Bipolar Support Group

I've finally decided that instead of telling my doc "i don't remember how I've been feeling the last three months" I will hand him that spiffy chart from moodtracker.com. Really, this is more for me though. I only slept 3.5 hours the night before last and it made me realize how in the dark I've kept myself about my moods. I notice some things, but not nearly enough. So, with my very little sleep, I decided to mood track, but I have a problem. I have to specifically define mild, moderate, and severe for my moods or I'll just go nuts each day wondering if everything is consistent or not. I actually sometimes don't know which side of the spectrum my mood is in (or both or whatever) so I'm making charts of symptoms and putting others that I experience on the side I think it fits. I suspect I may need to talk to my doctor about this since he knows me more than people on this site, but what I am wondering is...

Do you mood track? Do you have this much of an issue with it (and if yes do you have ocd tendencies like me)? Do you find it easy to rate your moods? Do you even rate your moods are do something else?

Also, I'm wondering if mixed moods involve experiencing symptoms of both poles simultaneously - like depressed and feeling guilty but super active and not sleeping more than a couple hours a night? And cycling is switching between the poles but only experiencing one pole at a time? or can mixed episodes be part of the cycle?

I've been reading tons of sites trying to sort out some answers for myself, but for the sake of my sanity ( ) and accuracy, I thought I'd ask the people that know ... thanks for input. thanks a lot!

Cycling can involve switching between one mood and another or experiencing two moods at the same time (also called a mixed episode). Mixed episodes consist of a person feeling depressed, lethargic and tired at the same time.

As for mood charts, I don't use anything specific. I just keep my computer open in Wordpad and add information throughout the day. An example of my mood journal looks like this:

7-7:15am - Woke up feeling extremely irritable

7:30am - Took a Klonopin; moods have calmed down and I'm beginning to feel level

9am - Started to rapid cycle into mania; I'm excitable, restless, extremely happy

9:30am - Moods are level

1pm - Extremely agitated

1:20pm - Severely depressed

2pm - Manic

2:45pm - Severely depressed; slept for 4 hours

7pm - Moods are back to being level again

7:40pm - Extremely agitated

Sometimes I will also write my journal as follows if I have alot of cycling taking place on an hourly basis:

5-5:15pm - Manic

5:15-5:30pm - Severely depressed

5:30-6pm - Extremely irritable

It really depends on how my moods are. The more stable they are, the less information I write down. The less stable they are, the more information I write down.

I also make a note of the meds I take, any changes that have been made by my pdoc as well as any side effects of new meds added to my regimen.

Post edited by: neondreams, at: 04/23/2009 03:01 PM

I've found moodtracker too restrictive so I just use and old fashioned paper sheet and can later input it into my computer to make a graph to show my doctor.

Apple,

What kind of a graphing program do you use on your computer?

Since my Lithium dose has been reduced, my pdoc asked me to "briefly" chart my moods daily. I did it by daily journaling the first month but of course, I wrote too much. Now i'm finishing this second month and forgot about charting daily mood. I'm starting to panic cause I see my pdoc this Tuesday so today I did journaling of some of my mood and symptoms that i've had over this past month.

I'm going to just start using a calender and mark in a few words and if I want to elaborate on something i'll just write in a journal.

Since I have severe short term memory loss (thanks to Depakote), I always write in a journal. I specifically write down anything that may have triggered a mood episode. This way if I forget to keep track of my moods in Notepad throughout the day, I still have an account of what happened.

Post edited by: neondreams, at: 04/23/2009 07:20 PM

I heave the beam mood chart. I printed them out and cut them and pasted them in a composite book. The back page is for notes so that's really useful. And I like having regular journal books for some reason.

I use the mood chart that is on the lamictal website. I have been doing this since Feb. It is more for me than my pdoc. It seems like there is not enough time to go over the mood charts at my appointments.

I haven't seen a moodchart yet that is LONG TERM practical. I've resorted to making my own on an XLS sheet - it's simple and I don't bother with graphs! In fact I keep everything relating to my health on this XLS. It's simple, pertinent to me, and the doc's are impressed. I store it online so the doc can dial it up when I'm in the surgery.

Has anyone seen a doc with a complete, comprehensive and historical personal record? - sure they have the fancy programs but they don't seem to maintain them properly.(Look,they're busy people)

From my little XLS I can tell you what my weight, blood pressure, blood test reading etc was in April 2005 within 20 secs!

Go well

Ray

faraway - that's fantastic that you have that at your fingertips - and your doc's fingertips, too. That definitely shows responsibility for your health. My doctors never had a chance - I've switched so many times before I found my current ones. I think I may need to look into this one, too.

apple - I am also curious what program you use especially if it's not Excel.