[larakeziah]

I'm struggling to come to terms with my diagnosis. I was recently diagnosed with a mood disorder which could be Bipolar and then i found out that my uncle has Bipolar! I have been put on prozac an sodium volporate. The meds seem to be helping, but can't seem to come to terms with it all and the fact that i may have to take these meds for a long time, scares me! How long will i have to take them for? How do you deal with it? Any help would be great. Thanks

[spiritual_emergency]

larakeziah: The meds seem to be helping, but can't seem to come to terms with it all and the fact that i may have to take these meds for a long time, scares me! How long will i have to take them for? How do you deal with it? Any help would be great. Thanks

There seems to be an adjustment period that includes moving into acceptance with any diagnosis. Some people may find that the diagnosis provides a measure of relief and control; others may find it constraining or limiting. Regardless of where you find yourself I would caution you to remember that any diagnosis describes only a cluster of symptoms that you may or may not experience in greater or lesser extremities. How those symptoms manifest in an individual's life varies as much as people do. Also do be aware that diagnoses can change. For example, a diagnosis of Bipolar II can morph into a diagnosis of Bipolar I, or Bipolar I can become Schizoaffective. If your symptoms change, your diagnosis may also change.

Insofar as medication goes -- in all likelihood you will take it as long as you recognize that it is helpful to you. People stop taking medication or switch to a new medication if the medication isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing (i.e., your depression is not lifting in spite of three months of treatment with an anti-depressant) or if the side effects become too difficult to deal with (i.e. you are so heavily sedated you can't get out of bed and function in your daily life). With bipolar disorder, people may also stop taking medication when in a manic state because mania can feel good and medication may damper or inhibit that feeling. Bipolar I does include manic aspects; Bipolar II does not.

As far as what you can do to help yourself... I normally post most in the Schizophrenia & Psychosis topic but the following seems transferable. I always encourage people to put together a Support Team and a Support Toolbox for themselves.

Support Teams are comprised of people you find helpful and should include: Professionals; Family and Friends; Peers, and; Mentors. Each member of your team can address unique needs.

Professionals provide medical and psychotherapeutic care and may include psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, therapists, general practioners, and nurses.

Family and Friends provide connection, meaning, purpose and are often in a unique position to provide vital feedback. For example, if you are taking a new medication your family will be very much aware if it is working for you. Or if you are beginning to slip into a depressive or manic episode, they may well become aware of it before you do.

Peers are especially important because, in my experience, they can often provide the best forms of emotional support and understanding -- they have been there; they have walked in your shoes; they know what it's like. Many people look to their family and friends to offer peer support but these people may lack the insight that shared experience can offer. They can also be so intimately involved and deeply impacted by your experience that they lack the ability to provide impartial support and may, in fact, require their own support team. The latter will be especially true for those who are in a position of primary caretaker.

Mentors serve in a unique capacity because these are the people who inspire you to reach for your best. Mentors can be drawn from any other area of your support team (i.e. a family member can be a mentor) but more likely, they will be drawn from the larger world around you. It's not necessary that any chosen mentors also carry a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or any kind of mental illness; rather, they simply need to have been another human being who faced some enormous challenges and either overcame them or turned them to his/her advantage. If your support team does not have at least a few mentors on it, your team is lacking. One point worth emphasizing is that Mentors must be self-chosen. It's also worth noting that they needn't be alive; some of my mentors have included Helen Keller, Viktor Frankl and my own mother -- all of whom are dead.

Support Toolboxes are made up of things you (and members of your Support Team) recognize as beneficial and helpful. Support toolboxes can be quite unique because what we find helpful on an individual basis may vary considerably. They may include things such as education, exercise, medication, meditation, music, nutritional therapies, spiritual practices, personal journalling, etc.

A strong Support Team and a well-equipped Support Toolbox greatly increases the odds that if you're floundering in any capacity, you'll be able to find the person or thing that is most going to help take you forward. So, choose your team wisely and outfit your toolbox with care.

[newbob]

If you had diabetes, you wouldn't think twice about taking insulin the rest of your life. We all think because bipolar is a disorder that affects emotions and behavior that it is something that is supposed to pass. If it is bad brain chemistry, as I believe, then it is no different than any other organic imbalance. Some simply are a part of your permanent makeup and require permanent attention. You could stop taking the drugs, but you'd be a mess and hurt yourself in the process. So take 'em. There's no shame in it. Personally, I'd rather live happier with a crutch than unhappy without one.

[spiritual_emergency]

newbob: Personally, I'd rather live happier with a crutch than unhappy without one.

I don't think of medication as a crutch, I think of it as one of many tools.

The critical issue with any form of treatment (or tool) is always, whether or not it's actually helping that specific individual. If it helps, it's a good tool; if it doesn't, it has no place in your toolbox and needs to be replaced with a different tool.

[Merlin]

I know of people who have gone off medication. I have a friend who is trying true-hope (copyrighted or trademarked or something.) I have another friend, who is so good with exercise, diet, sleep and other self-care that she did go off her meds. It's possible you may not have to take them forever, but, as those above have said, I'd rather take meds and be happy than not and not.

[lonegael]

Lara, Bipolar is an illness that waxes and wanes, and the course is very individual. Some of us were suffering symptoms as children, others in their teenyears, still others as grown adults. It can get worse with age, but then some people get a little better as time goes by and they learn to manage stress and recognize triggers. For some, medication works like a charm, but that doesn't mean that their Disease is lighter than that of those who don't respond well to medicine. It just means that whatever has kept it going with certain people can be controlled with medication. It can be extremely disabling for some, especially if there are other problems as well, or it can be a bothersom "blip" in someone's self history. Some few seem to have a few episodes, and then no more; the much greater majority of us will have to manage it for the rest of our lives.
In the big picture, the taking of medications is not a big thing for me. It's minor compared to what I could do to myself and other untreated. Huggs dear, it's not an easy road but you're not traveling it alone.

[spiritual_emergency]

Merlin: I know of people who have gone off medication. I have a friend who is trying true-hope (copyrighted or trademarked or something.)

I think that's the nutritional supplements I referenced here:
http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=121302

If your friend is willing to share their experiences with it, I'd be very interested in hearing about them. It is an approach I have considered using for my child. If we were to go that route, our intention would be to bring it in as a supplement to prescription medicine and then slowly (verrrrrrry slowly) begin to titrate the medication levels down. If we start to see negative symptoms, we'd bring the meds back up again.

In an ideal situation (not always acheivable depending upon individual biochemistry) we'd see an improvement in function and stability which might allow them to reduce the prescription meds or come off them completely. I'm of the firm belief that this should be a very methodical and well-supervised process of slow titration as an abrupt withdrawal from any form of psychiatric medication can trigger relapse and crises. Relapse and crisis are no fun for anyone.

I have another friend, who is so good with exercise, diet, sleep and other self-care that she did go off her meds. It's possible you may not have to take them forever, but, as those above have said, I'd rather take meds and be happy than not and not.

This is why I say medication is one of only many tools. Some people can manage without medication or with reduced medication but that's usually because they have found something else (or several something else's) that can supplement or replace the medication. There was also a recent and promising study that came out in regard to full recovery from bipolar disorder but I can't find it right at the moment. (If anyone else has a link to that study, please share it.) However, I did find this article which touches on that issue as well as several others, as written by Psych Central's John Grohol. It's certainly recommended reading: 9 Myths of Bipolar Disorder

Another link I like to share around is the following one. I particularly appreciate the emphasis on using medications as opposed to taking medications: Reclaiming Your Power During Medication Visits With Your Psychiatrist

[spiritual_emergency]

From the 9 Myths of Bipolar Disorder article. This point is of particular relevance to the topic...

4. I’ll have to be on medications for the rest of my life.

While the default assumption by most mental health professionals is that most people with bipolar disorder will need to be on medications for the rest of your life, nobody can predict how exactly you, as an individual, will react to such medications or what the future holds for your specific needs. So it is a myth to say that all people with bipolar disorder will absolutely be on medications for the rest of their lives. As many people age with this disorder, they find their swings between mania and depression lessen significantly, and the need for medication may decrease, and may even be discontinued without any harmful repercussions.

In terms of the larger medical question it is probably most accurate to say you may find it beneficial to be on medications for an as yet undetermined period of time. What those medications are will vary according to your unique biochemistry profile, whether or not you find them helpful, what symptoms (and side effects) you are experiencing, availability in your area, and what kind or degree of medical coverage you have.

You may find that learning additional coping skills and making lifestyle changes can help you to reduce your use of prescription medications or possibly, come off them entirely at some point without detriment to your quality of life and function.

The medication question is a complex one and the answer for each individual will be unique unto them.

[Texan_mom_2_5]

Originally Posted by larakeziah

I'm struggling to come to terms with my diagnosis. I was recently diagnosed with a mood disorder which could be Bipolar and then i found out that my uncle has Bipolar! I have been put on prozac an sodium volporate. The meds seem to be helping, but can't seem to come to terms with it all and the fact that i may have to take these meds for a long time, scares me! How long will i have to take them for? How do you deal with it? Any help would be great. Thanks

Lara, I have suffered with depression most of my life. Being a survivor of child abuse and a self-medicating Bipolar mother, I can tell you, that I refused to get the help I needed or a proper diagnosis until I was 40. I believed that if a doctor told me I was bipolar, then that meant I would be an abusive parent or like my mother somehow. Yes, I know that does not make much sense to the general public, but that was a very real fear for me since I am the mother to 5 boys.
The day I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, I felt as though someone had kicked me in the gut. No warning, no sweet-talk, just~You have Bipolar Disorder. I have since been diagnosed with several other disorders and find myself pissed off at the world sometimes. I had great plans for my life, but have struggled with the depression and mania without proper care that now I feel as though I missed out on a big part of my life.
I am very hard to treat and meds don't work for me very long. I am working on my thought processes and self-esteem. I take my meds even when I don't want to. I have quit my meds in the past, with disasterous outcomes! I have tried to pray my way out of this disorder, ignored it, made light of it, ect. My best advice for you is to take it one-day-at-a time! No one knows what will happen or when~ Just don't do what I did and ignore it. Get the help you need, see a psychologist for help and surround yourself with support.