Bi Polar II
Question:
X-No-Archive: Yes My 20 year old daughter was just diagnosed with BiPolar II. They’ll be putting her on lithium and then who knows what. I’m so frightened, but I’m just hoping that someone can offer me some support. We have mood disorders in our family – more like dysthymia, but nothing like BiPolar that I know of. I’m so worried about her finding a job (she’s getting a degree in teaching) and ever finding someone who will share her life. She won’t sign a release for me to talk to her therapist or psychiatrist – says I’m being too intrusive. Please help me – I feel like I’m losing my daughter and part of myself…..
I can’t tell who wrote this without the original, so I’ll just dive in. I’m 47 and diagnosed BP II seven years ago. I take 900 mg of Li every day. I also take Klonopin for anxiety, anger, and insomnia, but I don’t take ADs. The Li has prevented any recurrence of my manic attacks and it probably save my life. Some people can’t tolerate the side effects. For me, they were troublesome at first, but after 1-6 months became tolerable. If your daughter can tolerate the side effects, it can virtually eliminate the mania. If not, then her pdoc might prescribe Depakote or Tegritol which are also good. From my experience, treating mania is much easier than treating depression BTW. Don’t worry about her success in life. Having BP II doesn’t prevent someone from being a success in school or having a satisfying career and love life. You can find lists of many famous and sucessful ppl who are MD, from Ted Turner to Robin Williams. I have a PhD from an Ivy League school. Lots of MDs are also accomplished, perhaps more than the "average person". Your daughter may very well be exceptionally bright and talented. Further, lots of MDs are happily married and have families. I’ve been married 14 years. Also no one outside my family and doctors can tell I have a mental disorder, so no one never need to know your daughter has any problem at all. Meds are great but learning to deal with the mood swings is difficult and is much easier with the help of a good therap. MDs tend to be more sensitive and tend to have difficulty interpreting their emotional reactions. Thus a MD person has to learn how to be objective while the disorder is giving misleading signals. The mood swings also tend to color one’s sense of self worth or self esteem. So it is important to build up a MD person’s self esteem so that she can put the moods in their proper place and function normally. Your daughter *can* funtion normally her whole life. Everyone is different of course, but there is no point in worrying in advance. Just get treatment one step at a time, and very likely she will hit on a combination that allows her to live a normal and happy life. It is important that you respect her privacy. She has to work out her inner conflicts in the privacy of her mind. It is important that she develop an independent mind so that she can function the rest of her life on her own. I assure you that she will feel closer to you in the long run for treating her as an adult and allowing her to come to grips with her problems her own way, at her own pace. Below are some sources of information that I have found to be helpful. I would like to hear how things develop with you and your daughter. I’d like to hear that she is treated sucessfully and you learn not to worry so much! <g (I can say that cuz I worry too much myself!) Hope you post again. Best of luck, Rocky Some of my favorite sources of information and motivation are: "An Unquiet Mind," by Kay Redfield Jamison "Moodswing," by Ronald R Fieve "From Sad to Glad," by Nathan S. Kline "Lithium Treatment of Manic-Depressive Illness," by Morgens Schou. And check out the following net sites: Depression FAQ http://www.psych.helsinki.fi/~janne/asdfaq/index.html Internet Depression Resources List http://www.execpc.com/~corbeau/ The Pendulum Pages http://www.pendulum.org/ Dr. Ivan’s Depression Central http://www.psycom.net/depression.central Forty Years of Lithium Treatment http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/journals/archive/psyc/vol_54/no_1/nv… — For more information about this service, send e-mail to:
Response:
: X-No-Archive: Yes
: My 20 year old daughter was just diagnosed with BiPolar II. They’ll be = : putting : her on lithium and then who knows what. I’m so frightened, but I’m just= : hoping : that someone can offer me some support. We have mood disorders in our = : family – : more like dysthymia, but nothing like BiPolar that I know of. I’m so = : worried : about her finding a job (she’s getting a degree in teaching) and ever = : finding : someone who will share her life. She won’t sign a release for me to = <snip just me’s response was really good. i’m basically in the position that your daughter’s in. i’m 20 and bipolar. it’s *not* the end of the world. life can suck until you find the right meds–lithium didn’t do it for me–but once you do, you’re mostly ok. i’m still doing well in school, and i’m beginning to prepare for grad school and my PhD. does having this make it harder? probably. does it make it impossible? certainly not. my mother was also very concerned–to the point of being intrusive. she’s learned, however, that the best way to get me to talk to her is to not make an issue of it. back off and simply be supportive. you *don’t* need to know what your daughter’s talking about to her therapist, you just need to be there in case she needs you to talk to. your daughter will go through some rough times, and it might be hard for both of you, but you’ll both get through it. brooke — you don’t have to like me for who i am i’ll see what you’re made of by what you make of me ~ani difranco www.skidmore.edu/~bmiller
