be honest as you can w/your Doc w/out underscoring OR exaggerating things.

Hope that helped some...Good Luck w/your Dr's appt. tomorrow!

-cb-

I let my doctor know everything that was going on. She upped my Neurontin from 400mg to 600mg (I take that for neuropathy) and she upped my Zoloft from 50mg to 100mg. She also put me on Trazodone to help me sleep but unfortunately it hasn't done any good for me. I have no idea why she doesn't have me on a mood stabilizer. I'm just seeing my regular doctor for all of this at the moment. I'm stubborn and I'm not ready to see a psychiatrist but I will eventually. I go back in April. I had a brief moment on Saturday night where I was depressed, irritable and felt like I could go outside and do cartwheels but I didn't *feel* like it. I had the feeling that I had to go go go go go for about 4 hours and then it just disappeared. I didn't get any sleep at all last night. My son is sick and was up most of the night. This morning when I woke everyone up I was in a great mood until my fiance got an attitude with me and it caused me to go into depression mode fast. I just don't know what to think :(

hi, first of all hello, and charting your mood is the first step to understanding how your moods go, also you can have mixed moods which the 'go go go' and the not feeling like you want to do anything sounds like mixed. it could also be from rapid cycling, which zoloft does tend to make bipolars do (in any type). so PLEASE ask your dr to take you off of these and try you on mood stabilizers instead, i'm not saying zoloft is all bad as any anti depressant can make you rapid cycle. i'd say concentrate on tracking your moods for now and ask about seeing a psychiatrist.

best of luck.

Hi Boo, I'll do that. Thank you. I really appreciate your advice. A friend of mine who is bipolar told me that she was diagnosed with bipolar after being put on an antidepressant. She said it put her into a manic episode. She thinks this *could* be what's going on with me. I also have another friend who is bipolar who swears up and down that what's going on with me is JUST the depression. I don't know enough about these disorders to have any idea what's going on with me. I'm so confused. I don't even know what symptoms I actually have. I can't even think about what's going on with me to even tell my doctor. It would be so much easier if someone could just jump inside my head and find out what it is lol. Thank you again

I showed my doctor my chart and she said it does look like bipolar or cyclothymia so she put in a referral for me to see a psychiatrist. I'll update once I have my appointment. Thanks again everyone for your advice :)

I'm glad you will be getting the help you need. The sooner you get proper treatment, the better you'll feel.

Finally got my psychiatrist appointment set up. It's next Friday March 25th. What should I expect for my first visit? What kinds of questions will he ask? Should I print out my chart to take with me? Is there anything else I need to take? Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

Your doc will probably ask you questions about the way you feel in different situations, family history, etc. It will depend on how you present yourself. Just relax and answer the questions as good and objective as you can.

I would also suggest that you print out your mood chart incl. the medication history (with dosages) and bring that with you to your appointment. If you have any comments regarding your medications, write those down and bring it with you also. Things like how a medication made you feel (better, worse, made you feel hypomanic, etc).

Maybe also print out what you said here in the thread as it describes pretty well where you are at this moment. Even when you feel quite different on the day of your appointment. It will serve as a reminder of your mood swings. We all tend to forget things...

Good luck and I hope you'll get medication that will help you. There are very good options available - it's a matter to find the one that works for you. Sometimes it can be a bit of trial and error.

I had my psychiatrist appointment yesterday. I left there with the diagnosis of Mood Disorder NOS. He's starting me on 2.5mg Abilify for the first week. He said if that isn't enough then go to 5mg the next week and if that isn't enough go to 10mg the next week. By then I"ll be seeing him again. I'm not so sure I like him but I guess I'll know for sure by my 2nd visit. What part of the forum should I be posting in now? lol

my pdoc said the escitalopram (20mg/day) plus gabapentin (1200 mg/day) were a major contributer to my moods and settled for a potential diagnosis of bipolar type 3 - hypomania that occurs when given anti-depressants.

I'm currently off all meds (except for NSAIDs for chronic back pain) and this has been my chart so far this month... :/

Hi bikerchick...
I was just curious... did the escitalopram and gabapentin help with your moods or intensify them? And Iʻm also wondering why you decided to get completely off of your medication?

And to Nasotom,
good for you for seeking out a psych doc... I soooo remember that feeling you described, but like you, I had a regular physician who simply prescribed prozac for my cyclothymia and sent me on my way. Just some basic googling taught me that an anti-depressant without a mood stabilizer (like lithium) can be disastrous, because youʻd be on the hypomanic train without any relief or balance in sight. Now that you know what you have, your psych doc can prescribe exactly what you need. The one I have isnʻt a very good "talk therapist" so I also see a psychologist who is extremely helpful with strategies to apply to manage my moods better, and sheʻs helpful with teaching me techniques to calm down before I get upset and take that emotion to an "extreme!"

Hi fireandrain,

No they didnt help with the moods. The escitalopram gave me hypomanic effects (so the pdoc reckons) and I was unlucky enough to be the 1 in 500 who got increased self harm and suicidal thoughts on the gabapentin - although that took a while to persuade the doc about that one.

The pdoc suggested coming off the escitalopram as he was thinking that maybe I was symptomatic of Bipolar type 3 (hypomania induced by the use of anti-depressants). I wanted some time off the meds too to kind of confirm with myself whether it is really me like this or the medication was the problem.

pdoc also suggested maybe a mood stabiliser but I want to avoid medication for a bit see what happens. If it doesn't settle down, it might be something to try.

Hi again Bikerchick : )
Tytyty! I appreciate your response!! I still struggle with my moods and am seeking out a better solution. I'm on wellbutrin, lithium, lamictal and a light dose of Xanax. And your reasons for going completely off makes so much sense so you can find out what's really going on and experimenting to find out if the antidepressant is the cause. I discovered at 43 that I had cyclothymia by taking the smoking cessation drug called Chantix. It put me in a hypomanic state and I knew something wasn't quite "normal"... Then... My psych doc got me balanced out with the wellbutrin and lithium (the mood stabilizer) was necessary so the wellbutrin wouldn't put me back to that manic swing! I've found that the lamictal has helped with my moods and my temper, but I still struggle. Best of everything to you as you experiment and learn to pinpoint what's going on and how to best treat your condition!

Hi fireandrain

No worries. I'm 26, work full time and have been studying part time for my BSc in Applied Science (paid for by work) for the past 4 years. With that, I have had chronic upper back pain for 3 years and for the past 1.5 years I was on 10 mg/day escitalopram to help 'cope' with the pain and to potenitally try to break the pain brain cycle. when the 10 mg seemed not to work, thats when I was put on 20 mg. That, combined with the stress of final year exams and the back pain = my little head couldnt handle it.

My last exam is in 10 days time. I'm hoping that getting that out the way will help change the mood, that and getting back to the gym regularly too. I want to keep monitoring anyway - because it is really useful plus if I need to discuss anything with the GP, then I have these profiles.

I have regular (2 weekly) chinese acupuncture sessions, to help with the back pain, and to help with the moods. I find it beneficial too. She is also one of my university lecturers and I have been open and honest with her, sending her all my pdoc letters etc so she knows exactly what is going on.

Because it seemed like I was sensitive to the meds, thats another reason I want some time off medication and to look at alternatives like diet and exercise, to manage the moods. That way, I can leave the medication until if/when truely needed.

Will monitor and see what happens!