Just alcoholism or bi-polar?

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just alcoholic and if staying sober will ease all my symptoms?

Anyone have any experience with which came first or if it is truly a dual diagnosis?

What's your history? recovery?

There's only one way to find out.

Bipolar came first but quitting drinking has helped me immensely. Bipolar still there but I'm more stable.

For me the episodes, high and low, started waay before I started drinking, but got 5x worse when I started drinking (even though I thought alcohol was helping). Much longer, much more intense episodes, like 2-3 years of depression and months of mania instead of 10 months of depression and just hypomania.

Trying out this whole sobriety thing now. So far so good (except for all of the awfulness). Give it a go! But if you're binge drinking a ton every day right now, don't go cold turkey unless you have the support of a detox facility. I made that mistake and could have died of wernicke's encephalopathy. Bad times.

I definitely had the symptoms of BP before I started drinking / abusing other drugs, but the symptoms got way worse once I shifted from "risky drinking" into "full blown alcoholism" territory.

It's literally impossible to get a handle on Bipolar or if you have it while drinking.

Hey gonetomaui,

I am a recovering alcoholic with bipolar disorder. For me, the sobriety is absolutely critical, before meds, before therapy or anything. If I am not sober or drinking AT ALL, everything is out the window and all bets are off. Even at more than 3 years of complete sobriety from alcohol, drugs, and any controlled substance, the alcoholic characteristics in my behavior patters and in my past shape and control me much more than my bipolar disorder.

I will warn you that when I got sober this last time (yes, a rich history of the revolving door is in play) in Summer 2012 - I got off of everything, all drugs and alcohol, all medications, all supplements - there was a huge uplift from breaking free of everything, but yes I went hypo and by September was full blown manic and had to go IP with help from the police, twice.

So there is some consideration that coming off of alcohol can push you into hypo - it's a depressant after all. Looking back, I should have worked more closely with my care team, but hey in the end I am way better off.

Sobriety and Bipolar recovery are the story of my life for the past 4 years so I am happy to share as much as you like. PM me as needed.

Good luck,

moogs

I self medicated a lot!!! Growing up.
It was at a point where I went total clean and sober that the bipolar came out punching and I was diagnosed. Like moogs said it is a depressant also u will sleep with the alcohol so it prevents psychosis sometimes and you can drown the insanity in your head
I have still struggled with binge drinking to self medicate still at times but that stops working and makes it worse really.I decided throw that "tool" away for good
Good luck!

They come hand in hand.... and it is the worst possible mix. I have been trhu it all, and just want to say... it is not easy to accept either unlesss you are ready. Or like in my case... hit the bottom. I wish you good luck

Good question - I spent 30 years as an undiagnosed BP but I drank a lot during that time. The drinking seemed to link closely with being manic and then I'd get depressed after a binge. It's tough to recognize - when I felt great, I'd want to party. Then I'd swear it off. Then I'd be back again.

In the end, BP and booze don't go well together. Most literature we read tells us that. It doesn't react well with the medication and it tends to make the episodes more magnified on both ends. I just quit, couldn't hack it anymore. Me and Mr. Beam, we had a thing going on. Now, at a minimum, I feel good physically and I work on the other stuff directly linked to BP.

I think I was an undiagnosed bipolar who just happened to have a major drinking problem. I quit 24 years ago and I believe it clarified the diagnosis, even though I wasn't seeking one at the time. In fact, I wasn't diagnosed until the age of 53, and when I finally was it made all kinds of sense. I could see the patterns my drinking followed...when I was depressed, I drank to drown my sorrows, and when I was manic I drank either to extend the high, or to mellow out...it depended on the circumstances.

At any rate, I am bipolar and alcoholic, like many others.