Could it be bipolar disorder?

Question

My husband for the last year or two has been an up and down rollercoaster. One minute he is so happy, fun loving, caring etc then the next minute he is this raving lunatic who flips out and makes these wild accusations that are completely untrue about myself and others, then he is sulking, then he is mellow and then he is up again. Sometimes the up and down episodes are really close together like a matter of minutes apart but there are times when his ups last for days and the same with the lows... What do I do? I know if I went to him with a type of "intervention" about it it would just set him off on one of his raving lunatic tangents... I am seriously ready to leave him at this point! We have been married 7 yrs and together for 10 & have 2 girls together & I dont want to throw it all away because he is going nuts... (litterally it seems) but I dont know how much more of this I can take...

Answer 1

I'd say you have a husband that has developed bipolar disorder. I say this because my husband was also bipolar. Unfortunately I tried the intervention. I even got him to go to a psychiatrist and get the proper medication, but he wouldn't take the medicine regularly. After the bipolar progressed and the rages got scary (police having to be called, etc.), I had to leave him. It's just not healthy for the kids to see a parent acting in this manner. Your health with eventually start to suffer from the stress of dealing with it. For a short time, I even went on antidepressants so I could shut down my emotions towards it - big mistake.

Do what you can to direct him to treatment and even try to get extended familly to help, but if he won't get treatment, you may have to do what is best for you and your children and get out.

Good luck and know that you're not the only person who is going through this situation. The more I talked about it, the more I found out that bipolar is very common in destroying relationships.

Just so you know, there are different levels of bipolar, but look for signs like not being able to work consistently, calling in sick, sleeping for extended periods of time, the drastic mood swings (and sometimes even forgetting they happened), addictions to various substances, arrests, etc. Not every bipolar has all those, but many of them do. My husband had them all.

Answer 2

I'm not sure it is bipolar. A few people in my family have it. If in his low periods he tends to sleep a lot then maybe he does. Could just be, and i mean no offense, that he's just immature. Still it's best off to get it checked all the same. It's going to be hard to confront him with it. Especially if he can't see a probem. Try casually and non-threateningly asking him how he feels and if he gets depressed some times. I wouldn't try an intervention. It might be too full on for him but I don't know him so I don't really know.If it helps tell him you've been going through a rough patch and need his support to go to a counselor or something and get him to see one that way. Good luck. Even if it doesn't resolve, the kids are better with happily seperated parents than unhappily married ones. I really hope this works out for you though.

Answer 3

I am not a doctor but I do have bipolar and have been controlled on medication for five years. I take depakote-ER for mania and I take Effexor-XR for depression and the dosage is manipulated around depending on my symptoms. I feel great.

Encourage your husband to see a psychiatrist for a medical diagnosis discussion. See if he will let you go with him also. You should find a psychiatrist who has a philosophy of working with the person until the right combination of medications are found and who will listen to the patient well.

Sometimes a person with bipolar is put on lithium. While this is fine, there are some other side effects not found with Depakote such as a metallic taste in the mouth.

He may have some other disorder like mood disorder, I dont know. Talk therapy may help him too, or couples therapy.

God bless you and good luck in trying to solve this.

Answer 4

I am bipolar 2. I don't have the really high highs, but I do have really low lows. It definetly seems like there is something going on with your husband. Only a doctor can tell you for sure, but I know people who suffer from manic depression (bipolar 1) and I have seen them go through similar experiences. I know that I have stable times (times when my mood swings are not there). I would try to talk to him during his next stable time and try to get him to a doctor. If he is bipolar, he can be helped and while I am not saying he can be 'cured' he can live a very great life, you all can

Answer 5

this does not sound like bipolar disorder. it is very unusual for people to develop bipolar disorder at such a mature age (being married for seven years with kids and all). and such rapid mood cycling is pretty uncommon. these sound more like mood swings (there is a big difference. and though it happens with people with bipolar it is also a defining characteristic for several other mental illnesses). it sounds as if he might be experiencing borderline personality disorder which has been dormant for some time and has been set off by some particular event or issue (please look into bpd. many people have it and develop it and are misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder).

whatever it is that is going on with him he definately needs help. an "intervention" is really the only way to get him to seek help at this point. if he refuses than there isn't much you can do. he has to see that he has a problem and want to get better.

when you talk to him about it just do your best to remain calm and let him know that you are doing this because you love him and care for him and you want him to feel/be better. if you feel unsafe or he threatens you or your children, call the police and tell them what is going on with him. they will take him to get a psychiatric evaluation if it is necessary.

Answer 6

Sure sounds like it.
My on and off again boyfriend has those same symptoms and is also an alcoholic which adds to the problem.

There are medications to treat it.

The problem is getting people like this into a doctor and into therapy which is the only answer.

The problem is a brain chemistry imbalance over which the patient has no control and medication to stabilize the brain is the only answer. My boyfriend will no take the treatment.

Answer 7

Has he been on any new medication in the last year or two? My doctor put me on Luvox and it (combined with my daily intake of caffeine) put me in the craziest manic-depressive state. One moment I would be raging, feeling like I could leap off of tall buildings and start flying, and the next I would be curled up in a ball crying. It was really terrible. Once he took me off of it I was fine. Man, did I love those highs though.

You have to be bi-polar to some degree to have a medicine affect you like that, but it will certainly make things a LOT worse.

Answer 8

Yes, it could be. I don't know much about bipolar disorder but i had a friend who was used to freake out over nothing and we just broke our friendship yesterday. She has bipolar disorder. I think they don't know what they are doin' but their behavior sucks. You need a lot of potential to deal with it and sometimes we think why we should do that and then breake is the only way.

Answer 9

Either rapidly cycling bipolar or drug abuse. Don't think that because you don't see drug abuse that it is not a factor. I lived with a drug abuser for years, and was so naive to it. I did not do drugs and could not even entertain the idea that he was doing all that right under my nose. If this is indeed a new behavior and not an exaggeration of previous personality traits, I would bet on that.

BTW, he is dead now due to his drug abuse.

Answer 10

Rapid mood swings,out of control spending are signs of bipolar but there is more to it than that, you should consulate a professional of look it up on the web, it can be controled with therapy and medication.