Manic Spending (for those with bipolar)

[Nathan1097]

I am medicated for my last manic episode, but I think it is still going on. I just had to go out this morning and eat breakfast at Bob Evans. Then I put gas in the car (a necessity but still spending), and went to the mall and got my left ear pierced. (I have three in each ear already; this is in the top cartilage.) I wanted to do the other ear, too, but the woman said I should just take the other earring and come back if this one heals okay, but that would be about 6 months. Yesterday, I bought a book and two two-cd sets, too, and some v-day cards. But that was because my boyfriend and his daughter both have their birthdays coming up right after V-day. It still feels good to "spend". New stuff! Yes I see my pdoc soon- Monday.

[abbylotus]

i have had problems with spending when manic, too. i once bought a plane ticket to texas when i was manic. not cool.

[Nathan1097]

Originally Posted by abbylotus

i have had problems with spending when manic, too. i once bought a plane ticket to texas when i was manic. not cool.

Yeah. I once drove from MI to Georgia for the weekend on a whim- all alone- to meet a man I'd only known online and via telephone- my father's age!

[mom2snugbugs]

not to be a thread derailer, but what about spending as part of OCD? Like a compulsion? Anyone know about this?

[nym]

I have this issue too. Its almost a compulsion. I only feel like this when I am manic, but it gets bad.

Its been a rough month and a half. Since xmas Ive spent sooooo much, Ive gained 10 pounds.. sigh. I wish I could get it all under control, but I havent been able to yet..

[snowbird25ca]

I'm a spender too when I get manic. I got us into some pretty bad debt...

Best solution I've used has been only using cash and limiting access to it. My last few episodes I haven't really had any available credit or anything to use though, so haven't been able to spend. I have a couple grand in maternity clothes though and probably spent $1000 on cloth diapers in the first few months... resold most of the diapers and bought other stuff with it.

My pdoc recommends that I not handle any of the money & have no debit/credit cards that I have access to - great idea, but not feasible... but if the spending is out of control, it might be something you need to do short term?

[2Sweeties1Angel]

I am horrible with the spending when I'm manic. My bankruptcy was discharged in December Now that I've ruined my credit and can't get a credit card, my spending isn't quite so bad because I have no real way to spend. I did manage to blow about $300 in the past couple of days and at least half of that was on crap that we don't need so I think I may need to have a chat with my doctor. I don't want to get out of control.

[maygee]

My mom has done this since I was little. I remember watching her spend and spend and spend and feel SICK watching the numbers go up on the cash register. Even as a child I knew it was not okay. I literally had to beg her to stop sending boxes of baby clothes and christmas presents- the shipping alone was 100's of dollars. She is now going through bankruptcy, which is truly a blessing. Before she always managed the minimum payments and used to brag about her perfect credit, but it was her downfall. Maybe a prepaid credit card would work, with no actual credit? I know how hard it can be because I've inherited some of her patterns, and it's hard to break them.

[Porcelain Interior]

I spend when I am manic and I spend to get my OCD to shut up. Somehow a little nugget of something new, or something to do (I craft like nobody's business) takes the anxiety away for a short period of time.

We are still paying off credit cards from manic episodes over 2 years ago. I always seem to have good intentions. My biggest expense (gasoline) has been rough.

Though I rarely have our one family vehicle when I do get to leave alone it's usually only to grocery shop, and I end up driving and driving and driving to no where because when I drive my brain shuts up. I kept telling myself this was better than going to Borders, Starbucks, The Container Store (I am so disorganized that is a funny thing eh) and buying crap crap crap, but gas is expensive.

I am ashamed that I can't control it. I think now it is just how I am and I'm so use to spending to stop from going to THE BAD PLACE that it's routine.

We don't use credit cards anymore though so that's one nice thing.

I think part of the spending to is this anger and resentment I have about the health care system, I am uninsured too "rich" for help from the state and racked up SEVERE debt using a credit card to get help and using it to pay for psych visits, meds, and blood level checks. It was sad when the credit was maxed and I realized I couldn't get anymore help.

Been winging it now for almost 2 yrs. Not doing the greatest job most of the time.

[maygee]

Originally Posted by Porcelain Interior

I think part of the spending to is this anger and resentment I have about the health care system, I am uninsured too "rich" for help from the state and racked up SEVERE debt using a credit card to get help and using it to pay for psych visits, meds, and blood level checks. It was sad when the credit was maxed and I realized I couldn't get anymore help.

Been winging it now for almost 2 yrs. Not doing the greatest job most of the time.

hang in there!
I should have added in my pp that my mom is amazing! I'm sure your kids can see how strong you are to deal with this.

[Nathan1097]

Well, I went to my pdoc today for the make-up of the one I missed a week ago. She said my new Depakote dose is working well and I'm to go for a blood draw for levels, including aspects of my liver asap 12 hours after I take my Depakote. (Which I take before bed.) We did talk about manic episodes and she said that every time you have one, it damages your brain a bit; that you aren't as sharp as you used to be! Can you believe that? She also said that they'd come closer together, too. I said "Well I'd better write my great novel now then!" (Then realized that "writing my great novel" could be considered a manic thing. ) I also realized that Mr. Toad (of "Wind in the Willows" and "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride") was bipolar- getting huge, swirling eyes, getting "Motor Mania!", zooming around wildly singing "We're merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily on our way to no-WHERE in par-tic-u-LAR!!!" See him Sing! (And on the spending theme, he, of course, bought a "motorcar" during his "Motor Mania" )

I also went with the 2nd of the pair of piercing earrings ans got it put in the same ear near the first one. (Free- just delayed. Already paid for the set and the piercing part is free.) So now I have two up top. Looks fine. Hope it heals along with the first just as well and no more worries after that. So now I have three in one ear and five in the other.

[AnyMama]

My DH's psychiatrist also says that manias damage the brain, and each new episode makes more frequent, worse manias likely. I think that's the current theory.

If you've read the book An Unquiet Mind, it would seem to agree. If you haven't read it, you should. It's a memoir by a bipolar expert on bipolar and other mood disorders. And for her and her father, the mental illness got worse over time, seeming to support the idea that an episode causes damage. I think her father was untreated, she describes his decline, it's very sad.

I suppose it's bad news for someone who enjoys manic phases, but it's important to remember that manias can lead to paranoia and psychosis, and are almost always followed by severe depression. Not to mention that mixed episodes are a form of mania, and very unpleasant.

[Carley]

^Yeah, it's wonderful that they're learning more about BP. Through labratory testing of adolescants like me they discovered it is a seizure disorder, though instead of being a seizure in the entire brain at once (epilepsy) it is in one half of the brain or the other (bi-polar).

My psychiatrist says that within the next year they'll have a genetic test so we'll be able to test for BP in our children. That is great news for me, since I plan on having more children & the earlier we know the better.

He also says that eventually we'll have gene therapy for BP (like they are beginning to with diseases like Leukemia) & instead of taking antiepileptics & antipsychotics we'll get to take a vitamine/enzyme that fixes the problem.

Won't that be a wonderful day? The future is bright.

[Carley]

I forgot to add that I was a crazy spender (pun intended). It helps being medicated, but one way I avoid spending sprees is when I feel the urge to shop I don't.

Porcelain Interior: You should absolutely not be ashamed. You cannot control it. It's a disease, like Leukimia or Epilepsy. You should be very proud that you have found a way to change your response to what is physically going on in your brain

[Porcelain Interior]

Speaking of treating it with enzymes...

I actually have had moderate succcess doing just that, by taking a supplement called EmpowerPlus, it is controversial and pretty expensive (I go off it when I can't afford it with disastrous results) but when I take it regularly it makes a GIANT difference in my stability. I look forward to science being able to fine tune it even more so they can give us exactly what we need to be better.

[christigpa]

Originally Posted by AnyMama

If you've read the book An Unquiet Mind, it would seem to agree. If you haven't read it, you should. It's a memoir by a bipolar expert on bipolar and other mood disorders.

AnyMama, that is a great book! I was first diagnosed bipolar II in 1993; my mother had been diagnosed bipolar II in 1985. I've been through so many different meds cocktails; luckily this combo has had me steady for the last 10+ years (even through a divorce, death of parent, remarriage and two moves).

If I may ask each of you: what spurred your intial diagnosis? What meds have worked/haven't? Did you continue your meds while TTC, PG and BFing?

[christigpa]

A general address to those of you who are experiencing spending sprees during mania - I hear you and have absolutely felt your pain!! When I was first diagnosed in 93 I was living in NYC - talk about a mecca for a young person with credit cards. Suffice it to say, years later when I moved back to PA I had very hefty CC bills and was swimming in debt. Didn't get much better throughout my first marriage. Until recently I was still seriously in debt - its scary how quickly $10 here and $75 here adds up.

DH is the opposite on the spending scale so we balance each other out. He hasn't experienced any of my manias since my meds have kept everything under wraps for the past 10+ years.