Hi,<\/p>\n
I have a scary story to tell you that someone told me.<\/p>\n
Jerry is a supporter to a mom with bipolar disorder. He hadn’t heard from her in a week, and he was worried. It turns out that he had something to be worried about. When he called his mom, he<\/p>\n
found out that she had been in bed all week, and had stopped taking all her bipolar medications.<\/p>\n
I told you this was a scary story!<\/p>\n
When Jerry asked his mom why she stopped taking her medications, she told him she was just “tired of taking all those pills.” That was it! That was her whole reason \u2013 that she was tired of taking them! Jerry asked her if she had talked to her doctor, and she said no, that she didn’t want him to know. Well, that’s a red flag right there \u2013 that told Jerry that his mom knew what she was doing was wrong. And the fact that she had been in bed for a week was another indication that something was wrong, too.<\/p>\n
She said that she was too depressed to get out of bed and do anything. Jerry tried to tell her that was because she wasn’t taking her medication, but she wouldn’t listen to him.<\/p>\n
Two days later, Jerry’s mom was in the hospital. Her husband had found her in bed, hysterical, and hallucinating. The staff at the hospital put her back on her medications, and a week later,<\/p>\n
she was stable and “normal” (for her).<\/p>\n
Jerry had a long talk with his mom after that, about how important it was for her to keep taking her medications as they were prescribed for her. It was easier to get through to her this time, as she did not want to have to repeat the hospital experience.<\/p>\n
It’s been several months now, and I saw Jerry the other day and asked him how his mom is doing. He said she is doing great! She is an active part of her bipolar support group, and she is even doing some volunteer work! He said she is more “herself” than ever before, and she seems really happy.<\/p>\n
The difference? She is taking her medication on a regular basis now. It’s a shame, though, that it had to take a trip to the hospital to make her become medication compliant.<\/p>\n
But that’s what happens to many people with bipolar disorder. They don’t want to take their<\/p>\n
medication for various reasons, so they just stop taking it. This is very dangerous, and in<\/p>\n
some cases, can even be fatal! In almost all cases, though, it will cause the person to go into<\/p>\n
a bipolar episode. Sometimes there will even be hallucinations, like Jerry’s mom had!<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi,<\/p>\n
I have a scary story to tell you that someone told me.<\/p>\n
Jerry is a supporter to a mom with bipolar disorder. He hadn’t heard from her in a week, and he was worried. It turns out that he had something to be worried about. When he called his mom, he<\/p>\n
found out that she had been in bed all week, and had stopped taking all her bipolar medications.<\/p>\n