bipolar

[Sabrina]

has any one else ever dealt with a family member who is bipolar and do you have any suggestions, or things to watch for??

 

[Brandi*]

Yes. My sister n law was always an amazing b#(*$!!!! I never could figure out why she was so dang mean...and hyper!!!! The whole family couldn't figure it out. Now I guess she's on meds and much calmer and actually bearable. My sister was told just months ago that she is bipolar. They put her on meds but I'm not sure they are helping. I don't think she is bipolar. She is a recovering drug addict and I think she suffers damage from that. I have no advice for you other then keep your guard up.

 

[SampleMM]

I have a cousin that is bipolar. She's an extremely smart, wonderful woman but watch out when she goes off her meds. From what I understand, if they get their medication to the appropriate levels the patient can have a pretty normal life but what seems to happen is that they feel so good (while on the appropriate medication) that they often times will stop taking it. The last time my cousin quit her meds she ended up leaving her job, children and husband and my sister found her in Washington DC several states away.

Patience, love, total acceptance and understanding is what your family member with bipolar needs.

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

We lost my aunt to suicide,she had just been diagnosed bipolar. She always seemed happy,looking back she seemed to happy all the time.She couldn't handle change very well and had a real fear of getting older. Please listen and be supportive of your family member,lots of love. We had no idea what she was going through,she had moved back in with my grandparents [we live on the same farm] for a few weeks before she passed. We all miss her so much

.

 

[Miniv]

Yes. Bi-Polar is more common than people realize.......

The person will swing into being very UP, full of energy, needing little sleep. The person may also get angry very easily, and become irresponsible in their actions........

After awhile the person's mood will tumble into depression and they will sleep too much, lose interest in their usual activities or hobbies. Some will even be suicidal.

Hopefully the person's loved ones can get them to a psychiatrist and medication can be prescribed.

Try googling the subject. You should find quite a bit of info.

 

[Marty]

Me too I think. My brother's wife has found me after she went missing some 20 years ago after his death. She was always so brilliant and talented. She became a cop in Florida and then with the FBI. Now her lifestyle is so down hill I can't believe it. She has told me she is bi-polar and is being treated by doctors and a shrink. I'm not sure I buy it as we were raised little kids together and I knew her all my life and she always seemed fine to me. Sometimes when she calls she sounds great and other times she is talking way out of left field and I don't really know what to make of it. I'm just rolling with the punches day by day and glad to have her back in my life any way she is.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

I've just noticed that most of the bipolar people mentioned, are women. I find that really interesting as I can't help but wonder how many of them act this way while on some sort of birth control?

The only reason I ask is because I myself can not take any form of estrogen without having MAJOR mood changes. When I was 18, I first started usuing a high dosed birth control pill, and within a couple weeks, I turned into a rage-aholic. I had started dating my first boyfriend (now my husband) earlier that year, so I thought it was just insecurities and jealousy mostly. I was always angry, I became violent and I was beyond unhappy. Totally not like my normal shy self who always held everything in. Six years later, my doctor switched my pills due to another reaction I was having to them, and within a week, I stopped the all the aggression, and basically stopped caring about anything at all. I became paranoid where I couldn't leave the house for more than 10 minutes, I was depressed and was discussing committing myself with my husband, because I was constantly having suicidal thoughts. Within that year, my doctor switched me to a pill that contained no estrogen at all, and I swear within 3 days, I was back to the person I was before ever starting birth control. It makes me sooooo upset to think I wasted 7 years of my life because of artificial hormones...that's one thing that none of the doctors warn you about. I have discussed it with several doctors since and they confirmed that it can change your moods greatly.

I'm just wondering if a high percentage of people who are diagnosed as bipolar, can actually be having a reaction to something they may be taking.

 

[Sabrina]

KanoasDestiny i had the same prob with birth control and when i talked to doctors they acted like it wasn't possible, i got off of it anyway and didn't have the probs when i was on it.

the family member is my hubby and it has been ups and downs and it sometimes hard to take especially with little ones.

i have done research on it but it doesn't always help trying to deal with it.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

I've had a couple doctors tell me that Birth Control won't cause those kind of reactions too, but the majority agree that it can affect your personality. My best friend acted almost the same as I did when she was taking the pills, yet she was fine on the patch.

I'm wondering...do you think it could have something to do with testosterone in a man's case? I know that while women PMS, we focus most of our estrogen changes within that week. Men on the other hand, have testosterone losses less dramatic than we do, and their's can happen at anytime for a few hours, until it spikes again. Being sensitive to things, such as caffeine, disruptions to sleep schedules and other routines, junk food, etc., could also make those changes occure more often. Maybe there's a problem with the thyroid or adrenal glands, that can affect hormones?

I'm convinced that mood swings are almost always caused by some kind of hormonal imbalance. But after doing a little research, it seems that soooo many things can affect our hormones.

 

[Teresa]

Sabrina, I don't know where you live but their are support groups for those dealing with bi-polar loved ones. It is a terrible disease. My son is brilliant but he is bi-polar. It is like he is possessed by two separate people.....one that is so kind and loving and one that only sees what he wants and he can do whatever he wants....."superman" syndrome.

Medications help.....but it is hard to keep them on the medicine. They feel that they are getting better so they think they don't need it. Then if they do start back on it, so many of the medications have side effects that are hard to deal with.

Prayers will help and I will pray for you and your husband. If you ever want to talk you can pm me. My son is 33 and showed signs of it as a baby. When he was good he was perfect, but when he started crying there was no way to stop him. The medical field is just now stating that it can be diagnozed before the age of 18.

God Bless you.

 

[Kira98]

Sabrina,

Hi I have a niece (she is not blood related my brothers wifes daughter from a 1st marriage) that is bipolar and she has done drugs to i believe so that doesnt help either but if she is on her meds she is fine but wow watch out if she goes off them -

they have major ups and then major downs and it might take some time to get them on the right meds etc...

please have patients and you can pm me if you need to because I am too married to a wonderful man that has been diagnosed as bipolar as of last year

Im looking right now for myself a support group or a counselor that I can go to help me cope. its gotten bad lately hes not taking his meds

he will do as miniv says he will be on a major up mood and go for days without much sleep and then when he is down he is down for weeks at a time and he sleeps along long time and because of his medical issues he is about to loose everything that he has worked hard for we are in a fiancial bind and i have been supporting us for the past two years and he hasnt the drive to go to work much when he is down and that can be about 3weeks at a time and then he will be up for about 2weeks just enuff to go to work (he owns his own buisnees ) get a few bucks to skim by on the stuff i can not pay for and then he goes back down

We cant afford the medical end of the cost of the RX we have no insurance ! I hope to get him into a new doc soon so we can maybe get him on the right meds he has been on a few dif combos and one was so bad it was like he was always in a haze and just in a brain fog it wasnt good !

I just want to get my hubby back to the way I know he is and the man that I know he can be cause here lately I have been on the verge of just walking out and calling it quits ! people ask me why im still there - bottom line I love him and vowed to be with him better or worse sickness nad health and they dont knwo that he is bipolar ! so if you need someone else to chat with pm me or email me !

I hope that your hubby gets on some good meds and it doesnt take long and I feel your pain.

look into goin to a support group and pray but dont give up just be there though I know its tuff I know it first hand !

 

[wildoak]

I've been down that road too with a daughter. It's a long hard road, and is often complicated with drug or alcohol abuse. You can't reason with a bipolar person, you are trying to appeal to a brain that is not functioning properly and doesn't always recognize that there is a problem. Or at least that they are the cause - lots of excuses and denials, everything is always someone else's fault.

I feel like educating yourself is your best defense, it gives you the means to at least understand some of why the brain does what it does. Beautiful Boy is a father's story of his bipolar son, Manic is a womans own account of her disease. www.amenclinic.com also has some good information on how the brain operates and how to help it heal. I've been amazed at how common it is - nearly everyone I know has dealt with a friend or family member who is bipolar. Know at least that you are not alone, there are lots of people with too much experience who can help you understand and deal with it. Hang in there and don't forget to take care of yourself. It's easy to get sucked into the drama and lose sight of yourself

Jan

 

[Sabrina]

thank you everyone , there aren't really any support groups here maybe in a bigger city about 3 hours away, it is nice to know i am not alone on this. my hubby can have times when he is good as gold but then others are not so good , he has started meds but just about 1 month ago and so now it is the wait and see if it works game which as you all know is difficult, have any of you notice a chage during a certain time of the year my hubby hits the end of July and till about Oct, he gets aggitate and angry easy , blaming others and what not and it has been this way for the last 7 yrs we have been together. i start to dread this time of the year because it tends to be his worst time.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I am so sorry for anyone who has to deal with this, either the person himself or the ones who love him.

 

[Miniv]

Can't promise anything, dear lady. But I understand the reaching out for help........been there...... And I think most who have had Bi-Polar in the family do.

You are welcome to PM, but can't promise any wonderful answers.......

I too live with it.

 

[Minimor]

It can be VERY had to get the right combination/dose of medications. A neighbor of ours was bi-polar--when she & her husband lived in a northern community she was very happy and was fairly even on her behavior. She had good friends and a "coffee group" of ladies that she spent time with daily. Then they moved here and it was a totally different situation. We're out in the country here and most of the neighborhood women work, so there was no local coffee group for this lady to join. She was home alone too much of the time, and it was stressful for her.

The stress made her condition worse, and the meds that had been effective for her for so long stopped working. The doctors tried her on various combinations and levels to try and get her back on an even keel, and it just wasn't working. She and her husband separated and divorced, and then she was living and working part time in town--she was on social assistance I believe, and still not doing well last I heard of her. She'd have some good days, and then she'd have some very bad days.

Her family treated her like a small child--which really bothered her and just added to her stress level. Her husband's family, when they were still together, treated her like she was stupid--which also wasn't fair to her, and not good for her overall health. I've wondered what has become of her in recent years, if she ever got on a treatment that worked for her, or if she is still having a really bad time of things.

 

[krissy3]

I had a boyfriend that is Bi polar. Its a difficult disease to deal with , and you have my sympathy. Sometimes they will self medicate themselves with lots of caffine, to keep themselves at a "high level". Roller coaster comes to mind. If you find a good doctor that will work with different meds to stablize the mood swings it would be great , but its a tricky balance. Too much and they become a robot without feeling, and thats not good either. Like any disease, its good if you can talk about it , and be very open about whats going on , and how everyone can deal with it . Keep the communication lines open, and work with a doctor, and or a therapist as well. Its not the persons fault , remember that , and good luck , I agree finding some support will really help the whole family.