What do you do when you have both anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder?
Do you go on two types of medications at the same time, is therapy effective, etc.?
Sometimes the mood stabilizers used to treat bipolar disorder can also "treat" anxiety as a side effect. That is, if the anxiety stems from the bipolar disorder (which it sometimes does), then treating the mood disorder will also treat the anxiety because the anxiety isn’t a separate problem of its own, but rather a byproduct of the bipolar disorder.
However, I’ve seen a lot of your posts in the past. You have said that you suffer primarily from anxiety, and that you didn’t even consider bipolar disorder as being a possibility until your psychiatrist brought up cyclothymia. Have you gotten a second opinion on that? Has another mental health professional corroborated the diagnosis of cyclothymia? If you are unsure about your diagnosis (which you have certainly seemed to be in the past) you should seek a second opinion, just to make sure you’re being treated for the right thing. Since you never noticed your mood as being a problem in the past, a diagnosis of a mood disorder seems a little odd to me.
There is a type of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is extremely effective in treating anxiety disorders of all kinds. It addresses your thoughts and the resulting anxious behaviors, and by changing (or "restructuring") your thoughts, allows you to change your behaviors and beat your anxiety. Even if your anxiety does stem from bipolar, which is questionable at this point, it will help you manage your symptoms in a much better way with or without medication.
Good luck.
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:47 am
Some medications are effective for both at the same time – so you probably wont need two although its possible. If you are given two your doctor will make sure they are safe to take together – i have taken two types of meds before and taken one in morning and one at night.
From what i understand of bipolar it is a mood disorder caused by chemical imbalance so im not sure youd need therapy unless the lows that you get (depression) are causing you to feel suicidal.
References :
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:13 am
Sometimes the mood stabilizers used to treat bipolar disorder can also "treat" anxiety as a side effect. That is, if the anxiety stems from the bipolar disorder (which it sometimes does), then treating the mood disorder will also treat the anxiety because the anxiety isn’t a separate problem of its own, but rather a byproduct of the bipolar disorder.
However, I’ve seen a lot of your posts in the past. You have said that you suffer primarily from anxiety, and that you didn’t even consider bipolar disorder as being a possibility until your psychiatrist brought up cyclothymia. Have you gotten a second opinion on that? Has another mental health professional corroborated the diagnosis of cyclothymia? If you are unsure about your diagnosis (which you have certainly seemed to be in the past) you should seek a second opinion, just to make sure you’re being treated for the right thing. Since you never noticed your mood as being a problem in the past, a diagnosis of a mood disorder seems a little odd to me.
There is a type of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is extremely effective in treating anxiety disorders of all kinds. It addresses your thoughts and the resulting anxious behaviors, and by changing (or "restructuring") your thoughts, allows you to change your behaviors and beat your anxiety. Even if your anxiety does stem from bipolar, which is questionable at this point, it will help you manage your symptoms in a much better way with or without medication.
Good luck.
References :
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:20 am
Jip. I have anxiety and bipolar. This sounds like a lot, but I am on anti-depressants and mood stabilizer for bi-polar highs and lows, it has really helped! At night I take x1 pill (urbanol) for anxiety, very harmless and it works. I am not pro medication, to find the right cocktail takes time and it gets frustrating but when you are on the right mix you will feel so much better! Just dont skip a day…
As your psychiatrist about urbanol. It shouldn’t interfere with your other meds.
References :
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:56 am
If you try & treat bi-polar properly, your anxiety SHOULD get treated in due course.
Bipolar is treated with antidepressant medication for acute depressions and the antimanic medication lithium carbonate to maintain mood stability. In case of psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, tranquillizers are also administered.
Rapid-cycling patients who don’t respond well to lithium, or people who can’t tolerate it, can benefit from anticonvulsant drugs such as carbamazepine or clonazepam. These drugs are taken alone as well as in combination with lithium.
Psychotherapy should be a help in coping when medications have stabilized the sufferer’s moods. Only rarely would electroconvulsive therapy be found necessary to treat a manic person who is not responding to medication.
Different medications for treating bipolar disorder may cause different side effects. Some medications used for treating bipolar disorder have been linked to unique and serious symptoms.
Natural Herbal and Homeopathic Remedies
Should you wish to pursue a more natural approach to treatment there are various options that should be explored. Because Bipolar Disorder generally requires conventional drug treatment, caution should be exercised when combining the two as there are certain natural remedies for bipolar disorder which may be incompatible with the psychiatric drugs.
Herbal and homeopathic remedies can also provide relief for severe mood swings, emotional outbursts and manic behavior. These natural treatments effective yet gentle on the body’s system without the risk of negative reactions. Natural remedies for bipolar disorder should feature calming herbs which are generally safe to use along with psychiatric drugs for Bipolar Disorder including Passiflora incarnata and Lavender. Biochemic Tissue Salts such as Natrium sulphate, Kalium phosphate and Natrium phosphate can also be used as natural remedies for bipolar disorder since they have a calming and restorative effect on the nervous system and help to balance mood and prevent mood swings. Homeopathic remedies such as Tarentula and Hyoscyamus can also be very helpful and may safely be used together with psychiatric medication without adverse effect.
Homeopathic ingredients such as Kali. Phosphoricum, Nat. sulphuricum, Tarentula and Hyoscyamus niger helps to control excitability, agitation and emotional outbursts and promote a balanced mood while supporting the brain and nervous system.
Consult a doctor, homeopath or naturopath for advice, especially when other chronic medications are also in use.
Because of bipolar, a person is likely to have repeated episodes of mania and depression throughout his life. But these episodes can be minimized or controlled. With the judicious use of herbal & homeopathic remedies, most of the treatment can take outside the hospital.
Read more on above on the source link below
References :
http://www.healthherbsandnutrition.com/remedies/b/bipolardisorder.htm