Signs of Bi Polar Disorder?
Posted by adminOct 30
My Mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her brother, my uncle, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed suicide at 17 years old (he wasn’t taking his medication).
At times I wonder if I have bipolar disorder. There was a point a month ago where I couldn’t stop crying, I felt very low, I even contemplated ODing. I told my Father and he wanted me admitted to an inpatient program.
Signs:
-I’ve felt severely depressed on-and-off ever since I was in eighth grade. I could 2-3 days without sleeping. All the while I wasn’t sleeping I’d be crying.
-As I got older I dabbled into heavy drugs (pot, cocaine, opiates). Thank god I’ve cleaned myself up, I’ve been sober for three months.
-I can either become very violent or very sad. I’ve gone off (screaming, yelling) on people I call friends. When I come down from these violent spells I sometimes wonder how I ever got to that point.
-My Father says he notices sometimes I don’t eat for days on end. It’s not that I purposely starve myself, I just am not hungry. I drink a lot of coffee. I’m 5’5 and 104lbs.
-Sometimes I have the inability to even get out of bed. I can sleep until 5-7pm. I usually can’t sleep until 6-7am. During school days I sleep around 3-4am.
-Once,during a school day, I couldn’t sleep until 5am and I came into school with blood shot eyes.
-My Father doesn’t believe in medication because of what he has seen it does to people. My Mother has heavily self medicated herself since I was young. Currently I’m taking St.John’s Wart. He tries to make it into a tea form for me but it doesn’t work. I usually sneak the pills when he’s at work and I’ll take about 3-4 of them. It calms me down and helps me stop thinking for 4-5 hours.
3 comments
Comment by petrof_skinsky on 10/30/2011 at 12:04 pm
We can’t diagnose you in Y! Answers, but you certainly do have some symptoms that are disturbing.
You really need to see a mental health professional to start on a path to feeling better about yourself and your life.
Some forms of mental illness do have the intitial episode during adolescence, so I would suggest talking to somebody soon and get on top of your symptoms before they get worse.
Comment by Lucy_n_tha_sky on 10/30/2011 at 12:57 pm
Maybe, take a few online tests, and if they pass positive you could go to a shrink for sure. But if you don’t want to go to a shrink that’s cool, just be aware of what a bp label in your medical file can do.
As far as St Johns Wart that will only exacerbate things if your not on a mood stabilizer. FYI There are two kinds of lithium available over the counter or through amazon, lithium oritate and lithium aspartate, for depression 5htp is very good, better then st john wart for sure and its available over the counter as well.
Comment by Dave on 10/30/2011 at 12:59 pm
I’m under the impression that mental illness runs in the family but only in the generalized format. What I mean by that is, my aunt and uncle both have schizophrenia, my dad has a personality disorder, and I ended up with bipolar disorder. There is pretty strong evidence in that itself that there is a link in mental illness in family. But, as I said, it doesn’t have to be the same thing, such as your uncle being schizophrenic instead of bipolar. The point I come to in that is that from your symptoms it moreso appears that you are suffering from deep depression. Depressed people have a tendency to be incapable of sleeping, but all they will want is to be in bed for a dozen or more hours at a time once they’re there. Their appetite usually also diminishes. I suggest stopping St John’s Wart, though, if you are hoping to seek treatment for bipolar disorder or depression, as it has adverse reactions with medicinal drugs. I furthermore believe that SJW actually induces mania in bipolar patients if it is not monitered properly. The safest solution is to go to the doctor and get put on a mild antidepressant to start to see how it affects you. Definitely veer clear of ODing though, being that you will lose any trust people put in you through it and would end up in an inpatient setting where your medication is dosed out to you. It is a hard situation to be in and so maintaining personal integrity while on them is vital. Stick with what the doctor chooses and if you feel, after a few weeks, that it’s not doing proper things mention it to the doctor at another visit. Likewise, if you experience major side effects, tell the doctor immediately and allow THEM to help you off that medication and onto something that is more suited to your needs. Naturally, with a family history of mental illness, the best solution is actually to see a psychiatrist, not just an MD.