Topic : 08/01 Extreme Highs and Lows

 My 20 something daughter  was diagnosed 2 years ago with bipolar disease.  I can't begin ot understand what she feels inside, but I do know that it is pure hell.  She had nearly died from her uncontrolled behavior and thoughts of suicide.  She is now a loving and ferociously protective mom of our 5 month old grandchild.  When is the earliest that signs of bipolar disease can be detected?  We're all terrified that the Little One may inherit this horrible thing.  My daughter identifies with my mother (who is deceased) because she was also an alcoholic and out of control.  My mother  was undiagnosed - people didn't talk about "things like that" when I was growing up.  I hated her.  I didn't know she was sick. 

Our family "walks on eggshells" when my daughter is going through a cycle.  Our sweet, hardworking, considerate woman-child becomes verbally abusive, giddy and fast talking and then plunges into dark depression.  She is on several medications, but the "med cocktail" has to be experimented with and changed periodically. 

I have read extensively about the disorder.  I have learned that honesty is the best policy.  Ask your loved one what they need from you.  I tend to be a "fixer" and want to make everything ok, especially when it comes to our children.  Often, my daughter just needs to vent her pain and frustration to someone she knows won't judge her, and who will love her unconditionally.  That doesn't mean she's allowed to be abusive to me.  But she can be honest, not necessarily make sense, and down right nasty angry.  She (and others) describe it as a "burning" inside.  Its pain, but its more.  I can't explain it because I don't really understand it.  It makes her want to run away.  Try to outrun the unquiet pain. 

If anyone knows of anything else that can help people with this misunderstood disease, please let me know.  From what I've researched, we're in a period where there is some help (thank God) but waiting for better medications to be developed. 

My heart goes out to everyone who suffers with bipolar.  I cry for my daughter.  I am helpless to take her pain away.

  she treats her own children like garbage. that is a deliberate decision on her part. she is choosing that. she may have a disease but she is using it as an excuse to make it all right how she treats people. 

those boys need to be taken from her TODAY!  

and she better get off that poor me victim pedestal she is sitting on. I know, I used to be there.  

  

Reading the intro, and watching the introduction to the show, I am already frustrated.


"Dr. Phil explores the ups and downs of bipolar disorder. This illness takes its victims on an emotional rollercoaster ride -- from elation to extreme irritability, intense rage, or devastating depression. First, Cathy was diagnosed with Bipolar II, 10 years ago and claims she goes from zero to psycho in 15 seconds. Dr. Phil takes a look at the toll her disorder takes on her two boys, and brings the family together for a dramatic moment of emotional healing. Then, during various manic episodes, Fred has stolen a taxi, crashed into a Starbucks, and climbed to the top of a church. He hears voices and believes that movie stars like Denzel Washington and Robert De Niro are talking to him through their movies. Still, Fred thinks he’s ready to move out of his parents’ house and live on his own for good … but should his family let him? Talk about the show here."

Dramatic moment of emotional healing...
being bipolar or having any mental illness doesn't give you an excuse to be a jerk. Being frustrated with the maze of medications and the confusion of treatment options doesn't mean it's ok to give up an throw away your responsibilities. Having problems with emotional moderation does not give you permission to be abusive.

As far as ''letting'' someone move out of their parents' house and living on their own...
everyone deserves to be happy and heathy and functioning to the extent that they are capable.

There are many people who suffer from psychosis who, with the right management plans and coping skills and support network, live on their own.

Some one with a Mental Illness is not a child.
It is someone with a mental illness.
They should be treated as such- with all of the appropriate respect and expectations.
There *are* limits to what people can do, but if you set the bar low, you set everyone back.

People who throw temper tantrums and give up on their treatment contribute to this.
People who act as caretakers really are working against us.

And it pisses me off.


I seriously hope that there wil be some greater insights than in this program than I have previously seen elsewhere.

Though there seem to be so many damn commercials, and it is such a complicated issue, I am not sure how much I can expect.

There will probably be one or two good things but just the intro itself frustrates me.

 ...I guess that is a tangent, but this is a thread about bipolar, no? 

 

[I really don't appreciate how this forum needs to have its messages approved. I feel as though my message won't be seen. Its different if no one agrees] 

 can cycling last for months at a time?

My mother has bipolar and it was very difficult growing up.  The doctors put her on meds. and she spent a whole year in her room and only came out to go the bathroom.  Finally they took her off her meds. and I am sorry to say this but I would have rather her stay in her room.  The emotional wounds she inflicked r still fresh after many of years.  I do hope in time w/ meds. and therapy their can be more help for people w/ this disorder and any other mental illness. 

 Hi. I grew up as an only child, with a bi-polar mother. I am a middle aged adult, and I still suffer the trauma. I thank the programs of Dr. Phil, especially SELF MATTERS, to having brought me forward, releasing so much pain I had about this.
Watching the show however, also brought back so much from what I have seen. and experienced.
There was in my small family, a strong sense of denial by others, that ma was actually ill. The manic phase was brutal. It broke up my parents' marriage. After one crucial episode (taking a butcher knife to both my father and the family dog),  I managed to get my mother to sign herself in, into a psych-ward for a 6 week assessment.  As fate would be (without my knowledge), my aunt (her sister) talked my mother to signing herself out after only 3 days. That cruelty sealed my mother's fate, for she lived the rest of her life on a downward spiral.
For families involved with this syndrome, I know the pain and consequences.

I felt it necessary to post on this board to bring to light the possibility of living with bipolar disorder and enjoying life.  I am in my 20s and was diagnosed when i was 18.  Life before diagnosis was frightning for those that care about me as I was extreamly manic.   

  

Since my initial hospitalization I am a contributing member of my community. I will complete my degree and also get maried in 2007! (YAY)  By taking my medications and caring for my body (extra sleep, proper diet and regular exercising) I am able to carry out a life that I consider worth living.  I take my medication because I believe the alternative (for me) is insanity.    

  

Yes, there are bad days, weeks, months, but these cannot cast a shadow over the joys of my life as a person.  Mental illness does not equal incompetency, nor does it reflect a person's character. Thank you for reading my post!  

 my hubby loves cars too i think he goes to the dealerships behind my back i have talk to severl of them and told them not to sell him a car.. he has a nice car he keeps looking at car mag's and right now i have him waiting for a car that doen't come out till 2008.. yea thank god who answers prayer..

dx in 1993-b/p II. on depakote 1000mg/day and celexa 30mg/day successfully.  

  

the horrible, angry, agressive, violent days are gone--so far.  

  

i was not always compliant on my meds and paid dearly for it,  

as did those who loved me. 

now i am compliant, and have been for 3 years, and my world has been different. 

  

watching the show right now... 

 

Kathleen II