New here, husband dx w/BiPolar
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| 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

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Your Primary is spot on Pamela. Anger is a key indicator that I'm heading for trouble....or in some cases already there.
Pamela-
I know depakote can have a lot of side effects, have you thought of lamictal? It's relatively side-effect free as long as you don't get the rash in the first 8 weeks. Also, it's good for people who are more on the depressed side.
Goodluck!
Meg
Thank you for the reply...
Yea my DH doesn't have a full blown "mania" he just gets really hyper like he did today.. its so strange but now I know why he does it !!
See, his primary wanted him on an AD med but he declined because of all the side affects (mostly he's afraid of the suicidal issue there) I didn't know there were drugs you could take to reduce those chances. We'll have to ask about it. We're still in the learning phase.
He hasn't been diagnosed with a "level" of BiPolar yet. He just took some tests and with them talking to him they (his therapists) said he has a mild form and that's all they said. They said they'll know more when they get him on meds and see if it helps or not....
Urgh, hurry up and wait it seems !!!
God bless,
Pamela
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Meg,
Thank you ! I will look into it and ask his therapist.
His therapist is quite upset at his primary. First the primary didn't do any blood work (for his kidneys & liver before prescribing Depakote), second she gave him 250mg right off the bat when I read that it comes in 50mg tabs. Why on earth would she give such a high dose?
What his therapist said is that he obviously doesn't want him on any heavy duty meds just yet. He wanted him to take an ADD/ADHD med to see how he reacted to it. If it worked, improved things, etc. Then he would know where to go from there. He said he doesn't mind him trying Depakote first, although it wasn't his first choice, but that he certainly doesn't need such a high dose. So my job is to call his primary and ask her those questions...
Our main concern is the side affects. We're a one income family, he works & I stay home with the babies, so if he's going to have wicked side affects from a med, that won't be good & will affect us pretty hard with money & all. I hate this trial medication thing though. Try one, if its bad go onto another. You'd think after all these years with BiPolar the Doc's would have a better handle on it, you know???
THANKS so much for that drug, I do appreciate it.
Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit
Hello all,
Just a quick update...
I left a message for DH's primary Dr. Asking her why she gave him Depakote to start off with and why such a high dosage. I was going to ask about that Lamictal. I read up on that A LOT over the weekend and besides that weird chance of getting a rash, it sounds like the perfect med for him to start with.... We'll see.
He's still taking that Serenity (natural lithium) He experienced a bit of lethargy or what he described as "slow motion" syndrome :) Where instead of going like crazy, he was in slow mo like "normal" people. He spoke with his psy. Dr and he said it sounds like its working because some of the BiPolar drugs slow you down and normalize you a bit.
The other day he was upset about me not listening to him. Instead of raging and getting all angry, he stopped himself ! That's a huge improvement for him. Usually he gets into this mode and cannot stop his anger (according to him & his Doc) He said he knows that Serenity is helping because he was in control of it and able to stop himself.
He's not as up & down as usual. Still has mini episodes of "mania" I guess its called? Where he talks fast, sings around the house - just overall in a hiper/really happy mood, but hey I'll take that ANYDAY against the up & down stuff, plus the anger...
We're going to stick with this for a bit to see if the benefits continue... Just wanted to share the good news & say thank again for all your info & support.
God bless,
Pamela
For information on how to effectively control your PCOS naturally visit
There's a program sponsored through NAMI called Family to Family - you will gain lots of info on natural rememdies, traditional treatment modalities and family solutions that the medical field may not know to share with you. We have a lot of mental illness in our families and three children - two of whom were diagnosed with bipolar in late teens for the girl and early twenties for the boy. Our youngest has no diagnosis of bipolar and we have been watching carefully and have had him talk to a psychologist about his concerns with regard to having bp. So far the psychologist is stating no bp perhaps a little depressed but who wouldn't be with the worry that they may develop bp and face some difficult life decisions.
Our two children with bp have two forms - one is bipolar I and the other bipolar II. One does take depakote and the other takes lithium. Both are usually stable but have had hospitalizations and periods of instability. One is married but has no children (age of 29 and the other is 26.) They aren't sure that they will have them. The other is unmarried and is just starting a career in elementary school teaching. Now that I've seen what these family members have gone through, I treat mental health much more carefully. I see a psychiatrist and take Wellbutrin for the past three years. I sometimes see a counselor. My husband also takes Wellbutrin and something for anxiety. We are both doing this in a "retro" fashion as we were against all meds in our younger years. Our children were raised as vegetarians and we did not look to conventional treatments but rather tried holistic approaches to find solutions. Hope this helps? Best wishes on your journey - It's an up and down ride but it's worth every minute of it if who you love is facing this.
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