Bipolar 101 -- Answers to basic questions

is it really associated with ADHD? if that's the case then i have a puzzle.
my grandfather has bipolar I, as do i- and my brother has ADHD. does he have a chance of getting bipolar? is bipolar even hereditary?

Please come to Bipolar chat Tonight at 8 o'clock est!!

I Suffer from Mania and Hypo Mania. I hate it!!! im always well more now then ever very angry at the world and people i dont even know lol, ALWAYs Irritable more then ever. I think i have well i know i have bipolar Mania, i think i have ADD, im suffering with insomina, oh and last but not least i thought about killing my self sunday smh i dont even remember why i was severly depressed for no reason at all..i a different person every day!! its like at a point right now where i hate people period lol like ugh!!! im irritated.... now tell me i aint crazy lol

i knw wht u mean ive gt tht aswell it gets me so annoyed nd esp wen people ask me if im crazy ive fekt like killing myself lots of times so i cn understand where ur comin frm

Being bipolar is no picnic.....
FYI
Being either bipolar 1 or 2 are equally hard to manage. and are both serious.
bipolar 1 folks can get so manic that they could become psychotic and get themselves killed and
bipolar 2 folks can get so depressed that they could become suicidal and wind up dead as well......
people who suffer from mixed moods can swing from high to low in the same day.
Being bipolar is no picnic that is for sure.
In regards to these two opposite poles there are a lot of folks who are in the gray zone....falling somewhere inbetween....alot of mental health issues cross over boundaries, OCD, panic attacks, anxiety, phobias, depression, delusions and paranoia, issues with self esteem, self injury, PTSD....
I am a firm believer in getting the proper treatment, seeing a psychiatrist and getting evaluated.
It is equally important to see a therapist and learn how to cope with your particular issues.
For me medications saved my life.
I know that there are varying degrees of bipolar and there are many who do not take medications and what works for one person may not work for the other.
This is called the medication merry go round.
and until you find your right combo it is hard being patient.
and for some..... medications just don't work.
This is very hard to accept but that is the reality.
and for others what worked for a couple of years stopped working and now they are on that reel again trying to find a new path.
There are things that we can do to help ourselves...self help things. The number one thing that will help us is communication....we have to talk....we need a good diet, some exercise, yoga or deep breathing, meditation, massage, accupuncture, sleep hygiene, supportive people in our lives, family, friends, on-line and in real life....pets.
I know that some of us are isolated and this here becomes our family.
welcome all who are here
bizi

Hi BIZI, and everyone ,

Just wondering, what do you think are the best MEDS and what are common side effects ? And how cool is it to be on MEDS, then when you weren't on MEDS ?

Bizi, testify!

Geneticly; it's impossible to give an objective answer to those things since everybody reacts differently to medication. For example, Lithium is one of the meds that are considered to be very good - but it did jack for me. Lamictal is another one, which works for me, but for other bipolars that I know - it didn't. Personally, Lamictal and Topamax are the winners.

Common side effects for SNRI's (1/100): dry mouth, headache, nausea/diarrhea/etc, anorexia (loss of apetite, not nervosa), drowsiness/fatigue, dizziness, abnormal dreams, increased sweating, sexual dysfunction (loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, impotence and - for women - inability to orgasm), high blood pressure, insomnia, tremor, anxiety/nervousness and hypertension.

Common side effects for SSRI's (1/100): increased anxiety or depression, headache, nausea, drowsiness, weight/appetite fluctuations, increased sweating, indigestion, nervousness, tremors, dry mouth, diarrhea or loose bm, constipation, and/or the same sexual dysfunctions as with SNRI's.
Though with SSRI's, they only last for the first 1-4 weeks - if you increase the dosage, obviously you will experience the side effects again.

In my opinion, and based on experience, the "zombie" effect is nothing but BS. Sure you can experience apathy as a side effect, but it's not worse than to add a medication, change med, increase the dosage or reduce the dosage - and you'll be fine. I was a suicial zombie for six months after I was put on Topamax, then we added Cipralex and voila.

Lamictal makes me drowsy/some fatigue, Topamax affected my memory, suppressed my appetite so much that I lost 50lbs (wooh!), and turned me into a zombie, Cipralex doesn't give me any side effects. Zoloft made me psychotic. Lithium made me gain 40lbs, and it didn't help with my depression at all.
^ My medication merry-go-round the past five years.

If I wasn't on meds, I'd be dead. In September, I tried to kill myself - then I was put on new medication, and now I'm fine.
I can't live (literally) without meds. I wouldn't use the word "cool", cos to me this is about being alive vs being dead. I can deal with a lot of side effects, my deal-breaker is weight gain - cos that will just make me depressed. When it's about life or death, things like insomnia and tremors don't matter at all.

Lamictal has a nasty, and luckily very rare, side effect: Steven-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. The latter being the worst and most aggressive; but both are potentially lethal. Basically they make your skin (epidermis) fall off.

I have just recently been hospitalized for a little over three weeks and was diagnosed with bipolar. My therapist/psychiatrist have me diagnosed with borderline personality there has always been a question about my diagnosis because i suffer with severe PTSD, anxiety, and depression most hospitalizations have been for these disorders or dual diagnosis drugs and these disorders but during this hospitalization it was different since i have been sober for 3 years prior to just before i was hospitalized they went over my history of hospitalization and treatment as well as my behavioral history and came up with bipolar i am of depakote and feel more stable then i ever remember despite still having mood swings, unfocus, PTSD issues, sleeplessness or depression with excessive sleep and reoccurring suicidal thoughts. my question is what are the syptoms or differences between borderline personality and bipolar and if my doctors don't support the hospital diagnosis what if anything i should do

Borderline and bipolar have some common symptoms and traits. Borderlines are typically more unstable violent and manipulative. The borderline being the border between neurosis and psychosis, those with the disorder are believed to be torn between opposite feelings and ideas of what course of action to take constantly feeling conflicted. With a fragile sense of self, seeking constant reassurance, using attention seeking behaviour, self grandizement to try to ease there insecurity often self harming and self destructive. The duration of mood swings is vastly different, borderlines only lasting from minutes to a few days at the most but typically a few hours.
Bipolar mood swings last from 1 week to an undetermined amount of time sometimes years. Historically bipolar asylum patients often had "manic exhaustion" as cause of death.

My bf lives with BP and I'm trying to get a better understanding. I have stood by him through alot, but some things he has said and done (website for affairs, called cops to have me taken from home, etc) has been so hurtful. He is on meds and a new doc, which is great, but if your significant other changes constantly (in a moment getting along great to throwing you out of home)....how do you cope and what are some of the things you do to get you through?

You are not crazy just symptoms of Bipolar. And if you are not sleeping this can add to your bipolar, so you might want to mention that your not sleeping to your dr. He might prescribe you something to help you sleep and sleep can make a big improvement in our mood swings.

your not this world is full of negative things

You're not crazy You struggle....have you sought help? Treatments? Very necessary....

Hi, I feel the seem way you are feeling. i hate the world and just want to curse everyone out that had wronged me from childhood to now. I was on meds for depression for 4 months so I dont know if it's the withdrawal symptoms. If you were never on meds and feeling this way for no reason you should try therapy to get your anger out and thoughts together and maybe take it from their. Take it one step at a time so that you will be 100% sure if you are diagnose. But you are feeling that way for no reason yeah it's a sign of BP II. I am giving myself a few months more before I got ot the dr. Goodluck to you dear!

I am Bipolar I and electroshock has not be proposed to me. I am currently on 100mg of Lamictal and 100mg of Wellbutrin SR, plus I am on 1.5 mg of Risperidal at night and 1.5mg of clonazapam split three times daily. I am hoping my doctor might change my Wellbutrin SR 100 to XL 300 or at least 150, I don't think what I am on is enough because of certain events that happened yesterday and the day before and the day before that. I have started smoking again because of the stress, and I had been doing so well in not smoking for a at least 3 weeks with no problems at all until all this unload of stress.

You just described me, evey day. I suffer more from hypomania, rarely if ever from full blown mania, but I have periods of absolutely soul-crushing depression mixed with anxiety, irritability and outbursts of anger.

When you say you're a differen person every day.. Me too. Every day I look in the mirror and see a different person.

Right now I'm hiding out in the bathroom at work with an an anxiety attack contemplating going home early.

My double diagnosis of Bipolar II and BPD has made my life miserable since I was a pre-teen. Job and personal relationship instability. People do not react to me well, and then I get to a point where I no longer want to be in the presence of others because I feel they will probably reject me anyway. This is probably just an aberration of the mental illness -- I hate those words, "mental illness," but I am beginning to come to terms with the fact that I am, indeed, mentally ill and need help. Although on medication (which helps some) going to psychotherapy I fight tooth and nail, because who wants to reveal their most shameful acts to another in order to face these things? Why my wife has stayed with me all these years is a mystery, but I'm sure glad she did.

What is the best way to help my husband understand what I am going through and how he can help? He feels so helpless and when he asks what he can do I am not sure what to tell him.

I can relate.... I'm ALWAYS angry, i can't STAND being arguing people, I'm mostly depressed ALL THE TIME! Very rarely do i feel just ok. Suicide head crossed my mind add well through out the years.. i often feel like I'm going crazy. I'm going in on the19th tho be screened but I'm sure i have bipolar just always been afraid to accept it. I'm just so thief of feeling this way I'm ready to do something about it. Stay strong I'm here if you wanna talk.

Don't kill yourself. That's permanent. Get help if you can.