bipolar Help!?

Question

This is what I told me boyfriend "you dont sleep, you cant even talk to me at night your mind is racing so much, you have so much energy your doing 39039 things trying to write a BOOK, spending a thousand bucks,, are EXTREMEMLY mean and irritable, you suddenly change from being fine to being miserable. you get attacks all the time, reckless behavior like punching things... YOU NEED TO GET HELP."


he sees a psychiatrist, he is on meds (seroqel, depake, clonapen, zoloft, provigial)... doesnt seem to be workings, hes been on them for 3 years now. 5 months ago attempted suicide. We've been dating a year. What should i do? sometimes he is amazing, then others he is a screaming nut.

Answer 1

he needs to sleep. he resents the meds he takes, because they cloud his creativity. he needs to take a sleeping pill and take fish oil supplements. exercise will be his and your best friend. it will be hard for you, but this is a lifelong thing. you must gauge if it is worth it.

Answer 2

My brother is Bipolar and has been for 36 years and I have worked with many folks with bipolar.

I can tell you that there is more than one type of Bipolar disorder, in the sense of different behavior types.

In the beginning and then later down the road, doctors have to experiment with medications to get the right type and dosage to get the person back to a fairly normal life. It is a rough go and many never quite keep it all together all the time. Their own personal attitude and acceptance of the disorder is critical to getting the correct treatment and making it work. They must accept that they are Bipolar, not just that something is wrong and they need to become knowledgeable about their treatments and realize that when things are not right, they need to either check back in with their doctor, or go to the emergency room if it gets bad.

I do not see Lithium on the list of meds and that is the standard medication for Bipolar disorder, unless one might be allergic to it.

If you really care for him, you should talk him into a study of the disorder and its medications so you both can sit down and learn as much as you can so you guys can make a difference in getting the right treatment. If he is still having these episodes, the meds are not working and he needs to communicate that to his doctor. Sometimes Bipolar patients convince themselves they are fine, when everyone sees differently.

Being Bipolar is rough, but when the patient takes the bull by the horns and not only educates them self, but also listens to others when they tell them there is a problem, then they will regain much more control over their life.

Answer 3

OK, so he's sort of on the right meds, but not all together, in my humble and non-mediacally qualified opinion:

Seroquel's an antipsychotic that ought to be calming him down and helping him sleep.

Depakote is an anticonvulsant that should be stabilising his moods.

Klonopin is a benzo tranquiliser that should calm him down.

Zoloft is an antidepressant, but a bad one for bipolar, and can make him manic, so it could be cancelling out the Seroquel.

Provogil is a stimulant, amongst other things. So that means it may be cancelling out the Klonopin.

So if the doses are all just wrong, he's only getting the benefit of the depakote. From the symptoms you describe, he's certainly hypomanic and needs to see a (different) psychiatrist soon.

Answer 4

well, it's great that he is on medication. That is always the first step.. I am also bipolar and medication is amazing. You mentioned that he is going to a psyciatrist, but often a psyciatrist only perscribes medication. He needs to be seeing a counselor. I would suggest that you two see a counselor together. Mental disorders don't only affect the person experiencing the disorder, but the people around them also. If he is not willing to see a counselor with you, then I would seriously consider having a long talk with him. My father has bad anger problems. For years my mom wanted to do counseling with him and he refused... this later resulted in so much pain for me, my brothers, and later a divorce. So taking action NOW is better than waiting til you have children, and your children having to deal with the pain of seeing their father go into such rage. Good luck. Email me if you want to chat. It's [e-mail]

Answer 5

I am going to paste you the answer I gave to another person that posted a question regarding bi-polar. You say your boyfriend is being treated with medication and it is not helping. You need to find out if he is taking it as prescribed. It is VITAL he takes it every day and does not miss doses. It will not work ortherwise. This medication works on building up levels in your system. He needs to maintain a certain level in his sytem for the medication to be effective. I don't know if this is the case or not, but often people do not take their medication daily in a methodical way. Okay now I am going to paste in what I had writting to the other person. I hope it is of some help to you in understanding the behavior of a person affected by bi-polar disorder.

People with bi-polar disorder go through excessive mood changes. When a person is in the manic stage of the disorder, they are likely to be compulsive and display very poor judgement. They may make rash irresponsible decisions, or they may go off on a spending spree they cannot afford. They will often talk excessively about whatever pops into their head. They will often talk very fast as well. It is difficult to have a conversation with them as they are not listening to what anyone else is saying, they are only thinking and talking about what is in their own head. They can appear to be charming but can also be very irritable.

During the depressive state they become the opposite. They may not get out of bed other than to go to the bathroom. They will neglect personal hygene and tend to lay around in pyjamas for days on end. They may either eat excessively or not eat at all. They may or may not be tearful.

Bi-polar is a very serious disorder and often getting people to take the appropriate medications is difficult. This is partly due to the fact that many bi-polar people actually enjoy the manic state as they say it makes them feel on top of the world. For this reason many will endure the depressed stage. Others will just refuse to believe there is anything really wrong and plain refuse to take the medicine. In the more severe cases a person can also become psychotic and exhibit schizophrenic type symptoms, such as paranoia and auditory and visiual hallucinations. Not all people with the disorder will ever become that severe.

There are many medications out there that can be very effective in stopping or reducing the symptoms. The main medicine being Lithium, which is a mineral that works in stopping the nuerons in the brain from misfiring. The misfiring nuerons are what cause the imbalance that causes bi-polar.

I am posting a link for further perusal of the symptoms of bi-polar. Also you may want to consider reading a book called "A Brilliant Madness" It is written by the well known actress Patti Duke commonly known for her role in the old t.v. series "Gidget" It is a very informative book and gives a great perspective from Patti Duke herself who suffers from Bi-Polar.

Answer 6

Are you happier with him or without him?
Decide if he is worth it.
Also decide if you got pregnant, would he be the kind of father that your children deserve?
It is not just about you and him. It is about future generations.
This disorder is genetic.
If either you or he cannot have children, then it is your decision about your own life.
Good luck to you

Answer 7

This site has natural help for bipolar. All meds have side effects.

http://www.phifoundation.org/heal.html

Answer 8

is he taking medicine for bipolar or depression these are very different diseases so perhaps he is not taking the right medication.

Answer 9

hon, I had a friend that was manicccccc depressive, but she never treated her man mean...