Posted by Phillip Marx on January 13, 2000, at 13:37:54
In reply to Re: Type A or bipolar???, posted by Joy Worman on January 13, 2000, at 9:57:22
> I am still hoping to hear from someone who knows if a Type A personality exhibits some form of bipolar characteristics
> I am still hoping to hear from someone who knows if a Type A personality exhibits some form of bipolar characteristics. As I said in my previous post, my husband is "depressed" in summers and "manic" starting about the first of September....he says the mood swings are work-stress related, but I think it's more bipolar. He is definitely Type A, is very driven and a perfectionist...has not been hospitalized or unable to work due to highs or lows. He tried lithium and was tooooo lethargic, now takes one lithium and one neurontin a day...seems to be in a stable mood now. Can anyone out there tell me where to learn more about neurontin (will it help level moods even if bipolar isn't the cause? is it for highs or low....how new is it?....any long term side-effects known (the doctor says NO side effects, but I have read about some breathing problems) and I'm curious about the possibility of similar Type A/bipolar traits? Thanks for any and all response!
I think that Neurontin was discussed in a couple of articles and a letter as gabapentin in the Dec 2, 1998 edition of JAMA. I just looked (http://jama.ama-assn.org/ ) and it doesn’t seem to be online right now. Your hospital library might have one. My mom and I have both been on it. It only improves her mood in proportion to how much it reduces her pain.
Searching using Google.com resulted in 7,500+ hits (neurontin and gabapentin as single terms, I’m sure many overlap). Re: type A and/or B - go to http://www.google.com/search?q=%22type+A+personality%22&num=10
I think Type A and Type B are achievement drive personality characteristics and levels and bipolar disorders are "mood" disorders. Achievement can influence moods and moods can influence achievement.
The APA has a differential diagnosis decision tree for mood disorders including the major Bipolar disorders and other likely conditions. See DSM-IV, Fourth edition, paperback, page 696. I’ve asked for my HTML books back so I may be able to show it later or I may just text-diagram it for another class project someday. Discussion of mood disorders begins on page 332 and runs through page 391. Many other sections cross-reference back to it. A lot is said in those few pages, it takes multiple readings to lightly grasp. For example, the required criteria for a "Manic Episode" are: --- from page 332
CRITERIA FOR MANIC EPISODE
A distinct period of abnormality and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least 1 week (or any duration if hospitalization is necessary).During the period of mood disturbance, three (or more) of the following symptoms have persisted (four if the mood is only irritable) and have been present to a significant degree:
inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
decreased need for sleep (e.g., feels restored after only 3 hours of sleep)
more talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
distractibility (i.e., attention too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant stimuli)
increase in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g., engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments)
The symptoms do not meet the criteria for a Mixed Episode (see p. 355).The mood disturbance is sufficiently severe to cause marked impairment in occupational functioning or in usual social activities or relationships with others, or to necessitate hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others, or there are psychotic features.
The sysmptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication, or other treatment) or a general medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).
Note: Manic-like episodes that are clearly caused by somatic antidepressant treatment (e.g., medication, electroconvulsive therapy, ligth therapy) should not count toward a diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder.
poster:Phillip Marx
thread:940
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/18893.html