My wife is suffering from BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER. I want to know more about this disease and also permanent cure or solution at the earliest.

Question

It can be a crippling disease if not treated and if treated early the prognosis is good. So quickly visit a psychiatrist and seek his/her opinion and she must then follow the medication prescribed. Comply with all the medical prescriptions and work in tandem with a counselor for a long time and learn coping skills and techniques to handle the daily challenges she will face. There are certain adaptations that will suit her during the elation phase and there are certain behaviors that are required during the depressed phases. In the meantime she can do certain things that will give her benefits anyway. Emotional therapy will alleviate a lot of the problems faced in this condition because it is a mood disorder. She needs to particularly look at your levels of anger both for its reasonableness and to express it in appropriate manner. I suspect that much of this anger may have origins in early childhood that she may never be aware of now. Talk to her parents and explore that angle. This information will help the counselor too. Also you will need to check whether there is any genetic factor involved. She must exercise regularly, eat healthily and sleep normally too. If her motivation and cooperation is good much can be achieved. She must have a time-structured schedule filled with interesting and reasonable activities and it must be monitored for compliance and delivery. The reason I say this is that many times she will be inclined to have grandiose notions and confidently believe that she can do without the medication. This will set her back many months in the treatment and delay and sabotage the recovery: forewarned you are forearmed. If this combination of medication with therapy is maintained for at least three years without any episodes or breakdowns, it is possible to taper the medication in consonance with the doctor. Bipolar is characterized by two extreme poles i.e. Feeling very high (mania) and suddenly feeling very low (depression). You can ask the doctor for the symptoms he noticed in her for a personal understanding. Regarding some of the symptoms here goes: Mania is a term that describes the emotional highs of bipolar disorder. In general, symptoms of a manic episode may include: •High energy, excessive activity, and/or restlessness •Overly good mood •Irritability •Fast, erratic talking •Racing thoughts •Inability to concentrate •Little need for sleep •Feelings of power •Poor judgment •Reckless spending •High sex drive •Alcohol or drug abuse •Aggression •Refusal to admit that there is a problem Bipolar Symptoms: Depression In bipolar disorder, manic episodes alternate with periods of emotional lows, which are known as depressive episodes. Signs of a depressive episode may include: •Sadness, anxiety, or a feeling of emptiness •Hopelessness •Feelings of guilt, feeling worthless, or feeling helpless •Lack of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, such as sex •Low energy •Trouble with concentration or memory •Restlessness or irritability •Excessive sleeping or insomnia •Changes in appetite or weight •Pain or other physical symptoms not explained by an illness or injury Thoughts of death, or suicidal thoughts or attempts to kill the self.

Saul Pereira · Accepted Answer

It can be a crippling disease if not treated and if treated early the prognosis is good. So quickly visit a psychiatrist and seek his/her opinion and she must then follow the medication prescribed. Comply with all the medical prescriptions and work in tandem with a counselor for a long time and learn coping skills and techniques to handle the daily challenges she will face. There are certain adaptations that will suit her during the elation phase and there are certain behaviors that are required during the depressed phases. In the meantime she can do certain things that will give her benefits anyway. Emotional therapy will alleviate a lot of the problems faced in this condition because it is a mood disorder. She needs to particularly look at your levels of anger both for its reasonableness and to express it in appropriate manner. I suspect that much of this anger may have origins in early childhood that she may never be aware of now. Talk to her parents and explore that angle. This information will help the counselor too. Also you will need to check whether there is any genetic factor involved. She must exercise regularly, eat healthily and sleep normally too. If her motivation and cooperation is good much can be achieved. She must have a time-structured schedule filled with interesting and reasonable activities and it must be monitored for compliance and delivery. The reason I say this is that many times she will be inclined to have grandiose notions and confidently believe that she can do without the medication. This will set her back many months in the treatment and delay and sabotage the recovery: forewarned you are forearmed. If this combination of medication with therapy is maintained for at least three years without any episodes or breakdowns, it is possible to taper the medication in consonance with the doctor. Bipolar is characterized by two extreme poles i.e. Feeling very high (mania) and suddenly feeling very low (depression). You can ask the doctor for the symptoms he noticed in her for a personal understanding. Regarding some of the symptoms here goes: Mania is a term that describes the emotional highs of bipolar disorder. In general, symptoms of a manic episode may include: •High energy, excessive activity, and/or restlessness •Overly good mood •Irritability •Fast, erratic talking •Racing thoughts •Inability to concentrate •Little need for sleep •Feelings of power •Poor judgment •Reckless spending •High sex drive •Alcohol or drug abuse •Aggression •Refusal to admit that there is a problem Bipolar Symptoms: Depression In bipolar disorder, manic episodes alternate with periods of emotional lows, which are known as depressive episodes. Signs of a depressive episode may include: •Sadness, anxiety, or a feeling of emptiness •Hopelessness •Feelings of guilt, feeling worthless, or feeling helpless •Lack of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, such as sex •Low energy •Trouble with concentration or memory •Restlessness or irritability •Excessive sleeping or insomnia •Changes in appetite or weight •Pain or other physical symptoms not explained by an illness or injury Thoughts of death, or suicidal thoughts or attempts to kill the self.

Sarthak Dave · Answer

Regular medications can increase the space between between two episodes. The best solution is regularity in medications and learning the warning signs of an impending episode, be it depression or mania. As soon as you see the warning signs, visit your psychiatrist so that he/she can make necessary changes in the dose of the medications.

Rachna Mishra · Answer

Hello lybrate-user. Don't worry about the situation. Proper treatment can reduce the effect but not can not be properly cured. Bipolar Disorder - Symptom, Treatment And Causes Bipolar disorder is a mental illness which is also known as manic depression. This condition brings severe high and low moods in people affected with this disease. This disease, even alters the energy levels, thinking, sleeping and behavioral patterns of the persons who gets affected with this disease. Patients who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder can have periods when then will feel overtly energized and happy and sometimes again get bogged down with the feelings of hopelessness, sluggishness, self-pity and sadness. However, in-between these two phases, when they are well, they behave absolutely normal. It is for this two “poles” of moods which are diametrically opposite to each other that this disease is known as bipolar disorder syndrome. Per say this disorder is also known as ‘manic’ disorder because people suffering from this mental illness, when they feel overtly excited and confident, they become reckless and impulsive, which often makes them take hasty decisions, purely based on their cognitive impulses. Patients who suffer from sever bipolar disease, also often becomes delusive and thereafter hallucinate about seeing, thinking or believing things that are far fetched from reality. However, there are also many bipolar people, who suffers from hypo-mania, which describes the milder symptoms of bipolar mania, and hence their symptoms do not interfere with their everyday lives. This condition is also at times known as clinical-depression in which bipolar patients never endure maniac episodes. Experts on this disease, says that more than 70% of patients suffering from bipolar disease spends more time fighting depressive syndromes than manic or hypomanic episodes in their lives. Bipolar disease generally develops in the affected persons when they are in their in their adolescence or young adulthood. It has been noticed by experts that this illness rarely happens in people during their childhood. Often bipolar disorder runs in the family and men and women are equally affected with this disease. Nevertheless, women, unlike men go through ‘rapid cycling’ when affected with this malady which is having 4 or more distinct mood shifts within a year. And so women spend more time staying depressed than men suffering from bipolar disease. As there is no single cause, hence brain changes, genes and stress all can play a role in clinical progress of this disease. Bipolar disorder can be treated, but this disease needs long-term ongoing care. Apart from talk-therapy, medications such as mood-stabilizers, anti psychotic drugs and antidepressants are often prescribed according to the severity of the conditions for the patients suffering from this disease. Can't be cured, but treatment helps Require medical diagnosis Lab test sometimes required Chronic: can last for years or be lifelong Symptoms Mood swings like sadness, or elevated mood. Loss of interest or sudden pleasure in activities. Delusion and lack of concentration. Manic episode, or paranoia. Difficulty falling asleep or excess sleepiness. Weight gain or acute weight loss. Rapid and frenzied speaking. Thank You All The BEst.