I think I've gone crazy, what should I do?

Question

I'm a 16 year old girl with OCD and Bipolar Disorder. I've seen my psychiatrist twice in the last 2 months and he's put me on a couple of different medications - Zyprexa (olanzapine, an antipsychotic), and Zoloft (sertraline, an SSRI antidepressant). I think the medications (especially the antidepressant) have made me go completely crazy.

In the last week I have spent just over £600 on children's toys like dolls, Sylvanian families and stuffed toys. I'm too old for all these things, and I don't really want them... but I feel like someone else is making me buy them. I've also been waking up really early every morning (around 5AM) and starting some project like painting my bedroom walls (with poster paints!) or organising my DVD collection into alphabetical order. My mother suggested I may be having a manic episode, but I haven't got the usual high I get when I'm manic.

Could this be a side effect from the antidepressants? I can't see my psychiatrist for another week and he's impossible to get in touch with - I've attempted to leave a message with his secretary before and got no reply. What can I do in the meantime to keep myself sane? I'm worried I'm going to do something even more stupid than what I already have... I keep getting urges to steal things from shops...

Please help?

Thanks for reading, sorry it's so long.

X

Answer 1

I do hope you are not taking any street drugs and mixing them with your meds.

Are you sure you're taking the recommended dosage only?

No overdose?

How many milligrams?

Yes, you should have been given an emergency phone number to contact a nurse in case of something bad happening.

Call the doc right away.

And do stay close to your parents and tell them what's been going on and how you feel.

Answer 2

Fire the psychiatrist and stay close to your parents so they won't let you do anything you shouldn't. oh, and find another psychiatrist of course.

Answer 3

Hi there,

Have you ever tried doing some exercise? I had a friend who had Bipolar disorder and he said Exercising seem to have worked out for him. He was able to control himself and eliminate such urges. Speak to ur mum ask her to bring you to a park go for a walk and get some fresh air. Who knows that might work? All the best, my dear. If possible...Stop taking them medications and see if its any good. Since your psychiatrist is only available in a weeks time...try seeing ur GP and explain whats going on, He might be able to direct you to someone immediately. Take care. Good Luck!

Answer 4

WOW, you have it bad hun.

not what you think either but just a simple case of needing a life other that the medical journal you think you have become.

sounds like you just want to be noticed and are crying out for a bit of friendship and a life.

ocd is all a load of c**p, we all have it to a certain extent and it can be controlled without drugs and bi-polar is pretty much the same.

it's your behaviour and only you have the ability to control it. You are the one that is letting it get out of control and the drugs that you are taking are just making it more difficult for you by clouding your judgement.

get some friends, join some clubs, start going out and living life to the full, instead of blaming your mind and your metabolism for all your woes.

manic behaviour is just attention seeking or boredom so, unless you are mental

get a grip and choose life!

Answer 5

I think the only person who could answer your questions would be your doctor or another therapist. Why don't you get yourself a second opinion before you do something really crazy.

Or perhaps, what if you stopped taking them and try to see if your life get back to 'normal' after doing so?

It's weird that your psychiatrist would recommend you new meds and you wouldn't be able to reach the person during these few weeks you're taking them. Isn't it that he/she should be there to support you in case you did feel a weird effect due to the medications?

Anyway, good luck and try to concentrate and do something that would really keep you busy in the meantime, like puzzles or crosswords or even those addicting games online with no end.

Answer 6

I have been on zyprexa 15mg, one tablet a night, and nothing else (though I was on lithium and tegretol and stelazine and stuff years ago, navane, mellerill, serentyl), since 2000, about eight years now. It makes me itch at night. Like there's bugs crawling on me. I sometimes get cuts from the scratching. Just recently bought stuff online and couldn't stop myself. 20 bucks here, ten bucks there. I have been trying to stop myself from my impulsive purchases the past three or four days by concentrating on all the other stupid purchases I have made over the years and just staring those down and concentrating on those instead. I am male, and in the US. I had a bipolar diagnosis, a schizoaffective one, all different ones so now I am not so sure anymore.

It is really sheer force of will. Insofar as the projects at 5 am you just need to use willpower is all I can say. It is very hard to do. Concentrate on a thought you find comforting, such as your cats for example, or your family, and just use that.

Answer 7

Your medicine may not working like it should or it might be taking time to take effect. Make one more attempt to call the Dr's office and say that it is an emergency...and if you do not get an immediate response, tell them you are going to the emergency room. Ask her which hospital has a psychiatric ward if you do not already know.

Someone suggested you stop the meds but many psych meds have to be stopped gradually so don't take these matters into your own hands. Get the professional advice. And do ask your parents to stick close by you as suggested.

Answer 8

Hi.  I have bipolar, too.  You probably are hypomanic.  It's a milder mania and can run from real mild to about where you are or a tad more.  

In my experience, it could be the antidepressant.  I can't take them without getting manicky or mixed, even on stabilizers.  That's the way it is for some with bipolar.  Others can take them only when depressed.  Some can take them all the time.  It depends on the person, the antidepressant, and the stabilizers.  Lot's of variables.

Your pdoc, or at least someone at his/her office, should be returning your phone calls.  If you get worse, go to the ER or UK equivalent.  Btw, Zyprexa as a stabilizer isn't a very good choice in my opinion.  It's associated with weight gain more than any other bipolar med.  Also, UK and US psych protocols recommend use of Lithium and anticonvulsants ahead of it for bipolar maintenance.

Anyway, if you have a week to get thru, make yourself some rules.  It sounds like the first big one is NO SHOPPING.  I've had this plastered on my refridgerator a few times.  Under yours, also wrtie JAIL.  Personally, my head sometimes spins to fast to always remember these things.  I'm guessing that your mom already took away your credit and debit cards, but here is another tip because you will run into this again sometime.  As soon as you can tell that you are ramping up and can't get into the pdoc quickly, give someone you implicitly trust your credit cards!  It will spare you much grief later.

Things to do... organize everything, paint your room and do anything else your family would like done that you can do.  Walk/run a lot to burn off energy.  Spend time with your friends.  Make LOCAL phone calls and chat away.  Draw or do art if you are inclined.  Surf the net and play computer games or talk on chat boards later at night when no one is up.

This will not last forever.  You are seeing your psychiatrist very soon, so it's not apt to get worse, either.

Take care

Answer 9

Alright, a good idea is to get your parents to shadow you. It is annoying as heck, but it will keep you in check. The idea is that they are not to let you out of their sight at any time. Tell your parents all of your urges when they happen. Trust me, this will suck, but it is a safety thing. Maybe sleep on the floor of your parents bedroom. You might want to do this until you see your therapist

Answer 10

go to the doctor.  with the urge to steal, you'll probably get urges to do some more dangerous things to yourself or others.  

Answer 11

You should have been given an emergency phone number for your mental health nurse?  Maybe your mother will have it?

Go to your GP even if it's just for reassurance.  Get help.

*SL

Answer 12

It's critical that you make contact with your psychiatrist immediately.  Given your symptoms, it's not ethical for the doctor to not at least talk with you by phone to assess the risk of continuing the meds or to give you a plan of action for stopping the meds.  It sounds to me like you should definitely stop.  But, of coursae you don't want to try to stop on your own.  If your doc can't talk with your or see your, then go to the emergency room.  

Answer 13

See a GP asap and tell them that this matter is urgent, suggest that the meds are having a really detrimental effect, they can make you hyper manic. And get them to call the psychiatrist, don't be fobbed off, do you have a case worker, or CPN, a community psychiatric  nurse you might get hold of. If so phone them and tell them everything you are doing, don't let it go, this behaviour can be a direct cause of the meds, and you need help to sort it out. Suggest go to surgery today, and talk to  a doctor

its just occured to me you might be in US, if so not sure how you get to see a doctor there?

have had problems myself in this way, though not bi polar but other similar and please see someone, don;t do what i did and leave it until it was very nearly too late.

Answer 14

I think someone needs a cold shower and a strong coffee.

Answer 15

do you have any one else to talk to? friends or another family member  my cousin has bi polar he has very disturbing moments that gets him upset and he talks to his children who are about your age, he says he needs to distract him self from his immediate problem, your very young to be suffering this alone why does that psychiatrist not have an emergency number I'm getting annoyed now sorry not very good with people suffering unnecessary, can you go to the hospital for any kind of help, I'm not much help am I I think I will go and kick the garden fence for you and me both maybe I need help hahaha if there was any thing I could do to help I would please try and stay a little happy or I might have to kick my car as well xxxxxxx     ps think I will go crazy with you cheer up for my sake know this wont help but atleast you have company.