about bipolar, and also any questions you have about mental illnesses. I've read up on a good many since so many of my family members have a mental illness.

If you wanna ask about psych wards, I'll happily answer questions about those too

5/18/2007 12:14:27 PM

Is it really true, what they say: Take one to know one?

5/18/2007 12:16:24 PM

not in my experience.

5/18/2007 12:17:10 PM

Is it really true, what they say: If you don't use it you'll lose it?

also is like one of your personalities the one that likes boobs and the other one the one who likes peen

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 12:18 PM. Reason : .]

5/18/2007 12:18:03 PM

Quote :

"also is like one of your personalities the one that likes boobs and the other one the one who likes peen"

personalities? I said bipolar, not dissociative identity disorder

5/18/2007 12:19:39 PM

after sex

you bipolar girls get really weird

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 12:20 PM. Reason : ss]

5/18/2007 12:20:05 PM

are u gay sometimes or straight sometimes?

5/18/2007 12:20:06 PM

have you ever been so confused that you've abandoned your friend at Hooters, driven your van in Asheville, gone shopping, gotten lost and tried to call your friend whose cell phone is still in said van while he is at said Hooters, forcing him to rent a car at 6pm on a Sunday costing him ~$300 (including the ticket he got returning the car?)

5/18/2007 12:20:10 PM

no, but I think whoever does that needs to have their ass beat and then handed to them on a platter

5/18/2007 12:21:32 PM

u never respond to me

5/18/2007 12:22:12 PM

Because you're asking stupid questions you already know the answer to.

V yeah, you and a bunch of other folks

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 12:24 PM. Reason : alj]

5/18/2007 12:23:19 PM

i thought you were a lesbo

5/18/2007 12:23:41 PM

i dont know the answer to it or i wouldnt ask

5/18/2007 12:28:05 PM

Is bipolar (and alcoholism, for that matter) really a disease? I always hear people refer to them as such, but I thought diseases were caused by bacteria and viruses and whatnot

5/18/2007 12:33:13 PM

I don't see it as a disease, but I also don't really care about naming it or classifying it. It's a part of my life I have to manage and live with/around. Disease, disability, disorder...I don't care what other people call it.

5/18/2007 12:36:59 PM

I also have bipolar disorder

but I don't like to say that I AM bipolar
it isn't the core of my identity

it is simply something that I deal with

5/18/2007 12:51:05 PM

In all seriousness (and to those who flame, fuck you) do you get urges to hurt yourself?

My husband does a lot, and it really bothers me, but I can usually talk him out of it

5/18/2007 12:52:02 PM

good point snewf


way to not let it define you

5/18/2007 12:52:11 PM

I think I am well medicated and under the proper program of treatment
I no longer have suicidal thoughts

but I do sometimes struggle with urges to engage in self-destructive behavior
that might mean drinking until I puke
it might mean sabotaging a relationship or getting involved in one that is VERY bad for me
drug and sex binges are also popular

I have worked hard to develop a philosophy that ultimately empowers me to make any decision I wish and places the responsibility on myself

I feel liberated by these thoughts and, as such, rarely feel paralyzed by depression

5/18/2007 12:57:49 PM

bi"pole"r


DP

ftl

5/18/2007 1:00:14 PM

haha I'm down

who are we talking?

5/18/2007 1:02:32 PM

My cousin told me he was Dipolar.

Is there such a thing?

5/18/2007 1:03:57 PM

^^^^

Right, I understand that, but what do you think makes you feel like that?

I've tried to understand it many times and I can't. My husband is HEAVILY medicated, to the point where he usually sleeps 15+ hrs a day and has been put on disability for his severe depression and manic depressive states. I just don't see how someone can be self-destructive because it hurts others in turn.

I'm not putting down anyone in any way, so please don't take it that way, but I wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves. I've asked my husband to hurt me instead of himself, because he goes too far sometimes, and I know its sounds stupid of me to ask him to do that, but I TRY to get his mind off of cutting, or the like.

I don't understand how a pain can make someone feel better (other than tattoos or piercings of course :-) )

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:04 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2007 1:04:09 PM

my self-harm just reestablished my reality and my control of myself, in my mind

I don't engage in it anymore - but honestly my disorder probably isn't so severe

asking him to hurt you probably wouldn't serve the same purpose as his self-harm
but you might benefit from some form of BDSM play - at the least it would bring you closer

what meds is he on?
I am on trileptal and it is wonderful
much better than tegretol... never been on lithium so I don't know

5/18/2007 1:07:42 PM

Quote :

"I also have bipolar disorder but I don't like to say that I AM bipolar it isn't the core of my identity it is simply something that I deal with"

Very, very true.

Quote :

"In all seriousness (and to those who flame, fuck you) do you get urges to hurt yourself?"

When I was younger, yes. I've got hundreds and hundreds of scars (which I love...they're a very good reminder of how awesome my life is, and how much shit I made it through).

It's not a bipolar = cutting thing, though. Cutting's a coping mechanism, and the bipolar certainly isn't helping matters.

Quote :

"I just don't see how someone can be self-destructive because it hurts others in turn."

Speaking from my experiences:
When you're that bad off, you're going how you know/mistakenly think is effective, and you see that it hurts those in your life, and that makes you feel worse, and you do it some more.

Quote :

"My husband is HEAVILY medicated, to the point where he usually sleeps 15+ hrs a day and has been put on disability for his severe depression and manic depressive states."

What's he taking, and what have they tried?

5/18/2007 1:11:24 PM

yeah hes on Trileptal - 1200 mgs twice a day :-(

He gets switched on meds pretty often, his anti-depressants stop working - gosh hes been on everything

Right now hes on Prozac, but its not helping him - he was on Lexapro, Seroquil, Trazadone, Paxil, Effexor, Abilify, Remeron, Neurontin, Haldol, Klonapin, Ativan, Visteril, Risperdal and the rest I probably won't remember

Right now hes also taking Navane (sp?) instead of Risperdal, which caused him to have prostatitis - he uses that for sleep at night, but its not working, he sleeps during the day instead

He also take thoriazine as needed for anger


Its hard to find meds for him because hes on a Duragesic fentanyl patch for chronic knee pain, so he becomes immune to meds very very easily.

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:15 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2007 1:14:07 PM

I've never been on trileptal.

Quote :

"Right now hes on Prozac, but its not helping him - he was on Lexapro, Seroquil, Trazadone, Paxil, Effexor, Abilify, Remeron, Neurontin, Haldol, Klonapin, Ativan, Visteril, Risperdal and the rest I probably won't remember"

Sounds like me when I was younger. Some of these aren't even mood stabilizers. I hope they aren't Rxing them to him as such.

Wellbutrin is what I take sometimes. For folks who are doing really well, starting Wellbutrin at the start of a depressive episode can lessen the severity and length.
^Are his pdocs and PHPs talking to each other?

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:17 PM. Reason : alsjkd]

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:17 PM. Reason : lsdjk]

5/18/2007 1:16:35 PM

Amborsia.. should I kill my neighbor's cat?

5/18/2007 1:17:15 PM

yeah I take 300mg trileptal twice a day

sleeping 15+ hours a day probably isn't good for him

what kind of psychotherapy / counseling is he doing?

medication isn't the only answer

5/18/2007 1:17:40 PM

Wellbutrin was doing well for him, but it gave him a lot of problems in the 'manly area' - premature ejaculation was an issue with him so he wanted off of it - I didn't really care though, he was so much happier with the wellbutrin than he is now

Sorry if I give up too much info, but its nice to talk to people who understand what ya go through

5/18/2007 1:18:02 PM

Well hes been through group counseling (DBT groups) and it made him angry because he doesnt like people, hes really shy also. He used to go weekly to a counselor, but there was nothing to talk about so he quit going. All of the counselors and doctors hes been too work together, so I'm sure they talk. His psychs are REALLY stuck on what to put him on. I go to every meeting with him, because he forgets what meds hes on and what does what, so I keep up with it. The docs are just lost, because it seems like hes been on everything there is. Most of what they put him on really effects his prostate, because he has so many relaxants that hes taking due to the Duragesic patch. Thats why he can't be on any anticholerginics or antihistimines and a lot of psych meds have them.

They also did shock therapy but it didn't help - not sure what else is available, but its been a rough road so far. He was in institutions many times before I met him for suicidal issues, and they couldn't really solve the problems there either.

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:22 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2007 1:20:43 PM

Geez Ambrosia, I didn't realize you'd been so depressed in your life and had so much to work through, you always struck me as carefree

Congrats on being happy now


V
One time this Roman noble went to Carthage as an envoy, and he agreed to go back to Rome and try to make peace. And he swore that if he DIDN't convince his countrymen to make peace, he would return to Carthage for punishment.

So he sailed to Rome, said "Continue the war," sailed back to Carthage, and was executed by being kept awake until he died.

So yes.

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:28 PM. Reason : /]

5/18/2007 1:24:22 PM

Is it possible to die from insomnia?

5/18/2007 1:25:37 PM

^^^I wish I had some suggestions I could offer, tdwhitlo. I really do. God knows my parents were where you were, and they never really did expect me to live to 18, much less go to college and be happy

^^thanks
^directly, or indirectly? I imagine hitting a tree while driving because you're so hard up for sleep might kill ya

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:26 PM. Reason : lkjf]

5/18/2007 1:26:08 PM

Quote :

"He used to go weekly to a counselor, but there was nothing to talk about so he quit going."

he's got to be willing to help himself
refusing to open up to others isn't helping anything

sounds like he's a really tough case... I'm sorry that things are that hard for him (and you!)

like I said, I probably don't have it as bad
also, I'm not a doctor and I'm not really qualified to give lots of advice that isn't based solely on my own anecdotal experience

but if he's on so many drugs already - has he tried marijuana?

5/18/2007 1:26:31 PM

LOL yes marijuana made him happy but hes also on probation for it - so ummm I won't let him smoke it anymore. If it was legal, then yes I would allow it, but until then, no I don't want to pay anymore probation fees.

He was willing to help himself - but the counselor even told him to stop coming (I know that sounds bad) - he wouldn't talk about anything, and couldn't find anything to talk about. So we go like once a month now, and theres still nothing that the counselor can get him to talk about, unless something goes wrong during the month.

5/18/2007 1:29:26 PM

Quote :

" he's got to be willing to help himself refusing to open up to others isn't helping anything"

I didn't say anything because I couldn't be diplomatic

I spent nine fucking years in therapy against my will. Only ~5mo of that was worth anything, and it DID have something to do with the therapist, but if I hadn't decided to quit pissing myself, my parents, AND my therapists off, he couldn't have done anything anyways.

Quote :

"He was willing to help himself - but the counselor even told him to stop coming (I know that sounds bad) - he wouldn't talk about anything, and couldn't find anything to talk about. So we go like once a month now, and theres still nothing that the counselor can get him to talk about, unless something goes wrong during the month."

????????

It doesn't have to like this:
"Therapist, I feel BLAH. It was caused by BAD COOKIES. How do I handle this?"

Nonchalant dialogue about ANYTHING WILL give the T some sort of insight and starting point. Very, very few people realize exactly how much information they convey in conversation. So, take him in, and have a three-person conversation about your job, things you've watched on TV, news events...of course, they'll guide it to the emotional, but it's better than sitting back silent, and frustrated because it's not working.

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:32 PM. Reason : you get out what you put in.]

5/18/2007 1:29:47 PM

have you ever been to cherry hospital?

5/18/2007 1:31:58 PM

well, I think a lot of it has to do with the therapist he has. The guy is really dull and plays with his shoes more than he asks questions.

There aren't that many options in the area we live in, there are only 3 or 4 therapists around here, and most are self pay, and won't take our insurance. A lot of people won't even take on my husband's case because they think its so severe.

I tried a place in Durham and they just completely refused to see him because they said he wouldn't be helped there, he was helpless. Same thing happened at Duke ;-(


And we do go in and have a convo about things that we do every day, but he always says its a waste of time. I talk too much I think, the therapist knows more about me than about my husband! But I try not to talk to get my husband to talk, and it won't work. But its like that outside of the office also. He doesn't talk to anyone. It's just that reclusive state that he likes. Hes not like that with me, but I'm sure I'm the only one.

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:35 PM. Reason : ]

5/18/2007 1:33:13 PM

Nah, they always sent me to Dix, for public hospitals. There was brief talk when I lived in kinston about sending me there*, and I then I assaulted someone, so they called my dad, and he came and took me to Dix.

(*we'd gone to africa on a family vacation for a month, and my meds got ALL messed up, and I was off my fucking rocker by the time I got back)

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:34 PM. Reason : If that's the case...yeah, you do sound more stuck than most folks.]

This is why I wish dix wasn't closing. They have got some DAMN good folks there.

[Edited on May 18, 2007 at 1:35 PM. Reason : Where are you?]

5/18/2007 1:34:27 PM

I know this is a ridiculous hippy thing to say

but you two should go hiking somewhere beautiful and secluded
maybe smoke some pot since that makes him happy

you can connect to each other without all the talking

5/18/2007 1:44:53 PM

eheeh if only I could get him to - he hates the outside now. I took him to the zoo a few weeks ago and he hated it I think

5/18/2007 1:56:07 PM

the zoo is full of people

a secluded mountain trail is not

I don't want to be overly harsh but if he doesn't like anything at all why does he live?
I understand the anhedonia that comes with depression but drugs won't beat it
only a shift in perspective will change things

5/18/2007 4:13:20 PM

What's Lithium like?

jk

5/18/2007 4:41:03 PM

how are your manic episodes manifested, ie. what's it like?

5/18/2007 5:16:27 PM

What is it exactly that makes you bipolar? Discribe it to me so I can understand what goes on in your head that makes you bipolar?

5/18/2007 5:47:37 PM

do you think add or adhd are real or just excuses for those parents that don't beat their kids when they deserve it?

5/18/2007 5:48:13 PM

the difference between add and everyday forgetfulness or whatnot is essentially the degree to which it affects your life, it's similar to the difference between being sad and depressed

5/18/2007 5:55:47 PM

Quote :

"What's Lithium like?"

It made me VERY aggressive. When I was younger, and not on it, to quote my mother: "she'd pick a fight with a grizzly bear". It definitely wasn't one of the worse drugs I was on.

Quote :

"how are your manic episodes manifested, ie. what's it like?"

Instead of full-blown manic episodes, I get hypomanic these days. It's actually kinda nice, because they aren't self-destructive, I'm productive, and I do a LOT of socializing.

Quote :

"What is it exactly that makes you bipolar? "

So far as I know, the old favorite: chemical imbalances.

Quote :

"do you think add or adhd are real or just excuses for those parents that don't beat their kids when they deserve it?"

It's very fucking real, but WAY over-diagnosed. Johnny 7-year-old who is antsy and loud isn't necessarily ADD/ADHD, but is often diagnosed as such.

Beardawg61, Matt says to steal the neighbor's cat and bring it to us.

5/18/2007 6:02:43 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"I was expecting double penetration "

I'm curious, do you get aggressive (i.e. hit) towards your boyfriend? I have a friend who hits her 'butch' girlfriend, my friend is bipolar.

5/18/2007 6:22:48 PM