75 years of depression

[Olderal]

Perhaps I ought to introduce myself as I don't visit this forum often now. I was a very active member for a period of a couple of years but when it went international that was enough . Health systems vary too much from country to country for one to waste one's time writing for people with problems in other countries, so this post is aimed at people in the UK. WARNING this could be long..

I am 75 years old diagnosed with Bipolar Two and assume I have had it from birth (I have good reasons to believe this ) although I did n't need any help or seek medical advice until I was 35 years old. Firstly I don't really have Bipolar 2, I have Olderal 1. If your name is Fred Bloggs you have Fred Bloggs one, whatever the medics tell you you have. Everyones' finger prints are different. The brain with 86-100 billion neurons and the sme number of Glial cells with each neuron having say 100 synapses or connections has almost infinitely more degrees of freedom than fingerprints so what you have is unique to you , whatever they tell you you've got.

I recently paid a very good psychiatrist for a second opinion and found she absolutely agreed with this. Psychologists, psychiatrists and GPs all deserve our heart felt thanks , they sincerely try to help us, but unfortunately know a tiny percentage of what is necessary to effectively help any of us, altho occasionally by serendipiddy they inevitably help some.

Of more interest probably is the fact that I have now reached the stage where I am usually glad I have "Bipolar 2". I have periods of depression which are awful (probably over 30 so far) , but also long periods of normality. More wonderfully I also have long periods of Hypomania when colours are brighter, music is wonderful, everyday brings wonderful adventures and new experiences , and my mind works much better than when I am depressed , and quite a bit better than when I am normal. I love it. The Psycho medics don't like it as they think Hypomania can tip into Mania but I'm almost 100 % certain I've never been manic. For those with "bipolar 1" who experience mania this may be less enjoyable . I suspect it is.

I've never had much Anxiety but the good news for those who do is that although the medics know almost nothing about the "bipolars" and "unipolar" depression they can help a lot both with reactive depression and anxiety.

The Psychiatrist who I saw privately (she worked for the NHS and The Priory, told me that I was receiving the recommended treatment for "Bipolar 2". I agreed but wanted to try something else . She thought that was a reasonable course of action and wrote to my GP suggesting I be allowed to go ahead. The results have been fantastically good and I am very grateful to her and my GP. I don't think I am cured and will probably get further spells of painful depression but at the moment I am enjoying life to the full and extremely happy.

This post is long enough. I have more good news for everyone but will put it in a another post.

Just a bit of news . Some of you will remember Goldfish. We exchanged about 80 PMs mainly about me trying to keep him alive. he recently made the national headlines but it seems to me he is at last cured of his very prolonged and incurable depression. I very much hope so anyway.

Olderal

[Stilltrying_]

Hello Olderal of course I remember you and am just aknowledging your post right now and will read it in more detail later. You helped me when i was down. I will try and do the same for you xx

Hi, just read it. So glad that you are feeling better. Would you like to share the "secret" of your recovery? It may help some us. Myself also I am doing well right now and not sure whether I will go down again or whether this is it. I think it's triggers that send me down and that i'm working on myself in a good enough way for this not to happen. But I still don't know. I said this last time and then POW I was right down there is the worst possible place you can imagine.... xx

[Olderal in reply to Stilltrying_]

Hello Stilltrying.So am I. Only saw your post of two years ago today. This site has gone very much downhill since I first joined (when I think it was a purely Scottish forum) and alho they don't hesitate to contact me when they think They need a little help they do not have the common courtesy to inform me of messages. Unless they improve I will be tempted to break all contact.

The secret of my recovery was I just stopped taking mood stabilisers. having first obtained support for this from a psychiatrist. This gave me a very happy two years plus a huge improvement. Since then I have had another spell of depression about 7 months which was n't too bad. I did attempt suicide during that mainly because I felt i'd had a good innings (I'm now 77 and still smoke reasonably heavily). It did n't work as quickly as I hoped so I cut it off before I got brain damage, I.think successfully. I almost certainly won't try it again (you can never guarantee it until you die of natural causes)

I hope you are still trying. My family agree I am still trying, especially as I age. My email is [e-mail] should you ever need me, as unless this organisation improves its manners .I might well totally cut myself from it.

[Sprinkle1]

Hello, I thought I had lost your email, when I first read it I thought it was me writing it. I am 76, at age 58 I found a great psychiatrist, who diagnosed me a Bipolar Two. He had to teach me about my illness. He as very thorough and put me on Lithium which helped with the mood swings, also on Zoloft and another pill, along with thyroid, to protect My thyroid. He told me I had developed a tolerance to the Prozac, which surprised me as I have a friend who had been on it for years, and still is now, it works for her thank goodness. I too believe I was born with this defect it had dogged me off/on all my life. I moved from Calif to S.C. and then developed a tolerance to the Zoloft, also my Dr. wanted me off the Lithium because of my age, and I have been on a merry go round for the past two years, in the hospital twice, and anxiety so bad I could not drive, read my books, watch TV, cook, etc., etc, sat and planned how to off myself. A friend got me in with a psychiatrist of good repute we played pill roulette, he hit it on the third go, I am now on Viibryd 20 mg, Zyprexa 5 mg and Gabapentin 300 mg. It was the Viibryd that pulled me out in a matter of days - such relief. So I too am a Fred Bloggs, and a Brit. I intend looking up Hypomania, which I now believe I also am gifted with, it is a lovely place when I am in it, I hope it will last and last, I am so very happy, life seems easy, (even though it is not) I feel tipsy without taking a drink. Also I think some of it is side affects from the med's, but I do not care, just keep it coming. So sorry it took me so long to write to you, like I said I misplaced your email. I hope you will respond to this one of mine. Thank you fellow Bipolar II Fred Bloggs, don't forget Fred Nerck also......Sprinkle 1.......xx

[Olderal in reply to Sprinkle1]

Hello Sprinkle1. Only just seen your post today !9/1/21 probably very late. (i don't use the forum much now and although they email me when they want a little help they don't bother with the courtesy of telling me when I have messages). The site has gone downhill since I joined (which I sincerely hope is coincidence) and when it was a purely Scottish site, I have just come through a spell of depression but now think I have just come out of it. Won't be sure for a week or two. Overall I am still doing very well , 77 now, and hope you are also doing very well. My email is alanfrost43@btinternet,com.

Rgds.Olderal