Just got diagnosed with Bipolar Type-2

So I just got diagnosed with bipolar type-2. I was given a new medication called Lurasidone. It's supposed to hopefully make me think clearly and feel less nervous so let's hope it actually works without a bad side effect.

I mean I've been depressed and feel almost the same as I am now at 24 since I was 13 or 14 so I'm not even sure what not feeling depressed (or at least less) will be like if it does work.

Obviously I've had this for a while now so I'm not new to it, but I am new to knowing what any signs are of this, besides rapid anger changes like the hulk or something (nothing extreme like that, haha, but just quick to anger was my point). What else can I expect from bipolar and how to identify the things that come with it? I've never had a relationship or even sex for that matter or anything so I'm a little worried about what to expect with that as well.

I was diagnosed Bipolar 1 with rapid cycling few years ago.. My signs are usually anxiety, racing thought, seeing bright colors, vivid colors, euphoria high, and and rapid talking.. I usually dont experience any of the symptoms any more since i started taking my meds, although once in a while i would get elevated mood with euphoria lol, which i dont mind at all...
Im taking Latuda aswell ( Lurasidone ), its a good drug, which helped me alot with depression, hearing voices, anxiety and etc..

Meds help a lot but they won't undo the damage from years of depressions. The thinking associated with depression is also hard to undo. It has become ingrained for me. Unless manic/hypomanic I find I am low now. I have found as I get older I have more depressions. I find too that the slightest stress sends me back down. My manias are worse when they come compared to past ones and last longer but they are also rarer. My seasonal changes have gone. I have more social anxiety too. However I am much better at coping. I don't act on suicidal thoughts but they are still there battering me. I know how to lessen moods too. What the right thing for me is. I have a simpler life now. I'm more open about how I feel. I don't lean on others anymore but I do try and let them help me a little.

I have a little trauma thrown in too though.

I was diagnosed at 19 and am 26 now so I've had a few years to learn what symptoms and triggers and early warning signs there are for me.

As I've gotten older, I have WAY less depression and more problems with hypomania.

Sleep is a big sign for me. If I sleep to much or too little it's usually a sign that I'm going up or down. Irritibility is my main hypomanic symptom, along with not sleeping. That irritibility turns into sudden hulk rage like you described if left untreated. I've been able to work with my doctor to get it under control.

Depression is sneaker for me, I have a harder time noticing when it is first beginning. I tend to sleep more or wake up in the early hours unable to sleep. I cry easily anyway so that's not always a reliable sign for me that depression is coming. I start withdrawing from friends, missing work, and losing interest in things I enjoy, including sex with my husband. When those signs are there I know to see the doctor.

As for relationships, I have dated people who couldn't handle my ups and downs but to be fair I wasn't taking great care of myself back then. My husband has known from day one that I am bipolar and he has an anxiety disorder so it was something we were able to connect about early on. I would recommend getting to know someone, and just letting it come up naturally. It doesn't have to be a big secret, nor is it the most important thing about you.

A note on sex, for some people sex is a big sign of going up or down. Getting overly interested in sex is a sign of hypomania and losing interest can be a sign of depression or medication side effects.

Good luck with your new meds, keep us posted!

BrainStorm wrote:A note on sex, for some people sex is a big sign of going up or down. Getting overly interested in sex is a sign of hypomania and losing interest can be a sign of depression or medication side effects.

+1 on this. Hypomania = me humping everything that doesn't have sharp corners. Depression = "excuse me while I lie down in a fetal position for the next 72 hours or so". Side effects from seroquel + diazepam combo = I'd rather read a book or something.

Thanks for your responses. It really helps me.

About the sex bit, yeah I guess that would describe why randomly I'd start to get erections again as if I were 13 again out of nowhere. As I said I'm still a virgin and all of that so recently as a sort of coping tool I ended up just getting a fleshlight and have been enjoying that for some time at least until I can find someone that's right for me. I'm not even really THAT interested in sex (but obviously finding out what it's like is such a big appeal to me that I find myself really wanting it a lot now) with someone but more that I just want to be able to hold someone and talk to them. I guess that's why I haven't looked around for any casual stuff or anything like that because I want it to mean something. It's a big deal for me and despite people saying it's not, well, it is to me since I've never had it.

I will definitely update after a month or so when that medicine is supposed to actually kick in and see what happens.

I took Latuda for a long time, over a year or so. For me in larger dosages it helped so much with paranoia and irritability that seemed out of control. It seemed to stop working with the depression after a while I don't know if it ever helped me with that. I was at 120mg and it did nothing for me so I stopped it with doctor's orders, of course. Please please take 350 calories or more with it, I had become so sick with it when I didn't eat or didn't eat enough calories that I couldn't sleep. It would knock me out instantly, so I liked that I didn't have problems sleeping but it also meant I couldn't go out late or stay up late. Just a side effect one has to deal with to be well. It can also increase your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes which it did for me. Not too bad though.

I hope you find someone whom you have strong feelings for and it is a mutual thing. That is wonderful.