I have bipolar disorder and hear about people on T getting mood swings. If my mood swings get any worse I might be a mental health risk. My psychiatrist never said anything about T interacting with my meds but I'm still worried about worsening mood swings. Does anyone have experience with bipolar, mood swings and T?

I am bipolar II, long swing. While I can't speak for anyone other than myself, my moods have actually improved on T. I get irritated less easily, handle pressure better and just am overall more confident and controlled. Everyone will react differently though, so it is important to have someone watching your moods for signs of trouble

Not bipolar, but I have BPD. T improved my mood and stabilized pretty much everything for me. I actually think a lot of the symptoms that got me diagnosed with BPD were results of dysphoria.

The mood swings thing you'll hear about with T is mostly due to shot cycles. Towards the end of the shot cycle when your T is lowest, you might feel down or get fatigued more easily.

This is easily avoided with gel since you're applying it daily. I personally have never experienced the highs/lows on shots that some people do, but my T levels have always been on the higher side of average so perhaps the downswing isn't so dramatic in my case.

This is something I've been wondering about, the effect of T on mood with bipolar disorder. I have bipolar I, and I'm pre-T. I now have a trans friendly doctor and I'm doing my research before getting started (and waiting out a long probationary period at work).

I just saw my new doctor last week and we talked about this very thing. I was concerned about the potential for mood swings, even though my bipolar is well managed for a number of years now. I remember when I was on birth control many years ago, before my bipolar diagnosis, I had problems with mood when the hormone levels changed weekly. My new doctor is very trans friendly, and teaches other docs about administrating hormones and working with trans patients, so I trust his experience.

So, in my case, the doctor and I agreed that the daily gel or patch will be a better place for me to start and see how that goes, as opposed to injections every week or two, given my history. The gel/patch are far more expensive, but I should get coverage when my benefits kick in. Even if I had to pay out of pocket, it would be worth it not to have extra emotional upheaval. Hope this helps!

Also, it may worth it to keep a daily mood tracker or a journal to follow your mood vs injections/T application.

I have bipolar as well and haven't noticed worsening mood swings. I've been on weekly shots my entire time.

Wow, i have to wonder considering how many of us seem to be commenting on having the same pre transition diagnosis if it is not actually a result of the hormone discrepency to the brain.

Quote from: patrick1967 on February 12, 2017, 10:28:43 AM
Wow, i have to wonder considering how many of us seem to be commenting on having the same pre transition diagnosis if it is not actually a result of the hormone discrepency to the brain.

Yeah, I'm curious to know if there's a hormone discrepancy or what. I haven't done any bloodwork yet to see the current state of affairs of my hormones, but I'm curious to do so.

Quote from: patrick1967 on February 12, 2017, 10:28:43 AM
Wow, i have to wonder considering how many of us seem to be commenting on having the same pre transition diagnosis if it is not actually a result of the hormone discrepency to the brain.

It was surprising to see the number of us that responded with the same diagnosis, as well. I'm not bi-polar but did go through a period of depression (which was in direct correlation to being trans) that has long since resolved itself.
I don't have any diagnoses, to be honest, which might be more of an anomaly.

Quote from: Stone Magnum on February 12, 2017, 02:50:41 PM
It was surprising to see the number of us that responded with the same diagnosis, as well. I'm not bi-polar but did go through a period of depression (which was in direct correlation to being trans) that has long since resolved itself.
I don't have any diagnoses, to be honest, which might be more of an anomaly.

You're lucky.

I never had bipolar disorder but I know what it is because my mother has it.

Instead I had other problems, some of which were avoidable if my parents had done their job properly.

That said I am a person of extremes. My mood isn't extreme (usually) but my preferences can be and I can look at things in a black and white "all or nothing" perspective if they involve me. In that sense, it's not chemical or biological causes that will tank my mood but ideological ones. I don't get "highs" very often but I had a nice low today as a result of the inevitable decay of my current relationship. That ship's well on its way to the bottom of the sea and I'm not happy about it.

But T has actually taken the edge off these things for me. I'm definitely calmer despite facing things that are tough to deal with and would usually result in sadness and rage. Those feelings are there but they are not expressing themselves. I can keep a lid on it now. Which is good, in my view. Going off the deep end or terrifying people in outbursts of frustration is not going to help me (which I knew before, but sometimes it was impossible to control).

I have dysthymia (chronic depression) and I've noticed I get angrier a lot easier after starting T. So far I've found being on my own I'm generally a bit happier than I usually was and my mood swings are average to happy but mix negative people in and it all goes downhill. On gel so it's definitely not the shot mood swings.

Ah yeah, there's a few idiots that set me off more easily too. But in general T has improved my mood a lot.

Quote from: Kylo on February 13, 2017, 07:32:47 PM
I never had bipolar disorder but I know what it is because my mother has it.

Instead I had other problems, some of which were avoidable if my parents had done their job properly.

That said I am a person of extremes. My mood isn't extreme (usually) but my preferences can be and I can look at things in a black and white "all or nothing" perspective if they involve me. In that sense, it's not chemical or biological causes that will tank my mood but ideological ones. I don't get "highs" very often but I had a nice low today as a result of the inevitable decay of my current relationship. That ship's well on its way to the bottom of the sea and I'm not happy about it.

But T has actually taken the edge off these things for me. I'm definitely calmer despite facing things that are tough to deal with and would usually result in sadness and rage. Those feelings are there but they are not expressing themselves. I can keep a lid on it now. Which is good, in my view. Going off the deep end or terrifying people in outbursts of frustration is not going to help me (which I knew before, but sometimes it was impossible to control).

Do you have a problem with "going off the deep end" now? If so was that caused by T or did you have it before?

It's not happened since I began T and that includes an incident recently which might normally have made me "go off the deep end" since the ones involved were absolutely spoiling for a fight. I definitely dealt with it smarter ensuring witnesses rather than allowing myself to be cornered alone like I had in the past.

No, I definitely had this problem before T. Usually when trapped in a situation that becomes unbearable, with unbearable people.

The difference with T I find it that if someone wants to talk smack or do something inappropriate, I have less time to mull it over before I become angry. But the plus side of it is that on the whole, the stress levels that made it so easy to become angry before are just gone.

There are always people who go out of their way to provoke or interfere with hostility in your business, and if they appear then they should be dealt with. But they're rare. What wasn't rare in the past was the daily nagging of anxiety. It went a long way to making me irritable, defensive and abrasive. Now I'm just those things if someone is literally giving me grief without cause. Which is probably the same for even the most well-adjusted person.

I am Bipolar I and when I started T I had very bad mood swings. Became very depressed and agitated. So much so that I was almost hospitalized for safety and it led my doctor to lowering my dose. I've stayed on a low dose this entire time which is 5 years now.