Does anyone suffer from this and can maybe gimme some info on it.

Please tell me more about this form of bi-polar disorder. I am Bipolar11 leaning to the depressed end. This must be something new. If anyone else knows about this as well as you, I'd be interested to know the details..... :turkey1:

Do you mean unipolar?

Jackie

I have not heard of Ultradian Bipolar, unless it is a new diagnosis not presented in the DSMIV manual. Like Jackie I am also curious that this may be Unipolar Depression. Let us know a little more about your diagnosis and what or how your pdoc described your bipolar.
Sheepwoman

I looked it up and it's the newer name for bipolar with moodswings that go on within a 24 hour period. My guess it's difficult to treat.

What kind of mood stabilizer are you on to decrease the mood swings?

Jackie

I'm not sure if it's new or not but its also called ultra ultra rapid cycling bipolar. it's when mood changes occur several times a day as opposed to weeks or months. but that's all i know about it.

Then it's more like BP I with rapid cycling. I do that and then settle into a manic or depressive state for weeks at a time. I am fairly stable on the med combo I take-but it still happens in a milder form, which is more tolerable. It also sounds like it is related to Circadian Rhythyms.
Sheepwoman

One other thing with me though, I was actually drinking last night and usually I'm not affected too much and didn't seem drunk last night, but was having fun, then all of a sudden just turned very violent and couldnt feel any pain and because of that I broke my hand. But later I got really depressed and tried cutting myself, but thankfully I had friends there to stop me. So I'm done with drinking because apparently I can't even handle it. Since I don't get sick when I drink I kinda feel like I can just have more and more. Even though this week was the first time in like 8 months I've had anything...but I've drank 4 nights out of the week. Either way this probably has nothing to do with bipolar, but it kinda also proves a point though in how my mood change is so swift and sudden.

Drinking can have disastrous effects on the medication we take. We do not codone imbibing alcohol with meds. In your case, you had a violent after affect. Please, wuit drinking while on meds.
Sheepwoman

i have been looking around online to try and find out what to call my feelings or whatever. i have very strong mood changes in one day i can be manic at 12:30 and by 12:32 i will swich to being horably depressed and i also have a mydrid of outher problems(i.e. fetal alcohol effects, adhd and personality disorders) . but since i am smart intelectualy but not in my actions i can't get disability. my first episode of uncontrolled mania happened when i was 15. that happened in 2003 and i have had two more felony's. i get swiches where i want to physicaly destroy everything in sight because it annoy's me. it changes and when it does it either is waves of a restless irability or chrushing depression. I have broken my hand without feeling it during a manic snap

This post has been edited by mgrjvh: Dec 30 2008, 04:21 PM

Hi there,

As far as I am aware ultradian or ultra ultra rapid cycling is the fastest form of rapid cycling where mood episodes can occur and switch over a matter of a day or even hours. I don't think it is specific to any one form of manic depression but can be seen in all forms from cyclothimia , BP1, BP11. A mood stabiliser would be used to treat it like any other form of rapid cycling. I have not come across any evidence to suggest that it is any more difficult to treat than rapid cycling. I have often read that not much is known among the psychiatric profession about rapid cycling-( read John McMans Bipolar website) they are still learning it seems.

My mother tells me I had symptoms of this kind of rapid cycling as a teenager. These symptoms were no doubt egged on by hormones. As an adult I experienced ultradian cycling again but it was anti - depressant induced and was much more severe, one minute I would be pacing frantically unable to hold a thought for more than a few seconds, the next sitting down completely spaced out and barely able to carry out a simple task. I was prescribed Olanzapine ( an antipsychotic that also acts as a mood stabiliser). I became blissyfull stable within about three months. Olanzapine also has anti anxiety benefits. I stopped taking it after four months or so as I was concerned about weight gain. The Olanzipine also slowed down the cyclling from a few hours to a few weeks.

Seemingly Ulrtadian is often confused with a mixed episode ( where there are symptoms of both a manic\hypomanic and depressed states at the same time) in terms of diagnosis.

I think that the type of rapid cycling is not a complete diagnosis in it's self . It usually goes e.g. BP1 , rapid cycling or BP11 ultradian or cyclothimia ultra rapid cycling . . . you get the idea.

Best of luck , hope I helped.

Maria

Ah! I've been rapid cycling like mad lately. Had never heard of the term ultra added to Bipolar but defidently rapid cycling I know of too well. Interesting.

Wow, that sounds like me. I'll have to be honest and say, I've never heard of this type of Bipolar but then again I can't afford psych care.

Ultradian rapid cycling is the term used when one's mood cycles from manic to depressive several times per day. another type, ultra rapid cycling, is used when one's mood swings several times per week.

Hi I have bipolar I with ultradian cycling. Its nice to see a forum such as this since most I've found only discuss traditional rapid cycling (few times a year). I had experienced these rapid shifts since high school but they only recently got bad enough that I sought help for them now that I'm in my 30s. I can speak from personal experience that its very frustrating being manic bouncing off the walls in the morning, something will set me off after lunch and I feel like I can't move and have suicidal thoughts. Next thing I know later that afternoon I'm hyper again and on top of the world and can't imagine what was going through me that ever made me feel like suicide until I shift again at 2AM. Other times it isn't just a clean switch over and I'll have an awful mixed episode and feel down and have horrible thoughts, but because of the manic feelings as well I'll feel like I have to act on them immediately. As a result of only being diagnosed recently, I haven't had a chance to try many medicine cocktails and the ones I have, I haven't found any that seems to work with such rapid changes. I'm currently on a combination of Lamictal and Seroquel but it hasn't helped much: increase the Lamictal and the depressive swings aren't quite as deep, but the mania spikes are even worse, just the opposite with increases in the Seroquel. I've heard (through forums such as this) that lithium makes things even worse for ultradian cyclers. Having a label on what I have is all new to me, if anybody else suffers from ultradian cycling and has had any luck with medicine helping could you please share which meds helped you? Thanks.

Dear Friends,

I'd love some input! Since age 17, I've taken an antidepressant for depression. However, recently something different emerged...

I think I have ultradian bipolar. I am on 100mg's Lamictal and 20 mg's Paxil, however the trend seems to be that in the morning and afternoon I am severely depressed, spacy, zoned out. Then in the evening I get lots more energy, NOT MANIC THOUGH, I feel more clear-headed, but also there's this wierd paranoia, hyper-sensitivity. It's like there's this sinister force all around me. In the evening's I feel like I could do something really rash, really aggressive. It's scary, but I never do.

So the cycle is: every morning sad, lethargic, out of it. Then in the evenings, more awake, clear-headed, but kind of aggressive, mad, impulsive scary feelings within.

Am I ultradian? Catherine

I actually have bipolar two with ultradian. I'm sure my world is very interesting. My moods switch more than once per day, or they stay that way for the whole day, it depends. Generally though, I'm not manic for longer than a day, that's pretty rare. Actually, I think ultradian is more common than one would think. I don't know, if I had a choice, I think I'd rather have my moods switch the way they do than be depressed or manic for a very long time. Lesser of a few evils, you know?

You know, it could be possible, but really, you should talk to your psychiatrist about it. That would be the only person to tell you and figure it out and help you for sure. In fact I urge you, do it asap, before it gets too far out of hand. It could even be your meds doing it and you may need adjusting.