I had some hypomania before i ever tried drugs. But i did suffer some brain damage when my head hit the bathtub after i fainted one time.

Interesting speculation... though sometimes BP can run in families too. Could be just one more factor to consider....

I have a question. Do you believe drug use turns into BP. Cause I know I was BP(in my head f'd up)beforeI was ever diagnosed

This is a really interesting topic. I had a horse riding accident when I was 16, and when I came off (at a cantering pace) my head smacked on a rock and I was knocked unconcious. I was out for a good 20mins aparently and had temporary amnesia when I came to.

It was 12 months after that I had my first depressive episode and six months after that I attempted suicide for the first time. I've been experiencing depression on and off ever since.

I was also diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 5, after having a seisure and was on tegretol for a couple of years.

I have never been a drug user/addict though.

I actually have heard of methamphetamine leading to the onset of both schitzophrenia and bipolar disorder. My cousin Justin got on Meth while going to Cal Poly in SLO. He vanished off o the face of the earth and was found in NYC--claiming to be Jesus Christ. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder except a really severe case in which he is hardly functionable. My friend Jeff was always a little bit weird. It was evident that there was something wrong with him but schitzophrenia didn't seem to be the case until he got on methamphetamine and after maybe six months was picked up by the police for attacking a couple of Mexicans inside of a gas station--thinking that he was a cop of sorts and they were criminals. So it's up in the air and it may not be proven either way.

cheers...

JW

That is very interesting, because that subject was just brought up by a prescribing nurse I saw recently, not my instigation, but hers. She also has some brain damage, so I am assuming she picked up on something.

PS - mine would be from abuse and falling off of horses. I haven't done drugs before.

A friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with BP too. She used drugs (mainly pot) heavily for many years from her late teens to mid 20s. She has read a great deal of literature on the topic and says that regular drug use is a definate connection to mental ilness...especially BP and SF.

I started experiencing bp symptoms shortly after a brain injury although I suspect I may have had it before. I read in one of my books the brain injury can cause bp. It doesn't matter where it comes from - you treat the symptoms the same.

in all honesty, I struggled with this concept for a long time. Trying to decide if it were my fault, and accident, or if I were born this way. For me it doesn't matter, I am what I am today, and I am in self destruct mode (again) and I had better damn well do something soon, or I'll be starting over (again)

No similar experiences, but I have heard that drugs for bp can cause brain damage (memory loss, etc.) However, it's sort of chicken-and-egg because depression and mania causes it as well.

Also...maybe you can have the bp gene that lies dormant until drug use, sress, etc. triggers it? Because many people who use drugs never become bp.

I have heard of BP forming as a result of extreme drug use and brain damage.

Sometimes I wonder whether I have brain damage and not bio-polar. No drugs but also no-one has done any tests to check otherwise.
MJ

this is interesting. ive never head of anything like this before. i guess its something to think about