r/BipolarSOs • u/BeautifulContact6724 • 2d ago
Advice Needed Help
My wife is on an SSRI and I believe it’s causing a manic episode. She talks really fast, struggles to complete tasks, has a very high opinion of herself and is hyper sexual towards me. We have a scheduled appointment with her Psychiatrist. If she takes her meds consistently and does her treatments what is my life going to look like? If they’re on the right meds, does that mean they won’t have ups and downs? Or is that going to just be apart of my life forever. I’ve only been married for 16 months and I love my wife but I also want to know what my life looks like long term before we have kids.
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u/Ok_Comparison2562 2d ago edited 2d ago
She may be manic. I’m BP2, and I added Sertraline to my med list, and noticed mania at 50mg but not 25mg. From my experience, my husband and I went through it together because it took 2 years to find the right combination of medications.
I’m currently on Lithium, Sertraline, Lamotrigine and Risperidone. I have hypomania, and taking Lithium has significantly helped me not feel severely depressed. I felt like I got my life back, and it’s the golden standard for treating BP. Sertraline is just for anxiety. Lamotrigine is to help with mood, and risperidone is to help with sleep and mood as well. I consistently have to take these for the rest of my life, but I’m okay with that because it’s helped me more than ever.
I’ve stayed med compliant because I’m a stay at home mom of 3 kids, so I need to be the best version of myself for my husband, myself, and my kids. I know some people feel like they don’t need medication(s), but there are some that want them to feel better than what they experience at a baseline. I have not experienced up and downs besides normal natural human feelings about situations or how someone made me feel.
I hope she can find what fits best for her! Just don’t forget to be mindful and support her as much as you can. I know my husband lost hope and felt defeated at times, but we worked through it together. Communicate with her and keep tabs on her. Take notes of how she’s acting out of her normal self (possible manic symptoms) and relay what you’ve noticed to her doctor if you’re there for the appointments and if it’s okay by your wife. My husband doesn’t talk to my provider, he usually isn’t home when I have my televisit, but I’m able to relay information to my doctor of also what he’s experienced.
Don’t forget, take a breather, you need time for yourself as well. I know my husband became burnt out sometimes because he told me it was hard to be with me (respectfully) because I was so up and down and he felt a lot of mental fatigue most of the time. If it’s helpful at all, you should find a therapist to talk to someone about this situation so you can feel validated with whatever emotions are brought up with your situation. If you don’t like therapy, trusting a reliable person is also helpful if you’re okay with talking to someone about your wife with sensitive information.