Bipolar - Manic Depressive
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21519
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Topic: Bipolar - Manic Depressive
Posted By: Kelpa
Subject: Bipolar - Manic Depressive
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 7:28pm
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Hi All
Just wondering if anyone deals with this on a day to day basis or knows anyone who has this and how it all goes/works..........etc..... Basically any thoughts or ideas or stories would be good to hear. TA  -------------  
 
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Replies:
Posted By: mum2emj
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 7:42pm
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i know a few people that have bi-polar.
my 2nd cousin has been diagnosed for years. she is ok but has some pretty bad times, years back we were woken early hours of the morning (before 5am) to someone sounding like they were screaming in our property- woke up my neighbours too. we discovered she had walked to our house (quite a long walk) in the dark and was singing to our birds! she was on a high. my neighbours almost called the police cause they thought someone was getting raped  she has a lot of highs.
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Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 8:22pm
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I lived with one for four years. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 8:43pm
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I had a relationship with a guy who was bi-polar.
He was off and on his meds which made it a bit of a roller coaster with extreme ups and downs. Sometimes the ups would last for days and he would go without sleep for the whole time. The downs were very nightmarish, they would come on very suddenly and without warning. I would get a call from him saying goodbye and would have to rush around trying to find him and save him from himself. He really struggled with being bi-polar. He had been mentally ill pretty much since puberty hit and was always trying to find another diagnosis, which was why he wouldn't stay on the meds. He was awesome on the meds though. Very positive, creative and sensitive and a lot of fun to be with. Without them he was very emotionally manipulative, insecure, controlling and needy. In the end my family got sick of the toll the relationship was taking on me emotionally and took me out of it. I had an emotional breakdown once I was out of the relationship, I was so worn out and anxious from worrying about him and whether one day I was going to be too late to save him. I had to take a year off and go through counselling. I know another person who has a milder form of it and who is doing great on medication. She was nowhere near as extreme as the ex at her highest or lowest, but she did get pretty wacky at times. She had to try a few different types of meds to find the right one that works for her, but she has been back to normal for a couple of years now. Hope this helps Kelly! ------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and: 
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Posted By: Alianasmummy
Date Posted: 07 October 2008 at 8:46pm
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My mum has been since i was born. She was misdiagnosed as neurotic when i was 3 weeks (she had postnatal depression) and was told to suck it up and get on with things... nice one. She never was treated and it has snowballed into a major issue 23 years later.
She has been really hard to live with all my life and i have only just come to realise how bad she actually is with it. I hate being so far away from her (she is in Auckland) but life directs you in different ways. My brother is really good at keeping in touch and having her over, we visit every 3 months so she can keep up with the grandkids. I lived with her a few years ago when she was really bad and it was very hard to understand. I didnt know at that stage what was wrong so i probably added to it, She would be super happy and motivated one minuet and horribly depressed the next. I finally made her see a doctor and she got on some meds which seemed to help. Mums a pretty closed book though. She refuses to talk to anyone about it now and just wants to get on with things but that hasnt served her well in the past. I will be following this thread to see how other people have dealt with it too. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  tickers" /></a>
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Posted By: rachelsea
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 9:13am
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My hubby has a form of bipolar disorder, called "Bipolar 2 disorder" according to his doctor. He's not as erratic as some people who have it (like my mum's friend who sold their house behind her back and spent all the money on booze ) but it still can get pretty tiring sometimes. Basically his highs last for about 4 months or so, the lows about 4 months, and in between he seems completely normal for a couple of months each side. But whichever zone he's in, he changes his mind a lot, so now I've decided to take things as they come and try not to plan for things, if they happen they happen, if not then oh well!
It can be really hard though, when he's "down" he says he knows he needs to change things about his lifestyle, but when he's "up" he forgets all that because he feels so good and if I try reminding him of what he said before, I'm nagging
He's also not very good with taking medication. He's not taking it at all at the moment. He will take it if he's feeling down, then as soon as he starts feeling better, he stops it! Then goes down again, so starts, stops etc! But besides all that, I love him to bits and wouldn't be without him ------------- DD 4yrs DS 2yrs http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: kezplanet
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 1:21pm
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My sister has bipolar, can't remember if she is I or II, but along with other social and anxiaty issues there is a lot to deal with. When she had her 1st physotic (sp) breakdown I was living in Australia so it was a lot of extra pressure on mum and dad. The link is for a book which I read which helped me understand a bit more about what sis was going thru and what was happening http://www.margoorum.com/fairytales.htm - www.margoorum.com/fairytales.htm I am also trying to wade thru (dont get much time for reading anymore) Shadow Syndromes - John J Ratey, Catherine Johnson, at the moment. I still have problems with depression and other associated problems, my mum had PND and gets depression also. I like when they have the ads on tv about bipolar and depression as the more information that is available hopefully the more others understand and can support the friends that they have or not feel afraid to ask for help when they need it. ------------- Kerryn, Mum to Ashlyn(29/3/04), Anastasia(1/11/05) & Abigail (24/02/09) |
Posted By: Peace
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 2:19pm
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"Emotionally manipulative, insecure, controlling and needy" and on a scale of 1 to 10 for each unmedicated person. I know a couple of people who have Bipolar and their highs are super lovely, happiness oozes out of them but the down time is manic, lots of grumpiness and thumping around and unable to direct it in a safe/practical manner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder - Bipolar Wiki has a good layman explanation. I think the worst thing is when they are not medicating or when Dr's insist that Bipolar is a flu like thing and they are over it and stop medication. You can never stop being mentally ill, there is always a new difficulty to face every day. I have a lot of pity for the people I know that have it. ------------- DD1 May 2006 DD2 March 2011 DD3 August 2012 |
Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 6:15pm
Actually, this is incredibly untrue. Recovery is possible for people who experience mental illness, although it doesn't always mean being med/symptom free. Kelpa - what did you want to know? ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow"> 
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Peace wrote:Posted By: Peace
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 8:23pm
------------- DD1 May 2006 DD2 March 2011 DD3 August 2012 |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 8:45pm
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Totally agree Peace, I suffer depression. Im not taking medication right now, but I am totally aware of my illness and notice the warning signs. I will always have depression, just wont always be depressed... if you get my meaning.
My mother on the other has bipolar and can NEVER come off her medication. It took 8 years before someone correctly diagnosed. It was a living hell for us and her. She slowly lost all of us after her 3rd suicide attempt she was finally diagnosed. Her medication changed and 12 months later she is my old mum again. She is doing really well and has gained our trust again. She wouldnt ever consider coming off her meds, she knows what she lost when she did. Peace, I hope you mean you have a lot of empathy for the people you know with bipolar, not pity. 
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Posted By: Peace
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 9:59pm
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Pity for the one that uses it as a weapon, empathy for my other friend who is unwell (still slight pity in empathy though). Sounds harsh but many people who know who I am talking about understand what I mean. ------------- DD1 May 2006 DD2 March 2011 DD3 August 2012 |
Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 08 October 2008 at 10:26pm
I still stand by what I said, people can recover, and for some people (especially with bipolar disorder) this involves medication, and for some people it doesn't. Medication is a tool to be used by people who experience mental illness, but it's not the only answer for every person. ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Leish
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 7:51am
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Heya Kelpa, my dad has classic bi polar so I have lived with it my whole life. Its pretty sucky to be honest. He's just recently had another 'episode' and it was incredibly hard going for me. PM me if you have any questions etc. Happy to answer anything I can. There's also a fabulous book my dad recommended I read to get some insight in to what he goes though and it was really great. I will dig up the author and title if you are interested. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Alianasmummy
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 8:03am
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Jade, i know what you are saying and in some cases that is definitely true, i suffered prenatal depression quite bad but i fully recovered using meditation and relaxation only.
im not a great believer in medication and i noticed that some have been completely disproven to help with depression recently. Thats not to say it doesnt work for some people! I think Bipolar is in a different league to depression however and it would be very hard to regain the balance that is so obviously out because of the nature of the problem. They are lead to believe they are better when they are on the high so get confident they have beaten it only to be incredibly disappointed as soon as they get a slight down so the spiral even further. i have seen this happen over and over again in my life and its heartbreaking to watch. it would be good to hear if anyone knows of someone that has fully recovered? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> tickers" /></a>
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Posted By: Peace
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 8:39am
------------- DD1 May 2006 DD2 March 2011 DD3 August 2012 |
Posted By: LizzyJ
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 8:43am
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Hi we have two bi polar people in our lives, they are very different people though but share some similar traits
Must be in control, as long as all is going to their plan they can cope. Brillient people artistically and intellectually Wonderful to be around when they are on a high Unpredictable, dangerous to selves and in one case others, irrational when on a downer. Both use it to control others to varying extents. However both are people we would not want to have in our life. Medication can help but they seem to still have good and bad days. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Leish
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 10:33am
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You can't recover from classic bi polar. You can manage it with medication (lithium usually) but it is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain and there is no cure for that.
Its awful. At times more so for the people around the person that suffers from it than the actual person. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 9:21pm
I suppose it depends on what you mean by fully recovered, I know of people who lead really active and fullfilling lives, but obviously I'm not necessarily privy to all the info on that. I suppose the reason I'm pushing this point so hard is that recently research around self-stigma from mental illness has shown that a general belief that mental illness is not something you recover from has a huge negative impact on her people who experience mental illness view themselves and their future. ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: 11111
Date Posted: 09 October 2008 at 10:09pm
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Jade totally agree with you 100% and took peace comment as you did. From one who has lived wit ha Mother with personality disorder and also suffered with form's of mental illness mtself you can recover from it. And it is not nessarilly a life long illness. ------------- Deborah Mum to:   
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Posted By: Peace
Date Posted: 10 October 2008 at 2:58pm
But just like you, my own mother suffers from mental illness and it means life long medication for her, she is fully normal in every way now but she will never ever EVER be able to come off her medication. She will never be able to be medication free and mentally well at the same time. As far as I understand it (and I am rather well read) Bi Polar is much the same as someone pointed out it is a chemical imbalance in the brain, you don't just one day wake up better so you can go off your meds. I don't even think classing "feeling a bit sad" depression or PND as in even close to the same bracket. You can recover from them and live a drug free life but to line it up with Bi Polar is just obtuse.
Even reading about your researched point actually makes my head hurt LOL. I think it is fine if you want to take that belief on as someone who suffers and use it as a point to make yourself want to be better but definitely not as an excuse from someone else IYKWIM? ------------- DD1 May 2006 DD2 March 2011 DD3 August 2012 |
Posted By: JadeC
Date Posted: 12 October 2008 at 2:14pm
I should have clarifies that, it's not new information, but the research itself is new (only released in June). And it's not about thinking yourself better, it's about people who experience mental illness not judging themselves negatively because of the illness and limiting their own potential. I don't even get your last point tho, who is making excuses?? And I suppose if your belief is that recovery means that the person never takes any medication, well then we will have to agree to disagree. In my line of work, recovery is determined by the person themselves, and talks about quality of life lived, not meds or no meds. People can live really sh*tty lives on and off meds, it's nowhere near the deciding factor for me. ------------- http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 12 October 2008 at 2:27pm
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I'm not going to get involved in the arguement but I do agree with Peace here. I have studied Mental Illness, and have a BIL who will never ever be who he was before bipolar hit him. While you can recover from some MI (PND for example) most of them will be apart of you life forever. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: 11111
Date Posted: 12 October 2008 at 11:12pm
Exactly its not about being well enough to be off med's or not one can recover from a mental illness and still require some med's. And just another thing yes I had PND with my second son, but I have also had mental health issues aside from that. And now have an anxiety disorder that will prob require Med's for the rest of my life, but I do consider myself recovered as I have learnt to deal with me as me. ------------- Deborah Mum to:
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