Bipolar and Pregnancy

When people are Bipolar they suffer from manic episodes, split personalities, REALLY bad anger and sometimes even forget the things they do... and I know when your pregnant you go through a lot of raging hormones ( a lot of you say you turn into bitches  ) How bad will it be if a woman suffers through Bipolar Disorder, Manic Depression and Anxiety attacks and then goes through the raging hormones women usually get when pregnant? 

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ When people are Bipolar they suffer from manic episodes, split personalities, REALLY bad anger and sometimes ... [snip!] ... Disorder, Manic Depression and Anxiety attacks and then goes through the raging hormones women usually get when pregnant? ”

I know, I suffer from anxiety/panic disorder. Even though there are meds. you can take while pregnant, I opted not too b/c Iam high risk. So, when I get bitchy everyone that know me knows to stay the hell away!

i am bipolar and i am mostly manic the last 5 or so years. things are more evened out while pregnant. i went through a depression at the beginning and i am off one of my meds and have continued the other i also take a new one till this is over and i have been doing GREAT! i am taking seraquel and visteril.

Is lithium safe while being pregnant? How do you manage? Bipolar is one of the hardest things to go through I think so, because no one knows how your feeling inside and people think "its all in your head"....

Quoting Bobbye:“ i am bipolar and i am mostly manic the last 5 or so years. things are more evened out while pregnant. ... [snip!] ... continued the other i also take a new one till this is over and i have been doing GREAT! i am taking seraquel and visteril.”

I do take seroquel to sleep at night.

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ Is lithium safe while being pregnant? How do you manage? Bipolar is one of the hardest things to go through ... [snip!] ... things to go through I think so, because no one knows how your feeling inside and people think "its all in your head"....”

You can google category med's for preg. women and it tells you what cat. the medicine is in and if it's safe to take while pregnant.

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ Is lithium safe while being pregnant? How do you manage? Bipolar is one of the hardest things to go through ... [snip!] ... things to go through I think so, because no one knows how your feeling inside and people think "its all in your head"....”

i have not taken lithium in oh like 10 years i dont know if it is safe, what i have found (while not pregnant) is that lamictal worked so much better for me i didnt gain weight and didnt feel the medicine like so many others, i always felt tired or like a zombie. lamictal rocks! he said i could take it but as of yet i dont need it. with my other 2 pregnancys 12 and 15 years ago i went manic 3 wks after baby born so i have a plan in place and will be back on meds. before then.

I have been researching and found some really good information. But how is it that you manage? Does the medicine work all the time?

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ I have been researching and found some really good information. But how is it that you manage? Does the medicine work all the time?”

do you mean just while pregnant how do i manage?

I'm sorry I didnt see the post before mine   I got a little antsy. I'm just worried. I dont plan of having kids anytime soon but have never really received the help I was supposed to. It's affected every part of my life and I think it's going to affect my parenting skills too  

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ I'm sorry I didnt see the post before mine   I got a little antsy. I'm just worried. I dont plan of ... [snip!] ... the help I was supposed to. It's affected every part of my life and I think it's going to affect my parenting skills too  ”

Cymbolta is really good too. Remember, it is managable. As long as you can identify your symptoms.

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ I'm sorry I didnt see the post before mine   I got a little antsy. I'm just worried. I dont plan of ... [snip!] ... the help I was supposed to. It's affected every part of my life and I think it's going to affect my parenting skills too  ”

lol of coarse it will affect your parenting skills but there are positives to a bipolar ( controled) personality. we are lively, full of energy, engageing, interesting, we have a draw to us, i didnt get the help i needed for sooo long, after i found lamictal and got in with a permant dr visits, i can honestly say i dont want to go untreated again. with my lamictal it is like i got to keep all the positives and i dont have all the negatives, with my meds my fears are gone. i lead a normal life and i have help on call at all times. i see a counseler and she is my go to person she makes all my appt. and i love that. i go through mental health it is a state program and i am requried to see the counseler. we just chit chat cause other than that i am good, if i have something on my mind it is good to know she is there but it is not in depth counseling it is more like a mediator for my dr and my meds. and oh yeah it is all free dr.s, meds, and all.

I tried getting free health care but I'm not having a child or as they say, "handicapped". The free clinics here are bogus and downright untrustworthy. It's too small of a city, and your business spreads fast in those free clinics.   Thanks for the help  

I haveBorderline Personality Disorder. Very similar to BP, I was on lithium before I got pregnant, it is advisable to stop taking it as soon as you find out as it can be linked to heart defects in the growing fetus, so the doc said. I also googled (as in my obsessive nature) and it said smililar things.
I have found being pregnant and my moods go well together but pregnancy causes hell fo rmy body, it seems to soothe my mind a bit.
The anger is definately less apparent.

People are too judgemental with mental disorders.
My brother's used to tell me I just needed to get out of the house more. They are stupid though. I didn't worry about their opinions.

Quoting MRSH0LLYWO0D:“ Is lithium safe while being pregnant? ”

Hey, no lithium isn't safe to take while pregnant, as it can cause abnormalities for the baby. Um... Here's a little bit of info I got;

Lithium (Eskalith®, Eskalith CR®, Lithobid®) is a prescription medication approved for treating bipolar disorder. It is generally considered unsafe for pregnant women to take the drug. In human and animal studies, lithium increased the chance of problems for the fetus, including birth defects.

http://bipolar-disorder.emedtv.com/lithium/lithium-and-pregnancy.html
And there's the link for you to read up further =)