Bipolar disorder ( Archived) (18)

Has anyone been involved with someone that had this illness ? how long were you with that person before you realized there was something wrong ?

I was married to a lady that had this disorder and it took me two months after we were married to realize she was ill. She knew it but hid it from me not an easy thing to pull off but she did it. Of course there are medications for it and many do fine so long as they take it. But for some it only works for a period of time and then things happen. It is a difficult illness to treat and I am a little bitter about her not telling me about it but after the marriage was over I now remember somethings that I should put two and two together because there were signs but I ignored them dismissing them for just a bad day or mood. It was the main reason we split up she would not take her meds and if you read up on this illness you will learn just how distructive it can be. I have to say out of respect to anyone that deals with this either the person who is ill or there companion it can be very rough for both and it is nothing to make fun of so if you have this problem TAKE YOUR MEDS !! PLEASE. I am only writing about this because it is a bigger issue than most people know. have a good day Jim

I am bipolar and I know how it is to have this.

Have a good day.

Thanks

Problem w/illnesses for mental illness is that people think once they feel better, they can discontinue them. Thus...the cycle begins.

Not much you can do...other than what you did. Hang in there Bud.

well its in the right section

depending on what day it is i guess

I flubbed up that last comment...sorry. "the problem with Mental Illness is.....

My ex wife was/is Bi Polar also has Borderline personality disorder. We were married 14 years, She got diagnosed about a year before we got divorced.
Her first therapist wasnt sure how she managed to be alive as long as she had without meds. High suicide rate when undiagnosed.
Her therapist also decided I was either a nut job or a saint. Most Bi polars cannot maintain a relationship for long unmedicated.
On her meds she is more stable and less moody. Unfortunatly the damage was already done...

Problem with "Bi Polar" as an illness is its being made the new fashionable illness, things have moved on from Yuppie flu and stress and being Bi Polar is the "new one".

Sadly, i have a story i could put here but i won't, someone now uses this as her explaination for her years of appauling behaviour....and trust me when i say its truely terrible.

Mood stabilizers will solve this, and then its a case of take the meds that agree with you and then you can have a normal productive happy life.

Never come off anti depressants without the full support or direction of your doctor.Mind you if you need health advice and a few dietry hints i will happily send you some.

Remember excersise is important, diet can help massively.....and then theres the chemical imbalance.

There's help there if you want it, and feel free to message me privately and i'll send you some links.

Hope this helps anyone who needs it.

Yes, I have. The guy I dated for 3 years was bipolar. He had almost every symptom of this with the exception of the hallucinations which is rare and only in extreme cases.

He often didn't sleep because his mind would be racing. His self esteem was off the chart when he was in a manic episode. He often over-indulged in alcohol and then drove (got 2 DUIs when we were together) and gambled all the time with money we needed for bills. Constantly cheated (which is not a symptom, unless you want to count it as risky behavior).

After a while he would slip into a depressive episode and often wouldn't get out of bed or if he did, he spend his day on the couch. His self esteem dropped way down. He would have absolutely no interest in anything and when he rarely did, he couldn't focus on the task.

He rapid cycled. I never knew what "mood" he was going to be in. Sometimes it was a couple days, others hours.

He was diagnosed as being Bipolar I Disorder. Whenever he emails me to this day, he's usually in a depressive state and feeling guilty about what he did and how he treated me. Once he snaps out of it and in a manic episode he thinks he too good for me. One of the numerous reasons I don't fall for his "I love you. I miss you. I messed up. I want to marry you and have babies with you" lines anymore. He'll snap out of it and be too good to be with someone like me and sleeping with half the state once he's in his manic phase.

I honestly don't believe he takes his meds. He used to say that they were BS. BUT when in a Manic stage, he pretty much thought he was God.