Bipolar Depression and manic....

[longlegzs80]

I been looking online for some quick searches to both of these depression problems, and I have yet found a good helpful site that says what each is. So, does anyone know of any? Or can you point me in the right direction about what is the difference with both or what each is?

[lydiamarie]

do i ever have links for you!!

 

webmd is a priceless resource.

this is the bipolar page at webmd. follow the links on the right side of the page to find information on treatment and symptoms, etc.

 

http://my.webmd.com/hw/mental_health/ty1019.asp?z=3074_00000_1053_00_06

 

this is the drugs page on webmd. it gives a good overview of any medications that may be prescribed

 

http://my.webmd.com/hw/index/index-drug_data-A.asp

 

this is the webmd homepage. you can start further searches here.

 

http://www.webmd.com/

 

that's enough to get you started. i'll keep pulling up links while you get a chance to poke through those.

[lydiamarie]

national institute of mental health page for bd:

 

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bipolar.cfm

 

information on children and bipolar disorder:

 

http://www.bpkids.org/

 

the depression and bipolar support alliance page:

 

http://www.dbsalliance.org/info/bipolar.html

 

some people like this site. i'm not a real big fan, but you might like it:

 

http://bipolar.about.com/

 

medline plus website:

 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bipolardisorder.html

 

let me know if you have any specific questions that i can help you find answers for.

[Artifact]

Glad to see so many resources. I have spent many years trying to help my dad, and I have come across a lot of these links over that period of time.

Thank goodness I did too! He is doing so fantastic now.

I am not Bipolar or Manic, but I am very involved in the life of someone who is. Let me know too if you have any questions from my standpoint.

 

artifact

[lydiamarie]

i know that there are a lot of people on LS that have bipolar disorder (including me), but so far you are the only one that i know of who has a loved one with the disease.

 

it will be interesting to hear about bipolar disorder from your viewpoint, artifact; i look forward to your posts.

[faux]

Ah. The mental health system. I have absolutely nothing nice to say about it. I'd further like to add that being misdiagnosed as Bipolar, and sometimes Schizophrenic, for a few years is not cool.

 

I tried to understand certain illnesses, but even experts hardly know what they are talking about. This could be due to the fact that no one knows of any true causes for these illnesses, or why certain types of medication work, or how certain types of medication work. I think it's too much guess work.

 

If you want reliable information I suggest speaking with a doctor. I'd never advise someone to read up on any of these subjects alone unless instructed by a medical professional to do so. If you feel you may be suffering from something, and you read about it, you may actually take on the characteristics of the illness you are researching. Even patients who are quite well off in inpatient mental hospitals will often take on the symptoms and behaviors of fellow patients.

 

My personal view on Bipolar: I wouldn't call it an illness. It comes in handy to be tagged with it, however, as free money from the government is always a plus. I normally feel like writing an essay on such topics, but I do not wish to further discuss my experiences and opinions at the moment. Besides, nothing I say can stand up to the "science" and pristine research which makes the guesswork of the mental health practise look so highly professional.

 

"I think this individual suffers from Bipolar disorder, because he acts in a certain fashion. I cannot know for certain, however, as there are no known causes or tests to prove my suspicions. Due to the fact that I hold a Doctorate, however, this individual is now going to be labeled as Bipolar."

[Artifact]

lydiamarie-

 

My dad has been through it all... first misdiagnosed as only an alcoholic, the final diagnosis was bipolar schizoaffective disorder.

 

He has had three episodes of mania in my lifetime (slow cycling) but they are getting more intense and more frequent. The two I remember, I remember well. When I was 14, he kept me home from school for a few days (kicked out my stepmother and stepsister) and we pretty much played spy games until the police arrived. Now, I say "play" but I was scared out of my mind. I knew very little about bipolar, and when he told me there were agents everywhere, that the water had arsenic in it, that he was talking to the pentagon (he did work for the Navy at the time), and he would keep me safe, I believed it.

 

It is important to add, I am an only child and very close to my dad.

 

After this, he was medicated, sent home, and was fine (if unemployed, grrrrr stigmas) for 7 years.

 

When the next episode came I was 21. Thank goodness! Had it been three months before I could have done nothing legal as far as getting him help. (You can only imagine his marriage ended after that last episode.)

 

In short, this last phase was either one 2 year long stint of mania (very little depression) or a million packed into one. I was able to get him hospitalized two times (although no one wants to hospitalize a parent!)- each time loosing in a court of law to force him back on his medicine (which he had stopped taking). Didn't someone else mention on this list a while back that bipolars are EXTREMELY BRILLIANT?? He could fool anyway. Except for me, because I know him.

 

But, he had credit cards with lots of credit, and ran off to New York, stayed at the Plaza Hotel, the Waldorf, you name it on 5th Ave, and he was there. I could not get him to answer phones, but could trace him by his credit card bills. And he sent me a letter almost every day! I went to New York, and found tons of people who knew him. I was in the Trump Towers, and the security guard had just kicked him out the day before. I missed him by one day. Eventually, a month after I returned home, I got a call from the New York Transit Authority to come and get him. He has been living in a homeless shelter and wanted a ticket home. I went and got him, and was so glad to have him back- but it was obvious he was still sick.

 

He stayed at almost 20 hotels in my area (we had to sell his house by this point) and he ran off to LA. This time he kept in pretty good touch with me, I visited once when I could, but then he became extremely paranoid again and ran off to Colorado. When I went to see him there he became more agitated than ever before, more scared and more paranoid. He said he may never see me again because I was in danger when I was with him.

 

My dad went to yet another new city. Two months later, I was at work and he called me. From the hospital. He checked himself in (after a local police officer found him in a ditch- turns out he's diabetic too) and began taking medicine. He eventually got out and came to live near me. It will be two years this October.

 

He is not able to work, because no one will hire him, but he has been volunteering where I work, and he cooks for me sometimes

 

I know this was long, but this was really the short of it!

 

I'm just going to cut it off now...

[lydiamarie]

Mental illness exists.

 

experts aren't experts on anything just because of their say-so. not all knowledge is theoretical and unable to be proved or disproved. experts have invented everything from planes to genetically engineered corn to medications. these things work. they exist. they are not figments of our collective imagination.

 

we KNOW that these drugs work. they are tested by double blind studies. that means that neither the person taking the drug nor the person administering it (and then asking the patient questions about symptoms and side effects and the state of their illness) know if the patient is taking the medicine that they are trying to prove either works or does not OR if the patient is taking what is called PLACEBO which is a sugar pill, it has NO medicine in it. this keeps the researchers from being able to manipulate their results in any way.

 

here's a link to read so you know i'm not just making this up: (click the link that says something about placebo)

 

http://www.arcw.org/Research%20FAQ.htm

 

bipolar disorder is an illness. it is a mental illness.

 

it can be as mild as cyclothymia or as severe and debilitating as type one bipolar disorder.

 

people do not make it up for a handout. government handouts are not that appealing. it's not exactly the good life. and it certainly isn't easy street.

 

it is NEVER a bad thing to be informed. reading up on the disorder that you or a loved one have been diagnosed with and similar disorders allows you to know what to talk about during appointments, what questions to ask, and whether you are getting the right care.

 

doctors cannot know all things, and so sometimes they make mistakes. sometimes they give the wrong drugs to people, and this can cause very very VERY dangerous situations. for instance: someone with bipolar disorder should NEVER be taking an antidepressant without the presence of a well-established mood stabilizer. that means that if you have BD, you should not be taking prozac or wellbutrin unless you have been and remain on and are responding to something like lithium or depakote or tegretol.

 

it is also important to remember that doctors appointments for many people with mental illness are few and far between and you won't remember everything that your doctor says everytime you go to the doctor. so bring a pen and paper and take notes. and ask your doctor to explain things to you if you don't understand perfectly. and ALWAYS ask for their reasoning for putting you on any medication. and this also means that you need to educate yourself by reading anything and everything that you can get your hands on about your disorder.

 

never be afraid to ask questions.

 

i would also like to remind everyone that they should listen to doctors. sometimes it is worth getting a second opinion. and it is ALWAYS worth seeing a specialist (because they have fewer drugs and diseases to take care of and can have more specialized knowledge) like a psychiatrist instead of your general practitioner.

 

we, the posters on LS, sometimes know what we're talking about, but we can NEVER address you as medical experts.

[lioness]

My grandmother was bipolar schizo...

 

It was painful to see how it touched the lives of several generations of our family. Unfortunately, the beginnings of her illness came early on in her life and she was the victim of electro-shock therapy back in the 50's.

 

The horrible things that people do (to other people) when they are afraid of something!

[shontelevision]

he told me that he had it 3 days ago. i have been trying to research and find out what i can do to support him when he is very depressed. i love him so very much, he is there for me, and respects me. and very kind person, he is loving towards his family, espeshly to his mother and sister, him and his family has been thru soooo much. he deserves something so special, and i want to give him every thing i have.

 

what can i do to support him when he is upset. and how to identify when he is in a depressed stage.