partner diagnosed with Asperger and Bipolar. How common is this combination

My partner is diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and Bipolar disorder. He said he became bipolar about 20 or so years ago with some traumatic experiences. One he was mugged at gunpoint. secondly some years ago he was mistaken for an armed bank robber and arrested. In fact he told me a swat team went looking for him. He was handcuffed behind his back for twenty minutes. The way he got out of his predictament is the cops checked for tattoos. The real robber was tattood. There were no tattoos on my partner's body. He still talks about this terrifying incident. He still gets upset talking about it. I suspect he'd PTSD

This terrifying incident probably caused him to have PTSD. Bipolar is not caused by trauma.

In my experience, bipolar disorder and asperger's can certainly occur together.

There's research indicating a close relationship between bipolar and autism spectrum disorder, so it wouldn't at all be surprising to find co-existing Asperger's and bipolar in one person.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0208141346.htm

I agree that Bipolar is not 'caused' solely by trauma, but I do think episodes can be triggered by traumatic events and a person who might not ever have gotten a diagnosis could be flipped over into the symptomatic category by extreme stress, experiences of trauma and other factors.

My youngest nephew had both Asperger's and bipolar disorder.

I really believe that a genetic predisposition plus triggering events bring on bipolar disorder.

He wasn't my partner when he was first diagnosed. He is on Clozopine sp? He told me his pdoc prescribed the drug for his BP. I can't verify . I only know what he told me and I believe he is sincere. Do you need more info?

Mugwort2-no one is questioning the dx for bipolar. Sometimes we talk about what causes it is all.

I’ve seen that PTSD is common dx too. I’m sure it’s a good idea to explore that.

Make sure the T knows what he/she is doing. My last T loved discovering c-ptsd but was very ineffective in the therapy part and made me worse. I’m seeing a new T now for EMDR therapy for PTSD now.

I'd also get upset if I were still thinking about an incident like this from 20 years ago. He was clearly terrified and what happened to him was unfair. How does he feel about law enforcement now? Is he amenable to finding someone who can help him move past? I'd be very careful about therapy in this situation too. It can do more harm than good. It depends a lot on match with the person doing therapy and what the person in therapy wants to accomplish.

I have autism similar to Aspergers and Bipolar 2.

My oldest son is an Aspie and has bipolar 2 plus PTSD from his service in Iraq. He does pretty well in life despite all this; he has a wife and daughter, and he works as a welder making good money. I'm proud of him.

Wow. that's pretty good considering those could be disabling conditions

Key Tones I think exploring PTSD would be helpful too. Problem doesn't like the idea.
Tecomsin. I just know he's seeing a therapist. He tends to be private on the topic of psychotherapy. Yes it most certainly was unfair and terribly traumatic. I can vouch that he is no bank robber He's never been in legal trouble. He is okay with law enforcement these days.