Knowing that GP's are NOT GODS , they Do make mistakes and wrong diagnosis. My son's heroin addiction ,I am convinced has masked all other possibilities of physical /genetic/emotional/environmental problems, which so far, no one has exorcised!!!!!We have diabetes, epilepsy, alcholism, anxiety, cancer, tuberculosis to name but a few But the one thing I would like feed back on is Manic Depression or BI Polar problems, because I bet if we did a straw poll on those two..most of our addicts would have that problem! NOT trying to be Dr Kildare or Marcus Welby MD ( if you remember those TV programmes)LOL!!!! But just thinking there may be a thread of real mental illness in this addiction that is masked by soceity's needs for a scapegoat...eg people who are just weak and can't or won't say NO! , experimenters ..whatever. Our life reads like a greek Tragedy..as so many others here must feel. But I REALLY want to help NOT ENABLE! My son, by the way, is planning to go back to London, different are, different circumstances, to try to redeem himself...we'll see!!!!But d*** Whittington got it wrong..the streets ARE NOT paved with gold.....just BROWN, WHITE, SYRINGES, and LITTER! ( seen this for myself)
Bette,
My son was bipolar and I believe he went to heroin as a result of his bipolar illness. There is a good discussion about the link between bipolar and drug addiction in the following thread in the heroin addiction recovery page:
http://addictionrecoveryguide.com/m...=ST&f=17&t=5800
The link is the one where my Son Died of a Heroin Overdose at 21. That is the thread I started. On the same webpage as you.
Phil (David's Dad)
My son was bipolar and I believe he went to heroin as a result of his bipolar illness. There is a good discussion about the link between bipolar and drug addiction in the following thread in the heroin addiction recovery page:
http://addictionrecoveryguide.com/m...=ST&f=17&t=5800
The link is the one where my Son Died of a Heroin Overdose at 21. That is the thread I started. On the same webpage as you.
Phil (David's Dad)
Thankyou for your quick respons! I am sure this is the thred that runs through the family ( including me..on anti-depressants etc) When i am happy ..i am happy , when I am sad ..I'm sad..( never predictable) It will be interesting to see what level of response I get...because armed with that I WILLL confront the GP's and powers that be! Often the simple solution is facing us..but I guess now I am clutching at straws! But even when my son goes back to London, this has affectefd our family in such a HUGE way, I won't let it rest! until I get some answers! from the medical side! Thanks for your support folks!
Forgot to mention that my dad was Polish and ALWAYS was gloom and doom...GLASS HALF EMPTY RATHER THAN HALF FULL!!! Says it all...and I've passed that on! s***!
Hi Bette,
I've never been to a shrink or had any sort of psychological evaluation but i'll bet top dollar that there's somethin wrong with me!! I remember growing up i was a very active outgoing young lad but when i hit puberty i suddenly got really nervous around people...some sort of social phobia or something. I'd also get panic attacks especially when i would run into random people i knew. I've read alot of literature including the DSM (index of psychiatric disorders) and deduced i may be bipolar as well although i really should probably get a professional opinion. Around 9th grade i remember being very depressed...borderline suicidal although i never came close to attempting that. Then i started smoking pot which honestly seemed to cure me. Even when i wasn't stoned I stopped being depressed. I started to enjoy life alot more and stopped getting panic attacks. I'm not sure why but maybe the pot allowed me to step out of my self and look at things from a new perspective. Although pot has been proven to have medicinal properties, self-medicating probably isn't the best way to go as my drug use progressively got worse and worse as I got older. Maybe if i went into a shrink he would have put me on prozac or somethng and my drug use would have ceased there but my parents are very old-fashioned (and old..I am the youngest of 3 kids the oldest almost 40) and don't *believe* in modern medicine at times.
In short...you are correct in saying there definitely is an underlying mental problem amongst the addict population. Most of us don't get addicted to these horrific drugs just because of boredom. I doubt i'd jump to sticking needles in my arm because there's nothing on TV. My school offers free psychological counseling to all students so i've been thinking about going. it'd be quite interesting to see if there is an explanation to why i've been such a heavy drug user for my entire adult life but i'm not going to jump to the conclusion that I'm just a victim...i definitely made alot of bad choices in my life...but maybe there's a reason to why I made them. who knows.
have a good one
-morph
I've never been to a shrink or had any sort of psychological evaluation but i'll bet top dollar that there's somethin wrong with me!! I remember growing up i was a very active outgoing young lad but when i hit puberty i suddenly got really nervous around people...some sort of social phobia or something. I'd also get panic attacks especially when i would run into random people i knew. I've read alot of literature including the DSM (index of psychiatric disorders) and deduced i may be bipolar as well although i really should probably get a professional opinion. Around 9th grade i remember being very depressed...borderline suicidal although i never came close to attempting that. Then i started smoking pot which honestly seemed to cure me. Even when i wasn't stoned I stopped being depressed. I started to enjoy life alot more and stopped getting panic attacks. I'm not sure why but maybe the pot allowed me to step out of my self and look at things from a new perspective. Although pot has been proven to have medicinal properties, self-medicating probably isn't the best way to go as my drug use progressively got worse and worse as I got older. Maybe if i went into a shrink he would have put me on prozac or somethng and my drug use would have ceased there but my parents are very old-fashioned (and old..I am the youngest of 3 kids the oldest almost 40) and don't *believe* in modern medicine at times.
In short...you are correct in saying there definitely is an underlying mental problem amongst the addict population. Most of us don't get addicted to these horrific drugs just because of boredom. I doubt i'd jump to sticking needles in my arm because there's nothing on TV. My school offers free psychological counseling to all students so i've been thinking about going. it'd be quite interesting to see if there is an explanation to why i've been such a heavy drug user for my entire adult life but i'm not going to jump to the conclusion that I'm just a victim...i definitely made alot of bad choices in my life...but maybe there's a reason to why I made them. who knows.
have a good one
-morph
yeah im with you on that one morph ,i was the same as you just popping into someone i hadnt seen for a while would give me a panic attack.and any job i had was bad for me as well .i started with pot then worked up to speed which to me made me feel what i called normal confident blarr blarr .but speed makes panic attacks stronger in the long run.then heroin came along and i was born .again it made me feel normal confident energetic i was like im going to this with my life every thing made sence on heroin.but as we all know you end up with a pile of s*** for a life on that s*** .but when i stay clean its hard to get that zest for life without heroin .i guess what im trying to say is i believe also that its not just because we fancy having a bit of a party its deeper than that for us addicts i guess we have just got to stay clean and hope it all comes good
paul
paul
Thanks for your comments lads! I think there is MORE to this problem than just weakness and boredom! I think some folks need a chemical they are acking to keep them feeling "normal" like thyroid and thyroxine, diabetes and insulin etc etc. I just don't think the doctors are looking in the right direction. But I must admit..a s*** childhood counts for many of today's problems! Ex Learning Support Teacher!!!
Keep up your good work folks! and God bless! Bette ((((((((((HUGS)))))))))
Keep up your good work folks! and God bless! Bette ((((((((((HUGS)))))))))
Hey guys, here is some stuff I posted on a pain pills thread "bipolar Disorder......"
...........................................................................
charmed_1
Posted: July 28, 2004, 6:27 AM
Posts: 457
Cheers for the info, I was recently diagnosed with bipolar, child onset bipolar - I've had it my whole life. I am have just started on Lithium which has been a life changing experience for me. My whole life I have wondered what was wrong with me, I even did a project at University on how to 'not be so sensitive'. I have been on anti depressants, tried counselling, writing, talking about my feelings with friends, God, self medicating with illegal substances - I have been addicted to almost everything - and nothing has taken away my pain until now. I used to think that everyone was f***ing me over, but after repetedly being told I was too sensitive I realised it was not everyone else, it was me. This knowledge did nothing to improve my mood swings though. So I'd say for most affected by this disorder, medication is required to feel 'normal'.
60% of Undiagnosed bipolar's become addicted to alcohol or drugs. The longer you spend undiagnosed the harder it is to change the negative thought processes and behaviours and also puts you at higher risk to addiction, suicide, PTSD and many other painful experiences.
Most people develop bipolar in their early 20's, but some (as in my case) develop it earlier. child onset bipolar is quite different to adult onset bipolar. Moods change quite a few times every day rather then having periods of months or years with either mania or depression. It's called a mixed episode. I have lived with this daily for 28 years and it has been a tough ride I tell ya. For me and for those around me.
Parents need to be aware also that signs of ADD or ADHD in children, if accompanied by depression can in fact be child onset bipolar and medication such as ritalin can bring on a manic episode rather then helping as it does with ADD.
If only information on this disease had been available when I was a child, my life would have been alot less complicated.
If anyone else has knowledge or stories on this disorder please post on here, thanks to Gladiator's informative post, other undiagnosed bipolars may also experince life changes like I have.
.....................................................................................
charmed_1
Posted: July 28, 2004, 12:42 PM
Posts: 457
Great idea to go to Dr for a diagnosis. Just the knowledge that I had bipolar helped me!
The reason bipolar goes unnoticed by Doctors for so long (diagnosis usually 10 years after onset) is that mood changes aren't observed by someone who sees you for 15 minutes once a month, and because you are in a particular mood when you see your Doctor, that is the mood you are focussed on. Talk to your family and get their opinions of your mood changes over the years. My mum and sister were both like "That explains so much" and my mum wishes she'd known about it when I was a child because she thought I had demons in me sometimes. At the time she put it down to being selfish and stubborn and headstrrong and sensitive. She had a hard time coping with me and i don't even remember most of the the things she talks about as most of my memories start in my teenage years.
.......................................................
Thanks for posting this topic Bette, it's important information to be shared.
Hugs
Charmed
...........................................................................
charmed_1
Posted: July 28, 2004, 6:27 AM
Posts: 457
Cheers for the info, I was recently diagnosed with bipolar, child onset bipolar - I've had it my whole life. I am have just started on Lithium which has been a life changing experience for me. My whole life I have wondered what was wrong with me, I even did a project at University on how to 'not be so sensitive'. I have been on anti depressants, tried counselling, writing, talking about my feelings with friends, God, self medicating with illegal substances - I have been addicted to almost everything - and nothing has taken away my pain until now. I used to think that everyone was f***ing me over, but after repetedly being told I was too sensitive I realised it was not everyone else, it was me. This knowledge did nothing to improve my mood swings though. So I'd say for most affected by this disorder, medication is required to feel 'normal'.
60% of Undiagnosed bipolar's become addicted to alcohol or drugs. The longer you spend undiagnosed the harder it is to change the negative thought processes and behaviours and also puts you at higher risk to addiction, suicide, PTSD and many other painful experiences.
Most people develop bipolar in their early 20's, but some (as in my case) develop it earlier. child onset bipolar is quite different to adult onset bipolar. Moods change quite a few times every day rather then having periods of months or years with either mania or depression. It's called a mixed episode. I have lived with this daily for 28 years and it has been a tough ride I tell ya. For me and for those around me.
Parents need to be aware also that signs of ADD or ADHD in children, if accompanied by depression can in fact be child onset bipolar and medication such as ritalin can bring on a manic episode rather then helping as it does with ADD.
If only information on this disease had been available when I was a child, my life would have been alot less complicated.
If anyone else has knowledge or stories on this disorder please post on here, thanks to Gladiator's informative post, other undiagnosed bipolars may also experince life changes like I have.
.....................................................................................
charmed_1
Posted: July 28, 2004, 12:42 PM
Posts: 457
Great idea to go to Dr for a diagnosis. Just the knowledge that I had bipolar helped me!
The reason bipolar goes unnoticed by Doctors for so long (diagnosis usually 10 years after onset) is that mood changes aren't observed by someone who sees you for 15 minutes once a month, and because you are in a particular mood when you see your Doctor, that is the mood you are focussed on. Talk to your family and get their opinions of your mood changes over the years. My mum and sister were both like "That explains so much" and my mum wishes she'd known about it when I was a child because she thought I had demons in me sometimes. At the time she put it down to being selfish and stubborn and headstrrong and sensitive. She had a hard time coping with me and i don't even remember most of the the things she talks about as most of my memories start in my teenage years.
.......................................................
Thanks for posting this topic Bette, it's important information to be shared.
Hugs
Charmed
Thankyou for all your responses folks! especially Charmed...at least i feel i am doing something positive now! and NOT just moaning about my situation! I truly believe there is a chemical imbalance that predisposes these addictions, never mind peer pressure or soceity!The thread that runs through our family is ..binge drinking, (my youngest son) but into health/fitness!! My eldest..chasing the dragon...and me drinking Leibfraumilch, smoking and on anti depressants! Brother who has NO social skills, and a sister on fluoxetine PERMANENTLY that had an eating disorder! As an ex Learning Support Teacher..I always delved into the background first..but do GP'S?????I need some answers! and like a dog with a bone..I WONT rest until doctors and governments sort this out! Even provide support for the opium growing countries and give them another source of income! Sorry folks! On my bandwagon...but WILL play the music! LUV BETTE