Bipolar Disorder

[99 44/100% pure]

Bi-Polar disorder is a huge contributing factor in the demise of my 16 year marriage. We knew he had it when we tied the knot, but things seemed to be kept steady with a regimen of meds and therapy. Remember L-Tryptophan? That was the first of appx. 12 drugs he's been prescribed over the years. The meds can help, but efficacy and compliance are both serious problems.

I have found that those who don't comply with meds are not doing it to capitalize on a 'manic' high, but because they tend to be bright, organized people (when feeling well) who want to exert some control over their care. Of the 8 B-P folks I know well, 6 are engineers and the other two have very stressful jobs where smarts and quick thinking are required. All have tweaked or completely stopped their medication at some time because they are sure that they can determine their needs better than the MDs can.

My ex is B-P II, and his 'manic' periods are not characterized by energetic periods of creativity and elation, but intense anxiety and energetic activity toward no useful purpose. This, unfortunately, was manifested in very unpleasant behavior toward me.

I think the diagnosis of B-P is a catch all for a range of ailments which we do not yet have the ability to discern from one another. The meds are becoming more targeted and effective with each generation developed (about avery 7-8 years), but scientific advances have been too little, too late for us.

Talk therapy, IMHO, is sorely underutilized in many cases. My guy spent his entire life creating beliefs and behaviors to help explain (to himself and the world) his aberrent feelings and reactions. Simply taking a pill to reduce the occurrence of symptoms will not help the patient learn new, appropriate ways of coping with stress. Near the eventual denoument, when I urged my husband's psychiatrist to try to pursuade him to enter marriage counseling with me, his response was "you are expecting too much -- he's maintained a job, he's still married and he hasn't killed himself -- he's a success!"

On the plus side, he's been a much better parent, and very pleasant to be around now that he lives one mile away and sees the kids in two very small doses totalling 8 hours per week.

Couldn't possibly begin to speculate on the questions you ask about your colleague, as each case is so different from the others. Glad you're interested in helping her, but it may be a long, vexing journey.