I think it has something with getting worse over time, right?
2006-11-25 11:06:50 · 5 answers · asked by kim_bp1 2 in Health ➔ Mental Health
I have never been off my meds but my illness just keeps to be getting worse! I was diagnosed in 1993 and everything's gone downhill slowly since then. *sigh*
2006-11-26 01:56:05 · update #1
Yeah, it was first identified in rats while studying epilepsy. They implanted electrodes in the rats' brains, and used a small current to trigger a seizure. Over time, they found that the current could be steadily reduced, until eventually the rats had seizures with no stimulus at all. In other words, it's a 'sensitization' thing.
The same effect takes place in unmedicated bipolar patients. The current thinking is that epsiodes, at least in the early years, are triggered by external events/stresses. Without treatment, the bipolar brain becomes more and more sensitive to these triggers, until eventually the sufferer cycles continuously, without needing to be triggered.
It is also believed that the episodes will become more serious over time, if untreated.
2006-11-26 04:02:06 · answer #1 · answered by Random Bloke 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Wrldpz is wrong! Like you said, kindling is actually a way in which the disease gets worse. What happens is: evertime a Bipolar person goes off their meds and has either a manic or a depressive episode, when they return to the meds they will be less effective. Also, the cycle times will increase. BP's are notorious for going off their meds because the like the manic high, but in the long run it will harm the efficacy of their medications.
2006-11-25 20:40:12 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
well that's great that the person above me is a graduate psych major and bipolar but so am i (bipolar) and i never went off my meds because i "like" the high of a manic state...okay, maybe you do or others you know do, but i think that is an unfair generalization to make, considering i went off mine before because i honestly thought i was better and didn't need them anymore...like they stabilized me and now i didn't need them anymore..of course, i know now that this isn't true, but think before you speak and don't make generalizations about all bipolar people, it affects every person differently and for such an "educated person" you'd think that you might know that.
2006-11-26 07:55:51 · answer #3 · answered by litebright_sol_ja 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Some medications, while treating the depression in bi-polar, will trigger a manic episode accidentally. It's like putting kindling to a fire, that's the saying. Best of luck to you!
2006-11-25 19:10:18 · answer #4 · answered by whrldpz 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
This is a very good blog, a beginner’s guide to abnormal psychology.
Short, clear and simple; and you can even post your question and contact the author regarding particular subject you are interested in, for FREE
http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/
2006-11-26 09:55:37 · answer #5 · answered by LIz 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋