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Causes of Bipolar

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Bipolar Disorder
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Posted 10/4/2008 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
What causes bipolar?  The cause of bipolar disorder is not entirely known.

Bipolar disorder is primarily a biological disorder that occurs in a specific area of the brain and is due to the dysfunction of certain neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, in the brain. These chemicals may involve neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin and probably many others. As a biological disorder, it may lie dormant and be activated on its own or it may be triggered by external factors such as psychological stress and social circumstances.


Environmental Factors in Bipolar Disorder

A life event may trigger a mood episode in a person with a genetic disposition for bipolar disorder.

Even without clear genetic factors, altered health habits, alcohol or drug abuse, or hormonal problems can trigger an episode.

Among those at risk for the illness, bipolar disorder is appearing at increasingly early ages. This apparent increase in earlier occurrences may be due to underdiagnosis of the disorder in the past. This change in the age of onset may be a result of social and environmental factors that are not yet understood.

Although substance abuse is not considered a cause of bipolar disorder, it can worsen the illness by interfering with recovery. Use of alcohol or tranquilizers may induce a more severe depressive phase.

Substances that can cause a manic-like episode include:

Illicit drugs such as cocaine, “designer drugs” such as Ecstasy and amphetamines.

Excessive doses of certain over-the-counter drugs, including appetite suppressants and cold preparations.

Nonpsychiatric medications, such as medicine for thyroid problems and corticosteroids like prednisone.

Excessive caffeine (moderate amounts of caffeine are fine).

If a person is vulnerable to bipolar disorder, stress, frequent use of stimulants or alcohol, and lack of sleep may prompt onset of the disorder. Certain medications also may set off a depressive or manic episode. If you have a family history of bipolar disorder, notify your physician so as to help avoid the risk of a medication-induced manic episode.

Can anyone relate with these causes for bipolar?

Share with all what you think re the list of causes  :-)

Kitt

Posted 10/4/2008 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
my mom and my sister were both bipolar. When my mom was younger they called it manic depressive. I take a medication that is for bipolar, but I take it for obsessive thinking. The doctor said I was clinically depressed, but never said that I was bipolar. I wonder though if I am just a little manic at times. I know that the medication really helps my moods.

Karen
Posted 10/4/2008 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
I have often wondered if my oldest son Rick is Bi Polar

I am hoping that when he is down we can get a doc opinion on this

I am sure there is someting such as this going on with him

GREAT INFO lil sis

Love
Big sis
Posted 10/6/2008 5:51 AM (GMT 0)
I was going through the divorce AND GOT SEVERLY DEPRESSED. I WAS TAKING ZOLOFT AND TRAZADONE TO SLEEP. iT TOOK about 5 MONTHS TO GET THROUGH IT. i FINALLY WAS ENJOING LIFE AGAIN AND i REMEMBER FEELING COMPLETELY HAPPY BECAUSE iTRULY NEVER THOUGHT THAT i WOULD. tHEN i THOUGHT i REALLY AM HAPPY TO BE AL IVE ! iT WAS A EUPHORIC BUT NOT CRAZY FEELING. i MEAN YOU ONLY PRAY YOU COULD EVER GET BACK TO THAT PLACE AND PRAISE GOD I DID....BUT WITHIN 2 WEEKS OF THAT STATEMENT ...I WAS BACK ON MY WAY DOWN. tHIS TIME IT TOOK 5 MONTHS AND I FINALLY STARTED TO GET BETTER. i DID BETTER AND FELT OK WHEN 2 MONTHS LATER i AM HIT AGAIN. DOWN FOR THREE MONTHS..BUT THIS TIME THEY TRIED pROZAC, THIS HAS NEVER MADE ME FEEL BETTER. i DID GET THROOUGH IT. i HAVE JUST HAD THE MOST AMAZING HAPPY 2 YEARS AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF. i AM SO HAppy!! HERE DEPRESSION REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN...PROJAC AGAIN AND i WANT TO DIE. i HAVENT EVER BEEN DIAGNOSED AS bIPOLAR. i WAS JUST SO HAPPY RIGHT BEFORE IT HIT. iT KIND OF MAKES ME WONDER. aNY OPINIONS OUT THERE. i MEAN i AM NOT MOODY....JUST REAL STRONG PERIODS OF JOY AND SADNESS. tHE JOY ISN'T CRAZY eUPHORIC...BUT i WONDER IF THIS COULD MEAN SOMETHING.

sOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE
Posted 10/6/2008 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
help!!!!!!!!
Posted 10/6/2008 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi walking by faith:

Welcome to HealingWell and to the bipolar forum.

You need to talk to a psychiatrist again and soon. Clearly prozac isn't working for you. No drug works for everyone, and often it takes several tries for a doctor to find the right medication to stabilize a patient. That seems to be what's happening with you. You just haven't found the right med for you yet. A general practitioner isn't going to have the specialized knowledge that a psychiatrist will to figure problems like this out -- make sure you see a psych. Also, a psych will be able to evaluate you and tell you whether you are bipolar. I can't say whether you are or not from your description. But there are different kinds of bipolar and even if you don't fit the traditional "bipolar I" description, you may fit into the "bipolar II" category. Here's a link that describes the difference: www.mayoclinic.com/health/bipolar-disorder/DS00356/DSECTION=symptoms

In the meantime, if you are feeling like you just can't take it anymore, please call a crisis hotline. They will help you through the rough patches, here are the numbers:

National Suicide Hotline
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
This is a combined network of the Amerian Association of Suicidology, the National Hopeline Network, CONTACT USA, and many other organizations. Call are automatically routed to the nearest crisis center to the phone from which the call for help is placed.

Helpful Web Sites:
Suicide Hotlines (listed by state)
Suicidal.com (includes Suicide Crisis Center and Depression and Suicide)

You can write here anytime, and feel free to email me personally.

serafena
Posted 10/6/2008 10:53 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the Healing Well forum. You are in the right place. As Sarafena said, you need to see a psychiatrist. Only a psychiatrish has the phaemaceutical know how to lead you out of your quagmire. If

 you are BiPolar, a psychiatrist can make that determination. If you are not, then yhe psychotherapy can help you heal from your failed marriage. It sounds to me like you might be BiPolar. Since your mood swings seem spaced quite far apart, now is the time to find a pdoc. just taking the Prozac,or Sertilene  alone, without a moos stabilizer could land you in even greater peril, as it can result in rapid cycling, moods switching  several times a day, So call a crisis ctr. and get an apt. with a shrink. Good luck.

Posted 10/7/2008 4:35 AM (GMT 0)
Me again. I got off track there for a moment, the original thread being "causes of BiPolar". My great grandmother was hughly Bipolar  *maternal side, my Grandmother and several of her sibs were BiPolar, my mother is BiPolar, my sister is bipolar and psychotic, my brother is bipolar and very aggressive, I have been dx'd as BiPolar II, fewer full blown manic spells, mostly deep depression, with intermittent spurts of hypomania where I "feel like I'm boiling in my own skin." My Maternal uncle, aunt, and one of her daughters are also BiPolar. I am steeped in this da--ed disease. The very hardest part is when a medical person, Doctor, Nurse etc. asks me "who is your main support person?", I have to reply, "my Dog." She's not BiPolar and can always be counted on to treat me with dignity and respect. I want to add a little note here about what it's like to grow up in a household where the seat of power, the primary decision maker, in my case "mother", is BiPolar. From a very early age I felt "different, and confused, and like I had to tippy-toe around mother, because she was sick" In my early years, we had 30 different caregivers (nanny;s, housekeepers" whatever you want to call them, who filed through, and some even tried to fill in for "mother" because she was "sick, institutionalized, locked away in her room, unavailable". Therefore none of us with the predisposing gene had a chance of coming through it, sane. I guess I feel kinda lucky having BiPolar II, with the hypomanic states rather than the full blown mania. I don't get in quite as much trouble. Then there's the little problem of unfinished business. This is kind of carrying your childhood around like a sack of coal, weighing you down. So much I didn't understand, still don't. Now I fear for my youngest son. I am beginning to see traits, moodiness, sadness, getting into fights, extremes of behavior that scare me nearly to death. Please, dear god, don't let it be him, too. 

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