How Many Have Been Diagonosed With Bi Polar

Methamphetamines
1
How many of you have had a person using meth diagnosed with bi polar disorder? Is this common? Do you wonder if they have bi polar or if it is the meth causing the behavior? Maybe both. I'm just curious....seems a few of us have had loved ones diagnosed with it.....any answers........olliesmom
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I think it is bi-polar and they are trying to self medicate with the meth.
Karen
3
I never thought of that. I do know i couldnt keep my daughter on the bi polar meds so thats another vicious circle
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most of the people I have met with addictions also suffer from bi-polar . Meth seems to make most of them worse. One person I know ....was easy to tell if he was using meth ...he instantly became someone else ....it was like night and day wether or not he was using .The using part being very irrational, and in his own world. It would take him days to weeks to settle down to his "normal" personality .

Wich came first...the addiction or the bi-polar? In his case the bi-polar, he had a traumatic childhood which comes to the surface every time he uses anything.
5
my husband and i divorced when the daughter was 13 and all hell broke loose for me. He was gone and didnt contact the kids for a year and when he came back he wasnt interested in them much. I thought she was just acting out..being spoiled and bratty.....it got worse over time and then around 16 1/2 or so it got much better, the outbursts were few and far between, i'm wondering if it was the early stages of bi polar if it has "early" stages. Then when she started using the episodes came back with a vengence and much worse, throwing herself off walls, on to the floor, verbal outbursts, suicidal tendancies, cutting herself. Took her to doctors and one said bi polar, dont know if that is a diagnosis when only one says it.......when she was in rehab she had at least one moment where she was uncontrolable, that i know of in the very beginning, she wasnt medicated at all and it seems odd to me that if she is bi polar that without medication she would be able to control her behavior. Now, its happening again, she swears shes not using but i know that she always said that until the very end when she wanted help. So i wonder if its the bi polar thats causing the behavior.....not that she would take meds.......again its all frustrating. olliesmom
6
I am bipolar and that's one of the reasons i started using, because i was always so tired...started with diet pills ended with needles and coke and meth...now i am being medicated for the bipolar and doing much better, still tired, but i've accepted that using drugs is not in my best interests, because it will KILL me...it took that realization for me to get clean...

let me add when i first went into rehab i suffered from extreme exhaustion some parts of the day, and extreme manic behavior...getting upset very easily...sitting there with my legs shaking...other parts of the day...i could tell the difference when they upped my dosage of seroquel, which went from 100mg to 300mg...at first i couldn't keep awake, once i adjusted to the drug, i was near normal...my psych med dr weaned me off of effexor (an antidepressant)...now i think i need more seroquel (therapeutic dosage is 400 to 600 mg) and a mild a/d...

i was going to quit smoking and my gp called in wellbutrin 300mg...i took it for 3 days and by day 3 you had to peel me off the ceiling..

unfortunately it takes time to find the therapeutic dosage for each individual

good luck
7
how wonderful to know that i'm not the only with a dual diagnosis! - i'm a recovering crystal meth addict as well as being diagnosed with bipolar/borderline personality disorder...i've been off and on meds for quite some time now...i was clean from crystal for about 5 years - then went on a 5 day binge...i'm now in kaiser chemical dependency program, which i think is really good...but! - i'm also a cutter...once i stopped using - the mental/emotional turmoil started up all over again and i started cutting - again...this has been no day at the beach...i was good about it for several months - but the internal pain has come back...i'm working on it, tho'....well, just thought i'd throw my 2cents in...
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welcome to the board Cgable...I think I just read one of your posts about "does anyone ever get off of meth?"...

I have the same diagnosis, bipolar/borderline personality disorder...and I'll up you one PTSD and Anxiety disorder...lol

I'm glad to see that you are getting treatment, did you go through a rehab before when you had the 5 years?
9
Hi,
My brother and I are both bipolar and have ADDHD. My brother is a meth addict, and I am an opiate addict. I don't know if my brother is recovering or not, but I am trying steer clear of any opiates. I do take antipsychotic medication, an anti-depressant med and Adderall. Good luck.

Medusa