Bi polar II

[BrightStarrySky]

Hi,

A family member of mine, 37, was very recently diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. It explains a lot as he has been suicidal for some time and is currently in psychiatric care at a private clinic.

I hope he will learn to manage his symptoms and have a happy life in time. I’m worries he won’t and that I will lose him once he’s released from care.

Does anyone have any positive stories about living with bipolar II? I would be interested to hear (please no negative endings as I already have fears about that possibility).

Yes. DH has bipolar 2, diagnosed around the same age actually. It's managed well with medication and counselling has helped him identify his symptoms and triggers so that he can spot a bad patch coming in advance, which massively helps him (and me!) to maintain a sense of perspective.

I think the severity of it varies a lot between different people but having a diagnosis is always a good thing. Some medication for depression (a fairly frequent misdiagnosis from what DH has read) actually makes bipolar worse so it's really really helpful to be treating the right thing!

I have bipolar. The mania side is mostly managed, although I'm just coming out of a several month long episode, but my first for several years. The depression side is far more marked and long term. I rarely have periods where I would say I am happy.

You must remember that people with bipolar are all unique, so one person's experience will be very different to another. Also only focusing on positive outcomes is going to give you a skewed view. It is a lifelong condition and it's likely he'll have other episodes in future. There is a high incidence of suicide attempts for those with the diagnosis.

Thank you pps for your replies. It sounds like such a complex condition and I am trying to understand.

I know it’s one sided just to focus on positives. I feel I have been so focused on a type of grief, believing that I will lose him, that now I an just looking for some hope. The diagnosis gives some hope because at least we know a bit more about the cause, but the future is unknown.

I really appreciate hearing from others with or affected by the condition in some way.

Good point on medication veggiepigs, my sense of normal was skewed for a long time because my GP continued to increase my dosage for Prozac. I was just getting more and more high! The only one I've found that doesn't cause the highs is agomelatine, but people will have different responses to different meds.

Having said that I don't get on with antipsychotics and other mood stabilisers either. Medication can be very helpful for some but not for others, I find managing my lifestyle more helpful than most medication.

Grief is an understandable reaction, it's a big change for all involved. Do look after yourself as well, that's really important.

I'm bipolar and I haven't been in hospital. Recently diagnosesd as well.

I take sertraline and aripiprazole (an anti depressant and an anti psychotic) and I've been in a steady job for 10 years. Last year I had a bit of a wobble. Well a major depression episode and was off quite a few times from work, but other than that I've been quite stable the past couple of weeks since I've started medication. I'm either bipolar 1 or 2. I havent been told by my psychiatrist yet.

I started a bipolar support thread a couple of months ago and you'll see there how unique everyone is with the illness. Might give you a better understanding from people that have it.