Topic : 08/01 Extreme Highs and Lows

Hi there everyone, 

Interesting stories about BP however, what about the rest of us who have Bipolar, are medicated and live perfectly normal lives.  

I was diagnosed 8 years ago and I'm 42 years old. I have know that there was something wrong with me since I was 12 years old and had my first suicidal feelings and sunk into a deep depression. I was misdiagnosed with unipolar depression in my 20's and was rediagnosed with BP when I was 34 and pregnant. 

There is a huge population of smart, creative and productive people walking around with Bipolar Disorder. I have a 7 year old son and I have never been mean or violent with him. I might add he is showing early signs of having the disorder himself so he's a handful. 

Why do we always have to emphasize the negative, for example the guy who went nuts on the plane who was BP and was shot by the air marshalls because he was off his meds and was acting erratically. I'm not saying they shouldn't have done it but that's what hit the headlines. 

Why do we not see headlines like "Man with BP gets promoted to CEO of a Company" or Woman starts a shelter for abused teens despite being inflicted with the pontentially fatal disease Bipolar disorder. 

Yes, I actually "suffer" with this disease. It hurts inside every day. I fight daily and sometimes hourly to feel good. I take my medication, I don't act irrationally, I am a great Mother and treat the man in my life like a king, and in turn am treated like a queen. 

I don't hear voices or have rages. Sometimes I feel like I want to punch a wall, but I have relaxation techniques I use to make that feeling go away. 

This show should have ended with, or followed by a show full of productive people with BP,  not to mention the celebrities with it like Jim Carey, Robin Williams and a gaggle of other people. 

I feel let down by this show. It means that once  again people who know I have this disorder are going to look at me in a different way. 

Yes there are different degrees as you say of bipolar....i suggest researching....it is usually diagnosed after seeing a doctor who has observed your symptoms to see the mood swings. There is also testing that can be done which can help doctors understand your symptoms and come to a diagnosis. You can still have bipolar and not hear voices or fly into rages. The disease affects each person differently. I have a close friend who has biplor and we act completelty different. 

hope this helps 

My son was chaotic since birth. He never slept. By the time he was 2 years old I was being beaten, bitten, and driven half out of my mind by his behaviour. We were unable to take him anywhere. By the time he was three he was diagnosed with ADHD and put on ritalin. He became depressed and started talking about killing himself. We had to alarm the house because he would get out and run away. We had to call the police many times to help us find him. 

By the time he was 4 and a half I was still dealing with the same behaviours and like you completely out of my mind about what was going to happen when he starts school. Psychiatrists had tried the following medications on him in a year: 

Depakote 

Seroquel 

Risperdal 

Ritalin 

Clonidine 

Chloryl Hydrate 

Trazadone 

He was stil on most of these all at once when he was 4.5. What I did (and I'm not suggesting you do this) was admit him to the Children's hospital for psychiatric evaluation, and to be taken off of all his medication. He stayed there for 3 weeks. It broke my heart but I didn't know what else to do. 

It gave myself and my husband a rest, and my son some peace away from the fighting in the home due to dealing with the behaviours. 

He's been in therapy ever since but is unmedicated. He still has rages, he still threatens to kill himself, but it's every couple of months not hourly. I know there is the potential there for him to have Bipolar, but it's so hard to medicate these kids. I would rather wait until he's older and he has true symptoms and a better chance at being medicated properly. 

Anyway, just know that I understand how hard it is to be stuck in this situation and have no idea what to do. 

All the best to you 

Elspeth 

Nova Scotia