butidontwannadie

I have been stable for about a year now and have lately been doing very very well with my mood. One of the barriers I still struggle with is hygiene. I was able to turn bathing into self care, but I can’t seem to brush my teeth. It’s been so long that when I went to, my toothbrush has been thrown out. I have no idea when that happened. What advice would you have for someone trying to overcome that struggle?

What are your experiences with Bipolar and pregnancy?

I’ve had 4 pregnancies, 2 of which ended in loss and I was diagnosed Bipolar II at age 18, well before the pregnancies. I took medication through each pregnancy, but I felt the hormonal change combined with my disorder, was incredibly hard to balance, especially after the births.

I will look into them. And yes, my gums are pretty sensitive. I also went to a new dentist recently for a root canal (big surprise) and they were very nice and kind. My husband’s new insurance for us covers basically everything so I don’t have to stress. I think that will help me too. Thank you for the advice!

I’m really glad there is more research coming out. I feel that I was very in the dark about the topic, especially for my first pregnancy. There was not a ton of information out that I was able to find or understand. I did not have a great psych at the time and felt she was guessing at how to navigate it. I was often made to feel that maybe it was just better I not have kids because bipolar can be so unstable. I felt like the “crazy” person in the room.

Yeah, I had a really horrible psych for my first two pregnancies. She went on to prescribe me medications not meant to be together and it caused a mixed episode and I ended up attempting suicide. That’s another story though that thankfully ended with me finding a fantastic psych. When I found out I was pregnant, she told me all about the cleft palate issues and I was told lamictal wasn’t an option at all. Honestly, lamictal was not my favorite med. I feel that it caused me significant and long term memory issues. Lithium has worked miracles for me and I have a hard time being open to another pregnancy because I would need to change medication. On top of my losses, it just all terrifies me.