A woman describes being over-medicated during a mental health crisis that included a suicide attempt and reckless driving. After stopping the medication, she had severe panic attacks and numbness she feared was a stroke. An acupuncturist suggested bipolar disorder, a diagnosis that finally made sense after conventional doctors dismissed her symptoms.
I, I had a suicidal attempt, rage driving, and, and I was on Moholland and I turned the wheel one way. And that was a really tough period for me because I was so ill-medicated and it made my highs higher and lows lower. And that continued, and then it dissipated, it went away for a little bit. I had gotten off the medication after that point. I started getting panic attacks, numbness on the side of my arms and legs. I had had MRIs and they were like, there's nothing What's wrong with her? And I remember being on the set of "Caprica" and I had a panic attack on set. You know, the set doctor came and he's like, "You're gonna be okay. This is like a normal feeling. You're just having a panic attack." And I was like, "No, I'm having a stroke. I'm dying. You don't understand." And so when I had come back to LA, I was like, "I'm gonna go to my acupuncturist." He was like, "You know, it sounds like very similar to bipolar disorder. I have a lot of creative types that live with this, you know? Has anyone ever told you this could be it?" And for someone to identify what the issue was was just like a breath of fresh air.
