who has bipolar here?

[nefarious3d]

well, i am just wondering because i have had bipolar disorder i guess since birth, but it really kicked in when i was 10. i was just wondering how many people had the disease, and how they deal/dealt with it over the years..
age, gender, and life stories are always welcome.

im 17, male, and ive been moving all my life. ive always been stressed, and moving to where i live now has really torn me apart. i started getting really bad bipolar (borderline schizophrenia) when we first moved to this house, and my parents and dad basically denied it. so i was alone for the first 2 and a half years until they started to believe me. and then i got help, which didnt really.. help...?

[Zephyr]

Steph is the name,
17 is the age,
I am female.

We have a family history of mental illness,
Though I'm the first Bipolar.
Depression runs on my mom's side,
Schizophrenia an severe depression on my dad's.
I was diagnosed at age 14 after one of my friends noticed bizzare behavior patterns that I exhibited, and suggested that I see a doctor.


How I Deal: I just take one day at time and try to find the positives in everything. If I'm having problems coping, I either go into full meltdown mode so that it will pass or I'll talk to my best friend Sarah.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

I'm Jessi, 16 years old.

I have an extensive family history of depression, and a history of bipolar disorder as well. I was diagnosed with bipolar2 at 14, after my sister's death sent me spiraling and I went into therapy.

I deal by seeing a therapist (these days I see her once a month), and taking medication. Being bipolar2, I get the depression end of the cycle pretty bad, but the manic end not so much and for short periods of time (hypomania). I'm on Effexor to treat the depression, but all anti-depressants have a tendency to cause me to go manic, so I'm on lithium (lithobid) to keep that stable. My parents keep an eye on me, letting me know if they notice that I'm acting weird, and I do my best to avoid activities that trigger my symptoms. I do my best to go to bed at a decent hour and not sleep all day (my shrink keeps telling me that shifting my sleep pattern isn't good and I'm not allowed to be nocturnal), and my parents have more-or-less forbidden me from sleepovers because staying up all night tends to trigger my mania, which they don't like to deal with. I talk to my friends and my parents when I'm really having trouble coping, but for the most part I'm stable these days, as long as I take my meds and get some sleep.

[nefarious3d]

I forgot to say that I am on 1800 mg of lithium-carbonate, 1200 mg of neurotin, 20 mg of abilify, 20 mg of lexapro, and 300 mg of zantac daily.. sucks. lol medicine is bad for your body but good for your mind.

[Zephyr]

Wow.
All I take is 100mg of Seroquel.

Lithium is bad news though.
In the long run it can do potential brain damage,
I took it for over a year and it messed with my short term memory,
Which I still have problems with.

[Ryandel]

I'm not sure yet if I do because if mine is just hormones or really mild Bipolar. If I did though, I would be considered as having Mild Bipolar II

[Fezzie]

I have it but I don't see how. I was diagnosed with it when I was 15. Somehow my doctor still believes that I have it.

[Shelawtar]

I do but im not taking any meds for them, should i be worried, but then again i havent had any thaughts for a while

[checker]

I have type two rapid cycling bi-polar, it's a bloody nasty thing to have. I'm not taking any drugs for it atm either. Kinda wishing that I would actually get the courage up to go to my doctor and ask for some drugs for it, but I just feel it's like accepting defeat to it. I'm really in two minds as to what to do.

[Waltz_Ryah]

i'm extremely bi-polar. to the point it affects all the relationships i have with everyone, including family. i'm not violent, i'm extremely passive, which i was told was a bad thing. i take out my frustrations on myself.

i hate being bi-polar.

my friend trina described it as: your own personal vietnam.

[Chelsea]

It runs in my biological mothers family but i dont have it so far, severe depression also runs in her family which i DO have though.