My son has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He’s in his mid-twenties, so it’s the average time for onset of bipolar disorder. No family history that we know of, but if it was just two generations back, it probably wouldn’t have been talked about.
He had his first manic episode early in the year. He spent a brief time in in-patient treatment, followed by a period of out-patient treatment. During the out-patient treatment, his psychiatrist started to think the diagnosis was incorrect and she weaned him off his meds.
He has had another manic episode, and he’s back in the in-patient facility. Luckily he was able to get back into the same place he was in before, so they aren’t starting from zero. They started him back on different meds, and he’s much better much faster than the first time.
His fiancee was talking to a friend and someone overheard. The person who overheard said her mother was bipolar and she had to take her to the hospital six times, and she told his fiancee that she should break up with him.
The only experts I’ve spoken to have been the doctors in the crisis center, and I don’t know to what degree they are trying to sugar coat things to prevent us from giving up hope.
I’d rather know the reality.
If anyone has any personal experience they can share, I’d appreciate it. If anyone has any professional experience they can share, I’d appreciate that as well.
EDIT: Just wanted to add to this that we were able to visit him today, and he’s doing very well.
An important question; type 1 or 2? They’re both difficult but type 1 tends to really wreck lives in a dramatic way.
We’ll have to ask that. I don’t think it’s been said, although it’s possible that it went past me without me understanding.
This is a really good podcast by an actual psychiatrist about it. Don’t listen to Andrew Huberman and his garbage science.
The important thing is getting the meds right, and taking them faithfully. They really do work remarkably well but figuring out what to take is hard. But plenty of people do really well on them, I have type 2 myself, and I work normally and have lots of friends, and you’d really never know because I’ve been on them for years and am really even Steven and responsible and calm and managing fine.
I think type 1 is harder in many ways because the manic episodes are so disabling, but type 2 is really hard to diagnose and makes you WILDLY irritable. A work friend recently got diagnosed, she’s a very educated physician, and yet she ended up manic, and I do believe she maxed out her credit cards, and was driving recklessly and wrecked her tire, and she ended up hospitalized after telling ALL of her friends and colleagues on WhatsApp, which she has no memory of, as well as being really out of it trying to do clinics. It has devastated her and I’m honestly not sure she’ll ever be able to work again.
https://www.psychiatrypodcast.com/psychiatry-psychotherapy-podcast/dealing-with-bipolar-illness