looking for information & support

[sewpretty]

hi.  
I recently joined this group to find more information on BPD and maybe to find others who have a loved one who has this. my boyfriend/partner/father of my daughter/love of my life has had BP for a long time and even though we have been together for years I am still trying to learn about what he's going through and find out how to cope with his moods without making anything worse. so... if you're in the same boat give me a shout!  or if anyone could point me in the direction of some good basic knowledge that would be appreciated too.

[LeftCoastChick]

I couldn't have said it better the hell1971 - the meds take the edge off BP in my own experience, I still get highs n' lows, but not so dramatically - which can happen with any of the BP's. Mood swings are definitely not fun, but it's easier then without meds, by a mile. It's pretty common to have to "tweak" the meds to get the right balance, and even then, if you are experience a higher high or low temporarily, my meds get upped and lowered as needed. It's like tuning a race car, you have to have a few pit stops :)

[hell1971]

This is all new to me but my doctor explained that the meds are just there as shock absorbers so yes they do not take away the highs and lows but they should be softer. My understanding is then for depression and anxiety that becomes a problem whilst on the stabalisers the addition of anti anxiety or antidepressants are added so yes I think they can be tweaked to help

[sewpretty]

thanks I am checking out the site.  yes he takes his meds faithfully and goes to his doctor a lot.  i believe that he is BP2 as he is more depressed than manic.  he says he looks forward to the manic spells because then he finally feels like doing something.
the main thing that i don't understand is even though he takes the meds he still seems depressed and sleeps a LOT.  he says that he pills just take the edge off of the depression but doesn't make it go away. then i tell him that if he is still depressed then he should tell his doctor and maybe they can tweak his dose? but he says it doesn't work that way....  i dunno... it's hard.

[LeftCoastChick]

I found a good website that may be a good stepping stone for you. There are listings for support for you spouse and you.

http://www.ndmda.org/

I can imagine it's tough, not understand why and how you can help. I would first ask, is your spouse seeking psychiatric help? Is he on medication? And if he isn't he should be. The statistics for folks not on meds, isn't good, relapse will happen, whether it's just depression or mania or a combination. The website can at least explain to you about BP and I think has links to everything.  You can also check to see if there is a mental health association in your community.

[hell1971]

sorry i also ment to say that forums like this are great as you are talking to people who live the experience and they have always been very supportive.

[hell1971]

Hi, its really great that you are supporting your partner it will make all the difference to him, when I was first diagnosed the best place was the library, the internet is good but I found that reading books like "living with bipolar there is hope" was great, it included parts for the family members too on how you can support your sufferrer as well as reminding you to look after yourself which is one of the most important things you can do, also the information about the illness is much more detailed than you can find on the internet. Good luck he is lucky to have you