Posted by JadeKelly on November 22, 2008, at 14:46:54
In reply to Atypical case of bipolar... end of the line here.., posted by chocamine on November 15, 2008, at 16:53:32
Hello :)
Your age (late teens) is said to be when Bi-polar I usually presents itself. In males, it typically shows up as aggressive, irritable, and angry mania/alternated with depression. This is what happened to my son. His "episodes" were scary, his depression, heartbreaking.
He was hospitalized 3 times for the mania. After so much he*l, I won't go into details, I'll tell you two things. There are drugs that work, it may take awhile to get it right; It DOES get better, possibly even a feeling of remmission.
What ultimatly worked, after many drug trials, is Depakote and Seroquel. We may add an A/D at some time, but this combo seems to help. Also realizing that your depressive episode won't last forever. We've had to cut back school, make some other changes so that he could recover without a lot of stressful things coming at him all at once. I'm definately not saying quit life for a while, that would worsen things. As soon as you can, see friends. Be outside as much as you can. Get enough sleep. ESPECIALLY don't stick with a med regimine for too long that ISN'T working. Just give each change a reasonable chance to work.
Given your type of mania, I'd say a mood stablizer should def be part of treatment. Seems as though you would need really good A/D right now as opposed to anti-psych meds, but that is just a geuss on my part. Just be careful to notify PDoc AS SOON as you feel mania coming on, you now know what follows, I'm sure you'd rather just be youself. Btw-if you want alot more info, move your post to med board. There are a lot of knowledgeable people over there. Just go to bottom of page and click on med board, I believe.
~Jade
PS-Parnate and Klonopin currently making my major deppression better. Not sure if appropriate in your case, but you could ask. MAOI's are serious meds, but if you're feeling suicidal, may be time to step things up, again just my opinion. Nothing wrong with getting different treatment plans that have worked for others and asking PDoc about them. And remember, Bi-polar generally means this depression will leave, but treating now is crucial. Feel free to babblemail me anytime, I've learned a lot about Bi-Polar and major depression over the last couple of years.
poster:JadeKelly
thread:863250
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20080706/msgs/864687.html