Remission

Is it possible to go into remission and the symptoms become latent? I don't have the hypomania anymore, and my mood always teeters on the edge of 'normal' and anhedonic, but is it ever possible for a person to have 'grow out' (Not really, but you get the point.) and not be affected for an indefinite period of time? I am thinking I may cycle slowly, because all of my hypomania happened after a very long time of depression and always right after a 'high' period, I would spend another extended period 'down'.

If you believe the online articles, cyclothymia symptoms improve or go away for some people. For others, they become worse or turn into full-fledged bipolar. I like your choice of the word remission. Before I understood what is apparently happening in me, I wondered why I kept having these mild depressed times. About seven or eight years ago, they became even milder and then I thought they had gone for good. But eventually they came back.

Hi Dark & Noname,
Although I've only been recently diagnosed, I've had long-standing diagnoses of individual symptoms of Cyclothymia... depression, anxiety, adjustment disorder. Now that all the puzzle pieces of me have finally been connected and it's actually the combo that is Cyclothymia, I've been trying to educate myself on it and the other levels of BP. Though I'm not a doc, from my readings I've decided that I'm a believer that the BP spectrum is based in chemical imbalances needing correction. If that's true, then I'm not sure (at least for myself) that I'd ever go into "remission." Went for 4 decades without meds, and the problems/symptoms raged. Now that I'm on the right meds, I do feel "balanced" ("normal" is so subjective... who the hell knows what "normal" truly is; so I prefer "balanced"). If the meds continue to work indefinitely, I think I still must consider that this has been a chemical correction versus a natural dissipation of symptoms. Humans are unique, so I know that there are definitely exceptions to every rule out there... but for me, unless symptoms are non-existent for an indefinite period WITHOUT meds, I don't believe I should discount the meds' involvement in the sense of balance.

I, too, have read that untreated Cyclothymia can turn into full-blown BP. Have also read some controversial articles about BP turning into schizophrenia (there seems to be considerable debate on that issue). I've not encountered a person in real life whose untreated Cyclo/BP turned into something else, but do wonder how many cases are out there. In my own family, I am the first individual in ANY generation to get treatment and dx for MH disorder. My maternal grandmother is the BP genetic link (she's never been dx'd or treated for it). Given that her MH issues have raged out of control for 80 years now and that she's not crossed from Cyclo into BP (or if she's BP, then from BP into Schizophrenia), I wonder if there is the possibility that some individuals have genetics strong enough to resist the cross-overs. My own case makes me wonder that too... 4 decades of untreated Cyclo, yet I don't have full-blown BP even though the Cyclo symptoms have been there for me since about age 12. Untreated MH issues can and do physically alter the brain, so I have NO DOUBT that both my and my grandmother's brains have been altered to some degree during our years without treatment. Just wonder sometimes what the threshold for changes to the brain is for one thing to morph into another.

Just some of my thoughts there.

Hugs,
K

woah!! seriously... you said this kind of... perfectly. this has been mulling around in that brilliant brain of yours for quite a while!! that was exquisitely said... truly! I'm gonna print this one out and add it to my clycothymia workbook! paste it right in there.. send a copy to dr. prince forget the rest of his name right now. gnite ya'll thanks Kosh!

Haha... F&R, you always give me more credit than I deserve! My brain has a lot of musings and random ponderings. The introduction of the cyclo dx has just given me some new things to ponder

Hope you had a good nite's sleep

-K