how much do drugs effect the bipolar disease?

Question

ive smoked alot of weed, and ive pretty much stopped. the doc's say i am bipolar, but have a lot of symptons come from just drugs? i checked off like 19 out of 20 answers to confirmation of the disease. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Answer 1

There's no evidence that marijuana causes mental illness.

However, if you are bipolar and taking medications, you need to speak to your doctor if you still take any kind of street drugs, such as marijuana. From my own research, marijuana produces a relaxed and numb state where one cares less about certain issues; however, it can also cause similar physical health problems as cigarettes do, but on a smaller scale (as an average marijuana smoker smokes less of their drug than an average cigarette smoker).

Answer 2

Bipolar Disorder and the side effects of THC the predominate chemical in marijuana can look almost identical. This is why usually doctors will treat both the addiction and the disease. Many people with bipolar use pot because it helps for the short term. Pot can trigger manic symptoms on its own or assist a person who has bipolar to get manic.

Go get treated for bipolar and substance abuse. If like in 6 months things are better then one might conclude it was just pot and begining to wane you off bipolar meds. However if it is bipolar you will still have cycling issues. Best to have some kind of therapy and support system. This stuff takes time to figure out what is a disease and an addiction.

Answer 3

There are lots of questions in this one to be answered.. Smoking pot recereationally .. maybe 2 or 3 times a month dramatically enhanced the effects of the manic side of my bipolar disorder.. this may account for you having such a high chance on your 'bipolar test'
but being bipolar is something you would probably KNOW long before a doctor would ask the right questions and come up with the proper diagnosis.. what should you do? get off the weed for a while.. 30-45 days is most likely good enough for it to be out of your system .. maybe a week or two longer if you are overweight.. or a week or two shorter if you are no longer an everyday smoker. smoking pot has an effect on both sides of the bipolar spectrum for me.. it made the lows lower and the highs higher.. I wont touch the stuff ever again.. it is a very mild street drug by comparison to something like heroin or coke.. but things like these are a typical method of self-medicating because they knw something is wrong with them and they are seeking a way to find some irrational means to feel normal again especially alcohol .. get treatment for the substance abuse..substance abuse .. then retake the same test and go over the updated results with a doctor or psychiatrist. with your help they will be able to see if there is any definite connection to smoking and the possibility of beinng bipolar..
Keep in mind most of these 'self-tests' are provided by pharmaceutical companies with a hidden agenda of making as many people as possible feel as if they have a treatable mental illness.. and it is no coincidence that they want you to believe their drug is the answer to it all.
It is almost like horriscopes .. they are very deceptive in their flexibility so that they apply to a wide range of people.. and somehow manage to seem very personal at the same time.
The best answer I can give would be to modify your behavior naturally.. change your diet.. exercize more.. take a daily vitamin.. take care off yourself better.. learn to meditate.. do yoga in the privacy of your room with the door closed.. limit caffiene intake.. have your thyroid gland looked into by having a blood test at your doctors.. an abnormal thyroid issue can easily be misintrepted as being bipolar.. some of the symptoms are identical.
medication should be a last resort when the symptoms specific to bipolar disorder are out of your own control. This is my case. I am on a combination of Lamictal and Seroquel for medications .. different things work for different people at different times. and being bipolar has many different variations..
educate yourself about the affliction.. read up on everything you can find online through using the word bipolar in any search engine..
I hope this helps you :)
Good Luck.

Answer 4

Unlikely that the symptoms of Bipolar type I or II came from the ganja. What should you do? Well, you took an assesment for the disorder and you scored pretty high. Doesn't mean you meet the critea for the disorder but you probably have some issues. Make an appointment.

I would like to clarify, Bipolar is an disorder not a disease.

Answer 5

If bipolar is in your genes then drugs for sure can trigger it's onset. If you already are bipolar then trust me, drugs are just going to make matters a whole lot worse for you. I know, because I learned the hard way. I used to smoke A LOT of weed too because it made me feel better.....better than I felt from what bipolar was doing to me. The thing is, smoking weed is just a temporary band-aid.....you're gonna feel better while you're high but contrary to one of the above answers.....chronic use of pot WILL lead to chronic depression and then you're really in rough shape. As far as anything else...like coke and ecstacy, you're likely to go manic which isn't good either. Long term pot, opiates, and even alcohol use is going to trigger depression.
Didn't mean for all that to sound like a lecture but just giving you a real life experience of what drugs will do for bipolar.

Answer 6

I work as a LPN on a psych. unit and I would recommend staying off the drugs. You should ask your DR about the side affects of the weed and the interaction between it and your prescription meds. Bi polar disorder can be managed well with medication. and I personally know a few people who have Bi Polar disorder and they have a normal life with good job's and are happily married. They sometimes have manic phases as well as depressions but these are managed well with their DR and med's

Answer 7

I am schizoaffective....bipolar mixed with schizophrenia. This is my sixteenth year clean and serene in NA and AA(Narcotics anonymous and Alcoholics anonymous)
If you have just come down off drugs...there will be symptoms as you detox. And some of them depending on your body chemistry will mirror bipolar symptoms.
Ask the shrink how long it will take your body to flush the majority of the chemicals from your body...and how soon after that will he prescribe your meds...and rest assured...that is what is on his mind.

ASk him what your choices are with the different meds and make him...let me say this again...make him explain every single side effect for each drug...what the benefit is of each drug...make sure your immediate family knows about this...and have a long discussion with them about it.

Get on the web and hunt down the Bi-polar forums and there are many...and start asking questions from people who have been dealing with this for a long time.

Educate yourself...no one should know your body better than you do...read everything you can get your hands on body chemistry and what affects it.

Tell the shrink about your present diet and ask what you need to
change in it.

If you are not exercising...now is a good time to start. I speak not of running four minute miles...but something you are doing now. If you like walking...then extend your walks in distance and in speed...gently. If you cycle then extend your cycling...by a few minutes in the beginning. The more you do these things the faster whatever meds he prescribes will saturate your system, the less severe the side effects of the meds will be...and the better you will be able to handle them.

Discuss all this with your family and keep them up todate with your treatment and progress. Family can be a benefit to you and if you have a good relationship with them...a really good benefit.

If your doctor is unable or unwilling to work with you on your treatment plan...is obnnoxious in anyway...is too obsessed with showing you that he is the boss...or can't answer simple questions about side effects and how you can counterract them through side diet and excercise...be prepared to get a second opinion.
There is a therapy called Dialectic Behavioural Therapy that seems to cut across all disorders and illnesses when it comes to giving us skills to deal with the manic episodes as well as the depression of the disorder. I have been depression free since 1997 and my manic episodes continue to lessen in frequency and intensity as time goes on.
My diet has some rules.
No dairy...I hated giving up Butter Pecan...and so it goes. No coffee...cut way down on my sugar intake...no soda...lots of water...and I eat no cooked food unless I have something raw like a banana or carrot sticks. Body chemistry is the key...so I do my best to help my body stabilise my mind.
I don't take vitamins...I use Spirulina and Chlorella instead which takes care of all minerals and vitamins...and in capsule form...not tablets. I jump rope and I walk. Friends who are toxic to me get their walking papers. I don't rush to get anywhere...even when I am late...I do things for myself ...just because I am worth it...and I work on my attitude and behaviour everyday.
I have fired three shrinks. I am on top of my game...just for today. I expect them to do the same. I have been off meds for about five years. I practice the exercises from DBT therapy every week...
This can be done...you can earn a good life...you can find out about yourself on a very deep level. This diagnosis is merely another chapter in your life that you are starting. Please...set the tone for the rest of your life...by starting out your recovery on the right foot. Peace and blessings and the best of luck.

Answer 8

Take a look at this under "bipolar disorder."

http://phifoundation.org/heal.html

Say no to drugs!

Answer 9

i have a bipolar freind he smokes and it does not bother him, but when he was tweeking it was like dr jeckel and mr hyde. but that does not mean that you should everyone is differant ask your dr he can not turn you in because dr patiant confidentialty

Answer 10

There is a lot of good info on this subject right here.