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Failed out of school several times because I would be in bed with depression for 3 weeks at a time every fall. 5 days in hospital -> major depression diagnosis. 5 years later -> bipolar II diagnosis. About 10 years of life lost to undiagnosed illness in total. Took 1-2 mg of risperidone between 2001-2014. Completed university, successful career, stable marriage since 1997. In 2014, switched to lurasidone because of better metabolic profile. I don't actually think the lurasidone is helping a lot. I suffered from sleep apnea for at least 10 years but nobody screened me although there was a Health Canada warning about the connection between SGAs and sleep apnea. My resting heart rate is 90 bpm. Pretty sure I have heart damage from the sleep apnea. My BMI is 27 which is not high enough to expect sleep apnea. I will get zero support from my GP for my plan to taper according to my plan. Very interested in anyone's experience with tapering from lurasidone with a diagnosis of bipolar II. Also interested a recipe for making liquid lurasidone. What to dissolve it in, does it require heating, etc. I made a plan based on pill splitting - the last step looks terrible.

Two months ago I was diagnosed bipolar and I've been on quetiapine (Seroquel) for 3 weeks, I'm about to leave it so I'll reduce the dose from 50 mg to 25 ¿What's gonna happen to me? ¿Will I'll be the same? ¿The side effects last forever?

Hello, I had a history of depression, moving randomly, quitting jobs randomly, etc. Eventually this culminated in a suicide attempt at age 30 (hotline saved my life, thank you to all who contribute). I was diagnosed Bipolar 2 shortly afterward thanks to family history (depression and anxiety diagnoses for mother, vague diagnoses but committed half her life mother's mother, suicidal death of mother's mother's father) and my behavior. I rejected this and self-medicated for years, volunteered overseas, used St. John's Wort (which was surprisingly effective) and other things but had a manic episode and went out of work for a while, which led me to finally getting psychiatric help long-term. I had seen around seven therapists and all diagnosed me bipolar 2, but the psychiatrist says I am true bipolar since I had at least a handful of real manic episodes. He seems more worried about mania than depression, which is my real issue on a day-to-day basis. He first prescribed me 10mg Saphris, which made me woozy 24/7 and super sleepy. When I complained about being tired all the time with no benefit he quickly switched me to 5mg Abilify without much discussion. It also makes me super sleepy, plus I have insomnia (weird combination, always half-tired) and I feel more anxious, irritable and suicidal. I cannot see him again until Thursday but I think I might stop the abilify today, it's making me feel really on a knife's edge. Reading it really seems like he is prescribing me all wrong. I feel I need an anti-depressant and a balancer, but he is just giving me antipsychotics. I don't know how to impress upon him depression is my main problem any more than I already have. Thanks to anyone who read. Any advice would be appreciated and I will peruse the abilify threads for tips on how to handle how it's making me feel.

Hi. I'm feloniousgramma, a.k.a wiley. I've been struggling with the bipolar 2 label since 1992 and am wondering about other people's experience with an antidepressant induced hypomanic episode and feelings and thoughts about the bipolar 2 diagnosis.