Mental Health

[liubot]

Hi! New poster here. I don’t even know if I’m in the right place. I used to post on GBCN years and years ago and I really don’t know where I would post this for support…
A little background:

I’m 38, a mom of a 9 year old who lives with her father for school, and I work full time. I also have a boyfriend for about a year and a half who is so important to me.

I’m bipolar and borderline personality disorder, originally diagnosed BPD only around 12 years ago. I’m medicated (ant-depressants, mood stabilizers, abilify, etc.), and most of the time I’m okay.

More recently, I am so anxious and tired all the time. I just want to sleep, and that is typically my defense mechanism for hiding through my depressive times. I’m not doing well at work, not keeping up on cleaning my house, and just overall not functioning as I should.

I obviously know I’m unhappy, and the anxiety I feel at work is obscene. I work at a call center and I literally want to jump out of my skin with every phone call. I do well once I answer the phones but that time between calls, I am not okay. I think my job is a big part of the problem. I’m actively looking for new work, because I know this isn’t healthy.

I guess I’m asking if anyone is going through something similar or has been through it before? I might be in the wrong place but I am looking for support and like minded people who can relate.

Sorry if I don’t belong here!

[mae141]

I am in no position to give advice because I can't really get myself together, but abilify did a number on me. It gave me severe anxiety. I have not been diagnosed bipolar, but it's somewhat common for people with bipolar to respond negatively to some types of medications. Wellbutrin and trintellix both made my symptoms worse, but I was a complete mess on abilify and it took months to figure it out. As soon as I tapered off the anxiety went back to my baseline.

[sakoro]

One of my close friends is living with bipolar disorder and I just wanted to respond and offer support. There are a lot of new bipolar meds available but everyone responds to different combinations in different ways.

Just wanted to recommend getting to a good psychiatrist who is familiar with the latest treatments and ask to try a different med is your current one is making you anxious. My friend has had excellent care from her county health department, which is covered by Medicaid.

All the best to you.