Does bipolar get better with age?

I'm just wondering this because I read somewhere it does. However, for me, when I first got it after being normal my whole life, I quit my job, laid on the couch all day. I'm currently in depression but not catatonic. Lately I've spent alot of time laying around but I still clean the litter box and make spaghetti or fried rice instead of ordering a pizza or Chinese every night like I did when I was first diagnosed. I was diagnosed at 19, it started at 18, and I'm now 25. Does anyone else feel like they can do more things or the depression isn't quite as suicidal even when it's severe as they've gotten older? I just want to take a little poll. I'm hoping you all say yes. It would give me hope.

Mine got a lot worse but I found I was seasonal Bipolar 1 and get depressed in the fall . Then I started using a light box and got a lot better during my depression months. I am doing better now but it’s do to having the right combo of medicine and the light box and trying to do a little at a time while depressed and more when not

Hi Sunshinesworld,

I am so glad you are posting!
Thanks for this thread!

I have also read that Bipolar gets less intense when people get older. I do not know if this is true or not. It may be true for some and not for others?

In my case (BPII), my depressions are severe and very prolonged. I have not gotten better over the years. I have progressively gotten a bit worse. My depressions are very difficult to treat and have been referred to as "treatment resistant."

To be fair, I must tell you I also have co-occurring chronically painful medical conditions, which most likely complicate my overall picture.

As much as we all experience some of the same things, we are each different.

I hope you get lots of responses.


WC

Mr. Doctor says it gets worse with age. Who know's

I don't know, but your skills and strategies in mitigating your symptoms might get better with age.

For me, it's gotten a little better with age, but that could also be the meds keeping me stable. Apparently I wasn't on enough meds when I was younger. It could also be that I'm a little bit older and wiser and have learned from my mistakes. I think it depends on the person.

No luck here though i may not have been managing it so well. Apparently had it for twenty years. It seems a lot of stress triggers it too so I guess it depends on what life throws you too. I have hope that with a lot of determination I can improve significantly.

I'm 60 and it's better now than its been in years. But I also had PTSD and that's in remission after a ton of therapy and learning coping skills. Also my moods become more stable after menopause. So a combo of hormones balencing out and intense therapy and new meds have been greatly beneficial in managing the BP

I am 35. The course of my illness became drastically worse when I was in my late 20s, early 30s, as compared to my teens. However, now that I have a fantastic doctor and the right medications, I have been stable for several years.

I believe it gets worse with age BUT I'm so much more stable on meds then I ever was as a child or teen. I still have my fair share of issues and mood swings but not as much now.

Mines been worse with age

Mine has gotten better with age but the depression still sucks. My mother also got much better with age.

Hi,
My son is diagnosed with Bipolar I and without medication he has delusions and auditory hallucinations. He became symptomatic such that we noticed in junior high school. He was very often depressed and once in a while manic. My husband and I traded off nights to be on suicide watch. When he tried to grab the wheel of the car and drive it into an oncoming semi because a voice told him to do that, the police committed him. And believe it or not, that was a God-send. Because of that commitment being ordered by the court our insurance would finally pay for things he needed. We were connected with a group called PACT (Pro-active community therapy -- I think). First thing they did was get him on the right medication which meant he didn't have tics or hallucinations. And then they taught him one very important thing. Bipolar is one part of you. It doesn't define you. So what else are you? What are the things you like, are interested in, might want to explore, think you might be good at. They said don't make bipolar be the beginning and end of you. You are much more than that.
My son ended up being good at body building and became a personal trainer. He actually started working for PACT as a personal trainer. He said to me, "If your mind betrays you. There is more to you than being bipolar.

In my experience it gets better with time and some perspective. I know I'm on the outside looking in, but that's what I see. And actively build your support system, don't leave it to chance. PACT is wonderful if you have one near you -- check it out.

Just a mom

I think my episodes have gotten worst despite meds and coping skills , takes me longer and longer to get back to baseline.
But ... I also deal with a lot of chronic pain so that plays a big part.

My experience, and from what I've read, is that bipolar disorder often worsens over time, if untreated. If treated properly, there is no major reason you can't find long-lasting relief. I wasn't properly treated until I was 34. I wish I had been treated earlier.

I've had two psychiatrists tell me that it can get better once you're old... like, 70+. One psych told me she's had many patients come off meds at that point and be stable.


I believe it levels out a bit once you reach your 50's. I've read it's the worst during adolescence, depending on when you started experiencing symptoms. Maybe around 13-25 I'd say would be the most severe.

My case was subclinical until I was in my early 50s, and then it went wild. It blew up into a raging case of bipolar 1 when I'd only had a diagnosis of depression before. Took me years to get on a relatively even keel. I'm 60 now and it feels like I'm finally getting everything under control. We'll see how it goes from here.

Mine got a lot worse after the birth of my first child. It's only gotten worse since then. I'm 36.

I didn't have my first manic episodes until my mid 40s. It was the first time I was ever seen by a psychiatrist or took psych meds. He diagnosed by chronic pain as 'somatoform disorder'.. basically it was all in my head... and put me on 60 mg of celexa. When I started being very agitated and unable to relax, having rapid thooughts and unimaginable headaches, he didn't change my meds even though he knew my father is bipolar. I went to the hospital when I started having auditory hallucinations. They also didn't change my meds and released me the same day with 25 mg of seroquel to take for sleep. When I called the mobile unit team a week later I was taken to the hospital. I passed out from the florescent lights that were triggering severe headaches and that they wouldn't turn off. I woke up sectioned (involuntary IP) and have never been the same.

I am hoping that a low dose AP (rexulti) will stave off having any more psychotic delusions and stop any further decline in my mental well-being.

It did get better for me.

I do believe it can get better with time, Sunshinesworld. But I think the right treatment is necessary for it to get better. Otherwise I wouldn't be so sure - it may even get worse. But yes, I do believe it's entirely possible to better cope with Bipolar. It just take time and effort, I suppose. But it can be done. Please don't give up! You can do this! Sending many hugs to everyone

i'm not having the rage anymore ... though I am on a ap ... so I am not sure if meds or age .... the depression is also better ... and that is all I am afraid of ... is the return of the darkness ...

if I had to guess I would say my age is lessening the manic but not the depression ... I am 61 ...