Family & Friends of Bipolar Support Group
This community is dedicated to parents, siblings, grandparents, other relatives and friends of someone who is Bipolar. The purpose of this community is to help families and friends develop greater patience and understanding, as well as maintain a positive, caring relationships with those diagnosed as Bipolar.
Hi, I know I have posted here many times. Just bits and pieces focusing on what's happening at that moment. But I often read other peoples posts here as well as at other places online. And the full story about my mothers illness seems slightly different. So I'd just like some thoughts on it. It may be long so I apologise for that.
So my mother didn't have her first Bipolar episode until she was 45. Before this she was relatively 'normal'. She was always quick to anger/a little controlling and tried to guilt trip me a lot. But my childhood was pretty ok. She was a single mother who looked after my sister and I the best she could. I don't think she was always fair to me...but I do think she did her best. She pretty much always put us first.
In 2006 my Pop (her Father) died suddenly. He was the only support she had left. He helped us out financially etc.
She became depressed. But still functioned pretty well. She went on antidepressants. She was on them a while. I can't remember how long exactly (but less than a year).
In 2007 Just after my 21st birthday she started to act strange. I had no idea what was going on at all. She was really angry and hyped up etc. Which I now know is mania. This went on for a couple of weeks. She was constantly abusing me so I went to stay at my boyfriends place. She then began to act more strange and paranoid, which I know now is psychosis.
My sister and I had no idea what was going on being so young and never having dealt with it before. She ended up freaking out (while my sister and I were at work) and thought people were after her. She went around the corner to a neighbours house (older woman in a wheelchair) saying she needed to call for help I think she thought people were after her. Some how she had an altercation with the woman and hurt her during her freak out. The woman called police who ended up taking her to a psych ward.
Our next door neighbour contacted my sister and I as she had seen most of it happen. We had no idea what was going on still. Mum was kept is the psych ward for a few days. She said she had heard Pops voice telling her to run out of the house etc. The doctors ended up diagnosing her with a nervous break down (we now know that was wrong).
We were kicked out our house and struggled to find a new one. My boyfriend and I got engaged for our 5 year anniversary; but I stayed living with mum and my sister to help pay the rent at our new house as mum couldn't work and they wouldn't give her the pension at that time.
We lived there for just over 6 months and she was depressed but didn't have any more manic or psychotic episodes at all. I eventually moved in with my fianc as my sister and mum moved into a cheaper house.
She was put back on anti depressants and one year after her first episode she had a second epsiode. In 2008 she went into mania and than psychosis again. She ended up trying to kill herself. She was taken to hospital in an ambulance. They then diagnosed her with bipolar brought on by anti depressants.
So she had her first episode in Nov 2007 and second in Nov 2008 both brought on my antidepressants. In-between she didn't cycle or anything. Between 2008 and 2011 she had at least one mania episode and at least one of those per year has led to psychosis. She had many mood swings up and down and several I thought would turn to mania but suddenly didn't.
She thinks doctors are the enemy because the original doctor that put her on anti depressant in 2007 put her on too high a does and she blames him for what happened. She thinks all doctors are idiots. Hence she won't see them often and wont take medication as she should.
In 2012 she didn't have a manic or psychotic episode at all, just mood swings. (while NOT taking medication)
In 2013 she had a bad episode of mania and psychosis.
And this year she had a medium episode of mania and psychosis.
Now at first it seemed that antidepressants caused it. Because the first two episodes happened while she was on them. But now it happens without them. Stress set her off. She can't work. And they did finally put her on the pension. But she seems to cycle and have episodes for no apparent reason now and I just don't know what to do.
Why did it start of with antidepressants and now happens of it's own accord? Even in times of no stress?
Why is it that between the first 2 episodes (07 and 08) when she was very depressed and stressed about what had happened, where we lived and had a court case for attacking the lady in the wheelchair did she not have an episode? Not even a sign of one. And now anything can cause one.
I'm just so confused. I feel stuck.
Does her bipolar seem weird? Could she be miss diagnosed?
So my mother didn't have her first Bipolar episode until she was 45. Before this she was relatively 'normal'. She was always quick to anger/a little controlling and tried to guilt trip me a lot. But my childhood was pretty ok. She was a single mother who looked after my sister and I the best she could. I don't think she was always fair to me...but I do think she did her best. She pretty much always put us first.
In 2006 my Pop (her Father) died suddenly. He was the only support she had left. He helped us out financially etc.
She became depressed. But still functioned pretty well. She went on antidepressants. She was on them a while. I can't remember how long exactly (but less than a year).
In 2007 Just after my 21st birthday she started to act strange. I had no idea what was going on at all. She was really angry and hyped up etc. Which I now know is mania. This went on for a couple of weeks. She was constantly abusing me so I went to stay at my boyfriends place. She then began to act more strange and paranoid, which I know now is psychosis.
My sister and I had no idea what was going on being so young and never having dealt with it before. She ended up freaking out (while my sister and I were at work) and thought people were after her. She went around the corner to a neighbours house (older woman in a wheelchair) saying she needed to call for help I think she thought people were after her. Some how she had an altercation with the woman and hurt her during her freak out. The woman called police who ended up taking her to a psych ward.
Our next door neighbour contacted my sister and I as she had seen most of it happen. We had no idea what was going on still. Mum was kept is the psych ward for a few days. She said she had heard Pops voice telling her to run out of the house etc. The doctors ended up diagnosing her with a nervous break down (we now know that was wrong).
We were kicked out our house and struggled to find a new one. My boyfriend and I got engaged for our 5 year anniversary; but I stayed living with mum and my sister to help pay the rent at our new house as mum couldn't work and they wouldn't give her the pension at that time.
We lived there for just over 6 months and she was depressed but didn't have any more manic or psychotic episodes at all. I eventually moved in with my fianc as my sister and mum moved into a cheaper house.
She was put back on anti depressants and one year after her first episode she had a second epsiode. In 2008 she went into mania and than psychosis again. She ended up trying to kill herself. She was taken to hospital in an ambulance. They then diagnosed her with bipolar brought on by anti depressants.
So she had her first episode in Nov 2007 and second in Nov 2008 both brought on my antidepressants. In-between she didn't cycle or anything. Between 2008 and 2011 she had at least one mania episode and at least one of those per year has led to psychosis. She had many mood swings up and down and several I thought would turn to mania but suddenly didn't.
She thinks doctors are the enemy because the original doctor that put her on anti depressant in 2007 put her on too high a does and she blames him for what happened. She thinks all doctors are idiots. Hence she won't see them often and wont take medication as she should.
In 2012 she didn't have a manic or psychotic episode at all, just mood swings. (while NOT taking medication)
In 2013 she had a bad episode of mania and psychosis.
And this year she had a medium episode of mania and psychosis.
Now at first it seemed that antidepressants caused it. Because the first two episodes happened while she was on them. But now it happens without them. Stress set her off. She can't work. And they did finally put her on the pension. But she seems to cycle and have episodes for no apparent reason now and I just don't know what to do.
Why did it start of with antidepressants and now happens of it's own accord? Even in times of no stress?
Why is it that between the first 2 episodes (07 and 08) when she was very depressed and stressed about what had happened, where we lived and had a court case for attacking the lady in the wheelchair did she not have an episode? Not even a sign of one. And now anything can cause one.
I'm just so confused. I feel stuck.
Does her bipolar seem weird? Could she be miss diagnosed?
Thanks for replying.