I’m bipolar, but I have never, ever had a manic episode while sober. Each manic episode was caused either by cannabis use or cannabis withdrawal. From my doctor’s point of view, I’ve seemed like I just have vanilla bipolar disorder, but that’s because they never knew just how much pot I smoked. I was never completely honest with my doctors. I told them I smoked pot, but I never told them I smoked as much as I actually did.
I’m sober now, though. Been sober from everything except caffeine and nicotine since December 16th of last year.
Based on the research I’ve done (as well as just plain common sense), it seems like folks like me don’t need the same medication regiment as typical bipolars as long as they stay sober. If there’s one thing I have felt since 2009, it’s that I have been overmedicated. Wanna know how overmedicated? In June of last year, I stopped taking my lithium because I wanted to be able to feel emotions again. During that time, I started remembering things about myself. I remembered that I’ve always been fascinated by langauge. I had completely forgotten that, even though I majored in linguistics in college. I have been so low functioning because of meds that I haven’t had a job since January 2015.
I’ll stay on my meds for now, but I sure don’t want to.
“I was never completely honest with my doctors.”
“I was misdiagnosed and overmedicated.”
I’m not in the medical field but I do smoke pot and I have been through over a decade total of mental health treatment in my long life. So here’s the real truth. You can fix the second part by fixing the first part.
That’s what I’m trying to do. Got a meeting with my primary care provider coming up and I’m gonna make sure I’m 100% honest.
First off, you should always be honest with your doctor. Yes, some shitty ones may judge you. They’re not supposed to. But you have to be honest because some drug interactions can kill you.
If you think you’re over medicated now that you’re sober, honestly tell them that. Tell them you lied previously about the amount. You know you. They know drugs. Y’all need to come to an agreement.
I’m not bipolar but I am on meds that require balancing. They have needed adjustment. I viewed it as teamwork. We’re both trying to make me better but if I lied, I’m only hurting my own progress.
I keep forgetting to bring it up with my doctor. I keep getting distracted by the OTHER big thing, which is that three and a half years ago I had a traumatic brain injury that basically turned me into Patrick Bateman.