Hi,

You know, recently I heard this saying, “Bipolar disorder is like candy – if you don’t

manage it right, it can make you really, really sick.” It sounds almost funny, but it’s true.

You can almost compare the bipolar manic episodes to too much candy/too much sugar.

You get really, really high, really hyper. You feel great – on top of the world! All your ideas (grandiose ideas) are great ideas – you don’t understand why they’ve never been thought of before. You have so much energy, you could go on forever – who needs to sleep, anyway?

And money IS like candy – you think you have an endless supply of it, you go through it until

it’s gone, with no thought of how you’re going to feel afterwards (or of what the consequences

are going to be). And the fun – oh the fun! What a grand time you’re having!

…until the inevitable crash. Just like the crash you’d have after eating a lot of candy. That high does not last forever.

And there are always consequences to pay (sometimes some pretty harsh ones). That feeling-great-on-top-of-the-world feeling becomes a deep depression. So deep, in fact, that you may even become suicidal (some people have even killed themselves).

Your great ideas are only great to you – to other people they may seem a bit odd, or even

crazy.

After all that energy is gone, and that lack of sleep catches up to you, you may hit the bed

and not emerge for days (or weeks) at a time. And that spending spree? The overdrawn checking account… The credit card debt…the loss of your car… your home… The loss of your/your family’s possessions… The bankruptcy… The financial ruin…

But worst of all… Is the loss of trust from your supporter. Because the consequences of your behavior may extend beyond everything I already listed. You may not remember what you’ve done during a bipolar episode, but your supporter, family, and friends do. You may have done or said things that truly hurt your supporter, and they are still stinging from them. They may be feeling mistrustful, hurt, angry, resentful, embarrassed (because of things you’ve done in public)…isolated, lonely… among other negative feelings/emotions. All because of you.

You might want them to feel sorry for you, and may not understand their distance (after all,

they’ve been through a lot, too). What you need to remember is that bipolar disorder is not only your disorder. Because of you, it’s your supporter’s disorder as well. They have to deal with the consequences of your behavior when you’ve had an episode.

You may have even lied to them during a bipolar episode and not remember it now…But they do. There are always consequences from a bipolar episode.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

I was at a bipolar support group meeting the other day and volunteering. A lady came up to me and said that she knew someone who had bipolar disorder for sure and only had to take an antidepressant and she has been stable for years. The lady said that she was going to tell

everyone at the meeting so they could “save money.”

I begged her not to do this. I’ll tell you why. First of all, I don’t even know if this lady’s story is true or not. And even if it is, it would be the exception, and not the rule. With bipolar disorder, you want to follow the rule, and not the exception.

One of the problems with support groups is that one person will say that this medication or that medication was a miracle drug for them, and that everyone should take it and it will work wonders for them, too. But if you listen to that, well, it might not work as good for you. In fact, it might be deadly for you, you never know. That’s why I don’t discuss medications on here. I’m not a doctor, for one thing. And for another thing, it’s like I said: Follow the rules, not the exception.

Even so, antidepressants are for what they say – for depression. And depression is only one part of the equation when it comes to bipolar disorder. What about the mania? That’s the other part.

See what I mean?

And most people with bipolar disorder are on more than one medication, for another thing.

This woman, even if her story is true, is NOT a doctor! So who is she to say that her friend’s medication is going to work for everyone at the meeting?

Listen, you and your loved one have to do what’s right for you. And what’s right, especially when you’re talking about medications, is what’s right for YOU, not someone else and what THEY say is right for you. Besides, what’s right for one person isn’t necessarily what’s right for another person. Everybody is different. Even the same person is different when it comes to different medications. They might respond well to one medication, but have many side effects with another medication.

That’s why they (or you or your loved one) have to work with their doctor or psychiatrist to find

the right medication or combination of medications that is right for them (or you).

Be careful out there – There are what I call cookie cutter doctors. These are doctors who diagnose people with bipolar disorder and then prescribe the same medication to everyone they diagnose as having bipolar. These are the worst doctors to go to. But they are out there. You don’t want that. But at least they are the exception rather than the rule.

You want a doctor who is going to take each of their patients with bipolar disorder differently

and prescribe what’s best for each of them, according to their needs. You want to stick to the rule.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave