New here, husband dx w/BiPolar

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2005
New here, husband dx w/BiPolar
26
Thu, 07-13-2006 - 6:48pm

Hello all,

I'm new here, and some questions.

I've thought for years that my hubby (25) had BiPolar. He was finally diagnosed this week with it. Both his psycologist & Primary care physician have diagnosed him with a mild case mostly depression based. The primary Dr wants him to take Depakote. I looked it up and that stuff has the most wicked side affects. I know, as with all meds its possible not to have any side affects but encepholopathy (sp?), liver disease, pancreatitis, etc, aint nothing to laugh at.

Does anyone here have any experience with Depakote? Does it help? Side affects, etc?

My main goal is to find something natural for him to take. Most people laugh when I say that but I'm still going to try. Neither of us want him on this crud that's going to cause health problems. We have 3 kids and want him around to live a happy, and normal life as possible. Not gorked up on meds all day.... Anyone know any natural remedies? He tried something called Serenity - its a natural form of Lithium. He's been taking the max dose for almost a week now. The only thing he's noticed is that he feels like he's constantly in slow motion. Cannot concentrate, etc. I haven't noticed any changes in his behavior/moods. I was looking into some other things that have a mixture of herbal remedies (Liquid Health's Attention, etc) Is there anything he shouldn't take (besides SAMe) that could make it worse?

Last question - SORRY its so long !!!

Since its believed to be genetic (we believe his father has it) what are the chances our girls will get it?

Thank you so much, in advance, for your help. I do appreciate it...

God bless,
Pamela

Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2002
Thu, 07-13-2006 - 7:23pm

I've tried most of the mood stabilizers, and Depakote was the worst. I didn't have any of the serious possible effects that you mentioned, but I gained a whole lot of weight and worse, felt stoned all the time.

Natural mood stabilizers? I don't know of any that will truly work on their own (I honestly think this is the time to trust western medicine), but fish oil helps. They've done studies on it and everything. I take three capsules a day, but please, DO NOT trust this stuff on its own!

Natural form of Li? Well, the lithium carbonate they sell as a prescription drug can occur in that state in nature. If your "natural remedy" contains Li, then probably it'll be the same as what you can find in the pharmacy. Remember, when it comes down to it, everything they sell in the pharmacy has to come from nature at one point. But hey, Li has some nasty side effects, too! But, it might work for you. Sometimes, if a drug works, it's worth the side effects.

Let me take this opportunity to recommend the stabilizer I take now: Neurontin. It works by assisting GABA, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. I love it! It works better than any stabilizer I've tried, and has no nasty side effects, not weight gain, nothing.

Express!
Beth "Petrouchka"

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Thu, 07-13-2006 - 7:46pm

Pam.read the N


Welcome to the board, I'm glad you found us.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-02-2006
Thu, 07-13-2006 - 10:35pm

Hi Pamela and welcome to the board. I currently take 500 mgs of Depakote per day and have no side effects (fortunately). Make sure he drinks plenty of water to avoid dehydration. That's one thing I know. I haven't experienced a gorked feeling with the depakote.


I was on Lithium at 1200 mgs a day and developed lithium toxicity....not anything to mess with. Lethargic, kind of there but not there, tremors, jerking motions, then came the staggering gait, and what finally drove me to the er was the hallucinations. So, if your dh is experiencing any of those with the natural base lithium monitor it very carefully.


As for passing the gene from one generation to the next......It is possible. I don't know the percentage. I suspect, but don't know that my father may have had it. I have it, and my 16 yo dd has it. My other 2 children ages 9 and 13 show little signs of having it. The 13 year old has a massive temper but that is the only sign I've seen in either of them.


So, all in all, if you are able to find a natural remedy that works I applaud you. If, however, you have to use prescription meds and depakote is the way to go, as I've said I have had no side effects from it. I hope that your dh suffers no ill effects as well. I also hope that your children did not inherit the gene.


I hope I've been able to answer some of your questions. I encourage you to post here often. We are here to help and look forward to getting to know you.


Traci


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-06-2005
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 8:50am

Hello and Welcome to the board...I'm the 3rd co-cl on the board...


I don't have any experience with depakote, so I can't answer that one.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

God could not be everywhere, so

Avatar for firstglimpse
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 10:44am

Be careful in what you take with bp. For example, Lithium (I would guess natural or px) works very well ... but everytime you stop taking it the less effect it will have the next time you take it. So I highly suggest it is something he takes only when he's ready to take it life-long.

Medications that help with depression could bring on mania. I believed my H was bp for 14 yrs before he was diagnosed. I didn't think bp was a serious illness just something to get used to. I didn't know there was a hypomania v. mania. Boy, did we learn the hard way. I had a lot of stress for 3 yrs straight, which of course effected my H. So he went to the gp and asked to get onto Zoloft. (Figured his mom's doc's px'd Zoloft for her & she was bp, so it must be okay for bp.)

End result, H started to drink a lot, then became delusional, then drank chronically, then went into psychosis with paranoia.

My research now indicated an antidepressant induced mania can last up to 1-2 years. Ooooooh, so that is my MIL was successful in her final suicide attempt, the Zoloft had put her over the edge.

MY LESSON:
You do not play with mental illness. Unfortunately there is a lot of guess work because there are so many illnesses that overlap each other and there are often misdiagnosis. Research on the brain really only began in the 90s so its fresh, but better meds are always on the horizon now. But that also means there will a lot of med combinations tried to help stablize your H. Plus, most of the meds are something the body will get used to & effectiveness can diminish over the years and it will need to be modified again. And then there are hormone changes as we age that will also effect the meds & the illness, again med modifications.

EXAMPLE:
Last January I heard a report on NPR regarding a new protien that was discovered. The confusion has always been why it takes 4-6 weeks for antidepressants to work when the seratonin levels go up immediately. Turns out it's not the actual seratonin that brings people out of the depression, but when the seratonin is no longer deficient this protien (P-11) is slowly raised. Once P-11 reaches a certain height the depression is lifted. Therefore, they are now trying to figure out how to lift the P-11 as quickly as they can lift the seratonin. Meaning what the future holds is a medication that can lift depression as quickly as an asperin can stop a headache.
(more info: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/520967)

There are a lot of natural things you can do to help with depression and even bp. I do not remember the site I had found, but I know there are locations where you can find vitamins & such to help. I had found it when I could not get my H to see a psychiatrist and was going to try to do persuade him to do things on his own. (Things such as vitamin B shots.)

But with my new life-lesson, I highly suggest you do this under the supervision of a therapist and possibly a psychiatrist. (I don't think prescribing docs would be as easy to work with though.)

You may say it's mild, but he is still young. The longer one goes without treatment the more permanant damage is done. So I suggest not to take this lightly.

AS FOR GENETICS (Ballpark risk guide):

IF SIBLING HAS...12% chance
IF 1 PARENT HAS...27% chance
IF 2 PARENTS HAVE...74% chance

I plan on teaching my children while they are young that alcoholism & mental illness runs in both sides of their family (even if I don't have either) and it is more important for them to learn to say no to peer pressure than it is for their peers. Environment can effect the illness as well.

-----

For what reason was your H dx'd? Was there an episode or was it something you wanted dx'd so you could take care of it?

I know side-effects are hard to deal with, especially if you want him around for a long time. But there are lethal side-effects in not treating as well (suicide, substance abuse, risks taken, etc).

Depakote, liver damage is rare.

Other drugs in the same class (newer emerging drugs); Symbyax (proving effective for relief of bp depression : side-effects drowsiness/dizziness, diarrhea, weight gain & nausea) and Lamictal (efficacy in bp depression; low incidence of weight gain ; side-effects rash, headache, nausea, lethargy & weight loss).

Somebody has already given you helpful links. I have not associated myself with the DBA yet, but I can tell you NAMI has been a great resource. I have recently taken a 12w course through them to educate myself more on the illness, how to protect myself & how to be an advocate for my H. I highly recommend it.




"Only when we are sick of our sickness shall we cease to be sick."

~ Lao-Tzu, from The Tao Te Cheng
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2005
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 11:10am

Beth,

Thanks for all the info, I do sincerely appreciate it.

This Neurontin, is it prescription? Is it specifically for BiPolar? The natural remedies I've found have GABA, and others that are known to help with BiPolar. I'm hoping that one of them will help since like I said he has a mild case.

His psycologist suggested he take an ADD/ADHD medication. That since he has a mild case it is quite likely that's all he needs. But when he was little they misdiagnosed him with ADHD when in fact he had BiPolar, and gave him ridilin. His mom said he had a really bad reaction to it, but she cannot recall exactly what happened.

Yes, he takes fish oil on my suggestion. I haven't noticed a difference but its good for him anyway.

Thanks again, God bless,
Pamela

Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-22-2004
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 11:12am

Hi Pamela,

My DH was recently diganosed with B.P. disorder too. I also thought that he had it for a long time. He is 41 years old, and was just diagnosed when he was about 40. He suffers mostly from depression as well. Before he was diagnosed I did have him on all kinds of vitamins, herbs, etc. B complex vitamins really help with depression, and I also had him on something called 5HTP, which is available at a health food store. My DH now does take meds., which he needed after a major depression. He takes effexor, plus a mood stabilzer. I worry about the side effects too, but he has to be able to function and have a good quality of life too. After his major depression, I knew he needed the meds. as the natual stuff just wasn't working for him.

About the kids having it, it is totally possible that one of them might. I think my 13 yr. son has it as well, but we took him to the psych. Dr. and he just thought it was ADD, but I still think he has it. I also look at my DH parents and I think his Mom has a mild form of it, but has never been diagnosed with it. It is so scary thinking one of your kids might have it too. I actually have 4 kids, the youngest is 10, and I think two of them might have a mild form of it.

Hang in there, I hope I have helped you some.
Lori

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2005
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 11:15am

Thanks for your reply & info.

I dunno. The Dr said that he has the depression form more than mania, although I seem to see both in him. She suggested Depakote because of the low chance of side affects.... She also wanted him to take a med for depression but he declined. Not that he doesn't want the help but neither of us are much for western medicine because of all the horrible side & health affects they cause....

Yes, this Serenity has Lithium Orotate, the natural form of Lithium. The only thing he's noticed is that he feels like he's running in slow motion. He seems out of it and lethargic to me, but no drastic changes in his mood swings.

He's on fish oil, has been for a while now. What about a supplement for ADHD? His psycologist suggested he try an ADD/ADHD medication since he has a mild case of BiPolar, he said that he's found it to help without taking the heavier meds like Lithium & Depakote....

Thanks again for your info,
God bless,
Pamela

Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2005
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 11:21am

Traci,

Thanks for your info... Although I'm confused now ! I just read Beth's post saying she has wicked side affects from Depakote. I realize everyone is different but I just dunno what to tell him about taking it !

The last woman I posted, I'm sorry I forgot her name there were so many posts :) said that Depakote is more for the mania based BiPolar. DH's doc said he had the depressive form, so she wasn't sure why the Dr prescribed Depakote...

Plus, he's got a mild form, is it really necessary to put him on 250mg of Depakote right off the bat?

YES, he is lethargic and kind of out of it. I knew something was wrong. I am going to tell him to stop that immediately. It was a natural form of lithium. What would cause the toxicity? Too high of dose or what? Does that mean he should never take Lithium whatever form it may be?

I'll ask you the same I asked everyone else.... What do you think of him taking an ADD/ADHD med? His psyologist recommended it because of his mild case. He had a bad reaction to Ridilin when he was 4 but the psyc. Dr said he should try it again because he believes it will help him immensly and he wouldn't have to take the heavier meds...

THANKS again,
God bless,
Pamela

Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2005
Fri, 07-14-2006 - 11:29am

THANK YOU ALL !!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so grateful for all the responses and information. You all are quite intelligent in this area and I'm so blessed to have found this board. IVillage boards have been a help in the past, I knew they would help now.

I have to admit, I'm overwhelmed !!!!!!!! I am less sure about what to do now more than ever. Don't take this, bad side affects - no take this, its good... etc. I realize every med will react to everyone differently, but I just don't know what to tell my poor husband. I'm the researcher/scientific person of the family so he puts all of his trust in me to research this. I want to give him the best info possible but it seems all this BiPolar stuff is a hit & miss.

I'm going to call his psycologist today and tell him what the Primary Care Doc prescribed. I agree he does need treatment but if its such a mild case why does he have to be on such a heavy duty BiPolar med that is more for mania when his case is more depressive?

He's not going to take anti depression meds, he already told me that. I don't blame him. I told him about the side affects (suicide, and other mental side affects).

I will be back, that's for sure. I jsut have to discuss this all with his psy.Doc to see what he says because as I said, I'm completely LOST !!!!!!!

May God bless you all and thank you so much for your support & info.
Will talk again soon - Pamela

Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit

Pages