They Liked Me, Again!
The kind people at PsychCentral have voted me one of the top ten bipolar blogs again this year. I’m honored. Thanks. Here’s what they have to say: Caught in my Bipolar Burble. She’s been blogging since 2003 and is...
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Calcium Channel Blockers (Verapamil) and Bipolar
For anyone who is wondering, I am currently trying a calcium channel blocker to control my mood. This is a last-line treatment really as there are conflicting reports as to whether it works at all, but when you’re me,...
Read MoreCauses of Mood Disorders – Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine
Today, I was watching a Comcast On Demand program about the causes of bipolar. I thought I’d watching and see how ridiculous it was because obviously, no one knows the cause of bipolar disorder.
However, the spot had some interesting information on the brain, neurotransmitters and bipolar disorder, which I then transcribed so I could share it with you. (Yes, I really did transcribe the whole thing.)
It’s in fairly layperson terms, so give it a look. At the bottom is a bit more information about dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. This, unfortunately, is not in layperson terms, but is interesting nonetheless.
Read MoreDiet and Depression / Bipolar
I’ve written about this before, but due to the amount of misinformation on the internet on this topic, I feel compelled to write about it again.
- Omega-3 and Depression
- Folic Acid and Depression
- Low-Carb Diets and Mood
Now, first off, I do not believe you can cure depression or bipolar using diet. Let me be clear, people who tell you this are mostly flakes. There are ways though that you can possibly improve your treatment plan using dietary components.
Read MorePhysiological Causes of Depression – Surgeon’s General Report
I like to think I know almost all there is to know about mood disorders, but I was pretty shocked when I read this:
The Surgeon’s General Report
Differential Diagnosis
Mood disorders are sometimes caused by general medical conditions or medications. Classic examples include the depressive syndromes associated with dominant hemispheric strokes, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, and pancreatic cancer (DSM-IV). Among medications associated with depression, antihypertensives and oral contraceptives are the most frequent examples. Transient depressive syndromes are also common during withdrawal from alcohol and various other drugs of abuse. Mania is not uncommon during high-dose systemic therapy with glucocorticoids and has been associated with intoxication by stimulant and sympathomimetic drugs and with central nervous system (CNS) lupus, CNS human immunodeficiency viral (HIV) infections, and nondominant hemispheric strokes or tumors. Together, mood disorders due to known physiological or medical causes may account for as many as 5 to 15 percent of all treated cases (Quitkin et al., 1993b). They often go unrecognized until after standard therapies have failed.
(bold mine)
I’m shocked. No one ever mentioned anything about birth control pills to me and I’ve been on them for years. YEARS. This is yet another reason why doctors so often get on my bad side.
This quote was taken from the Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. The whole report is a good read, but very long. It’s everything you wanted to know but didn’t know you needed to ask.
I’m disgusted.
AstraZeneca Accused of Hiding Seroquel Dangers
AstraZeneca plays hot potato with Seroquel side effects. Here are the highlights from the article (bold and italic text added by me):AstraZeneca E-mails Show Debate on Seroquel RisksAssociated Press – May. 20, 2009TRENTON,...
Read MoreMore on rTMS and VNS and MRI
I frequent poster, Herb, has introduced more information on the rTMS with VNS topic. Some doctors are saying it is possible. Additionally, if you read the whole thread, someone corrects me and notes that MRIs are possible with a...
Read MoreMood Charting Depression, Anxiety, Mania, Irritation
I’m a geek. If you know me, I deny this, but it’s actually true. Not the Star Wars-watching, video-game drenched, mother-basement living, socially awkward,virgin type, but a geek nonetheless. I do, after all, make...
Read MoreMarijuana Makes Depression Better and Worse?
‘Roud these parts lots of people are smoking lots of stuff that might not entirely be legal. Very common. Good climate for that sort of thing.I though, have always been of the opinion that marijuana makes depression worse...
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