The Seven Main Manic Depression Symptoms

It's hard even for doctors to diagnose bipolar disorder. The difference between manic depression and regular depression is that the affected person with manic depression experiences both mania and depression, rather than just depression alone.

Here are several other reasons why manic depression can be so tough to diagnose:

1. Bipolar disorder expresses itself along a wide continuum, with some people experiencing a little mania, while others experience quite a bit.

2. Additionally, the younger the age of onset of bipolar disorder, the more likely the first few episodes are to be depression rather than mania. Therefore, the patient will likely be diagnosed as having unipolar depression rather than bipolar depression.

Since a diagnosis of bipolar requires some sort of manic episode, patients are often first diagnosed and treated only for major depression, rather than bipolar depression.

Mania is the signature characteristic of bipolar disorder and, depending on its severity, is how the disorder is classified. Mania is generally characterized by a distinct period of an elevated mood, which can take the form of euphoria. Many people report needing very little sleep while going through a manic episode, and some can go for days without sleeping, while at the same time experiencing a lot more energy.

Hypomania is generally a mild to moderate level of mania, characterized by optimism, elevated speech and activity, and decreased need for sleep. While mania can interfere with the normal living of life, hypomania generally does not.

A person diagnosed with manic depression would usually have at least three of the following seven symptoms.

1. An unrealistically high sense of self esteem, along with grandiose thoughts and feelings

2. Sleeping is greatly reduced

3. Extreme talkativeness

4. Thoughts are too fast to process

5. Easily distracted and difficulty focusing

6. Dramatic increase in social or work-oriented activities

7. Poor judgment, as manifested by uncontrollable spending sprees, increased sexual indiscretion, and misguided financial decisions.

Lithium has been the standard treatment for those who experience manic depression. Various antidepressants are frequently combined with lithium. Many people, however, can't tolerate lithium.

Lithium increases brain levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, and this helps relieve manic depression symptoms. Valproic acid and Lamictal are two other mood stabilizing medications used to relieve manic depression symptoms.

Besides lithium and other mood stabilizing medication, antipsychotics are also used to help those with bipolar disorder.

Zyprexa, an antipsychotic medicine, is approved by the FDA for schizophrenia, acute mixed or manic episodes of bipolar disorder, and maintenance treatment in bipolar disorder.

Zyprexa can cause extremely unpleasant side effects such as diabetes, severe anxiety, tardive dyskinesia, (where your muscles spasm uncontrollably – sometimes irreversibly) and excessive weight gain. Another common side effect is a complete loss of libido.

Various other antipsychotic medicines are also used for bipolar, such as Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, and Geodon.

Symbyax is classified as an antidepressant, but it's actually a combination of Prozac and Zyprexa. Like all other drugs, especially those used to treat mood disorders, Symbyax comes with potentially serious side effects, such as fatigue, loss of libido, and weight gain.

As an alternative to prescription antidepressants, 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) has been shown in scientific studies to be just as effective without the numerous side effects of depression medications. To reduce manic depression symptoms, 5-HTP can be combined with lithium.

Hair samples of manic patients contain elevated levels of the heavy metal vanadium. Upon recovery, the vanadium levels fall into the normal range.

By comparison, depressed people have normal vanadium levels in hair samples, while their blood levels of vanadium are elevated. Once their depression is in remission, their vanadium levels also return to normal.

A person's mood seems to be tied in with the amount of vanadium in their body. By reducing vanadium levels, one double blind scientific study was able to produce significant improvement in manic depression symptoms. Their secret? They found a common nutrient present in many foods alters the chemical structure of vanadate to the less harmful vanadyl.

To find out how they did it, go to this site on manic depression symptoms.