Bipolar Support Group

Before I was diagnosed(1995) & before I became med compliant, I self medicated A LOT!! I feel in love with hydrocodone. I have been in rehab 3x's. The last time was oct. 2008 & I have been almost clean since then(I have smoked some weed a couple of times, but no pain meds. I am now on soboxone maint. & that has been a life saver!! Anyway- I wonder if I would've become an addict if not for bp? I know the stats are high (60%) of bp who also use drugs. I guess that is like wondering what came first-the chicken or the egg!

Ya, perks are a fav of mine too...but never to the point of rehab, in fact, very few ppl even know I like them. I have always smoked weed, still do. My problem was always alcohol, I should have spent time in rehab when I was alot younger...instead I spent time in lock-up. I drank entirely too much between 11-17yo but stopped drinking a few times altogether w/no problem. I think mental illness can def exacerbate the possibility of addiction but I dont think it causes it, I think heredity plays a far larger role (my dad was also alcoholic...but BAD, he never could have quit like I did). I have a couple of addictions still but I can trace WHY they're addictions...coffee=taste, not caffeine (the caffeine doesn't affect me at all, I can drink 8 cups & sleep like a baby) & cigarettes, & the truth of the matter is, I dont have any reason to care about the longevity of my life, I'd be perfectly happy w/another 15yrs. I dont consider smoking weed an addiction b/c it's not, I dont need it, I dont feel like I need it, I dont get withdrawals & I'm not going to steal, step on, or hurt anyone to get it. That's my 2cents...

Oh ya, & I didn't mention it also has to do w/WHAT you try, if your pretty happy smoking weed & nothing else, that's probably not going to become an addiction, if the 1st drug you try is say, heroin, there's a much higher chance there of addiction.

Thanks for the reply- I agree about the weed not being addictive as far as physical dependency goes, but I think At times I have been dependent on it b/c I start to worry when I'm almost out(well i did when I smoked weed a lot)it weird that you said that about caffeine b/c it affects me the same way. you're right- alot of addiction has to do with genetics. Do you take meds for bp or depression ? Just curious to know whether weed has ever affected your moods in a neg. way.

I used to smoke pot all the time. I gave it up 2 years ago at the request of my boyfriend. It just eased a lot of my anxiety but whether I smoke or not doesn't bother me. He said now I can... if that would help my "condition". By condition he means the bipolar. Marijuana, I believe, is strictly a psychological addition not a physical addition where you go into full on DTs.

I self medicate BIG TIME. I did before I was diagnosed. VERY badly this summer and I couldn't figure out why I was drinking and using cocaine so much and couldn't stop. I was so up and down. My bf was in work release for DUIs for 8 months and I just snapped one day from all the stress. I was diagnosed with BP on Oct. 26th, 2009. I have only had one med change and they seem to have stopped working so I have been using again and drinking a lot. My bf and I have very addictive personalities but try to help eachother at the same time because neither of us are by any means addicts. I drink when I am depressed to forget about whatever it is that is depressing me. I drink when I'm manic to try to calm down. When I drink, I want cocaine. etc. etc. I always want to escape so that is my escape.

We had a friendly argument about this a week or so ago. Yes, I am on meds, Lithium 900mg Lamictal 200mg & Trazodone 100mg. No. For me personally, smoking has never had negative affect on my moods, in fact I use it regularly for anxiety & irritability & it really really helps, esp when I'm angry or have racing thoughts but a few ppl that weighed in last week said they had stopped after starting meds b/c it affected them differently or that they believed it would hinder their progress, of course there's also a couple ppl like me, actually use it for the same reasons too so I think it's absolutely a personal thing, depending on your body chemistry & stuff but I find it incredibly helpful & w/o having to take anything really scary for my aggression, It's completely impossible for me to get angry enough to actually hit someone when I'm stoned, it just doesn't happen. Sure I can still be aggrevated, etc but it doesn't get to that extreme where I'm so mad I just cant handle it. The 1 thing I would say I watch is the amount, a little goes a long way but too much & I get really lazy...which in turn makes me depressed b/c I'm "useless" but that can happen on regular meds & if I'm even reasonably careful never happens. I know 1 person that I would honestly call addicted to it but he's a "rare" person. It's like you said, more of a want than a need, hell, even I get like that, I dont really WANT to run out, but if I do It's not going to be the only thing I can think about & I'm certainly not going to steal from anyone to get more, I'll go a couple week w/o it being more than a very minor annoyance

I self medicated BIG TIME with alcohol before I was diagnosed. I ended up in AA for a year. I ended up getting diagnosed because I was sober and I couldn't take it. I was suicidal. Anyway, after I was medicated properly, I didn't crave alcohol at all. Not even a little. So I stopped AA. I didn't feel like a true alcoholic. I still don't crave it. I do have an occasional drink, but it's like a half of a half a glass of wine and literally that's it. I don't like feeling buzzed anymore. It makes me anxious. So, I don't know if I was ever a true alcoholic or just a problem drinker? I don't know how that really works. The one thing I do miss is smoking cigarettes. I quit that like 4 years ago. If it wasn't for my hubby, I'd totally smoke now. It was a great stress reliever for me.

Trouble you couldnt have said it better!!!!!

With weed i can use just the minimum medication to get buy with and thats exactly how i want it....i want to live to see my greatgrand children, so i use as little as possible of ANY medication...i use weed much as many people would use an anxiety med, its fast, its not long term and you are always in a better mood after.

I self medicated with alcohol for a long time. Then I got misdiagnosed as an alcoholic. Took years to finally knock the wheels off my wagon and get a proper diagnosis.

I self medicate all the time, I stop taking the meds and start drinking Jack Daniels and coke. I handle the Jack with no problem, I can put down a handle and function normally, though a little slurred. It numbs me and allows me to relax