Support Board for Bipolar?

[rida]

Does anybody has a link for some good support boards for bipolar sufferers?
Especially for ultra-rapid cycling ones (not talking about few cycles a year, we are talking sometimes few a month or even within a day ...).

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to keep your condition anonymous.

Thank you!

 

[xXxjillxXx]

im also interested

 

[rida]

OK, so this is what I've found so far:

http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home


http://www.bipolarsupportgroup.net/home/


http://www.mdjunction.com/bipolar


Comments? thought?
Thanks!

 

[MasterPhoenix]

I wish you the best finding one... not a pleasant condition...

 

[sb2009]

Good luck to you! I'm sure you feel like you are on the roller coaster with him at times. For what it's worth, once I had the right combination of meds, therapy and bahavior modifications, I have been stable for years. I have had smalls swings, but nothing that comes close to what it was before. And I've learned some skills to keep me level and to keep the shifts in mood from disrupting my life and everyone around me. There really is hope.

Take care!

 

[rida]

Thank you!
I know there is hope! I just wish he would not be so stubborn!

I know I cannot fix it for him. And I also know I cannot tell him what would help either. No amount of me reading up and telling him is going to make a difference as I'm not the one suffering (directly). That is why I want to get him on a BB with people that are of have gone through the same struggles, drawbacks, and medication roller coaster that he is. They can understand him better. And, hopefully, they can get to him better as well.

 

[myinnerslut]

Please, give your husband a hug for me.

You described me, rapid-cycling bipolar, though I have the additional modifier of juvenile onset as well. Its not easy and I'm probably not the best one to give advice other then find what works for you and stick to it. Medicines, Doctors, Therapies, if it works for you, then let it work.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Crazymeds.org used to be good, don't know if they still are.

 

[catalina_francisco]

From what I know, it is not going to be easy to find the correct level and mix of medications, nor once found does it necessarily stay the same throughout the years. Add to that the concious decision to want to take the step to moving to a point where dealing with the swings and trying to eliminate and manage them usually comes after a long, hard road of feeling there is no need to do so, or not actually wanting to move from that place.

It also depends on the severity experienced.....some people can live with it without ever seeing the inside of a mental facility, some can't. I know Stephen Fry did a great documentary on being bipolar a couple of years ago, and spoke honestly about his own struggle with it and resistance for a long time to managing it, as well as speaking to others who also were bipolar about their experiences and feelings.

Catalina

 

[rida]

Thank you!

{hugs} to you too MIS

crazymed.us is indeed a good site but focuses more on the meds and their reactions more then being a support board. I use it often to research medications and their effect.

But there is something to be said for researching too much when your options are limited ...

Thank you again!

 

[sb2009]

I agree Rida, you can do too much research and it can be discouraging.

Now, I say this as the person with the disorder and not the family member, so take it for what its' worth. It is perfectly acceptable for you to say to him "I expect you to take steps to control your disorder." That can take any form that is comfortable to you, but talking with whoever is providing him treatment and all of you agreeing on a game plan is a good start.

Here's an example. An area where I had trouble that was adversly affecting our family was spending money. It's common to spend too much money when in a manic phase, and also when depressed, it can serve as a "pick me up" for me. Instant gratification, etc. Our way of managing that was for me to be accountable to him periodicaly for spending, as well as he took control of the bill paying, etc back for a while. Eventually I stabilized and was able to take over the family finances without sending us to the poor house. (Of course, I do still have trouble balancing but that's due to bad math, not over spending!) No one looked at this as a punishment, etc, but as a process I needed to begin to get control of my life back.

One thing my therapist says frequently is "You have a disorder. It effects your life. This is how it is." I just have to work around it, it's a pain in the ass a lot of time, but not as much as it used to be. However, it took a long time and a lot of hard times to get that way.

I really wish you the best. I also would encourage you to think of yourself right now too. What you need, what you have to have. So many times the focus is on the ill person, and the family is worn out trying to cope. Take care of yourself too!