What is the general prognosis for a thirty five year old male with bipolar disorder?

Question

I'm thirty five and bipolar. It has taken close to ten years until I found the right cocktail of medications. I'm just now starting to date and work again. Will I be able to get married? Will I be able to develop a career? What about children?

Answer 1

I'm 34 and bipolar. Yeah, about 15 years to make good progress with medication.

Of course, you can get married! I think the advice that you have received here is very good. People get married later and later... don't you know that the 30s are the new 20s... :)

Besides if it is a first marriage then that will be very special. Many older people are divorced so being on a first marriage is quite nice regardless of age.

I think the opportunities for you to get married are high.

Develop a career... definitely. Many people change careers and develop new skills later in life. Right now I am going to college for new skills... so it's certainly a possibility.

As for children, that is more difficult. Personally, I don't plan on having children. That is something you would have to discuss with your partner. It's, of course, a potentiality. There are risks and rewards involved as with so many decisions in life.

Be glad that you do have your life back! :)

And it can be a full life, too.

Answer 2

Well... statistically you've gotten beyond the age where bipolar is typically "the worst" for men (could be why the meds are working better now too) so...

I'm glad you're feeling better and you feel your bipolar is well-managed. Some hints:

Find a good time to be honest with any potential mate about your bp. Not so soon that they haven't gotten to know you yet... but not so late that they'll feel lied to or that you hid anything from them. Balancing act depending on the person and the path the relationship is taking.

Sometimes it comes up when you go for dinner the first time and you order a Sprite instead of wine... "I don't drink for health reasons, but please order what you'd like" usually works okay early on.

None of us knows if we're going to be able to groom a relationship all the way to the altar... you're no exception - lol If you're well-managed, the bp shouldn't stop you... but being a self-involved jerk might, so as you get back into the swing of things, please... just be a nice man for the sake of the gals you'll be dating. There are lots of us who've been run through the wringer by the time we're 30 or 35, so... be gentle. (Nothing to do with bp, but you ARE still a guy) :)

Developing a career... let me get my crystal ball... I don't know your field or if you ever established one. Don't know how long you were completely out of the job market. You will need to have an explanation for potential employers as to why you have 10 empty years on resume... and some will accept "I had some fairly significant health issues for many years, but my health care professionals and I feel that they're resolved and well-managed now... and I'm ready to move on. I would welcome the chance to move on with this company."

It would be best not to try to take on a job with an enormous amount of pressure and responsibility and stress until you KNOW you can deal with that... maybe never... it's just not the best plan most likely. Try to keep your professional life to something you enjoy that's fairly low key. Tread slowly back into the working world until you know your personal limitations. You don't want to rattle your own cage with too many changes all at once.

Children....

You would just need to be aware that bipolar disorder can certainly be inherited... and it can be either not as bad or worse in a child... it's at least a 1 in 4 chance they would inherit... higher for a child of same sex... higher if other members of your family also have a mental illness... so you would want to think hard about that... talk it over with your spouse... make sure this person understands your last 10 years and the true extent of what you dealt with before you met... and take it from there.

Above all, work out a contract of sorts with your mate... that if it's felt by your mate that you're not as stable as you typically are, that you will review your situation with your physician. BP has a way of sneaking up on you and typically if you refuse to consider the possibility that you need a med adjustment or that your bp is rearing its ugly head... that's when it's the worst.

If you violate that contract and that trust... then you don't need the relationship and neither does she. I wish you the best...

Answer 3

Of course you can!!! Why not?

For a variety of reasons, many people find themselves "starting life" at age 30, 40, 50 and older. Maybe they just got out of a bad marriage, had health problems, or maybe just neglected themselves for years. And that's the beautiful thing about life... it's adaptable. No matter what our circumstances, we adapt to them and find a way to be happy.

I didn't meet my husband until last year- I was 25 and he was 34. We both had children from previous marriages and had been divorced. Although it would be nice to dream about having met him earlier, we wouldn't be the same people we are now... so everything has it's purpose. I have another year of school left, and after that we plan on having atleast one more child... maybe more.

The career is up to you as well... it's never too late. My mother worked in a factory for years until they closed down, then went back to school and became an RN at the age of 36. Twelve years later, she the director of nursing at a long-term care facility. It's never to late to get an education...

Basically, it's never too late to do anything you really want to do. You just have to lock on to the positive in life and push away the negative. The clock doesn't stop ticking until you're dead, so live every moment the best you can!!!!

Congrats on getting your condition under control! I wish you the best and I know you'll find everything your looking for! Don't let time discourage you, life is a subjective experience... Best wishes and good luck!

Answer 4

You should do okay if you keep up your doctors appointments and stay on the medication. There's no reason why you can't have a normal life. Are there any kind of mental health support agencies in your area? Maybe your doctor knows about some of these--it might help you to get your life on track; but it sounds like you already have a good start.

Answer 5

connect the club right here. i'm a 38 year old woman with bipolar sickness and have been sorting out the courting concern. i think of it incredibly is greater problematic for us because of the hassle-free reviews of having remoted from others at circumstances and relationships be they romantic, friendships or now and returned family participants have suffered over the curler coaster journey. It makes it greater durable to take the prospect and concern of rejection is hassle-free for us persons. i think like a young person in an grownup international now and returned yet courting is a huge deal for all people. the final recommend i gives you from my journey so some distance is to get obtainable, do no longer supply up. each and each time you ask somebody out it incredibly is like practice and each and each time you meet somebody for coffee, it could pass onto a 2d cup or no longer. do no longer take it in my view if issues do no longer pass nicely, there are one hundred the explanation why the guy would have pronounced no and maximum of them have no longer something to do with you. I learn from each and each journey, do no longer concentration on that 2d date, appreciate the 1st. only undergo in concepts, there's a Ms correct obtainable for you and a Mr correct obtainable for me, I only prefer they might positioned on a label. good success.

Answer 6

Prognosis is not a matter of much concern as it is a 100% curable condition, mind the word condition not a deceases. Everything depends on co operation from the person the doctors get. One more thing which is very important, keep your contact from humorous & Jovial people. Life becomes pretty normal within a very short span in India at least.

Answer 7

You should be fine as long as you keep up with treatment. Being bipolar doesn't have to ruin or rule your life. You can certainly have children, but they may be genetically predisposed to bipolar as well.