wanting some advice on bi-polar disorder

[inmypants]

I don't want to go into too much detail and apologies if this sounds a bit vague here but someone in my family has potentially a dx of mild bi-polar disorder after a long history of depression.

Its a very complicated relationship and I don't know whether symptoms are being 'made up' iyswim or whether 'patient' is actually in denial.

Can anyone give me some actual symptoms of Bi-polar in its mildest forms and ideally how a diagnosis was made, was it made by the sufferer or by others?

Hope this makes sense as am feeling really upset by this as am stuck in the middle of a situation

bump ?

NHS list any help?

Who is making the diagnosis? Do you not trust them or do you think the patient might be trying to deceive them?

Its difficult as I don't see this person regularly and they are claiming that they are absolutely fine and that it is all fiction and the other person is totally adamant that the behaviour is 'not right'.

A psychatrist has been consulted but it seems handled the meeting badly - suggested that he felt it was a very mild case and didn't explain the suggested medication properly so that when the patient looked at it felt really upset that he seemed to be suggesting he was 'mad' and needed sedatives. He therefore refused to see psych again.

In a follow up letter to the dr the psych suggested that a dx was made given his history ( depression) and on facts presented by this other person.

So one side is the patient who says nothing is wrong with him and the other person who claims that he is doing all these things that only she sees on a total basis because she lives with him....

Hope this makes sense......

In mental health, it is common for patients to be 'in denial' or lack insight into their condition. It is also common for carers to provide info to inform the diagnosis.

Bipolar Disorder, like other mental illnesses, has set criteria for making the diagnosis. Whilst diagnosing people may not always be helpful in mental illness, it helps make decisions about appropriate treatment. It is also common for bipolar to be diagnosed following a long history of depression, typically 10 years.
HTH

My Dad was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after many, many years of clinical depression. My mother's insights informed the dx but actually by that point, it was obviously more than mild and had reached psychotic levels. Before that though, the behaviours were not obvious to anybody not living with him.

The dx was key to managing the bipolar, especially in terms of medication and contact with the mental health team.

Denial, sadly, very common and can be very destructive.

ShowofHands is right: it isn't necessarily obvious to someone not with the person on a daily basis.
My DH is bi-polar and many people around us (family and friends) have no idea. They probably just think he is a bit odd at times...which he is

ShowofHands is right: it isn't necessarily obvious to someone not with the person on a daily basis.
My DH is bi-polar and many people around us (family and friends) have no idea. They probably just think he is a bit odd at times...which he is

I am being asked by both parties to speak to the other about each of their unreasonable behaviour so feel completely stuck in the middle. If the patient is in denial and won't see anyone or refuse to take medication though where does that leave us.

At the moment I think he feels that he is being ganged up on and I have suggested that he needs to feel like he is in control a little bit more and therefore feel able to trust the other party, but that means massive compromise from her and accomodate his behaviour....

SoH was your father in denial for a long time and how long after your mother saw symptoms did it take for him to get an actual diagnosis.?

How did she cope?

Also it would seem that he is mainly experiencing a high although nothing more than what might seem to an outsider to be over exuberance...

My Dad's diagnosis didn't happen until he had a very frightening psychotic episode and was sectioned. Things had gone very, very far by that point.

I think that this situation does not need a go-between. If there has already been a referral then he's already known to the system and there needs to be a push towards proper assessment and treatment. If he has bipolar and is in denial then he needs proper mental health care, not the involvement of a friend/family member in this to-ing and fro-ing. I know it's hard but it's just prolonging the denial and projecting it elsewhere.

How did my Mum cope? You know what, I don't know that she did. She managed, probably not the same.

He is due to see the dr again in about 3 weeks and hopefully he may be able to persuade him to take medication - he does trust this dr, and because things are mild it is difficult for anyone to make a firm stand, without all other issues coming to a haed (a variety of other family issues) which I think will just muddle the issue at hand.

I think at the bottom of it he doesnt believe her, she wants me to tell him that he does need help, but I am scared, unsure if he does and concerned about all the possible consequences....

I was absolutely adamant I didn't have it, and even after a few hospitalisations over the years I still sometimes realise that deep down I don't quite accept it

just seems to be the nature of it, but don't see why other people can't understand how absolutely wrong it feels to take medication to bring your mood down - it is really hard to stick to medication that makes you feel so earthbound and ordinary when you have experienced such elation

anyway as for milder bipolar, I suppose you mean either bipolar II or poss. even cyclothymia (sort of embryonic form) - suspect bp II which is the occasional bout of hypomania with quite a lot of depression, as bpI = at least one episode of actual mania, which tends to be a psychiatric emergency and is not easily missed

not sure if there is evidence for this but my understanding is that 'milder' bipolar means less impairment of functioning but more often, does not sound like an easy thing to live with really

(in real life I do not tell people unless/until they find out - still makes me squirm to talk about it out loud, 10 yrs post diagnosis , especially now it has a higher media profile)

Don't know if this is helpful to you inmypants, but it is quite a good round-up of the issues, including denial (esp when in a manic phase), and some ideas for further reading:

mind leaflet on bipolar