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Replies to '08/01 Extreme Highs and Lows'
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March 7, 2006, 9:38 pm PST
 Quote From: sunny23 HI!
My husband was diagnosed with Bipolar II in December. As with most bipolar cases, it has taken 10 years+ and 4 different doctors to get to this point. He is 33 years old and has tried at least 6 different anti-depressants and numerous sleep meds since 1999, but the depression kept "coming back". Bipolar always came up, but we, along with the doctors, would always dismiss it because he never had mania - not the way we pictured it at least. We stumbled upon our current doctor and she explained to us "hypomania" symptoms and it finally clicked. He has been on Lamictal for only 2 weeks now so we are still in the "waiting for buildup" stage. I am so happy to hear your daughter is doing well on it & it gives me hope that it will possible give my husband some relief. Since December, I have been reading everything and anything I can find regarding bipolar II disorder and have found some helpful websites that describe the different "variations" of bipolar. These sites also have links to other sites, recommend books, support groups, etc. I hope you find them helpful as well.
In case you haven't been told lately, you are a WONDERFUL parent for driving so far to insure your daughter gets the care she needs. She is very lucky to have you...be sure to take care of yourself too!! best of luck! You have both given my a ray of hope. My husband also was orginally diagnosed ADHD. He was also told that he had anxiety disorder. After trying so many medicines the doctor, in late 2005, said he also believes my husband has Bipolar tendencies. Over the last year his anger has gotten progressively worse and it disappears as suddenly as it hits. After reading some of these stories I felt my self becoming overwhelmed with grief, would my husband every get better. We are currently not living under the same roof because of his anger. the medications he is currently taking are adderall and zanax nothing for the bipolar unfortunately, this is because he has no health insurance and we don't know where to turn for help for him. |
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March 8, 2006, 7:38 am PST
Quote From: sunny23 HI!
My husband was diagnosed with Bipolar II in December. As with most bipolar cases, it has taken 10 years+ and 4 different doctors to get to this point. He is 33 years old and has tried at least 6 different anti-depressants and numerous sleep meds since 1999, but the depression kept "coming back". Bipolar always came up, but we, along with the doctors, would always dismiss it because he never had mania - not the way we pictured it at least. We stumbled upon our current doctor and she explained to us "hypomania" symptoms and it finally clicked. He has been on Lamictal for only 2 weeks now so we are still in the "waiting for buildup" stage. I am so happy to hear your daughter is doing well on it & it gives me hope that it will possible give my husband some relief. Since December, I have been reading everything and anything I can find regarding bipolar II disorder and have found some helpful websites that describe the different "variations" of bipolar. These sites also have links to other sites, recommend books, support groups, etc. I hope you find them helpful as well.
In case you haven't been told lately, you are a WONDERFUL parent for driving so far to insure your daughter gets the care she needs. She is very lucky to have you...be sure to take care of yourself too!! best of luck! Good morning! Thank you so much for responding to my message and for the very helpful websites. I too read and research almost daily on this. It sounds like your husband is a lot like my daughter. She does not have any of the serious or extreme symptoms that the BiPolar I exhibits. Hers is more of a mild depressed state and then it seems like she bounces back to a happy state (hypomania), however for the most part she functions just as well, if not better, than anyone else that does not have this disorder. It looks like my daughter and your husband are very fortunate.
Thank you so much for your last comment. It brought tears to my eyes, because no I do not get told what a wonderful parent I am and your comment really made me feel VERY good! It can get overwhelming at times, however I love more daughter more than anything and feel that my job is to insure she lead a happy and productive life. We are on our way back to San Antonio this weekend (2nd time this week) just to talk to her doctor about some typical teenage issues that she is going through and I do not want her to get too stressed out over them.
I will be praying for you and your husband! Thank you also for reminding me that I do need to take care of myself! Funny how we forget that when we are so wrapped up in someone else. My email address is ajala57@aol.com and my name is Gwen. Should you come across any other helpful websites, please email me and I will do the same.
Has your husband ever had the SPECT Imaging done? If so, how did that help in his diagnosis? I am researching that right now and plan on talking to her doctor about it on Saturday. The website on the Dr. Phil Show brainmatterinc.com and also amenclinics.com provide great info about this and BiPolar disorder.
Have a great day! |
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