As published in the November 2020 issue of Buffalo Healthy Living
Bipolar Disorder Challenges
Medications, Compliance, Side-Effects
By Helaine Sanders, LMSW, JD
I live with bipolar
disorder (bipolar), a mental health condition that
causes episodes of mania, depression, and severe mood
swings that can result in serious consequences, including psychiatric
hospitalization. Having lived with bipolar for the past 30
years, I can tell you that it’s not easy. Managing bipolar
requires lifelong maintenance,
professional treatment, and coping with
sometimes overwhelming side effects of medications.
My bipolar manifests itself with episodes of depression and
mania, and the side effects of
my medications require that I plan my day carefully. An
antipsychotic mood stabilizer I take causes excessive sleepiness rendering me
unable to perform any activity after taking it.
If I force myself to stay awake at bedtime, I become so tired I am unable to
fall asleep immediately. When this happens, I divert my
attention by flexing my leg
muscles in order to fall asleep. I must also sleep an average of 8.5 hours each night in order to
function properly. Not getting
enough sleep results in loss
of balance, and I have slipped in the shower
several times because of this. My side effects
prevent me from being able to work a paid job. Thus, I make it a point
to participate in volunteer
activities, which I schedule for afternoons or early evenings.
On top of all of this, the anti-anxiety medication I take to feel
more relaxed exacerbates my
sleepiness, so I have to make
sure that I take it at the appropriate time each day. The anti-seizure
medication I require to stabilize my
moods makes me so dizzy that I must take it in a
lower dose. Last year, when my son
suffered a prolonged illness, my doctor prescribed an anti-depressant which has worked
well. However, its side effect is anxiety, so when I attended a
meeting several weeks after taking the
anti-depressant, I found myself interrupting others and ended up crying in the hallway. The incident
underscored how hard I have to work to control my reactions.
Most of the drugs I take also cause
constipation and weight gain. Medications
to control these symptoms are especially challenging while raising two active teenagers. Despite all of
this, I have come to learn that my
medications help me, and I am stabilized to the point where I only see my psychiatrist for
medication-management. However,
it is my greatest wish for others who have
loved ones struggling with bipolar to understand the monumental effort it
takes to manage it. Simple daily life activities most
people take for granted like sleeping
long enough, eating healthfully,
and compliance in taking
medication at the appropriate time require
a great deal of thought and planning, along with a commitment to being
compliant.
Helaine
Sanders has an MSW and JD. She teaches a class to
local refugees, and is the author of the blog, www.JanesPlace.org, which focuses on mental health issues and other topics relating to
stigma.
