October 31, 2010
Illnesses that co-exist I’ve heard that there could be other diagnoses that can co-exist with Bipolar… Is this true??? If so, what kinds of diagnoses??? When I first started thinking about this question, I figured there would be a lot of different diagnoses that would go hand-in-hand with bipolar… But I only found three other psychiatric disorders, but a list of physical disorders… The first is anxiety disorders… They can develop in both the younger and older… Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and social phobia are just an example… Studies have shown that those who develop generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and separation anxiety at a young age have a higher chance of developing bipolar… They have also shown that it could cause more hospitalizations related to their mental health… When it comes to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), it is a little more difficult to diagnose… Some symptoms of ADHD are [...]
October 30, 2010
So after a rough week I can’t help but feel bad for my family and friends who have been putting up with my ‘issues’. It got me thinking and I can’t help but wonder, how did my moods affect them??? And thus my question for you…. If you SUFFER from BP … who do you think it affects the most? Friends, Siblings, Parents, Spouses, Children? If you KNOW SOMEONE who suffers from BP … how does their illness affect you? Do you have a question that needs answering? Click here to submit… Tweet1f57157351fba18374d3bb68807a019dLink to this post!
October 29, 2010
What are some of the risk factors/causes of bipolar??? So, pretty much everyone on this site has bipolar or knows someone with bipolar, right??? Ok, I’m sure not EVERYONE… There’s probably some people who are just looking to know more about bipolar, or who are treating bipolar, or whatever… But it’s all about bipolar here!!! Anyways, there are many causes and risk factors of bipolar… One big thing that seems to be the main cause of bipolar (in most people… Not all!!!) is genetics… You are more likely(80-90%) to have bipolar if one of your siblings, parents, or other blood relatives has bipolar or depression… Scientists aren’t entirely sure why this is… They have done studies with identical twins and if one of them gets bipolar, the other is more likely to get it, but it’s not certain… It’s simply a possibility… Bipolar affects both sexes and all socioeconomical societies [...]
October 28, 2010
Normal Emotions VS Bipolar Emotions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DO BIPOLAR PEOPLE HAVE NORMAL FEELINGS? All of us experience emotions. All of us have feelings. It’s just a normal part of being human. It’s very interesting to note the definition of emotions and feelings. They are different but you have one to have the other. I know that doesn’t make much sense does it? I’ll define them in context with each other and I think you’ll understand better what I mean. I promise there will be a point to all of this and not just a vocabulary lesson. A feeling can be any subjective reaction or state; pleasant/unpleasant, strong/mild, positive/negative ~ that is characterized by an emotional response An emotion is a very intense feeling, which often involves a physical and mental response that can be expressed either internally or externally Like I said before we all experience feelings and emotions. That means [...]
October 26, 2010
I have bipolar plus asthma.Trying to juggle two chronic illnesses is difficult especially when the medications for asthma set off the bipolar and vice versa. And having to know at least as much if not more about your drugs and their interactions for when your usual doctor goes on holidays which is of course when you get sick.Do other people struggle with this juggling act? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let me begin by saying that, in my personal opinion, most people with bipolar (or any mental illness, really) have problems with physical symptoms, at least occasionally… Some will be worse than others… It could range from a simple headache now and then, to intense migraines on a daily basis… With that said, let me give you my personal experience… It started as simply getting out of breath… I thought it was just because I was out of shape, so I paid no attention [...]
October 25, 2010
I often hear comments about how well I handle things and how I must be so strong. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the compliments, (because I pretty much thrive on compliments…something about self esteem issues and blah blah blah….lol) but there are those certain comments that you don’t know how to respond to because, well … because they aren’t totally accurate. So please, know this … I’m no stronger than the rest of you. It’s true. Maybe I just hide it better? Maybe I just try to keep my issues to myself? Maybe I just don’t want to burden those who I’m trying to help? Maybe all of those things are true? But that doesn’t make me stronger. That makes me weak. Because the truth is … I am broken. I am tired. I am struggeling. I feel lonely. I feel burnt out. I feel helpless. I hurt. I [...]
October 24, 2010
What is it like living with a 19 year old Bipolar II son? Exhausted Scared Pissed off Annoyed Trapped Drained Alone Guilty Overwhelmed Hopeful Positive Responsible Anchored Terrified Grateful Willing Stupid Crazy Tired Blind Disappointed I had to walk away after making that list. Why? Because the Me in me wants to reread it and make sure I didn’t leave anyone else’s feelings out. I mean, I am writing this and I want people to relate, so I had better put something in here they can identify with, right? Did I list your emotion…the one you are feeling today? Right now? A few minutes ago? The point is I do not know how to describe what it is like to live with a bipolar teenager anymore than a bipolar teenager can describe to me how he is “feeling”. I do not walk on egg shells anymore. I walk on land [...]
October 23, 2010
I know there are plenty of coping skills out there-both positive and negative… I know with me, I try my best to use positive coping skills, but they don’t always work… Quite often, I rely on negative coping skills to get through my fits of mania or depression… I know that’s not the right thing to do, and I’m trying not to rely on those so much, but it’s quite difficult… So my question for you is-what are your coping skills??? Do you use mostly positive or negative coping skills??? (ok, I know that was a double question, but I’m curious!!!) Do you have a question that needs answering? Click here to submit… Tweet6b5bc8d86a6d3f4c977bfc797408de73Link to this post!
October 22, 2010
I just left my sons father for not dealing with hi bipolar disorder and frequent violent outbursts. The thing I wonder about is that for the entire relationship I was the bad person. I couldn’t have a simple disagreement or normal spat. I was always being presented as the one in the wrong no matter what and if I complained about something it got even worse. I cannot see much that I did wrong. Do people who suffer from bipolar disorder have ab altered sense of other peoples actions? Everyone was always doing him wrong and he never did anything! He wanted unconditional support even when he was outrageously wrong for his actions…and if you didn’t then you were a b*tch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First let me say this it must have been a terribly difficult decision for you to leave someone you love and I am truly sorry for your situation. [...]
October 21, 2010
Is therapy of any use when a person is extremely manic and maybe not completely in touch with reality? When a person thinks they can actually fly or is not able to focus on ANYTHING? I see a great deal of benefit to therapy during a depressive phase. What about during mania? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, I’ll tell you my own personal experience… When I am in a state of mania, I absolutely, positively need some intervention… My normal, everyday supports (i.e.-family, friends) can help to a degree… But when I get bad, I need professional intervention… My therapist is able to help me see the reality of life, instead of just the distortions my mind is creating… It’s almost like she’s a magical fairy (which I’m being for Halloween!!! Lol) and after spending a few hours with her, I’m back to an even keel… Of course, it’s not magic, though (dern!!!) [...]
October 19, 2010
What happens when I don’t like my PDoc or the answers they give me? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This question has come up quite a bit within the conversations I’ve had with close friends and/or fellow bipolarees. Frustrations over not getting the answers they need or not clicking with the doctors or just straight out feeling like they want a second opinion. I’m pretty sure it happens to all of us at one point or time. Though I adore our current PDoc, I have to admit … I’ve had some some slightly questionable (as in how the heck did you get a med degree) doctors in the past. I think it’s safe to say I’ve been through all of the above situations. Story One – Fresh out of the hospital Princess MB is forced to start seeing a county paid PDoc since she no longer has insurance. As required, she spends two sessions [...]
October 18, 2010
What do you feel about the gung-ho types who insist they control their bipolar with nothing but supplements and 10 hours of sleep a night? I am getting a little upset at having to defend my choice to medicate my daughter. I don’t doubt that this DOES work for some people and that these things can be effectively used in conjunction with therapy and meds. I just get worried that people diss meds. They can be life-saving and I KNOW how bad my daughter is without them. Without them she’d probably be dead. So, no I don’t LIKE the fact that she takes them, but the alternative is worse and supplements alone will just not cut it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wow, so this pretty much goes hand in hand with Friday’s Post, yet it’s still a little different. As I stated Friday, I feel the same as you. I don’t LIKE that [...]
October 17, 2010
~~Cat’s Cave Hi Everybody! With a name like Catherine, I have nicknames galore! One of them just happens to be Cat and it’s a perfect fit for this post. I’m really dating myself here…but do any of you remember the original television series Batman? You know, the dudes who ran around in tights, a cape and a mask? By day they were just normal dudes, but at night in their rather nifty get up of tights, capes, and masks were major crime fighters. They kept the city of Gotham safe from the likes of evil characters such as The Penguin, The Joker and The Riddler just to name a few. They got to drive around in this super duper cool car called the Batmobile. This Batmobile had all kinds of very high tech gadgets why it even had a phone! Back in the day this was just way beyond cool! [...]
October 16, 2010
I had a great day yesterday … I’d joined a contest where I submitted the first 250 words of my novel and was able to get it critiqued by others AND an agent. The feed back was great. The issues that were pointed out, super easy to fix. Overall, I should have been proud of it. PDog got approved for SSI and will now be receiving Medicaid as well. Which means he can actually get ALL the help/meds/therapy he needs and I don’t have to worry how the heck I’m going to pay for that next appointment. I should have been super excited and relieved! I took the kids to the inlaws for the weekend so my husband and I could go to the MSU Football game today and spend some time together. I should have been happy about this. Did you pick up on the key word in all those situations? “Should”. [...]
October 15, 2010
What do you feel about the gung-ho types who insist they control their bipolar with nothing but supplements and 10 hours of sleep a night? I am getting a little upset at having to defend my choice to medicate my daughter. I don’t doubt that this DOES work for some people and that these things can be effectively used in conjunction with therapy and meds. I just get worried that people diss meds. They can be life-saving and I KNOW how bad my daughter is without them. Without them she’d probably be dead. So, no I don’t LIKE the fact that she takes them, but the alternative is worse and supplements alone will just not cut it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wow, what a loaded question. One that I’ll probably get much flack for answering. BUT I totally get it. When I tell people my son is on meds I get so many [...]
October 14, 2010
In light of all the recent news, I decided to put in an unscheduled post in hopes to get the word out there about suicide prevention. Specifically in cases where it involves bullying. I’m not sure if you had seen the Ellen video, but it was amazing. (See below to watch) I just wanted to say that I hope this sends a message to children, as well as parents that this is a major problem. I myself remember my self esteem being tarnished by others who teased me. Whether it was about my height, my looks, my lack of designer clothes, it all hurt just the same. I’m not blaming my depression on any of the people who hurt me, but I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t contribute to the problem. Had I known in high school just how insignificant what others thought actually was, I may [...]
October 13, 2010
I’ve been a bipolar type 2 fast cycler for 32 years. The only class of meds that does me good are the MAOI’s. I’m doing better than most of your letter writers. How many of you anxious, manic, depressed bipolar folks have TRIED and FAILED on MAO regimes? Every asked your psydoc? (They aren’t half as dangerous as many docs pretend.) Rich ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAOI’s is the acronym for Monamine Oxidase Inhibitors. This a group of extremely strong antidepressants and they have the distinction of being the first antidepressants used. Their use began in the 1040s, then in the late 1960s and early 1970s tricyclic antidepressants appeared on the scene. The use of MAOI’s decreased greatly. By the late 1980s, early 1990s SSRI’s were considered the new wonder drugs for depression. MAOI’s are used for atypical depression and treatment resistant depression as well. They are also used to treat severe agoraphobia [...]
October 12, 2010
I thought since it had been a long day, I’d post one of our older posts. I’d love to see all the new voices chiming in! I am hoping you can speak to the symptoms of the depression side of your illness…as it is very much related just as we are Marybeth! I think there are so many people out there who don’t realize they could be happier or handling life so much better if the just recognized a few symptoms. I have become friends with gals that remind me of myself before I sought help and it is hard to just stand by. So…question…what are some major symptoms of depression (other than suicidal thoughts) that caused you to seek help? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don’t think it was ever suicidal thoughts that caused me to seek help. After all, when one is suicidal, the last thing they want is help. (Unless [...]
October 11, 2010
Does anyone ever feel helpless like they can’t fix what’s wrong with them? and why should you try? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, yes… I feel this way most of the time, and I’m sure many others do, as well… That may be because there is no way to definitively ‘fix’ what is wrong… Bipolar is a life long illness… But there are ways to manage it and to live a happy life. For example, you can take medicines. These will help regulate your mood and keep you from having such intense mood swings… You may still have some mood swings, but you won’t go nearly as high/low as you would without the meds… And they won’t happen as often, either… Another way to manage bipolar is therapy, especially when you are first diagnosed… Therapy can help you learn coping skills to use when you are in a ‘mood’, be it a rage, [...]
October 9, 2010
Can I be medicated against my will? If so why? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another medication question. I enjoy answering these types of questions as it amazes me the advances we’ve made in psychopharmacology and mental health. The answer to the first part of your question is a very simple yes. You can be medicated against your will for different reasons and under certain conditions. So that you can better understand the process, I’m going to give you a short history on mental health to current standards and practices. Before I go any further, I’d like you and all the readers to understand that I am in no way condoning or advocating how patients were treated, but this was what they knew at the time. I believe they thought they had made quite a bit of progress from the days of Frankensnstienesque practices and treatment of patients over hundreds of years ago. [...]
October 8, 2010
Hello, My boyfriend recently lost his job, which actually is more of a blessing than a tragedy, because he was miserable there. My main concern is, his insurance through his work was covering his medication. He thinks he can get on his parent’s insurance to keep covered, but I just want to be prepared if that doesn’t work. I thought I heard somewhere of some government program that covers medication… Did I hear correctly, and if so, would anybody happen to have any information on that? Thank you so much! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It turns out where you live will greatly affect the coverage you can receive from the government. Last week, I found out my county has lost so much funding that the Department of Mental Health only takes on people who need case workers and cannot function in everyday life on their own. Now, I am not out in the [...]
October 7, 2010
Has anyone tried TMS and if so what happened? Was it useful in the long term. It’s something that has been suggested to me. I have fears about this sort of treatment, especially as I have yet to meet the psychiatrist who will be responsible for the outcome. I have researched it a little and it seems to still be in the experimental stage. Any input would be welcome. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I myself have never had experience with TMS or ECT, however we have done a couple posts on it before. I’m going to link to them today and let me know if you have further questions. http://www.askabipolar.com/rtms-treatment-and-how-it-works/ http://www.askabipolar.com/813-what-are-your-thoughts-on-ect/ And I apologize for such a short post. I’m taking a mental holiday today. Love you guys! Do you have a question that needs answering? Click here to submit… Tweetb98e85749cb31375fc03caa6199b2194Link to this post!
October 6, 2010
How many times have you heard of someone being misdiagnosed as bipolar? I know MI’s are hard to distinguish between, but for five years, my doctors told me I was bipolar and gave me many, many drugs for it….drugs I did not need. After a while, I had a new dr ask me some questions about drinking and some of my hypomanic episodes blahblah and he realized that everything that happened that seemed manic was caused by drinking. I do have severe anxiety with depression, so the down stages were there, and when they weren’t, I was either in the middle or drinking, making myself v.up. Because of all of this, I even took lamictal during my entire pregnancy because they believed it to be more dangerous than not taking it. My child is almost six and fine, but it still makes me angry. The first doctor just decided what [...]
October 5, 2010
Outside the quaint, Italian restaurant my Dad and I were eating at, I watched as the last of the sun’s rays were swallowed whole by the jaws of night. In its place, a gathering of gravity-held gas lit up the sky in the form of stars, dancing joyously around the thin sliver of a moon. Back on Earth, a light show in its own right was waking up to excite the corneas in our eyes. From the rushing headlights of cars on the highway, to the dim lights of houses and flashing business signs, homo sapiens were still wide eyed with awareness. In fact, it would be many hours still before the caffeine wore off, and the drinks wore in – when the world, at least the one that surrounded me then, would rest. Allowing my body to rejuvenate, however, was a distance from the list of actions that floated [...]
October 4, 2010
I have an acquaintance who was diagnosed as bipolar. He was on medication for it but he still became manic even while on the medication. Is this unusual or can some bipolar people still become manic even while on medication? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I love analogies … they are kinda like poetry to me … though I am still trying to figure out why a raven is like a writing desk (Thanks Alice in Wonderland, if I die trying to figure that one out, it’s all your fault!), I do know my son is exactly like a land mine. Take one step in the wrong direction, asking him to write a sentence or a book report and KABOOOOMMM! Now medication … ah wonderful medication … how often you have let me down! (Especially when I have cramps and you only take away a third of the pain when I could REALLY use [...]
October 3, 2010
I am not going to lie, I have been sitting on my hands for well over two years in my quest for aid with medical assistance. See, until ten years ago, I had always been insured. I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder (and ADHD, Anxiety Disorder, and depression) three years ago. I took my meds and I vigorously followed the plan my doctors and I developed. I was a good boy and did what I was supposed to. Then, I made a big change in my life and moved away from my hometown with a friend. Due to Michigan’s poor economy and my own obsession with failure, I moved back home and in the process I lost my health benefits. For the last two years I have manged to go through the motions of life, but last spring, I really wanted to kill myself. I really wanted to stop [...]
October 2, 2010
How are your sleep patterns affected by your illness???? Do you have a question that needs answering? Click here to submit… Tweet77f96e533f83d39d61fb4faa764d8392Link to this post!
October 1, 2010
Why can the Dr keep me another 14 days after my 72 hr hold is up? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello everyone. Today I’m going to answer the question what is an involuntary14 day hold. This is a follow up answer to my post about an involuntary 72-hour hold I realize that there are many opinions regarding involuntary holds. I’ve often heard from several of the patients that I work with how unfair it is to be held against their will for 72 hours. They continue to insist that they have done nothing wrong and want to go home. I’ve heard some people speak to the fact that government has no right whatsoever to be involved in any way in the lives of individual citizens. I believe our government and society together have a duty and responsibility to protect those who cannot always protect themselves due to a mental illness. I’m not in [...]
