Is there recovery from bypolar disease ?

Question

do pacients have to be on medication for life ? and what is the best treatment available ?

Answer 1

i have worked with many bi polar people for over 30 years. i do not know of one case that can function without medication. i believe, however, it can be possible, in some rare cases. i have known many people that were diagnosed 20 years ago, and they decided to go off their medications, and the symptoms reappeared , just as they did 20 years ago. my experience tells me that there can be recovery from bi polar illness,only with proper medication, and some counseling. there is no cure for this illness, but medications can make a person function.

Answer 2

If you've had more than a couple episodes, you will have to stay on medication for life. I was not able to find helpful meds for years, so I did all the other things you're supposed to do:counseling, exercise, eat right, maintain social relationships, reduce stress, use a light box, etc. It didn't do the trick. i was almost continously suicidal because I was in such agony from depression. I don't get a lot of mania, pretty much hypomania, and not much anymore now that I'm in my 40's.

The best treatment depends on who you are. Those things I mentioned above are all good, plus there is lithium, depakote, lamictal (that's what I take) and a bunch of other things. Different people respond to different treatments. Go to bipolarworld.net and click on the link "ask the doctor" this dr phelp's guy is a bipolar specialist. He put a lot of effort into his website, it's really good.

Oh, and to add, even with the medications and the counseling and all that, I am still disabled by my illness. I have about 5 good hours a day, and only get those good 5 hours on about 20 days a month. So there is a lot of variation on how well people can recover. There are a lot of people who take the meds and live normal lives, and there are a lot who don't (either the meds are not as good for them, or maybe the bipolar is worse to begin with, I don't know). You will have to live your life the best you can, which is all anyone can do, and then look back and see if your life was rich and full of love and recovery. In that sense, even though I'm only 42 and have a lot more suffering ahead of me, I have recovered.
good luck!

Answer 3

i'm going to guess you or someone you know has recently been diagnosed.
i tend to disagree with some of the people that have answered but it's different for everyone. i was diagnosed bipolar when i was 21 and going through a horrible depressive phase.
i took myself off of lexapro when i was 24 (coming off antidepressants is very very tough).
i was never a good patient and really refused to go along with the treatments the medical field had to offer. i researched a lot and learned about nutritional therapies and other tools that can help me along when i need them, which really isn't very often anymore. i won't say never - i still don't handle stress well sometimes and i tend to let my moods snowball when i'm dealing with a bit too much - but i always come out on the other side...and it never takes that long anymore.
i guess it's different for me though because i have never had the true uncontrollable psychotic highs, just some very very low periods.
i still have my moments and i can be a bit moody (ask my girlfriend!) but i tend to chalk it up to things like stress, blood sugar, etc...i've learned to see some of the cause and effect relationships between how i feel and what's going on in my life...and it all makes much more sense than the all-encompassing "chemical imbalance".
there are people i know who are on the meds and they do well, there are others i know that do not do well. the mind is hard to figure out but you CAN find something that will work for you.
there are avenues other than the one the drug industry will put you on. it all just depends on the person. feel free to email me:
[e-mail]

Answer 4

Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness is a lifelong affair. Patients do have to stay on medication for life, and it's very important that they do so, or the disease process worsens.

Lithium has been the treatment of choice since it was discovered 50 years ago. People who can't tolerate lithium are often given Depakote, a drug that is also given to people with seizures.

More recently, doctors have started prescribing antipsychotic drugs like Abilify, Zyprexa and Seroquel to name a few.

Antidepressants are risky in that they may set off a manic episode. This usually ends up as hospitalization for a month or so.

A really good book on the subject is BIPOLAR DISORDER by Francis Mondimore. It will answer your questions more fully. Anything by Kay Redfield Jamison is good, too. She's a psychologist at Johns Hopkins and has BD herself, so she offers a lot of insight.

Good luck to you whether you are asking for yourself or a loved one.

Answer 5

Bipolar medication is something that has to be worked out between the patient and his/her doctor, and yes, it is usually a life-time of taking it. My daughter is 41, bypolar, and has been on Celexa for years. Other meds had differing degrees of success or failure, but so far, if she takes it regularly, Celexa does the best at smoothing out the up and down cycles of this awful disease.

Answer 6

i also have Bi-Polar disorder whicj is a chemical imbalance that you are born with so that means a lifetime of management. the fact of the matter is that some people are more functional than others. you and your dr. will have to find what meds in conjuction w/ different types of therapy such as individual or group can best manage it. so educate yourself ,get evaluated if haven't done so to see where you fit in. it's a possibility you can function on a lower dose of meds. but it's not wise to not get treated at all. you can also try to research more homeopathic treatments if you don't want to take more traditional meds. but you should discuss this w/ your dr. first. i wish you the best. take care.

Answer 7

In some cases yes medication is life long. You can talk with your therapist to decide if medication is needed. You can use behavioral modification, stress managment. You can learn to tell when you are cycling. My son is an ultra ultra cycler that means he cycles through his moods very quickly in a day, you can cope with bipolar disorder and lead a normal healthy life.

Answer 8

The best treatment out there is behavior modification. Learning new stress management, conflict resolution, communication skills, assertiveness training. As your coping skills improve, so do the mood swings.
Also, try changing your diet. Seriously consider nutritional therapy.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3895596783332855545&q=psychiatry+is+fraude&hl=en

Answer 9

As far as I know, you have to be on medication for life. I have people in my family that has this condition and the psychiatrist said that it's something that you were born with.

Answer 10

bipolar disorder is treated with various psychiatric medications. I am on lithum for the mood swings and anti-depressants for depression, plus Klonopin for anxiety.