46: More reader questions, part 2

[ne_today]

“How long does it take you to notice these symptoms?”

It depends on the symptom.  I am often not the first one to notice the changes in my speech patterns.  Usually it is a friend, or my husband, who comments on the rapidity or slowness of my speech.

I’ve learned to quickly recognize and remedy any sleep problems or paranoia, but it took many many

Comments

[mrskrees]

Recognizing symptoms is so important. One thing that was recommended to me was to write down what my symptoms are, as we all have different symptoms, when I'm beginning to cycle and to do it while I'm sane, so that I can't deny when I'm starting to cycle (something I like to do). Making tweaks to meds is so much simpler than the overhaul process. I've also been told that bipolar is a progressive disease, so the more you cycle, the more likely you will cycle more frequently in the future. So keeping things in check and stopping the cycling at the beginning is so important.

[gigne]

I can get too positive, sometimes. Spiritual upliftment must be balanced by service and daily living, and sometimes upliftment throws me too far "up" without balance. It is exhausting. It happened today to me:

After I came home from church today--after lunch with a dear friend in which I talked to her a mile a minute--I had to spend time just sitting without any kind of noise, away from the computer, away from music, away from everything, to calm down the thoughts in my head. I think I might have had a wee bit too much sugar in the syrup, too.

Herbal peach tea helped.