What is Bipolar Disorder Teen
This community is dedicated to teenagers struggling with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder, often referred to as manic-depression in the general literature, is a psychiatric condi...
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my little sister is bipolar help! really long sry
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ok i have a 13 year old sister who was diagnosed with being bipolar in february after admitted to the hospital for trying to overdose on pills.
After a 2 week stay at a mental health facility they sent her home. and shes only gotten worse. shes decided shes emo shes dyed her hair so many times its actually started falling out at the age of 13 she wears more makeup than any one ive ever seen, shes is in A.E.P. at school, and keeps getting more days for not doing what she is supposed to. On top of it all my mother started dating a guy in january , which my father passed when my sister was little so she has never had a man in her life which is hard to get used to, after 4 months of dating they are now married and he has moved in with them which would not be so bad but he in my opion is very unstable. he has diabetes which he does not take care of properly and has severe mood swings because of it which sets her off, and he takes everything she says literally and usually gets mad at her which upsets her, example: she calls people stupid all the time, not sure why but i've come to accept it as a sort of term of endearment she means nothing by it. and he will absoulutly fly off the handle. she got mad one day and told him she was gonna kill him and he got a gun and handed it to her and told her to go ahead. it was the first time she had ever seen a gun and i ended up staying with her for a couple of nights because she was so upset she couldnt sleep and my mom did nothing. all of her friends parents have shunned her so to say do not want there kids hanging out with her because they believe her to be unstable. And to top it all off i've found out that she is sexually active. I know alot of her problems are due to the bipolar but I think most of the reason she is having such a hard time dealing with it is 1: her new stepfather. 2: her choice in unsupportive friends which all think this is a joke. 3: my mom even though was the best mom ever to me and my older brother is at the end of her rope with my sister. 4: with her new selection of clothes and hairstyles she has made her self an out cast. while i am all for expressing yourself she has gone over the top especially for a 13yr old girl. i just dont understand her she mom has to make her take a shower i visit like once a week(2 hr drive) and clean her room because she wont. she sleeps in whatever she has on her jeans and a shirt and her shoes she doesnt care. my mom keeps telling me she wont shower because she is uncomfortable with a guy in the house but she showers here when my fiance is here and she is a little wierd about it but she does it. Sorry for the long post but i thought i should explain the situation. She acts like a totally different person with me than my mom says she acts when im not around. and i know when she spends a couple days at my house shes fine. no mood swings, she doesnt do her hair all crazy, or wear as much makeup she helps me around the house when i ask her to. And in my heart i believe she is better off with me. but i am 21 years old getting married in october. Me and my fiance both have full time jobs, i just i want MY life, i know that sounds selfish and i feel horrible, but i dont know if i can help her and not hurt me. plus i really dont have the room for her to stay here. i guess i could sell this house and buy a bigger one which we have been wanting to do anyway. I just dont know. and i dont know if it would help her to move to a new school. i know that the teachers at her current one give her alot of problems, but maybe its jsut her. i havent slept more than 4 hours a night in 5 months worrying about her, i my self have had to start taking antidepressants. I'm just so scared that if i leave her with my mom, she will never get better. my mom has never taken the time to do research on bipolar i have and when i tell her my opinion on how to deal with my sister she just blows me off and gets in another screaming match wiht her. she means the absoulte world to me and i would die if i ever lost her i just dont know what to do please if you have any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated Posted on 06/06/09, 04:06 am |
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Wow that is an awful situation. But I'll give some thoughts and I hope something helps.
First, 13 is pretty young to be diagnosed, and lots of other factors can make it a difficult and confusing thing to accuratley diagnos. So it would probably be best for her to keep working with a psychologist who can monitor her moods and behaviors. Also, is she on medication? I think it's important, at least in the early years of a diagnosis to be on meds consistantly. I didn't stay on them well after being diagnosed at 16 but now that a new doc has diagnosed me a couple years later, I'm tryingto be more consistant for me and my friends/family's sake. So talk to her and her doc about meds. If possible maybe it would help if you, not her mom, took her to visit a psychiatrist? Since she clearly is more comfortable with you. It also might help her to keep a mood chart for a month or two, and that would be helpful to take on a visit to a pdoc as well. http://www.bipolar-lives.com/bipol... that website is helpful on explaining the uses of those charts, and has links to download and print some. It just sounds like overall she needs to be working with more supportive people, including a psychologist, because it would be impossible for her to deal with this appropriatley on her own at that age, without the right support. I know because I always tried and failed and ended up sleeping with all the wrong people, drunk in school for a year straight, blah blah all the wrong things. I'm glad you came here for advice, I hope others can help you too. It's great your being so supportive, I wish you and your sister the best of luck! 
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i know i was diagnosed pretty young myself i was diagnosed at 11 and my dad was an ass to me alot too when i got mad but that was cuz i was unstable for 5 years and was constantly getting in trouble it sounds like ur mom just doesnt know how to deal with her maybe it would benefit them if they tried to go to a support group
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Thank you for your replys. she is on medication which she was to be closely watched when she takes them because she likes to hide them and say she took them because she does not believe she needs them. i think the mood chart is a good idea for her thank you for that. Also it seems she has gotten quite a bit worse since moving to a new house and me and my mom discussed it might have alot to do with everything being so hectic. at there other house my mom worked certian hours now she works dfferent hours everyweek. and before my sister had a sort of schedule ya know dinner at 6 shower at 8 bed at 9 kind of thing and now she doesnt its just whenever and i think that my be part of the problem so i have been working on her a schedule on the computer for the past couple of days and i'm hoping it my help her out a little.
and gone country I think thats what my moms problem is she just doesnt know how to deal with it, and it does not help that my sisters meds cost about $150 a month so my mom is no longer able to afford her own antidepressants. they have tryed support groups and my sister i just a total ass to my mom when my mom trys to ask any questions or really talk at all. but maybe we could all go and she would be a little better. again thanks for your replies
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what kind of medicine is she ? on i know that lithium is really effective and only cost 4 dollars at walmart
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ummm not 100% on what all she is on but i know that the really expensive one is her abilify and it being a fairly new drug they dont offer a generic. im not even sure what its for i think it may be for depression or..?? she is apparently depressed and shes bipolar and she has adhd according to her doctor.
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UPDATE:
ok my sister freaked out really bad and was ordered by a judge to go back to the hospital. she has been there 13 days tomorrow and i will go pick her up in the morning, my mom wants her to come here, then she wants to take her to girlshaven in beaumont texas which is where i live and i dont think that is a horrible idea. it would just be for the summer, i went and did a tour and took all her info up there today and shes all set but i called her and asked her what she thought and she freaked out. and unlike a hospital the camp does not have to let her stay if she is a danger to herself or others. my mom works fulltime and has almost lost her job several time from having to take off and deal with my sister. and it being summer she cant just leave her at home all the time she apparently cant be trusted to stay home alone anymore, my mom found alot of sexual pictures in her cell phone taken in my moms house while she was at work. and i can barely afford to take care of myself at this point much less her too and my mom says she doesnt have the money to send to take care of her. it just seems like my mom is giving up on her and honestly i'm no longer sure if i blame her, in the past couple of weeks my sister has started cussing her all the time refuses to do anything she doesnt want to do and has pulled a knife on my mom and cut my moms hand pretty bad just because my mom said her friend could not spend the night. they put her on different meds but she is still freaking out at the hospital. I guess what i need advice on is do i need to force her to go to camp and see what happens or not or let her stay here or let her stay at home and give her her cell phone back and her tv and her games or should she not be able to have those things and just freak out or what? I just cant do this anymore shes only gotten worse since january, and before that she was a happy kid she was in advanced classes in school and all the sudden she overdoses and she doesnt care about anyone or anything, and all of us are really trying and all she does is get worse.
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As for her thinking she's emo and all sorts, I say maybe you should let her try it. I did the same thing when I was her age, but I got over it. She trying to accept that she's bipolar, it's really hard to get used to people around you who you think are normal and stuff.
She also should probably see a psychiatrist for some medication would be a good thing at her age, and if your family doesn't believe in medications, like I know many do, they have specific healthy diets, which I'm on one, and they help you regulate your mood. You should tell her to get an account on here, it's helped me a lot, and be there for her to talk to her always, it's always helped lots of people to talk about what they're feeling. Even when she doesn't want to talk maybe you could buy her a journal to write in, that way it gets it out, and help her find a hobby she likes. And remember that emo thing she's pulling is probably just a phase and you shouldn't worry too much about it.
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13 is a REALLY hard age in general and to add the fact she is bipolar is worse. She is probably being emo to prove something to herself or others. Or maybe it is just a phase. Ir sounds like she is going through a hard time. It is very difficult to accept you are bipolar in the early process. I was diagnosed when I was 15 and did all sorts of things to get myself better. Taking more pills than I was supposed to,kissing guys when I first met them.Blah Blah Blah..Maybe she just needs a change of enviorment. I donj't know. I hope for the best. Hugbook me if you need to chat
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