My husband has Bipolar. Its been a real struggle for us. He is in a depression right now. Even on meds there are still ups and downs. This all started about 6 yrs ago. He's been hospitalized 3 times.. He now knows he has to stay on meds forever and has to keep up with his Dr. appts. etc. I went through this great class through NAMI called Family to Family for the friends and family members. Its so educational. Education is the key to mental illness.. And we need to get rid of the STIGMA!!!

How does someone know if they have bipolar or are just down in the dumps due to job problems and/or money worries or health issues ? I always wondered how someone knows for sure.

Oh believe me when you educate yourself on what Bipolar is all about you will definitely know that's what it is. Of course you need a good pyschiatrist and pyschologist to confirm this as well. I mean a GOOD one... preferably Christian Dr's too..
There are various degrees of this illness as well. Some have milder cases then others. There are a lot of good books out now about Bipolar disorder and a lot of information on the internet. A lot of times people are diagnosed with depression before they are dianosed with BP because often times the depression is there before an manic episodes... so people are treated just for the depression and not the BP.. which turns out to be not good!!!
JAM

Mammajude, may God bless you with the continued strength it takes to endure and be by your husband's side.

I have a cousin with it and just wow! I don't understand how the people that HAVE to endure her does it. She has this naturally scheming type of personality anyhow. That topped with her disorder really makes it difficult to understand or even want to understand that it's the disorder.

bipolar is a very tricky illness. It can hide for a long time, masked as other symptoms.

I've had it nearly my entire life, but only was diagnosed 2 years ago. The diagnose was a blessing to finally give a name to what I've been going through.

However, Mammajude is right. Education is very important. If I knew now, what I should have known then.... The what if's could drive me crazy. As soon as I learned I had bipolar I bought books and did research. It helped answer so many questions. It helped my husband too, as family and friends are affected by the illness as well.

Accepting the illness and learning to live with it are very important. If your husband is on meds, help him stay that way. I have a wonderful doctor that found the right combination of meds for me and I'm stable and happy. I see my doctor for all my appointments and am careful to avoid triggers in my life that can throw me into a manic phase.

Bless you for loving your husband as he is.

What might trigger a manic episode? Is there a website that educates on BP? My ex father in law was BP and it got real crazy sometimes but he never would take any medication for it. What meds are they using these days? Didn't they use to treat patients with Lithium? Do you miss the highs? Enough questions for ya?

Dianne, I have a friend who takes Lithium and does extremely well with her bipolar disorder.

A couple sites to check:
www.drada.org
www.ndmda.org
Those sites are for organizations.

This one is Julie Fast's site. She's a writer who has bipolar and has written a book for the loved ones to better understand the disorder. She is a really neat woman. Please check out her site.
www.bipolarhappens.com

Don't forget to visit the Resources for Women on this site.

mammajude, I too am married to someone w/ manic-depressive illness as we prefer to call it. For some reason "bi-polar" sounds worse to him. At any rate, we've been together for 17 years and last year was the first time that we had a significant issue and that the diagnosis was manic psychosis. I went through 9 months of terror and hell before all was said and done and then another six months while we experimented w/ meds for the depression that often follows mania.
The book "An Unquiet Mind" by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison is the best I've ever read not neccessarily from a clinical perspective but from a personal one...she is a bi-polar doctor of psychiatry. And for the boomer lady out there who wonders how you know....I agree, there is no mistaking the real deal when it comes to a bad episode. In our case my husband had probably been having hypo manics (sort of little manics) and depressions for years but they never really interfered with his life. I have to say that I really respect him for suffering what he knew in his heart were bi-polar symptoms for years and never letting it hurt me or the children. His father and brother, an uncle and cousin...all bi-polar, so i know he suspected. It's been a long, painful time and we both accept that this is something that we'll have to be watchful of....but by the grace of God and the power of a good woman's love (me....I can barely manage to give myself a pat on the back occassionally) we are on the mend. And I concur w/ Dots....Julie Fast has a wonderful site and some great ideas for managing life w/ the disorder. God Bless!!!
kathryn

Its always good to know others are going through the same kind of things. The first part of wellness with this illness is realizing you have it, acknowledging it, getting the right Dr.s, being on the right meds and having lots of support...and most of all: a relationship with the Lord. Without those its very hard for the person with BP to function. Its a constant battle but it doesn't have to take over your life. My husband is a very easy going/loving man who I know loves me very much. I'm very fortunate!! Some people who have BP get very angry and have mean streaks... etc... Its great to know we are not alone and we need to continually pray for one another... God Bless.> JAM

This must be exhausting. Monitoring yourself constantly. But then, I'm OCD and have to monitor myself to not count everything that comes into my path so maybe it's the same thing.

I'm wondering if my ex FIL didn't suffer from other ailments along with BP. He would start imaging that aliens were trying to contact him if he got a hang up phone call. However, he recently passed away and some doctor put him on Prozac the last six months of his life and it completely changed him. Then...his children were resentful that this didn't happen years ago!