[La Gitana]

My husband is a recovering drug addict, and he has had some horrible delusions while high. However, he has been having delusions again, and I am 95% sure that he has been completely clean for 4 months. I am now under the conclusion that he has a mental illness that increases his psychosis when he does drugs. Nobody has been able to tell because he's never been clean this long. If he does, it's really sad that his family has never contemplated the idea...they just thought he was a no-good drug addict. It's been really bad lately, and I've almost left him...but I keep thinking if I can just get him help, maybe it will be okay. I made an appointment, but because we only have Medicaid, it will be 2 months. It was so bad the other day that I even tried to have him committed, but I couldn't go through with it. I'm not sure if mental illness runs in his family; he was adopted. But I am 17 weeks pregnant.... Here's my question: Are delusions common for people with bipolar? I'm even worried he might be schizophrenic. How can I tell the difference? And does medication really help? Here's a list of his delusions and symptoms...

• Believes that I make porn videos. Showed me a video of "myself" that was clearly not me
• Thinks I can control his phone with an app on my phone
• Turns his phone off or even throws it away because he thinks people are tracking him
• Thinks I am cheating on him with people I don't even know and has threatened to harm these people
• Has seen people running away from the house that weren't
• Has heard my phone ringing when it wasn't
• Has heard me having a conversation (and told me about the conversation in great detail) when I wasn't even talking
• Believed that the rug had been covered in mud one night (when it wasn't) and that I had hurried to clean it the next day
• Heard the neighbors across the road talking about him. He heard the guy (who I don't even know) say that he was in love with me and was supposed to move in with me when I kicked my husband out
• Thought I had a girlfriend who was living in the basement
• Dropped me in front of my class and waited there until I got out. He still though I had sneaked off somewhere else.
• Accused me of being on drugs (I'm pregnant and do not have addiction problems) and forced me to take a drug test (that I passed)
• Though I was drugging/poisoning him
• Thought that I had quit my job and had not been going to work when I left the house
• Has threatened suicide
• Extreme bouts of anger - busted my locked door open
• Complains of his head being jumbled, racing thoughts and being wired
• He either can't sleep or he sleeps all day
• Has a sense of entitlement. I'm not sure if I believe him when he apologizes. He begged to come home when I threw him out so I told him he could stay on the couch.He had no where else to go. He became very angry and paranoid again when I locked him out of the bedroom.

Can any one relate?? I just don't know how to react anymore or how to deal with this behavior. I am completely drained.

[wildflowerchild25]

And you're SURE that he's clean? I only ask because my husband was an opiate addict and I thought he was clean. But then he died and the coroner found cocaine and opiates in his system. He died of an overdose. I did a little research because I knew his drug dealer and found out he had started using again three weeks prior and I had no idea.

My husband suffered from psychotic depression when he wasn't using. He would suffer from delusions such as I was cheating on him or I was planning on divorcing him. He was being treated by a psychiatrist but really needed therapy to deal with past trauma but unfortunately had no insurance so we couldn't afford a therapist.

Your husband may have a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia or maybe bipolar or any number of other things that he has been self medicating for with drugs. What you stated does sound delusional and paranoid. But the only way to know for sure is to get an evaluation by a psychiatrist. Until then there's really not much you can do for him because when you're psychotic (as I have been) you truly believe those things are true. Sometimes you have an inkling that something is not right and that maybe you're delusional but not all the time.

Medication does help but it can take a long time to find the right one(s). And he has to be fully committed to being clean and getting treatment. If he's not there's nothing you can do for him. You can't help someone who doesn't want the help.

I hope he's willing to get treatment. It can and does help.

[Keegan2015]

Was/is he using crystal meth or something else like that? This sounds like super paranoid meth / stimulant delusions.

Delusions are NOT always a symptom of BP, but during mania and depression some people (myself included) do experience delusions of varying degrees of severity.

[La Gitana]

Originally Posted by Keegan2015

Was/is he using crystal meth or something else like that? This sounds like super paranoid meth / stimulant delusions.

Delusions are NOT always a symptom of BP, but during mania and depression some people (myself included) do experience delusions of varying degrees of severity.

Yes, crystal meth was his drug of choice. I really don't think he's been using this time though. He really hasn't left the house, and he hasn't had any money. But I can't be sure. Funny how he made me take a drug test when I would have liked to see him take one. If it's just drugs, I have to be done with him. I'm really worried that he might be schizophrenic. I was just wondering if other with bipolar have had similar experiences.

[La Gitana]

Originally Posted by wildflowerchild25

And you're SURE that he's clean? I only ask because my husband was an opiate addict and I thought he was clean. But then he died and the coroner found cocaine and opiates in his system. He died of an overdose. I did a little research because I knew his drug dealer and found out he had started using again three weeks prior and I had no idea.

My husband suffered from psychotic depression when he wasn't using. He would suffer from delusions such as I was cheating on him or I was planning on divorcing him. He was being treated by a psychiatrist but really needed therapy to deal with past trauma but unfortunately had no insurance so we couldn't afford a therapist.

Your husband may have a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia or maybe bipolar or any number of other things that he has been self medicating for with drugs. What you stated does sound delusional and paranoid. But the only way to know for sure is to get an evaluation by a psychiatrist. Until then there's really not much you can do for him because when you're psychotic (as I have been) you truly believe those things are true. Sometimes you have an inkling that something is not right and that maybe you're delusional but not all the time.

Medication does help but it can take a long time to find the right one(s). And he has to be fully committed to being clean and getting treatment. If he's not there's nothing you can do for him. You can't help someone who doesn't want the help.

I hope he's willing to get treatment. It can and does help.

Thank you. No, I'm not 100% sure he's clean. So it's possible it's just drugs, and if that's the case, I need to be done with him for good! But I really do think drugs have been masking an underlying mental illness. It's going to be so hard to wait 2 months before he can see a psychiatrist. I've been telling myself whenever he starts yelling at me and accusing me of horrible things that he can't help it. He really does believe it. He needs help,and I need help to know how to deal. I'm not that stable myself. I have suffered from depression and anxiety all my life...I'm trying to stay strong right now, but it's so hard.