I am new to the Bipolar “scene” but it hit in the biggest of ways. My fiance’ had cheated on me, broke up with me and got engaged to her all within three weeks. We have been dating for 3 years and I knew that he was depressed alot but seemed to be able to “pull” out of it and be happy in the next day or two. Now I have found out that he had been diagnosed with bipolar and has never taken the medicine for it like he should. I worry about his children (who before this episode was his life) and how he has been able to detach from them and everyone who ever meant anything to him. Is this the real person or did I know the real man? Is it possible that the bipolar is the reason for his actions? Can he get better without taking medicine and will he realize what he has done? He has, we believe, started taking drugs or drinking heavily, which he never did before. It’s like two different people. Is there hope or should I just walk on. Everyone says that when he was with me, he was the best he has ever been. Please help.

One article talked about a connection between Lithium and Alzheimer’s but didn’t elaborate; I “googled” it and, apparently, there’s evidence that Lithium can prevent or at least decrease the progress of Alzheimer’s! That’s nice to know, since I take Lithium and my mother and grandmother have (had) Alzheimer’s.

Also, I always see in these news articles about how so many people for SO long are misdiagnosed as depressed (major depression), and later it’s found they have bipolar. From another news article Dave posted, it even said that if someone is extremely depressed over a long period of time and is treatment resistant (with antidepressants), the Dr. should reconsider the diagnosis and take a look at possible bipolar… This is what happened to me – for over 20 years, but no one picked up on it for a long time.

Also, in Dave’s video the other day, he talked about a suicide rate of 10%. One of the articles here said 20% or higher. VERY important to be on the watch for profound depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation or intent.

The article about lithium helping to reduce cannabis addiction is most interesting. They don’t mention any of the many side effects lithium can have, though. Cannabis is known to be good for multiple sclerosis, arthritis and a number of other painful diseases. If I was anyone I would make it available on prescription, so that people with those diseases can benefit.

My boyfriend is prescribed lithium and has to have blood tests every six weeks or so to check the kidneys, liver and heart. He says the side effects are fairly minor and so far the tests have always been o.k. A friend of his who also has bipolar and a family history of heart disease and stroke is prescribed some alternative to lithium where the side effects make him drowsy a lot, so he can’t drive. Side effects are different in different people.

Cannabis doesn’t have too many side effects like that. It’s said to be bad for schizophrenics and probably for bipolars as well. I used to know someone who was bipolar and self-medicating, getting stoned nearly every night. It made her moods, both up and down, worse and she often got aggressive. Cannabis lowers the blood pressure, that’s why it’s no good for me but should be beneficial for a lot of people who suffer from high blood pressure.

Like Dave, I have to say I’m not a doctor, scientist or herbalist. But I have observed (and still do) people a lot.

janie, In all probability, it IS the illness that’s causing your fiance behave as he is now. Of course, the other option is that he really IS a heel!! But what you describe seem to me to be classic symptoms of mania. Again, in all probability, he’ll eventually crash and then it will hit him (hard) what a mess he’s left in his wake. He’ll then feel guilty (even though it was the BP that took him through it all) and he’ll likely want you to take him back. Should you walk on? That’s not something anyone can, or should, advise you to do – it must be your decision. That said, you must realise that, if he DOES come back, you must make a pact with him that he will unfailing take his meds and stay off the dope and booze (as these will upset what the meds are meant to do.) If he fails to do that, the probability (again!) is that you’ll get a repeat performance over and over again, ad infinitum UNTIL he takes the meds properly, and keeps on taking them. But you must realise, whether or not he takes the meds is not necessarily a choice he makes – BP is very subversive and can creep up as a “break-through” and steal one’s rationality before you can say “logic”! Also, some of the meds given for BP are not pleasant, having nasty side-effects. For example, weight gain is common and looking in the mirror and was once a svelte like figure than has become a fatty blob does little to help one’s self-esteem! If THAT becomes a consuming obsession, it can become so strong that it becomes inevitable the patient will reject the seeming cause of the weight problem, that being the meds! You see, while it ain’t easy being a supporter of someone with BP, it’s not a bed of roses having it. However, IF some small measure of control can be established, stuff like David O teaches can, in some instances, help one afflicted with this illness to gain a LARGER measure of stability. It’s all about trying to develop a frame of mind just enough not to surrender to the BP, from whence strategies and tactics can be brought into play which will not defeat BP but, as I have said, offer one a better capacity to control the moods for much of the time. The capacity to manage the moods, the greater the risk of the BP being fatal… although, you may relax a bit if your partner has more a kind of Type 1 BP as they seem to have a smaller self-destruct button than those who are more in the Type 2 camp. (This is because those with the more extreme symptoms are the least aware of them! When in mania, they don’t think anything is wrong. Those with the “lesser” grade BP are generally more aware of their symptoms and, apparently, more likely to suffer the especially debilitating “mixed” moods. The mixed moods are the most dangerous because the combine depression with the energy of a mania, or hypomania. In other words, they feel the pain, confusion and frustration of the depression and the energy to do something about it, by thrashing out against the illness. In a few cases that appears to mean thrashing out that explosive energy on the next poor sap to get in the way or, more likely, to snuff out ones own life.)

“Yeah, I so TOTALLY agree that Courtney Love is NOT bipolar, jeesh.” Who’s she kidding? She says she’s eccentric, but look at her rambling entry, and you’ve got to accept that the girl is rambling and has racing thoughts. She blames identity theft for her confusion; heck, I’ve had identity theft happen to me, and it’s no big deal. Just sign a few papers with the credit card company, and they take the erroneous charges off your bill. Give us a break, Courtney; own up to your disorder, and get “checked.” Maybe all this self-medicating you’ve been doing has masked the REAL diagnosis. And you’ll be doing your daughter a BIG favor.

As far as eliminating the stigma of mental illness – we’ve got a LONG way to go to eliminate it completely. People are afraid of what they don’t understand. The “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” view of mental illness doesn’t help at all, though it was a slightly accurate depiction of a state hospital in the 60s. We’ve come a long way from THAT confinement…

I’ve heard the old saw, “1 out of 4people have a mental illness. Look at your four friends, and if they’re not ill, look at yourself.” It’s not so wrong at all. Perhaps if the media were not so hungry for bizarre and weird news about bipolars who “go off” and commit transgressions that “normal” people don’t, our situation would be more understood. For the majority of bipolars, we are on our medication and are being treated by psychiatrists and therapists, and are quite highly-functional. The one article stated that “we live among them.” One discussion that Dave had was, “Can you tell by looking at someone if they have bipolar or not?” The fact is – you CAN’T. It’s only when our disorder is out of control, that we’re noticed at all.

You had a LOT of good information on this BipolarCentral.com news today, Dave. Enjoyed reading it.