Bipolar Disorder More Widespread Than Thought (4.3 % of population)

[HuckleB]

Bipolar Disorder More Widespread Than Thought

http://www.healthcentral.com/newsdetail/408/526387.html

"An estimated 4.3 percent of Americans suffer from bipolar disorder or its milder forms, far more than previous estimates which placed the number at about 1 percent, a new study finds.

"When the entire spectrum is taken into account, the percent affected by that syndrome is higher than was recognized," said Ronald C. Kessler, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. He presented the findings Friday at the Sixth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, in Pittsburgh.

The new estimate finds that 4.3 percent of adults suffer from a bipolar disorder or a "sub-threshold" bipolar disorder, Kessler said. The latter group includes persons who don't fit the precise clinical criteria for bipolar disorder but who have symptoms nearly as bad that severely affect their ability to perform their daily routine.

Previous studies had estimated that 1 percent of adults suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, which is characterized by unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy and ability to function. But those calculations didn't take into account the milder forms of the illness, Kessler said.

..."



As a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, I fully acknowledge a great deal of skepticism in regard to this research. It's extremely difficult to judge and understand what this actually says, as we're given no definitions or parameters the diagnosis in the article available. Hopefully, this will be published with full peer review in a journal, allowing for a more complete discussion about these findings.

[HuckleB]

1. Research zeros in on bipolar disorder genes, link with thyroid condition

Research zeros in on bipolar disorder genes, link with thyroid condition

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26281

"Despite an intensive effort, researchers have yet to identify the genes that cause bipolar disorder, yet the practical benefits of such a discovery could reap rich rewards for those suffering from the mental illness.

New research findings presented today at the Sixth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder suggest specific genetic linkages that are associated with the mental illness, bringing researchers much closer to finding the elusive gene or genes. Another study finds an association between an abnormal thyroid condition and bipolar disorder, pointing to the possibility that a simple blood test could help identify those at risk.

To further investigate more specific genetic linkages, Marion Leboyer, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Paris Faculty of Medicine, studied 87 bipolar sibling pairs from 70 European families who were participants in the European Collaborative Study on Early Onset Bipolar Affective Disorder and identified eight regions of genetic linkages that, while not necessarily the sole or unique ones associated with this disease, zeroed in on what may be the specific genes that predispose individuals to early onset of this debilitating disease.

According to Dr. Leboyer, his studies of families with members who developed the illness as children or adolescents reduces those genetic and clinical variabilities that can complicate efforts to identify susceptibility genes. Finding these genes would help researchers develop more effective treatments or even prevent the disorder from occurring in at-risk individuals.

..."



More information. That's all.

[Eurobabe]

46. Why am I not surprised?

We have been talking about this for years on our thyroid forum. In fact, my last bad bout with natural thyroid hormone (T3 and T4 based, unlike synthetics with T4 only) made me feel like I was manic. My mind went into overdrive. So tell me there isn't something hormonal with these conditions!! And docs just throw ADs etc. at everyone, when my brain was balanced by getting back on thyroid hormone again. No more depression, no more feeling extreme.

Ridha Arem has a great book Thyroid Solution which explains alot about how the thyroid affects the brain, and many cases of depression may actually be undx'd thyroid problem.

[blue neen]

2. My son is a Type II bipolar.

He doesn't have the excessive highs and lows; it is much more of a depressive illness. The thing that is strange about Type II is that anti-depressants themselves can set it off, hence the need for a mood stabilizer.

It's been tough for him, because he was diagnosed as a teenager. Nobody wants to hear that stuff when they're a teen-ager! It just make medicine compliance all the more tricky.

His dad and I have our hands full!

[BlueIris]

5. People like your son are why I hope this information gets around

to whatever areas of the healthcare industry may not be aware of it. It's important that patients with Type II don't get misdiagnosed as having a different kind of depressive disorder, get treated with an Rx that can exacerbate their BPD symptoms, and consequently struggle to get back to a more effective pharmaceutical regimen. That happened to one of my uncles. He was really unhappy for about a year, though he's stable now.

[blue neen]

7. It's difficult to find the right combination of meds that work for

each individual. Sometimes they get disgusted and just give up. He's going to the doctor on Monday to get a new regimen set up.

Luckily for us, we're near Pittsurgh. This city is on the cutting edge of treatment for bipolar illness.

My son even participated in a research study last year at the Univ. of Pittsburgh.

[Logansquare]

57. Good luck to all of you.

I know it's hard for him, but speaking as an older head who has wasted many years struggling with this, he's better off attacking it now.

[barb162]

33. 2 doors down from me is this family with 3 kids, 2 are bipolar

both diagnosed when they were around 8 years old.

[MaryBear]

61. Better than a late diagnosis!

The behavior is there with or without the diagnosis.

[unblock]

3. my own personal observation backs this up

i think many psychiatric conditions are underestimated, in part because we want to think of ourselves and the people we know as "normal" and in part because of the precise, high threshold for many conditions. hence the reference to "sub-threshold" conditions.

i've certainly seen inappropriate mood expression in at least 5% of the people i know, at least at times. of course, i'm not their psychiatrist, there could be something else going on in their lives to which i'm not privvy, but still.

besides, EVERYBODY's boss is bi-polar, this is a universally well-documented truism :)

[Skittles]

6. here's the thing, unblock

how do we know "inappropriate mood expressions" won't be ascribed to those of us who have seen through bush inc from the start? I am being serious here. My anger has increased tenfold since those neocon bastards took over

[unblock]

8. lol! you're right.

as i said, not being everyone's psychiatrist, we don't know if someone else's mood is warranted given what's going on in their lives.

all we know can tell is that it's inappropriate for the situation, at least from our point of view. that's not proof, but it seems to happen way too often for there not to be a condition, especially because it's predictably the same people over and over again....

[Megahurtz]

23. Yeah, and my depression

has gotten way worse since their second round in office.:(

[sendero]

38. I have a simple answer..

.... if your moods are situational, then you probably do not suffer from bipolar disorder.

When your moods are more or less disconnected from any objective reality, then maybe you are :)

I'm bipolar, though I fit into neither of the 2 categories the article outlines. Before treatment, I spent 20 years in a hypomanic state, extra-energized, extra-irritable, etc. I would get depressed once in a while, it would last from 4 hours to a couple days.

The reason I know I'm bipolar is that when I take lithium, I don't have these problems - although I'd be quick to add - hypomanic is actually pretty cool if you have it. It's just hell for the people around you :)

[MaryBear]

62. it's the roller coaster

and the effect on one's personal life that determines the diagnosis.
it's not just anger.

[BlueIris]

4. With the caveat that I don't have an MD or anything: I buy this.

Yes, it will be nice for the public and health care professionals to see more discussion of this topic, but this jives with what I've observed over the last few years. My old job and some of the volunteer work I've done exposed me to numerous people with mental illness and I encountered a lot of legitimately disgnosed bi-polar sufferers; well, more than I would have expected before starting to realize there are more individuals out there with this disease than previously thought).

[readmylips]

9. Every member of my family has one bipolar child...

and it's always the one with the highest IQ, highest profession, successful, attractive, and it all began in late teens. They can function 300% in their professions, but any little thing in their private lives sets them off like a firecracker. We have to walk on tippy-toes around them. Believe me, it is not fun. Many family gatherings have been ruined due to their manic explosions. We no longer hold family re-unions because of it.

One of my cousins accused her father of sexually abusing her. The whole mess destroyed the family unit when her father was jailed. Later, she accused her brother-in-law of raping her. No one in the family knew that she had been treated for bipolar disorder. She kept it a secret and refused to take her medication. Her father never abused her and her brother-in-law never raped her. It was all in her sick mind.

[Iowa]

10. Very sad about your cousin's family...

I worked in the mental health field for many years. There was nothing that got to me quite as much as dedicated parents trying to prop up a teen/adult child with mental illness. Man did these people suffer! I don't think they ever got any peace; the worry shadowed them continuously and never went away. These parents had my utmost respect and admiration.

[depakid]

12. Sounds like issues for therapy to me

or possibly comorbid substance abuse (e.g. drinking) which is unfortunately very common.

[davekriss]

28. Walking on eggshells

My adopted daughter is early-onset, rapid-cycling bipolar disorder type I, and she can indeed explode like a firecracker for any little thing.

I got her when she was 3 years old (she's 13 now) and knew something was very wrong from the get-go. She'd stay up all night and narrate to herself every action she was doing in her bedroom non-stop until dawn. Very strange. But, as we also adopted her autistic sister, our attentions then were mostly focused there. (The latter would do things like take books -- my expensive art books sometimes! -- and rip them into fine little pieces of confetti. We'd find her clothes all thrown on the floor but this fine colorful confetti filling her drawers, sometimes 4 inches thick! Today, she's fine, though her speech is odd -- she's mainstreamed, gets good grades, seems very happy.)

The bipolar daughter: She had a complete meltdown after 9-11 (we lived in the NY metro area then) and ended up in her first long-term stay in psychiatric hospitals (19 months); it's been a revolving door ever since (she's consumed more than a million in healthcare over the last 4 years).

She's accused a teacher in one state of abusing her; said she had sex with her bus driver -- in this sense, and because of her violent behavior, she is a real danger to others.

When manic (which is often), she's at the outer edge of symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions, violent behavior. When she was 7 she bit the ear off a pet cat (and has killed hamsters and a pet rat). When she's home, the dogs (presently a wiemeraner and labrador retriever) hover under my wife's and my feet, avoiding my daughter. Her autistic sister, verbally tortured, is rendered miserable. Then she goes in what I call cacoon mode where all she does is sleep days on end wrapped from head to toe in blankets on her bed. She's (physically) abused all of us, even poisoned our food once. The saddest thing is to see police hog-tie her and carry her off to the waiting ambulences (it's a routine event these days), five or six squad cars outside.

(The last time the police picked her up, one officer, new to the situation -- most of the locals know her very well -- said he had chills running up and down his spine when he walked in and saw her; he also said that they discuss our safety amongst themselves. They have geniune concerns.)

We've been through most of the list of pharmacopia; not too many cocktails left to try. Turns out that, on her birth-dad side, almost everyone up and down the generations has bipolar, schizophrenia, personality disorders, schizo-affective disorder; on the birth-mom's side, they can't go back but one generation (lot's of adoptions), but one person has borderline personality disorder. Quite a challenging set of genes there.

We've tried everything except what a psychiatrist told us early on, which was to lock her up and throw away the key. Not yet, we tell ourselves, not yet; though we've pretty much been ruined by any conventional definition.

Where we go next, who knows. My wife and I are exhausted.

So, on a brighter note, it IS a beautiful summer's day here!

[Sacajawea]

47. davekriss...Some people are saints. Like you and your wife.

I don't know how you do it. I know I couldn't.

I have a friend who adopted two small children from Hungary (half-siblings, same mother) about 12 or 13 years ago, when they were about 3 and 5. Major psychiatric problems soon manifested themselves in both children. I'm not sure of their exact diagnoses, but they fall somewhere in the Bipolar spectrum. My friend and her husband have tried EVERYTHING for their children. Now, as teenagers, they are functioning (both even have summer jobs), but it's still a day-by-day struggle (though nothing like what you describe for your daughter).

Your devotion (and your wife's) to your very ill child moved me greatly. I was very heartened to read that your autistic daughter is doing so well (I wasn't aware that such progess was possible).

The only optimistic thing I can think of to tell you (which you've surely heard before) is that you never know what research scientists will discover tomorrow. Maybe the next new drug is the one that will work for her. From your post's ending, you do sound like an optimist. I hope for the best for you and your family, and that the best comes soon. :hug:

Ronni

[davekriss]

51. My wife is the saint

She just drags me along for the ride! :)

[depakid]

11. Using current spectrum "definitions," the prevalence is higher

Probably closer to 6% and possibly a bit more. Some literature suggests that Bipolar I- classic lithium responsive manic depression (sometimes called Cade's disease) is underdiagnosed- while other research suggests that it may even be a distinct condition from "softer" clinical expressions like bipolar II (and under some taxonomies, BP III, IV and V) or cyclothymia.

All of this is controversial though- because the way DSM IV looks at it- a single manic episode- which doesn't necessarily involve psychotic features- indicates a bipolar I diagnosis. That's overly broad, in my opinion. Many patients with typical BP II have had instances of milder hypomania that accellerated due to things like stress, lack of sleep and nutrition, seasonal or pharmacuetical activation. Here's what the current thinking (not the 13+ year old DSM IV catagorical thinking) looks like:



Bottom line is that the psychpathology is in flux- and the etiology (including the age of onset) is complicated. Various genetic combinations are clearly necessary- you ain't getting BP unless you're born with the genes- but some people (and you can see this in the twin and family studies) don't express the symptoms- at least not a severely- as others. So there's some environmental factors going on too.

[HuckleB]

13. Thanks for sharing.

There's also the matter of noting the possibility of far more overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar than previously thought.

Salud.

[depakid]

16. If you ask me- the linear view of the spectrum diagram

is inaccurate. As you mention- there are cross-overs with schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder and others. So really- the graphical representation would have to be holographic- or maybe somehow 4 dimensional- taking time (as in age of onset or situational transitions) into account.

[HuckleB]

17. Indeed.

And this may be more evidence of that:
http://www.psychiatrysource.com/psychsource/News/article1605.htm

[kineneb]

19. Interesting chart

But not the way I think of it. As I suffer from recurrent MDD, OCD & panic problems, my personal graphing of emotions is a horizontal line indicating time. At the line, functioning is normal and there are no symptoms. Below the line, is depression and above the line mania. Bipolar folks could be charted by a kind of sine wave, fluctuating above and below the line. The unipolar folks would be charted by less frequent sine waves below the line.

Right now, on 40mg paxil I am crusing along right about the "norm" line. I just hope I can stay there. Depression sucks.:(

[amazona]

14. change in how Dx are made or recorded?

If ya'll remember the 1960s, it was said that one in every 10 Americans was a schizophrenic, which is now of course a much rarer disorder. I'm guessing a lot of the mis-diagnosed "schizophrenics" were in fact bipolar. A bipolar friend who does not always respond well to the medication and has had difficulty with the medication was, in younger days, misdiagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Heck, everybody who had a vision or a one-off hallucination or obsession was a schizophrenic back then, to hear some tell it.

I think there are fads in diagnosis as with anything else, but bipolar disorder seems to this amateur a more accurate description in a lot of cases than some previous descriptions.

[Logansquare]

15. I was recently diagnosed with BPII

I remain slightly skeptical, since I associate BP with extreme mania and even psychosis, but I'm willing to try treatment. BPII is a diagnosis for less extreme mood fluctuations that previously were diagnosed as depression, only. Conventional therapies for depression, such as SSRIs, were largely ineffective for me.

I think my partner doesn't believe the diagnosis, but he's trying to be supportive. I can understand how people without mental problems might disbelieve the existence of physiological based mood disorder, especially in a culture where we're all expected to "pull yourself up by the bootstraps." If I could sell my soul to the devil, I would do it to not be enslaved to my own emotions.

[Bluerthanblue]

34. Logansquare....

my heart goes out to you...
Effexor, a twist on ssri's in combo with several others have helped me alot- that and therapy-... mood stablizers just shut me down to numbness- and i would rather be dead, then just take up space- i've been in hospital, on all sorts of therapies, diag. PTSD, and rapid cycling BP but my 'mania' is 'hypomania' a step below true mania.... was rasised in a very chaotic home, with a BP mother who was quite violent physically to me, especially- and spent time in out of home care were i was sexually abused- (at age 5)....

One thing i learned, watching my mom- (i used to say if i ever got like her i'd kill myself- which i've nearly done several times) is that there is NO SHAME in having a mental illness- the only 'shame' is having one, and refusing to 'treat' it- because of stubborn pride- or fear of ridicule-

THE BRAIN is an organ, just like the heart, lungs, liver, etc. Should you have liver disease,- would folks be-little you for needing treatment???- remember that please- and point that out- i wanted to deny my suffering and self-medicated in all sorts of ways to 'make it not be real'- but it is real, and there is not one single thing you, or i have done to 'deserve' it- someday, this will be understood-
but admiting and being unashamed of our struggles, takes courage, and will often be met with 'judgement' until that day arrives.

i wish you well- i just went through a rough patch, and got so discouraged, that once again, i was struggling, feeling like will this NEVER stop!- my therapist acknowledged how frustrating it can be, like riding a roller coaster, not by choice- but to remember, that the ride DOES end- and the 'trips' are less freequent- even if they arent completely stoppable--

it's not 'you'- and while i understand your saying you'd sell your soul- try to remember it is your BODY that is malfunctioning- not "YOU"- even when people try to say they can 'control' thier emotions- they may shut them down temporarily, but it all comes out somewhere-

sorry this is so long, you just hit a common chord ....

[Logansquare]

37. Thanks, Bluerthanblue

I told the psychiatrist I wouldn't accept anything short of a personality transplant :) kidding
I'm so sorry to hear about your recent troubles; I hope the worst is behind you!

[davekriss]

48. That made me laugh!

My daughter doesn't need a personality transplant (see post 28, she can be really out there at times). When not openly ill (either manic or depressed), she is a beautiful, gifted child.

She's been writing fiction the last couple of years, gripping narrative that really holds the interest. Her art -- much of it looks like "art of the mad" (obsessive figuration, strangely imaged), an exibition I saw some 20+ years ago, but sometimes, especially when being consciously symbolic, it holds together as tightly as her fictional narratives. I remind her all the time that many bp's have fulfilling, creative careers and she looks like she might have the spark too. However, I'll be happy if she can just settle in some peace and be happy.

Once, after a particularly bad time, out of the whirlwind came a moment of what seemed pure lucidity. She said the storms come, they overwhelm her to the point where she loses any sense of self; then they settle, and with dismay she awakens to herself again -- but with all the damage, all the humiliation and stigma, that her actions brought about. All we can do is hug her, clean up, and let her know we love her.

(I can see how hard she tries to hold on before she's sucked into the storm again. It can be so so sad.)

[sendero]

39. Do you have manic or hypomanic episodes?

Beleive me, when I was diagnosed as a bipolar, I said "no way".

Then I got on the net and read for 2-3 days. The fact is that bipolar encompasses a wide range of behaviors that are not necessarily similar.

My psych put me on Depakote. To say that wasn't the drug for me would be a major understatement. It worked some, but after a couple weeks it lost its effectiveness. We upped the dose, and it worked some more and lost it again. It is very very tough on the liver. I could not drink a single beer on the crap without feeling like @#$@#.

I went on lithium and it has no sides whatsoever and is very effective for me. Now, I still get angry - but it doesn't spin out of control any more :)

[Logansquare]

42. Yes, that was my response too.

But my nephew had just been diagnosed BPII a month earlier. He was largely depressed; we feared that he would take his own life. Since BPD has a strong biological basis, this shed a lot of light on the behavior of my close relatives. I have a sister who has had, I don't know, twenty jobs in as many years, and moved nearly as much. She
explodes into enormous rages, but when she's in a good mood, she laughs, quite frankly, like a crazy person. A cousin who was BPI and thought he was the President and tried to break into our house during a manic episode. Great genes, huh?

[sendero]

44. Great genes?

Yeah, you can't pick your parents :)

I never really thought about it until a while after I was diagnosed, but it was clearly my paternal grandmother that carried my BPD genes.

My mom would tell me stories about things she used to do - classic full blown mania (like passing out money on the street to strangers, and she was anything but rich :))

Oh well.

[slackmaster]

18. Almost every woman I've dated since my 2000 divorce seems to have it

:argh:

The last one managed to conceal it from me for over a year.

[noonwitch]

20. I've met a lot of people who were diagnosed Borderline Personality

but who were probaby bi-polar. The diagnosing clinician just didn't see all the information, due to the nature of a clinical evaluation.

One was classic-in his "manic" phases, he would be non-stop for days, without sleeping at all. He would go 72 hours or more without sleep, and not be tired. These phases didn't last very long, and he then went in to a longer, depressive phase. That's when he would seek help, and never mention the previous manic phase because that's what he considered his baseline, as he usually got a lot done in those 72 hours.

[Patiod]

21. went through a hypomanic phase one summer

(long story - tipped into it by a stressful life event)

Best summer of my life - I usually need 8-9 hours sleep, got be easily on 4-5. Tons of energey. Everything was more intense. Not to the point of mania (no change in spending, sex, substance abuse, etc) but just a lovely wave of energy.

The only downside were severe anxiety attacks (tachycardia, sweating) unrelated to anything (might start up when reading a boring biography and my heart would start going a mile a minute), and a pressurized speech pattern that annoyed my friends and S.O. (they knew about what I was going through, and were very gracious about dealing with my babbling).

Once the stressor was resolved, I had one more summer of slightly reduced need for sleep and slightly increased energy, then back to the normal ups and downs, and need for 8 hours sleeps.

When mania doesn't venture near psychosis, it can be really FUN. I've heard bipolar folks say they avoid treatment because even though they'd like to lose the "downs", they don't want to lose the "up". If my little walk on the wild side was any indication, I can see why.

[amazona]

25. yeah that one too

I think Borderline Personality is now passing from fashion and it's all Bipolar. My friend who was diagnosed as Paranoid Schizophrenic also had a Borderline Personality diagnosis at one time.

I'm satisfied that he is bipolar. He reacts to medication like a bipolar -- very manic and violent when placed on Prozac without another older medication, the Lithium, to somehow balance it.

But it's hard, there's no blood test for this to my knowledge. Doctors have to diagnose based on the reports of patients who are not always in clear knowledge of what they are experiencing themselves because of mental confusion.

[Jackpine Radical]

26. Conversely, I've seen a lot of Borderlines diagnosed

as bipolar due to their emotional lability.

True Bipolar Disorder runs a cyclyc course of weeks or months of highs or lows. Borderlines are up & down 17 times per day.

The fact is, psychiatrists tend to diagnose Axis I disorders (e.g. Bipolar) rather than Axis II (Borderline), and within Axis I they tend to Dx Bipolar (or anxiety or depression) rather than, say, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, even though the PTSD underlies many cases of anxiety & depression, & nearly all cases of Boderline Personality Disorder. The reason? They almost invariably give diagnoses for which there are associated medications, rather than those for which psychotherapy is more appropriate. That way they can write a 'scrip & get the patient out of the ffice in 5 minutes or so rather than having to refer to a psychotherapist, which the insurance cos. don't like to pay for, anyway.

[Logansquare]

56. I think there's some problems with the diagnostic criteria for Borderline

This is a just IMO posting, so I'm not pretending to have medical credentials. Borderline diagnostic criteria focuses on behaviors, much like Oppositional Defiant Disorder. It reminds me of a supposed mental illness (diagnosed in the pre-Civil War era) possessed by slaves who constantly ran away--I can't remember the word coined to describe it, but it illustrates the absurdity of defining a mental illness by behavior.

I believe that individuals who are behaving in ways defined as Borderline Personality Disorder actually have some extreme spectrum of Bipolar disorder and/or a form of psychosis, of which the causes are many, Borderline has historically been diagnosed in women more often, perhaps because mental illness is expressed, both by culture and by hormones in different ways. A woman may not pick up an AK47 and try to waste her ex-boss, but she may burn her body with cigarettes.

[noonwitch]

60. My mom is a classic borderline personality

She was diagnosed by her therapist (a few years ago, she's not currently in any type of therapy) as having a depressive episode, althought the MSW therapist is slightly more qualified than I (BSW with 18 years of experience) am to make that diagnosis. Still, they need a v-code to bill insurance companies, so there you have it.

My mom is compulsive about many things. She used to smack my sister around when we were kids, partly because my sister was extremely active and partly because she didn't like being embarrassed in public when my sister chose a public place to throw a tantrum. Shopping is a big one-it never caused her any problems because Dad did well when they were married, and grandpa paid for her house and buys her a new car every 5 years. Her weight is another-she is so afraid of getting fat that she eats a 850 calorie a day diet. She was always very controlling about my eating when I was a kid, because I looked like her mother, who was fat. She has a boyfriend for the first time since she and dad divorced almost 20 years ago. She has completely lost her mind and independent thought over this guy, who seems to me to be about getting her money.

Most of the female parents I work with in Foster Care are borderlines. They have a low frustration level, which is why they lose their tempers and smack their kids around. Frequently they are substance abusers (my mom isn't, she's compulsive about never having more than one drink and breaks any prescription meds into little pieces and takes the smallest dose possible), and have records for shoplifting and petty offenses. Their boyfriends/husbands, whom they will do anything for, including taking the blame for his crimes, are often sociopaths.

The compulsive relationships are the marker for Borderlines for me. I think men are equally capable of being diagnosed with the condition, but they tend to get diagnosed with other conditions. If a man has a compulsive relationship, he often gets labelled a controlling stalker.

Personally, I'm schizotypal. Not needing constant reassurance and approval is freeing for the soul.

[Jackpine Radical]

70. The whole DSM is kind of a crock, actually.

With few exceptions, e.g. some of the major psychoses, the Dx criteria are very loose & sloppy.

Sure there are problems w the BPD Dx. For example, you have to meet 5 of 9 criteria, so 2 people who overlap on only 1 symptom can both meet the BPD criteria. However, almost all of those who get the Dx have underlying PTSD or related disorders of extreme trauma resulting from early & severe sexual abuse. The only significant exception to this rule is a subpopulation of BPDs who are the children of (generally) BPD moms. (See Joel Paris' book on this). All Borderlines tend to have unstable self-identities & extreme fear of abandonment. Those should probably be recognized as the "core" symptoms. (Again from Paris).

Actually, I think of BPD, along with Dissociative Identity Disorder & a number of other clinical syndromes, as different variations on complex Disorders of Extreme Stress (a new Dx category under consideration for inclusion in DSM 5).

As far as the self-injury (burning, cutting, ec.) goes, I think that much of it results from an attempt to "self-medicate" with the body's own endorphins.

[Logansquare]

77. Very interesting info, thanks for sharing.

Yes, I think you may be on to something with the connection between BDP and Dissociative Identity Disorder--results of extreme environmental stress, perhaps with some more organic issues of resiliance. Bipolar, on the other hand, often appears in individuals with normal, even pleasant childhoods. There is a high frequency of BPII in some Amish communities: these people have relatively low stress, supportive environments. There is absolutely nothing in my background that could be identified as a trigger for mental illness, just a lot of blood relatives with similar mood fluctuations.

[The Flaming Red Head]

75. Industry term for Borderline is Pain In The Ass Syndrome

When they don't know what to do with you and they get tired of hearing you whine they diagnose you with Borderline Personality disorder. It's mostly women who were sexually abused as children and the male counterpart is often Antisocial Personality Disorder.

A very good Feminist Psych prof told me that.

[wallwriter]

22. Although I am very supportive of

attentive diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders, I am very skeptical of the Pharmaceutical industry and their efforts to pathologize and medicate everything.

[Megahurtz]

24. Me too. n/t

[Say_What]

27. Ditto!!! With the Pharma industry using tv and print media to push their

drugs, I don't trust them one bit.

I read that 40% of 'murikans are on medication of some kind. Personally, I think that's quite high.

[Lorien]

29. The highly effective treatment that big Pharma doesn't want you to know

about:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=276x1649

I've been using this device to treat my depression and insomnia for more than a month now, and I've been completely depression free during that time. My doctor who prescribed it has a large number of bipolar patients who swear by it.

[earth mom]

31. I just posted in your original thread and am glad

to know that it's still working for you! :)

I agree that the pharma giants are pushing drugs at us all in the worst way! They are ruthless and evil. I will be looking into purchasing an Alpha-Stim asap. Wonder if insurance covers it?

[Lorien]

36. It's FDA approved

but insurance coverage varies from state to state. Ebay also has them sometimes (for much less), though the posts often say that only medical professionals can bid on them. I don't know if that's actually true or not. :shrug:

[slackmaster]

35. Cats cheer me up

:D

[AlphaCentauri]

30. I don't know if I'm normal anymore

There are so many personality disorders that I don't know which one could affect me.

[sendero]

40. Probably..

.... pretty much all of them :)

[barb162]

32. I believe it

[Sugarbleus]

41. Thanks for opening this thread on the subject...

I've read herein about person's having their lives upset by the mental health condition of a family member. I've read where a person working for the mental health services watched as the lives of family members get real difficult when dealing with dysfunctional family members.

I cannot tell you what a relief it is to find a thread where I talk about the negative effects mental health issues (in family members) have had on my life.

There's virtually no place to go for support.

First of all, I completely relate to those who are caring for a family member with a significant mental health issue. I send my very best wishes and warm hugs for their situation and bravery.

Depression runs in my family. In the 90's I finally found a doc who would help me with an RX for depression and anxiety. I can't tell you how relieved I was and how sad that so many years had been wasted without this help..I may have achieved so much more by now.

My BIGGEST concern is with my adult daughter who is 37 years old and still a mad hatter. She did poorly in school so went to alternative school. She wasn't violent until she got older. She was only violent if she had been drinking or high on some substance and got into trouble. I began to see something was amiss with her when she was an older teen. I just thought she was a wild girl. She was extremely dependent on us yet "hated" our rules. She began to shoplift. Then she wondered into the drug world and that was the end of her "growth".

In the late 80's she had a son. She stayed with us but wouldn't let anyone touch the baby. She just behaved so weird all the time; slept with her baby for years. She treated him okay at first; dressed and played with him like he was a "toy doll". Eventually she sunk deeper into drugs usage and the boy went pretty much neglected. CPS did nothing.

She kept asking us to baby sit so she could go "party". We got bored with that and the boy wanted his mother; cried all the time.
I was attending community college where I met a woman who was involved with NAMI. Her mother had been severely BP, so she was worried about the disorder affecting her children. This is when I began to delve into the mysteries of mental health conditions along with drug addictions. I've known drug addicts that could at least take a bath and function at some level..my daughter had "something else" going on that, apparently, only I could detect. Everyone was telling me 'Oh it's just the drugs'..I KNEW there was something else underlying my daughter's weird behavior. "She just didn't get it" on so many levels.

My daughter thought that the world "owed" her a living. That her family was "suppose to support her"...I guess forever. :eyes:

When she did have medical coverage via medicaid, she went to a psych who told her she may have BPD. She stopped going and didn't pay her bills so she couldn't go back anyway. She went on using drugs and shrinks won't/can't treat a person who is using drugs. Patients have to clean up first, then they work with the underlying causes of dysfunction. My DT went through spells when she was clean but still had a hell of a time finding anyone who would see her. Mental health access began to run thin in this area. There was a dual diagnosis clinic/program but it was always full. I think, underneath, my daughter didn't want to "work the program".

Over the years, she drained our emotions, our life's spark, our energy, and our treasure. If she hadn't had a child, we would have said no. She used the child as a thunder stick to club us into guilty giving....Cameron has no clothes, Cameron has no food, I can't pay the rent..etc etc.. While we worried about the boy, we just wanted her to go away. She wouldn't go away though, she kept calling and asking for help. She'd drop over unannounced and sit there rubbing her face and whining about this or that.

She's been in and out of prison three times and jail several more than that. She get's ballsy when she'd ask for help..wanting me to send her cash and boxes CONSTANTLY. Running up the collect call phone bill to hundreds of dollars. Even "sober" she couldn't find the boundries between her and us.

I couldn't STAND to have a phone conversation with her because she was soooo distracted. She'd call me but start talking to other people in the room from where she was calling. She was always in a hurry. She's had only ONE romantic relationship that went nowhere. She's never been married and seems freaked out at the idea. She started being cruel to her son; yet I knew she loved him-----------UNTIL he grew up. She's much better with babies as she's a "child" herself. Eventually, she got caught with her son at some raid and we ended up with him living in our home. He began to act out all the bad behavior his mother demonstrated and then THAT became our second nightmare.

After 20 years of complaining to judges, parole officers, counselors and whomever would listen FINALLY someone in authority recognized my DT had/has a serious mental health problem--prison is full of mentally ill inmates. My DT just released for the third time from State Penitentiary. She is sober all the way but she's still a "mad hatter". Even more so since the drugs are completely out of her system.

Now it's CLEARLY noticable that she cannot function in a way that will help her survive. She "overbooked" her plans for her release and they fell through.........guess what? She's living with us again! She enrolled in college but she's barely making it since she cannot focus or sit still and forgets everything. Both I and her parole officer told her to see the state provided shrink. They gave her strattera for adult ADHD--they refused to give her adderal since the probation dept can't give stimulants to ex felons (???). The strattera isn't working at all plus my hubby heard her say she didn't think anything was wrong with her; that WE were the unhappy ones. :spray:

She told me that a prison counselor suggested she may have Borderline personality disorder, among other things. I guess BPD and ADHD are difficult to diagnose. She's been with us for SIX MONTHS and we are going out of our minds. Four of us live in a cramped 800 sq ft of space with no storage. DT keeps bringing more crap home. It's piled up in a corner and all over the place. She constantly wants to drive my car (without a license nor insurance), she has no income stream, and she bitches about everything. When she's 'Manicky', she whistles and sings and gets into everybodies business. She's constantly looking for "approval" but when it's given she forgets it then goes on to say that we don't love her. :wow:
She CANNOT manage money. She wastes it. Doesn't have a clue what a budget is, craves certain foods and goes into a funk when she can't get it. She even complains when hubby wakes up in the morning to sit in the living room to watch TV and make phone calls. I told her she KNEW what the deal was when she came here. She has no other friends or places to go. She hangs out around here all day long..unless I let her use the car. She talks incessantly, butts into conversations, walks into the bathroom and bedrooms unannounced, tries to tell everyone what they should be doing. Breaks things, loses things, forgets the rules and never shuts up. I used to stay up late to use this computer..now she is up late also and she's using this computer to play games. We have ZERO PRIVACY.
My grandson is torn between her and I. He wants a mother that can function. He gets teed off with her also and just leaves the house. When she stands, she shifts from foot to foot, she paces when on the phone, she taps her foot when she sits, her mind races, and she is easily frustrated.

We don't know what to do with her but I can tell you we are so over this scene. Hubby and I are disabled and living on fixed incomes. We can't afford her and we can't stand the disruptions. I've been firm with her telling her she must continue to look for an income stream AND another place to live whether via the parole or via Section 8 programs. When she has no money (she's been living off of College Pell grants and scholarships), she goes into a funk, get's irritable, sasses back. It's like dealing with a child.

IT'S UNBEARABLE....

We don't know WHAT her true diagnosis is but I have a hunch it's more than just one disorder and no one will help her...which would help us, ahem.

NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, mental health issues and drug addictions DO RUIN FAMILIES. More help needs to be available for the countless individuals who cannot do life unassisted.

[HuckleB]

49. Great post.

Yes, the toll on families is incredible. When researchers wanted to compare a population of "stressed" mother to a population of "non-stressed" mothers, they used mothers of children with autism for the "stressed" sample. And they found that the cells of those mothers had aged well beyond their years by comparison to the "non-stressed" group.

And, yes, the lack of services available costs families and communities far more than those services would cost.

Thank you for sharing your story. It needs to be told, again and again, IMHO.

Salud.

[davekriss]

50. My wife is substantially younger than I am...

...and she still looks it!

Me, on the other hand, I think I look 10 years older than I am.

We have two adopted daughters, one is early-onset rapid-cycling bipolar disordered type I, comorbid ADHD to boot; the other is autistic.

I did not understand the stresses the autistic daughter put on my wife until she (my wife) got trained as a 24/7 caregiver at Judevine Center for Autism in the midwest. They videotaped my wife and daughter behind one-way mirrors and I got to see what she went through when my daughter was pre-verbal. She'd scream at my wife, throw things, kick her in the shins and pull her hair -- everything to get her wants met that she could not express. It took a few years, but our daughter did develop language and has blossomed (reasonably) ever since.

Now, the real stress: Our bipolar daughter. The stress of our autistic daughter was cupcakes in comparison!

[Sugarbleus]

69. Hi Dave...good to "see" you again..

I had NO idea you were dealing with such matters in your home. Boy, does my heart go out to you!

I read your story further up the thread. My goodness you do have your hands full. I'm so very sorry to learn of your BPD daughter with all of her extremes. What a trial that has to be for you folks.

I have watched documentaries, read books, heard stories, and know of people with children (or they themselves) who have pronounced cases of BPD.

One woman I know is STILL dealing with a 40 year old son who wouldn't stay on his medications. He'd go off of them, get drunk, sneak into her home when she was away, have parties and run amok through the neighborhood banging on doors waking neighbors up for money, food, or whatever. This woman was on vacation when her neighbor called to tell her what the son was doing. She came back but spent the night in a hotel instead of going home. The police had to track him down where eventually they nabbed him and put him in a facility (with meds) 100 miles away. She was AFRAID to go home. :(

I know others who seem to get along pretty well. Their cases are less extreme. They are pretty funny acutally (witty I mean). As long as they have friends and family around to help them out of minor scrapes once in awhile, they live out their lives fairly okay..certainly not threatening to anyone; usually only harmful, by risky behavior, to themselves alone.

My DT would get wilder when she was using substances. Sometimes the substances (drugs) calmed her down; other times they sent her into a frenzy. Not only to find cash for her next fix, but because the illicit drugs just caused her mood disorders to zoom out of control. At one point, my DT freaked us out when she'd start this screaming and whining and curseing and frothing at the mouth over NOT getting her wishes fulfilled by us. She was hanging around with gangs at that time and we got the heebee geebees thinking she might come back and burn our house down with us in it!

We started locking our doors and windows. I pulled my vehicle up to the garage door AND locked the door from the inside. Just so I could take an afternoon nap and feel safe. She went into the neighbors backyard, found a ladder, climbed over the fence and jimmied her way through our patio door. I was asleep but woke to a noise and found her AND another female addict in my house looking all guilty. It's a long story but in the end she had stolen all of our house money: Some $350...money we had saved for a little outing.

You are a man of faith and a person with intellect. Between the two I wish you the very best. I hope the solution to your situation comes to you clearly and that you can make peace with your decisions.

Many, Many Best wishes to you and your family... :hug:

[davekriss]

78. Right before the current hospitalization...

...my daughter was talking about strong urges to set fire to the house, but adding that she'd never do anything like that.

Fear has overcome my wife now that my daughter is about the same size (and, when manic, she's very very physical and strong). She's threatened Kriss with knives and has thrown large objects of furniture clear across the room (think heavy desk chairs, she has a penchant for that -- in fact, one of her arrests were for throwing a chair at a teacher, but it missed and went through a plate glass door instead).

To date, I have not felt fear (though while waiting for the police to show up recently, and while my wife held her attention, I did quietly go around the house hiding all sharp objects).

Despite all that, we see at the center of the whirlwind a child with a good heart buffetted by emotional storms over which she has no control; who wants peace, who wants to follow our example of calmness and love; and who (this is the killer) looks to us for help less and less as she resigns herself to her disease.

As all of us with severely ill family members (or who may be ill ourselves), we all know the necessity of taking it one day at a time. And we know to cherish the peace and warmth when it's present. Thanks for your kind words, sugarbleus, and peace to you too.

[Bluerthanblue]

83. excuse me

for butting in- but i want to encourage you both, to keep looking for that glimpse of the person you know is in there- even when it seems like she's gone forever.

She isn't-

it's heartbreaking- on both sides-.... if i could put into words the compassion and understanding i have for all the folks you two encompass, (Sugar and Dave) i'd never shut up.

i wish the world was so different- for so many- but "if wishes were changes, we'd all live in roses, and there wouldn't be children who cried in thier sleep"* or parents either

(Nanci Griffiths beautiful song, given to me to soothe and comfort)

thank you both, for not giving up or giving in- and i wish you comfort and peace.

[davekriss]

85. Thanks, we try...

We visited our daughter in the hospital this evening. She was a little hyper but holding it together. She got a card game going called trash and we were having fun. Then, matter of factly, she asked her mom if she can get the word "bi*ch" tatooed to her tongue (remember, she's 13). She could not conceive of any idea why it might be wrong to desire such a thing or why it's wrong to ask her mother. The bubble of joy the visit engendered burst. It ended the visit.

Kriss and I are faithful people. After prayer, and after the first major incident this year, God answered my heart saying, "Be at peace; keep your peace; forgive, and be patient." We are in for a time, it's clear, but if I stay steady, if I prevent her from pushing me off my spiritual center, if I can forgive what she says and does, and if I am patient, I know she will come back to us again.

There have been setbacks, we're living through one now, and there will be more in the future. But you know I wouldn't give it up for a second. Not one second! Even though she's adopted, this poem still expresses the bond that's grown between us (pardon the lenghty post):

BIRTH

Was it the moment you crowned,
red egg glistening within the nest of hair?

Or when your head craned iyt, wrenched
awkwardly awry,
hatched like a baby bird, wide mouth and
tight-squeezed eyes,

Or the fast glide all the way out, pale
slithery fish,
enveloped in white glaze like a new loaf
of bread?

They said, "it's a boy!" Was it then?
Or when they cut the cord, trailing,
white, thick and blue-veined, like life
in the wrist.

Then your first delayed breath, first
wintery cry,
when we shouted for joy, all surreptitiously
counting fingers. Was it when we reached
ten?

Or when you lay like one rescued from
drowning,
beached on my stomach,
warm packet, little brave boat?

Now every time you nurse it happens
again: how
you opened your seacolored eyes into mine,
and something
surged toward me, a star falling from
behind a night
where the dead and unborn pace.

No war, no other death could have severed
that gaze.
Your eyes still sing, "was it you? So it
was you!
It is good, this world, this first day
of creation!

--Kathryn Van Spanckeren, River Styx 5, 1979

[davekriss]

52. Sugarbleus, my prayers go out to you

I'm so sorry to hear about your tribulations.

Your story suggests a sea of troubles ahead for Kriss and I. I know it's not popular to say around these parts, but I believe God does not put upon us more than we can handle. Take solace: The fact that you have your daughter and grandson, and we our two daughters, suggests that we have broad shoulders in His eyes.

[Bluerthanblue]

54. this is so easy for me to say-

but so hard to really do- (and i HONESTLY DO understand your frustration-)

But, if you can remember that given an honest, HEALTHY choice,- or the ability to make a 'healthy rational choice'- your Daughter would not be choosing this path-

It was a terrible struggle for me to seperate my fear and hatred of the 'mother' who used to chase me down and hold me by my head against the wall with my arms and legs hanging limply in the air, while her tobacco,coffee and unbrushed teeth breath, screamed in my face to "LOOK AT ME"- and went on to tell me that everything in life turned to shit when i came along- that i wasn't her child, and that she wished i were dead- ( and sometimes nearly got her wish)-

And then, she'd be sobbing on the couch, like a baby, saying "Daddy's gone, he's never coming home"- while i patted her back, and reassured her he was (that is my earliest memory i was probably about 4?- and i remember being terrified that 'daddy' WOULDN'T come home-

But one thing i promised myself was, that i would NEVER treat my kids like that- and i never have- i married a man who took over where my mother had left off, and when it came to the kids- that was the end-

It wasn't until then, that i completely fell apart- i had been a 'super achiever' people pleaser, stressed to the max, running as fast as i could to prove to the world, that i was 'adequate' or at least not the 'evil spawn' i'd always believed i was- Being Dx'd as BP was akin to a 'death sentence for me'- but through out it all i never 'lost control' in the way my mother used to- i am the yin to her yang-i have hurt myself many many times, my anger and rage is directed inward- and i still struggle to believe that every bad thing in the world is not my doing.

My Mom died on fathers day 8 years ago. The hardest part for me, was the death of the 'dream' that i had, that she could be 'healed'- that she could have a life of peace, and joy- and that we could have what the 'Waltons" had, or "Ma" on little house had with Laura- but, i gotta say- i loved her, and i believe with all my heart that she was trapped in a hell that she could not find a way out of-

and i'm sad for her, for me- and for all those who suffer 'at' the hands of the disease and be they the victim, or the family/loved ones-

Brains are organs- and when they are not operating properly, the results can be devistating to so many people-

i wish you and your family well- i agree, we need more advocacy, and more understanding- AND less 'stigma' 'judgement' and denial.

[Sugarbleus]

67. Oh, my dear Bluer, I too wish you so much goodness

We come into this world and get what we get. We try to cope with it the best way we know how. We need to be loved and we need a sense of Peace about our existence.

It's difficult for any of us to thrive when so many things go wonky; and often for reasons unbeknownst to us at the time. Your story left chills on my flesh.

The hardest thing about this life I lead is that I DO LOVE my children. I feel helpless to help them and the constant "striving" to do so is making me physically ill. My stomach churns at the thought of turning one of them away--even though their condition is beyond my ability to change in significant ways. It's like a death in the family..

My DT does have a soft side, I've seen it. Her goodness is buried in all that confussion. When I see her good and gentle side I get excited..I did that for a long time until the "shifts" that came back made me realize that "this is the way it's going to be" and there's nothing I can do about it. Afterall, she is an adult now so there's NOTHING legally that I can do to force her (or the state) to get proper help. It's very sad..

My own mother was a "rager"..not all the time but just enough to make us NOT LIKE HER. She was unaffectionate but did her"duty" in raising us. Today, I completely forgive her and have asked her forgiveness. I HAD to set that "angry/disappointed at mom baggage" DOWN so I could live with a freer heart and go forward. She did the best she could do with what she had to deal with/with what was available to her in her era. She is deceased now and I'd cherish just a few more days with her to share some things I've discovered.

We know that some people do get the service, the medicines, the therapy et al that they need and go on to live productive lives. To those folks I say: Thank God for your fortune because even though many people never get that kind of help, still, I wouldn't wish these disabilities on my worst enemy.

Life is precious; Life is short. Let's try to help each other more...

Brightest Blessings to you always...:hug:

[Bluerthanblue]

72. thank you Sugar...

...for your kind words,- and your kind heart- and for loving even when loving hurts ... alot- it is so very hard to not be able to 'make thinks ok' especially for those we love, and see glimpses of from time to time.

i'll be keeping you and your family in my thoughts (the good thoughts that is)

Thank you again, for being YOU.


"Play a lot, Laugh a lot
Sow Seeds of Peace wherever you go.
Play and Be Happy.
Dance and shake hands. Work when you must but Live, Love and Trust.
Be Nice to Each Other.
Hug if you'd like to.
Tell Stories and Sing
And every day Dream and Remember
You're One with All Living Things".

[htuttle]

43. I think we're all bozos on this bus

[gate of the sun]

45. this is probably benefiting those

pharmaceutical companies......

[Emendator]

53. Information like this

is so very depressing. It really gets me down in the dumps...

WHOOOO!!! I think I'm going to go for a 10 mile run! How exciting! Then I'm going to clean the house and mow the lawn! Oh, yes, then I'll go write that novel I've been dreaming of doing!!! So much to do, so much to do!

[CBGLuthier]

81. HA HA HA hA hA

Oh yes, mental illness is so fucking funny.

[HuckleB]

82. A sense of humor, especially in regard to serious matters, doesn't hurt.

[cyr330]

55. Bipolar I

I've had problems with depression for many years but finally managed to get it under control when the SSRI's came out. We have several people in our family who have Bipolar Disorder, but I had never had a manic episode as an adult but had had some questionable behavior as a child.

Last summer, I had a depression that was so severe that I landed in the hospital at UCSF (University of California San Francisco). I elected to have electroconvulstive shock therapy (not the brutal therapy it once was). The treatment was great, because it relieved the depression after the first treatment (I had 8 treatments). However, not long after being discharged from the hospital, I started having TERRIBLE bouts of mania with hallucinations, etc. My psychiatrist said he wasn't sure if ECT could trigger mania, but he was quite curious to research it. Anyway, I'm on a hell of a lot of meds now and am doing okay-- some depression from time to time and some slight elevated moods from time to time but pretty stable.

[groovedaddy]

58. Is it real? Two good books on the subject of psychiatry

"Against Therapy" by Jeffrey M. Masson
A book review: http://www.adpca.org/Journal/Vol1_1/against.htm

"We've Had 100 Years of Therapy and the World is Getting Worse"
by James Hillman and Michael Ventura
Book review:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0062506617/ref=dp_nav_1/104-3243636-1263169?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

[HuckleB]

65. Masson argues against something that is very rare today.

Hillman argues against the worst types of therapy, but picks and chooses his examples. In other words, both books argue against a whole by looking at aged cliches and specific examples that do not represent the mental health field even remotely. IMHO, these books serve far more danger than the danger they purport to report.

[ironflange]

59. Both our kids are bipolar

Son, 19, is a very mild case, just diagnosed. Daughter, 14, was caught when she was about six, and we thank our lucky stars for that. Meds and psychotherapy have controlled it quite nicely, though she still has bad days, usually downers. She has the fire within; she's an extremely gifted singer, actress, and artist.

I also have a bipolar cousin, not diagnosed until well into adulthood, she's spent a lot of time in the hospital and she goes through periods of being pretty much a basket case.

[MaryBear]

63. I think Bipolar is seen more today

because people live with it, instead of finding an early death through risky behavior during manic phases or through self harm during depressive phases.

I don't like the pharmaceutical companies getting rich off the drugs -- but I'm glad the drugs are around.

I have a close family member who is bipolar.

[420inTN]

64. I'm of two minds on this report.

eom.

[Martti]

66. Tell me about it...

Just this morning I was officially diagnosed with type II bipolar disorder. Hopefully the meds will finally slow this hyperthreading in my head :/

Mara

[lateo]

68. I think it is higher than they are saying...

[Rainscents]

71. I think my ex-boyfriend has Bipolar Disorder.

Littlest things would set him off and get so angry that, he would come after me and chock, punch, threaten and try to control. I couldn't never do anything right and always had to bring up all of my disability(hearing, speech, back problems), he had wild sexual behavior(which, I wanted nothing to do with). Anyway, finally, I could take it anymore and I had leave.

I feel for people who have this disorder, it must be hard on them as well as their family and love one's.

[yojon]

73. Was the study sponsored by a drug company that

just happens to have a new drug coming out that treats bipolar disorder? Lithium works and is cheap. Bet they are trying to replace it...

[HuckleB]

74. I don't believe the funding came from drug companies.

Lithium does work well, but it has many side effects and can be very dangerous, so it behooves any researcher who cares about patients to search for something better.

[Bridget Burke]

84. No.

The study was presented by Ronald C. Kessler, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, at the Sixth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, in Pittsburgh.

It's there in the article.

[HuckleB]

76. Adding cognitive therapy to bipolar treatment 'cost effective'

http://www.psychiatrysource.com/psychsource/News/article1616.htm

[HuckleB]

79. Altered brain activity gives mania clues

http://www.psychiatrysource.com/psychsource/News/article1619.htm

"Increased activity in the amygdala and reduced activity in the orbitofrontal cortex occur during episodes of mania, suggesting that these areas may be involved in the regulation of affect, a team of scientists has discovered.

..."

[HuckleB]

80. Melatonin Agonist Shows Benefits in Treating Bipolar Depression

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/506989