Hey fellow forum dwellers. Hope your all doin alright.
For the past week ive been worried i might start to become manic again, leading to psychosis. Im not manic now, but i feel elevated. For example, usually im completely numb and anhedonic. But im actually feeling emotions sometimes and caring about stuff more. And dare i say it: happy-ish. I was told a fair few times by pdocs of the past to watch out if im feeling too happy. And that it might mean im slipping and will become manic. Im seeing a really good pdoc i like soon, so I’ll relay all this to her as well.
Any thoughts?
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You have typical symptoms of mania. Euphoria etc. So, it seems to me you have insight at the least. How is your sleep?
I was in mania for the past many days but didn’t know it. Right now, I may have gotten over 97-98 percent of mania. It was induced by Modafinil.
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My sleep cycle is decent. Im feeling more normal today. But what i described will probably happen again later or another day soon. Im not super worried though. It sucks to have an illness where you have to be wary of feeling good/happy as a potential problem haha.
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Oh dude ive had a stable mood for 6 months and hardly any psychotic symptoms.
I still have my guard up wondering when the next episode could be but its been smooth sailing. Im used to being hypervigilant over the last decade and a half so its hard not to be like that
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Yeah you get me 
I have this habit ive developed of second guessing and questioning a lot of what i think and feel. It helped me initially to recover from psychosis (since psychotic people cant really trust thier ideas and senses sometimes sadly).
But now that ive been free of mania and most postive symptoms for more than two years, its starting to be a nuisance to be that way. Holds me back. It infects everything. Like “what i said to my friend was probably so odd and crazy sounding” kinda stuff.
I need therapy haha.
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Yeah your situation sounds like mine. Ive had general stability for the last year and the last 6 months ive been treating my adhd. The adhd treatment seems to of stabilized my emotions further. I read stimulants can help with emotional dysregulation if thats a component of your symptoms.
But yeah i 2nd guess the stability daily lol.
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Wow yeah. Ive been on two different non-stimulant meds for adhd for a little bit now. They seem to help a fair bit! Not allowed actual stimulants though because of my heart problem and history of sza and drug/alcohol use. But id love to be able to take them.
The atomoxetine and guanfesine are helping heaps though i think.
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Nice yeah atomoxetine would of been my next choice if methylphenidate didnt work out.
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I probably have ADD. I tried Modafinil recently, it sent me in mania.
I get psychosis from all stimulants, including Straterra.
Like I get mania from antidepressants regardless of the dose.
So, I am stuck here, and can’t seem to treat some symptoms at all.
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Modafinil gave me mania as well. But methylphenidate doesnt for me.
You could try guanfacine or clonidine. Those are non stimulant adhd meds
I also cant take ssri anti depressants due to mania.
I tried welbutrin for 10 months up to 400mg a day and it just made me agitated and sensory overload. I even became slower and would just sit on the couch just looking at the wall doing nothing.
Its a gamble trying to find something that helps
Yeah, but the stimulants give me psychosis. I ended up on clozapine when I took ritalin.
Yeah I was talking about those two non-stimulant ADD meds with my pdoc, and he suggested Modafinil. He wasn’t familiar with those medications. I don’t know what to do now 
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I dunno. I just present information/research supporting why i want to try a certain med and my pdoc just lets me try it.
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Yeah, mine too and I discussed exactly those two meds you mentioned, but he preferred Modafinil. It sent me in crazy mania. Now, I will tell him about mania in the next meeting, and I know what he will say: avoid ADD meds stimulant or non-stimulant.
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Well you just gotta do what the pdoc suggests.
Plus adhd meds arent magic pills they just make things more manageable.
I survived off like 800mg of caffeine everyday for many years prior to trying them and it was very mediocre but did help a bit.
Now i dont drink any caffeine and just have the med
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Well, my pdoc is very, very conservative. I have to insist to him to try medications all the time. It is borderline indifference on his part as regards to my symptoms, like he only cares about money. But, in my country, he is the better one, what can I do. The pdocs here are different, if I suggest a medication to them, they are more likely to take offense, that a “patient is guiding the doctor”. They don’t accept suggestions, and a pdoc went so hard at me for suggesting Amisulpride that I came back to the current pdoc for treatment. It is a different culture I guess.
You have to deal with the hand you have, and in the west they certainly have more open-minded pdocs.
I can’t even concentrate on movies and watch them. I have no time pass like that, possibly because of ADD+Schizoaffective’s cognitive symptoms.
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I went to the best pdocs in my country.
The absolute number 1 didn’t take any suggestions, and said, get off Abilify, go on Clozapine/Depakote. Not based on what worked for me, but based on the prior combinations.
I went another so-called top pdoc here, and I asked her to put me on Amisulpride and she went so hard at me for the suggestion, and asked me to go on Haldol.
Then I went to a third pdoc more recently (another senior consultant), and I explained to her my symptoms and history for half an hour, after which she said, you don’t have schizoaffective, that that diagnosis doesn’t exist anymore, and that I needed to go for psychological testing in order to get a new diagnosis.
She didn’t think I had sz/sza based on the way I was talking, rather than the history presented to her which she had no interest in.
My current pdoc is willing to listen and stuff. But, with medications I don’t trust his judgment at all, he is terribly not confident, and he would rather not make any changes whatsoever.
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Wow! Sounds like youve had a terrible time with all pdocs youve ever had. Sorry that must be hard. Here in australia, ive had pretty good luck mostly. Especially my latest one. She talks to me like im an equal and likes that im knowledgable about sz sza and meds and all that.
I hear that in the US they literally have ads on tv for psych meds. And suggesting the viewers ask thier doctors about them lol. Things like quitiapine and abilify haha!
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By the way im not laughing at you in case you thought that. I just think its hectic.
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Yeah, when I was in the US, I was seeing a top pdoc (Columbia University psychiatrist), and he was either suggesting medications to me or taking suggestions all the time. He was very nice-- the only issue I personally had with him is that he didn’t care about my sex drive when I didn’t have it. But, credit goes to him that he took me off Klonopin and after that the sex drive reverted back.
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No worries. I can also laugh at the pdocs I am encountering here.
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