July 30, 2010
Is it true that you can’t drink when you have bp? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can’t … or ‘shouldn’t’? I’m not sure if you know this or not, but I like wine. It’s pretty. And shiny. And tasty. And sometimes sparkly. (I really like sparkly wine) Now ‘technically’ I CAN lift a glass of wine to my mouth and take a nice tasty sip (or 5). But SHOULD I? To be honest, it really depends on who you’re talking to. One doctor of mine told me he’d rather I popped a Xanex than have a drink. But then I read articles like this, where they say it may actually be okay, so I think eh… I’m good right? Well then I go and read an article like this that suggests risk of suicide is higher in bipolars who abuse alcohol than in non bipolars. Way to make it confusing! HOWEVER, in my own [...]
July 29, 2010
Are there any bipolar medications out there that are not known to cause major weight gain? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh your mind so works just like mine! (I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing!) I can’t help it though. It’s always the first thing that comes to mind when doctors suggest new medications. “Will I get fat?” I’ve always kinda had an issue with weight, or at least my perception of weight. I may or may not be slightly obsessed with being thin (Depends on who you’re asking), so I can totally relate to this question. I have only been on two mood stabilizers so far, Trileptal and Lamictal, which are both anticonvulsents. Neither of which has had any effect on my weight. (I was also on Abilify for two days, but that doesn’t count.) Now in my son’s case, a couple of his mood stabilizers increased [...]
July 28, 2010
I know you all are not professionals, but I was wondering what you thought about ADHD stimulants-if they work for some of my child”s symptoms do you think that she could still be bipolar?. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When we first started to notice that PDog was having problems, our first thoughts were ADHD. Both me and his father have it, and of course we didn’t want to suggest bipolar since he was only 4 (though I did suspect) It took us three years to get a diagnosis of ADHD and ODD. He was put on stimulants (Adderal) At first things seemed a tiny bit better, but soon he was having HUGE mood swings. The highs were super high and the lows were dangerously low. Our therapist gave me a book called, “Is my Child Bipolar”. My husband and I read it and everything just came together. Pdog had at least 80% of the symptoms [...]
July 27, 2010
Have you had auditory or visual hallucinations and if so, how did they start out? Did they start out simple like hearing your name being called then escalate into something more? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MB’s two cents… Hallucinations, also known as psychosis, are not uncommon in those with sever bipolar disorder. Where as I have never experienced these symptoms myself, they are not unheard of. One of the things to know about bipolar disorder is that it is, as I like to refer to it as, the Buy one Get Five Free Illness. In my experiences with my son and I as well as most people I have met dealing with this disorder, it has always been accompanied by other diagnosis such as ADHD, ODD, OCD, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, ect. Below is Erika’s story about her run-in’s with hallucinations. I must admit, it was difficult for me to read, but it’s important [...]
July 26, 2010
What is something your parents did regarding your illness that you regret and what is something they did that you are thankful for? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What a difficult question to answer… Regret is not necessarily the right word I’d look for. Because if I were to point out things that I regret, they would pretty much all be my fault, not theirs. I was the one who tried to hide it and I was the one who didn’t come right out and say I needed help. Do I wish that they would have saw it sooner? Absolutely, but I don’t hold that against them in any way. They did the best they could. They had no idea what they were seeing and I didn’t want them to anyway. Parents can’t beat themselves up for not seeing something that they had no clue about in the first place. When I was a [...]
What is something your parents did regarding your illness that you regret and what is something they did that you are thankful for? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I spent most of my childhood undiagnosed, untreated, and categorized simply as an intelligent girl that refused to do her work. This way by teachers, faculty, daycare workers, family, and those who would babysit me. Maybe I was a little sensitive, or a bit spoiled; but there was nothing to be concerned about, and it could be solved by a stricter parenting system. Both my parents wholly agreed with those conclusions. In fact, my mom was the one who suggested many. Even now, as I talk about the more painful side of my childhood, she looks at me as if I have eight heads. “All I saw was a happy little girl,” she tells me, pain and shock painted through her eyes. Not that I have [...]
July 24, 2010
Erika, Are you Bipolar I or Bipolar II? Was there any question along the way about which you were? And does it run in your family at all? I’ve been diagnosed with Cyclothymia. Some call it Bipolar II and some separate as a separate diagnosis similar to Bipolar II. I’ve also been told it’s Rapid Cycling. The upshot is that there is clearly some sort of spectrum and all kinds of little subsets of bipolarity. I believe my grandmother had it (undiagnosed and wrongly treated as depression, with disastrous results). And I’m wanting to be watchful for signs in my own children as they grow older. So, can you talk about the medical history in your family in that regard, and if/how it provided a clue or road map in your diagnosis? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Currently, my hospital discharge papers state that I am Bipolar 1 (technically, the diagnosis I Schizoaffective, Bipolar [...]
July 23, 2010
I know this site is meant to bring awareness for Bipolar Disorder, but because this week is Batten’s Awareness Week and because my nephew is suffering from this terminal illness, I’d love for everyone to take a moment and check out his site www.jacobsprayer.com. It is important to spread awareness about Battens Disease in hopes of finding a cure that is slowly steeling the life out of my nephew. Tweet1549aa12866357c4087dc5258c17f401Link to this post!
My son will soon be 19 and still lives at home with me…due to his bipolar II and ADD, he didn’t finish high school, couldn’t finish a college class and couldn’t keep a job. Is there any government program that can help him survive on his own? I’m now looking into a supervised facility with treatment, so he can be with others that are going through the same thing, instead of isolating here at home with me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have to be honest and admit that even I had to research this question a bit. I distinctly remember being 19. I also remember that when I was 19 I owned the world. Nothing could touch me. I was invincible!!! Then I got pregnant. So to sum it up, I remember 19 being a year of not so awesome decisions and a not so realistic view of adulthood. (Boy did that [...]
July 22, 2010
Are you glad to have a diagnosis, to be “labeled”? I ask this because one of the reasons they give for not saying my son is bipolar is because they believe it could be a bad thing to “label” a kid at such a young age. They say the label alone could be a negative thing for him. I wonder if this is really true since he knows he has a problem, I don’t think not giving it a name is hiding anything from him. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks girls! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m not sure if glad is the right word to use here; but I am thankful and relieved to have the diagnosis. With it, people know that I have an illness, and even if ignorance is still heavy within this world, most people are willing to listen. That wasn’t so when we didn’t have a label. [...]
July 21, 2010
Are you glad to have a diagnosis, to be “labeled”? I ask this because one of the reasons they give for not saying my son is bipolar is because they believe it could be a bad thing to “label” a kid at such a young age. They say the label alone could be a negative thing for him. I wonder if this is really true since he knows he has a problem, I don’t think not giving it a name is hiding anything from him. What are your thoughts on this? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are not strangers to the “he’s too young for that kind of label” excuse. We heard it from teachers, doctors, school social workers, even a few PDocs. They didn’t want to say he was “bipolar” even though they all saw the signs. It was hard enough just to get them to suggest maybe he was ADHD. Everyone [...]
July 20, 2010
Erika I wonder if you could list a few medications that were/are winners for you and some that were horrible? Or cocktails that seem to work for you? Thanks! Erin Luckily, I haven’t had to be on that many medications in comparison to others, due to some unnatural luck that they got it right quickly; but I have been on enough that I went through some disastrous experiences with them. Symptoms would worsen and my functioning would dive as if it were an eagle after prey – my brain. Whenever we found the right medicine, I got this feeling of getting closer to that baseline, and becoming more level. I could think clearly, and actually use what I learned in therapy. These are a list of some of the pills I have swallowed, and how I reacted. Strattera [Atomoxetine ] Strattera is a non-stimulant (repinephrine reuptake inhibitor) used to treat ADHD, that also has anti-depressant qualities. I was prescribed it after years of struggling to pay attention, focus, sit still, and organize my thoughts. My [...]
July 19, 2010
Erika – My daughter is 7 1/2 and has been diagnosed with a mood disorder. While full blown rages (hitting, kicking, screaming, biting, etc) really only happen once a week or so lately (as opposed to 3x or more/day) I often feel as though she’s walking a thin line. There are so many times throughout the day when she’s right there, right on the brink of a full blown rage – she becomes very irritable, very confrontational, very defiant and refuses to do anything at all to help calm herself. When we talk at times when she’s feeling good, we come up with ideas together of things she can do to calm herself but she’ll refuse to use any of these techniques. Please help! What can I do to help her help herself?!! Thanks so much! Erin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The problem with this question is that there is no one answer [...]
July 18, 2010
Finishing up our three part series answering the question: At what point did the doctors determine you had bipolar? I apologize in advance for the novel length post here, but I do have 29 years to explain!!! I was diagnosed with ADD at the ripe old age of 6. Apparently I was hyper or something, maybe I just couldn’t stay on task. I began taking the infamous Ritalin and continued up till middle school when I convinced my mother I could function without it. (One thing to know about those with bipolar, we are incredibly manipulative. Very important to be aware with if you are a parent of a bipolar child. We can convince you of ANYTHING. I was able to do it without even knowing I was doing it!) I wasn’t a big fan of what I thought were side effects from the stimulant…namely that I would sometimes stay [...]
July 17, 2010
Erika’s Experience While I have struggled with mental illness from a very young age, doctors only pinned down the Bipolar Diagnosis during December of 2009, when I was thirteen: less than one year ago. Only a few months later it was changed to Schizoaffective, Bipolar Type, a disorder that combines Schizophrenic and Mood symptoms. There is no doubt in mind it may change again (to what, God only knows). Before being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, I went through a long list of possible primary diagnoses. ADHD, Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies, Panic Disorder, “Mood Instability”, Mood Disorder-NOS, Psychotic Disorder-NOS, and Major Depressive Disorder. Some of these diagnoses are still with me; but have been changed to a secondary condition, instead of my main one. Through all of it I have been put on non-stimulant ADHD medications (Strattera), SSRI antidepressants, mood stabilizers., and atypical anti-psychotics. Some worked [...]
July 16, 2010
Hi Girls, At what point did the doctors determine you had bipolar? What were the defining symptoms that changed a former diagnosis of (you fill in the blank) to a final diagnosis of Bipolar? Thanks, Mama Bear Hey there Mama Bear! What a complex question, as you probably already know. So much goes into the diagnosis of Bipolar, and as of my experience, starts with numerous either incomplete or total misdiagnoses. (Fun times I tell ya!) Let’s go in chronological order shall we? In today’s post I will address Early Onset Bipolar Disorder, also known as Pediatric Bipolar. PDog’s (Mis)Diagnosis and the Quest for the Right PDoc When PDog (for anyone who hasn’t read my bio, PDog is my son. Obviously not his real name, but for privacy reasons…we are going to pretend it is!) was about 4, I started to notice his sensitivity. At the time he was taking [...]
July 15, 2010
I’ve switched our site over to Word Press. I think for us this will be easier. Don’t fret if you’ve already saved the old address…that will direct you to this site too. I’m just not sure if the posts will show up in your Blogger Dashboard. Let me know if you have any questions. You can see over on the right side bar that there is a place where you can sign up to receive our posts and updates via email. I’ll be updating the website for the next few days, but it still functions properly! Also we’ve had our first question submitted, so I’m hoping to get an answer posted tomorrow. Keep the questions coming! We are so excited to dive into our brains and find our brilliant answers!!! If you have an comments or recommendation for things that may be missing from our site, let me know! I’ll [...]
July 13, 2010
We are super excited to have you visit our site. It’s still under construction, but the contact forms are up and running. Feel free to start submitting your questions at anytime. We can’t wait to start answering them!!! Tweet39208178a8e32a15a5dcb9af4bfd6f06Link to this post!
