I am a bipolar supporter and have experienced the drinking. It is a way that they self medicate. It magnifies the problem and causes more. They become another person, and not a very nice person to be around. Luckily, my loved one has stopped. I am greatful. Alcohol is not allowed in my home.

I used to have a loved one with bipolar who drank a LOT. After he drank a few beers he would become verbally abusive, loud, aggressive and insulting, even bullying. He physically assaulted me, even when we were making love! He got into fights with strangers on the street for looking at him the wrong way. He was a total loose cannon, and I became afraid of seeing him when he was drinking. He embarrased me in public, he hurt me and my feelings, and even tried to kill my cat by throwing it off the balcony! (It landed on one balcony below, thank God). Bottom line is, I have not seen this person in 10 years and never want to see him again! Warning to bipolar people–don’t drink.

I have a son who has been fighting the fact he is bipolar for 12 years. He was diagnosed by a psychiatrist 10 years ago, but he won’t accept it. It has caused havoc with his life, including self-medicating with alcohol. In addition to being bipolar, he is now an alcoholic. And when he drinks he gets completely out of control. He gets mean, goes into rages, throws things, puts curses on people, speaks in tongues, drives when he shouldn’t be. He is the nicest person when sober, but becomes basically insane when drunk. Even though he won’t admit he is bipolar, he does admit to being an alcoholic and having fibromyalgia. His doctor have him Klonipin to help him sleep, and now he is addicted to that, too. He even gets crazier when he mixes the Klonipin and the alcohol. He was in a terrible almost fatal car accident two years ago from mixing alcohol, Klonipin and marijuana. He broke his neck. He could have been killed or paralyzed. You would have thought that this accident would have scared him straight but it didn’t. He just went back to drinking and abusing Klonipin. His wife has left him several times in an effort to get him to accept his problem and to get help. He’s been to several programs for alcoholics and he even went to a $10,000 rehab center that didn’t do a thing. He is currently in trouble with the law for threatening to have his wife killed when he was in a manic drunken rage. We have tried to get him hospitalized, but without his consent we can’t do a thing. The judge and state’s attorney’s office only want to throw him in jail. They have been no help at all. We keep hoping and praying for help. Our son is a good person with a bad problem. We need help!!!

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I’m bipolar and use alcohol alot when I’m not on my meds. I’ve been arrested more than once while drunk for angry fights. I hate myself more when I’m drinking but find it hard to stop. I’m between P-docs again. That means I’m not on my meds. I know how great it feels to be on my meds. The doctor I had last time told me he didn’t think I was bipolar and wrote out my prescriptions! What? Why would he do that? I didn’t go back to him. I find it better when I have a team. Counselor, reg. doctor and Phyc. doctor. So when I don’t understand what one is saying I have someone else to ask. I’m going to call doctor office today and set appointment. I hate feeling hung over!

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Please help, I am in a similar position as shal is. What do you do to make your loved one believe that they have bipolar when they think that everything is ok?

my son is bipolar and an acoholic. He had been drinking for 10 years-when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He drank because it made him fell better! And never took his meds. After a recent suicide attempt, he was in a 28 day treatment center. He is finally taking medication and not drinking. He is also following a 12 step program and is in therapy for bipolar. Finally he is taking care of himself. And he is the only one who can do that.

I am so thankful that I found this website. I was engaged about 4 months ago. My finace’ has bipolar disorder. One night we got into a terrible fight,alcohol was involved. I haven’t spoken directly with him since this happened. I am crushed. Reading your research I understand a little more about the disease. I want to help him but maybe I am making it worse?

Here is the journey I took with self-medicating. BPD signs showed up in my life at about 17yrs old. I started smoking pot to relax the mania because I kept getting grounded for saying and doing stupid things. Pot stopped working on its own, I turned to alcohol to keep me social and alive (I thought) and just smoked pot to kill the hangover affects. My episodes slid into the traditional highs and lows and I started drinking and smoking pot as often as my finances allowed. Once again my BPD evolved and began to slide to depressive episodes much more often than manic. At this point I was so tired of “parenting from beneath the sheets” in a dark room, I found the perfect “Super Mom potion”, Meth. Once again I was up and down up and down. Smoked that for 7 years, smoked pot and alcohol profusely to come down from the meth after 3 or 4 days up and nearly succeded at 3 suicide attempts. My take on any self-medication; whether it is drugs and alcohol, sex, shopping, etc. Although is seems to alleviate BPD symptoms in the short run, self-medication is really agravating the symptoms to a much higher degree. Eventually your body or mind grows a tolerance, and soon you are left w/ heightend BPD symptoms and nothing to “take the edge off”. All that’s left is taking your life whether it is a bullet to the head, or a drug overdose. A woman I went to rehab with was on something for BPD (I forget what). Her doctor warned her that alcohol would greatly reverse the affects of her meds. A day and a half after she began taking them, she got druck at a bar, walked outside to her car and before she reached her car, she collapsed onto the sidewalk. A chemical reaction between the meds and alcohol had stopped her heart. By the time some other alcoholic found her and got her some sober help, her brain had been without oxygen for 20 minutes and was dead before the ambulance arrived. An unwelcome lesson, but one I will never forget.

I am so glad I got your email about drinking and being bipolar.
I was told I was bipolar just last year. I have had a few hospital stays because of it. I was thinking about drinking with my friends, but now I’m not thanks for the info sent to me.

Hi, I am a supporter of a bipolar person and often wish I wasn’t. I have been with my husband for 15 years and up until about 3 years ago he drank. It was very scary. He started out just drinking on the weekends to unwind but then it became an every day thing. Alcholism runs in his family and so I figured he probably was an alcholic. I talked to him about getting help and he eventually decided he would. He loves to be the center of attention on his conditions and decided he was going to milk it out for what it was worth. No Im not being evil for saying that. He has always been that way about everything and depending on which mood he is in he will even say “I did it for you” or “You had nothing to do with it I did it for myself and he doesn’t need me to get by”. Anyways once he stopped drinking the frequency of the hatred and verbal/some physical abuse slow down dramatically. Keep in mind he was not seeing a doctor for bipolar until about a year ago now. Right before he went to the doctor he did fall of the wagon and got drunk and because of that he did things to me that was completely unimanginable. I hated him for that and to be honest I have not completely recovered mentally from it. He swares he does not remember doing the things he did to me but he did. I personally like to drink on occasion(once a year, maybe!)but I really can’t enjoy myself because of him. In my experience a person with bipolar should not drink because of the harm they can cause there families.

I have finally been diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder, after many years of being an alcholic. And it just about killed me three times in the last year. It wasn’t until my last suicide attempt that I was told about the Bi-polar. Many people neew that I had this disorder, but failed to let me know.

I am bipolar, paranoid schz, manic depressive and have PTSD. I take 6 medications for it all. Four years ago i used a lot of street drugs and alcohol. I’ve been clean for 4 years but wonder if my past abuse is affecting my current treatment. Also,if anything, what can I do about it?

Yes, I USED to drink while on my bipolar medications. In fact, I was a “problem” drinker, but you COULD possibly call me an alcoholic.

I USED to drink a 6-pack of beer, and at least 4 Canadian whiskey & water A DAY. I would drink and drive. One reason I drank beer, was that I had dry mouth from the meds, and I figured the FLAVOR of the beer beat drinking water or cola. Isn’t THAT a logical reason??!! I NEVER got depressed while drinking; in fact, it always made me feel better – this is called “self-medication.” I guessed that my dosage wasn’t high enough, so I was drinking to “mellow” me out.

I started drinking beer in college, and continued until I quit. But it seemed that the older I got, the more I drank. People said, “But you never LOOKED drunk.” That is NEVER a good excuse. It seemed as if I needed a good “buzz” to function “normally.” That, too, is a GREAT excuse, isn’t it??!!

I was never hospitalized for any alcohol-related reasons. My hospitalizations were for manic episodes that had gotten out of hand. Then, I would just get out and continue drinking.

You ask – why did you quit? A good question. I was put on a new antipsychotic, and figured that if I wanted it to work, I’d better let IT work WITHOUT the alcohol to interfere with what it was trying to do. So, in 1999, I just quit – cold turkey. It took me 3 days to get over the craving, but now, I don’t miss it. In fact, the very THOUGHT of drinking beer (“horse piss”) turns me OFF.

I still have a tablespoon of bourbon on my fruitcake at Christmas, and a tablespoon of bourbon in my egg nog. At times, in a fancy restaurant, I will have a cocktail (I NEVER finish it).

IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO DRINK WITH YOUR BIPOLAR MEDICATIONS. Not only does drinking cause problems with interfering with the efficacy of your meds, it CAN and DOES lead to “problem” drinking AND/OR alcoholism. Trying to battle your bipolar illness on top of drinking, is a toxic combination.

I HIGHLY recommend that you STOP drinking IMMEDIATELY if you suffer from bipolar disorder. If you CAN’T quit on your own, go to Alcoholics Anonymous to help you. Their 12-step program is excellent, and you work with a peer support group that is willing to encourage your stopping. This also goes for bipolar supporters. You CAN’T “be there” for your loved one if you are “out of it” and combative while drinking. There IS help out there for you. Although I never got in trouble with my drinking, it was a wake-up call for me when my medications were changed. I WANTED to quit, so I did.

This is coming from a former “problem” drinker, so listen up: WEAN yourself from drinking; it can only aggravate your condition, and inhibit your meds from doing what they are supposed to do to keep you on your treatment plan. I’ve BEEN THERE, and I KNOW.

BIG HUGS to all bipolars and their supporters. And GOOD LUCK in abstaining from alcohol.

I have had many many problems related to my bipolar and addictions. It has caused me thousands of dollars my self dignity and pride. I recently moved to the Virgin Islands after going through a bitter divorce, 16 years together, he never understood my disorder and actually gave me drugs and alcohol to “calm” me and make me happy. I have switched my doctor since moving here and he has convinced me to join an AA support group after a weekend of not taking meds drinking and blowing my entire bank account. This is the best advice he could give me as I have found a group of people who accept me and are there to support me when I need the help and even if I don’t want the help. I put myself in rehab in the past after a 12 day drinking and drug binge but without the continued support of the people at the meetings I found myself right back into the downward spiral even contimplating suicide again. So take it from me drinking is one of the worse things a bipolar person can do. It has been 2 weeks now (i know it does not sound like a lot but for me it is) and I feel like myself again and am happy to be alive which is usually a hard statement for me to make.

I’m so glad that the Philadelphia Compact has prioritized helping children growing up in families affected by parental bipolar disorder and other behavioral health issues! The Training and Education Center at the Mental Health Association of SEPA has been pushing this issue for years and will be glad to help by sharing our resources and providing training. We also provide support and training for adult family members of adults with mental illness and substance abuse, and training for providers to become more “family friendly.”

HI,
Just wanted to say that about 6 yrs. ago I had a serious drinking problem that was tied in with lying, cheating, exotic dancing, drigs, and probably several other things i can’t remember.

Apx. a yr. ago I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2, which I’m pretty sure that i had 6yr. ago when all my problems occured.

I’m just writing to say that I know from fitst hand that alcohol and drugs do NOT mix!! However I do know they make you feel good at the time you’re doing them, but it’s NOT worth the cost. The cost of HURTING yourself and other FAMILY members!!

You MUST REALIZE that it’s NOT just yourself that your HURTING!!! And alcohol causes most medication to increase the drowsiness effect.

I too, live with a bi-polar spouse. He started having problems with the mood swings, the depression, the just not fitting in when he was a teen. He’s past 50 now. He abused alcohol & drugs all his life. He was in the Navy, diagnosed with various mental and nervous problems, medicated, but his family thought otherwise and talked him out of taking his meds. He was given an honorable discharge when he wanted to make the Navy his life. He fought his problems for years, in and out of jail and rehab, still taking his drugs and using his alcohol to help him feel “normal”. His family always found excuses as to what his problems were. I married him almost 20 years ago. I was in the medical field and as you can guess his family was thrilled that he finally had someone to watch over and care for him. As I read an earlier description of a partner, he was Jekyl and Hyde. I never knew who I was coming home too. Life was always tumoil. I was trying to raise my own children thru this and then had another with him. I tried to leave, but couldn’t, the Court kept giving him unsupervised visitation with our 3 year old daughter. He drank constantly, I had proof, it did no good. He talked to God, talking in tongues, saw angels and devils, and still they wanted to give my daughter to him. I’m not even going to go into what it did to my other children, how they grew to be as sensible and reliable as they are, I will never know. But I was forced to go back to him to take care of our daughter. He finally had a complete breakdown and thank God for the VA, they literally tied him down, sedated him and carried him to the hospital and admitted him. With some testing and gathering of family history, his paternal grandmother had many of the same problems, he was diagnosed as bi-polar and put on meds. His family fought toothe and nail, he didn’t have all those problems. It had to be me. Of course, he is an accomplished liar, he could make anyone believe him. His family finally accepted he has problems, but as I was told “you knew what you were getting into when you married him”. Nobody could know about such. He still wanted to drink and occasionally do drugs. He finally accepted, or seemed to, that he couldn’t do as he wanted. His family was so thankful that I stayed and took care of him. He did pretty well for a few years, but now, he will occasionally drink and he self medicates with pot-to calm his nerves. He gets so depressed he stays in bed for days on end. He never seems to notice that one of his spells comes after visiting with his old buddies, who oddly enough have the same diagnosis as he, that he will get extremely depressed for days to weeks. He listens to no one. Our 14 yr old daughter is so angry so much of the time, I feel so badly for her, but I can’t leave him. Someone has to care for him and I’ve seen what we’ve been thru in the past, so I just make sure he has his medicine and try to curb his other habits as much as possible. I don’t know what to do to help him, but it seems that every time he’s doing well, he’ll hook up with his buddies and it’s down the tubes again. My daughter and I just live with it. I let it pull me so down for so long, but now I mostly do whatever and just let him sleep. At least he no longer hurts anyone physically. Believe it or not, our daughter is a very well adjusted and mostly happy young girl, doing well in school with many friends and involved in many school activities. I am so proud of her. Me, I just keep holding on. I don’t know what else to do. I care for our daughter and try to take care of everything that needs to be done. Oh, as you have said, one of his old habits was the abuse of money, also. I finally got control and got that mess straightened up, but we lost so much. Living with a bi polar sufferer has taken my whole life. It can be really lonely. Thank God for my kids. I would advise anyone who gets into an involvment with such a person to think long and hard of the consequensces and if it is worth it. It can take your life.

Hi Dave! I think that It’s late to write you about this, but I wanted to do it. Back in 2003 when I had my 1st episode, I found my recover soon, then one of my brothers was so happy to see me than he bought some stakes and beers to celebrate with me my quick recover. I drank only 4 beers and felt worse than before. I remember that Mom was so angry with me and my brother, because We’ve lost all my progress and We needed to start again!

I used to drink I am a recovering alcoholic, addict. Drinking and having bi-polar just made my symptoms worse. My highs and lows were uncontrollable and unpredictable. Now that I’m in recovery my life is much better and I am alot happier. When I drank it was like I was someone else and my family didnt want any thing to do with me. Today I have my family back.