[dragonfly2]

We have a saying in my house..."better living through chemistry". Three out of the four of us are on psychiatric medications. I have bipolar disorder, my husband has ADD and major depression, and my older daughter has Asperger's, ADD, and bipolar. My second daughter is showing signs, but we're not quite there yet.

They say that the more genetically based cases of mental illness tend to respond better to medicines that other family members have responded well to. My daughter is on some of the same meds as me and my husband and has had a better response to these than others she has been on.

Just wondering what others' experiences have been when multiple family members are being treated.

Well, I don't live with my family anymore, but mental illness definitely runs in the family. My father has OCD and major depression, my grandfather has depression & anxiety, but great-grandfather suffered from depression, my sister had post-partum depression, and my brother suffers from depression. As for me, I have Bipolar Disorder and OCD.

So, quite a bit of mental illness and treatment through medication in the family!

[pbutton]

I'm interested in seeing responses here. I haven't ever tried a long-term med, but I know of several that haven't worked for my sister. Kind of makes it hard for me to be hopeful.

[AniManiac]

Definitely have MI in the family, but no shared treatments. I'm the only bipolar, as far as I know. Lucky me!

However, one of my girlfriends is bipolar, and she said when she started meds, she asked to start with something that had worked well for her cousin and found that it was good for her too, right off the bat.

My brother has schizophrenia and has been sectioned countless times, I am not sure what medication he is on right now as his changes so often. My mum has depression and anxiety. As far as I know no one else in family has issues with MH apart from me.

I have BPD, PTSD, Depression and Anxiety too. I have tried different meds over the past few years worse being mirtazapine, At the moment I am on citalopram and duloxetine and so far so good.

[dragonfly2]

Originally Posted by pbutton

I'm interested in seeing responses here. I haven't ever tried a long-term med, but I know of several that haven't worked for my sister. Kind of makes it hard for me to be hopeful.

Try not to lose hope, pbutton. Until you've tried medication, you can't know for sure. Do you have the same diagnosis as your sister? My husband has major depression, but his brother has bipolar. The antidepressants that have helped my husband would send his brother through the roof. My daughter and I both take Lamictal and it has been a good drug for both of us. But the level I am on makes her agitated, so even though we both genetically have the same illness, there are still subtle differences in our response to medication.

(Edited...)

Now that I stop to really think about it, my daughter may have gotten the bipolar through my husband's side. Even though my husband doesn't have bipolar, the gene is in his family. I had always assumed it was through me, and it very well may be, but I may need to reconsider my theory.

I have depression and it runs in the family. My late maternal grandmother had depression in old age, my mum has seasonal affective disorder, and my brother had a depressive episode a few years ago which he never treated (although I think it was purely situational now looking back as he was very unhappy in Uni and ultimately left the course to do something completely different). My Mum & Nan both responded really well to citalopram, but it does NOTHING for me, and I even tried escitalopram too. We also have a lot of ADHD in the family in 3 of my siblings and my father's side of the family, but thankfully I don't have that.

Personally I feel genetics play a role and so may mean that meds that helped close relatives may help you too, but I think it's just one piece of an incredibly complex problem. For example some have suggested that my lack of improvement on meds could be a sign that my depression is less biological in origin and more situational - however my depression seemed to come from nowhere and my life is a lot different now 4 1/2 years on than it was when the depression first appeared (mainly because it reduces my functioning and I've had to stop/reduce almost everything I previously did). Plus I am not adequately treated according to NICE guideline which could easily explain the lack of response. IDK - I think the causes of mental illness are very complicated and interrelated.

Interesting thread though.

*Willow*

My dad took lithium for years for bipolar, me too. I wish I knew what else he had taken and what worked, but sadly I don't think anything helped him. It would be interesting to know tho.