Is my daughter bipolar?

My 26 yr old daughter used to be a loving happy young girl. In the past 5 yrs, she has had numerous good paying jobs and either quit or was fired from all of them. She divorced, while pregnant, 3 yrs ago. Not to mention going UA from the Navy, also while pregnant. She went back and received a discharge just weeks before giving birth to a beautiful baby girl. She and her baby have lived with me for 3 and 1/2 yrs. My daughter, when angry, is almost evil in the things she says to me. I don't even know who she is when she is like that. One minute life is wonderful and the next she will bite your head off. I would have never speak to my mother the way she speaks to me. The doctors seem to think she may be bipolar. How do people cope, when they live with others that suffer from this illness? Please, any advice would be very helpful. Thanks

Answers:
I was living hell for my parents too. The onset came when was about 14 or 15. I too say horrible things to people when I am raging.The highs and lows of a bipolar person should be quite evident if you are living with them. I would spend days creatively planning a huge (overambitious) art project. Excitedly talking and over explaining to anyone that would listen. Till everybody was on side and really rooting for me, and then I would have some small problem (it could be totally unrelated) and everything would fall apart.. I wouldn't even want to leave the house..
This is the cycle.Sometimes medication doesn't stop this revolution of pain. It will just dull it down..
There is another thing.Sometimes it takes a while (even years) to find the right medication. There are many different options.. Your Daughter may need to "try" a few to find the right one for her particular case.
Trying new drugs can be very frustrating for bi-polars..
It often takes a month to fully integrate with your blood system.
Then
They want you to take it for another month or two, to see how it goes. Often the drug is not the right one and you then have to decrease your dosage and effectively "empty" your blood system of the drug, before you can try taking another drug (usually another month)
It is this roller coaster of drugs and depression that sends a lot of bi polars totally loopy.I know cause I have been riding it for years.
Try to get your daughter to talk to a doctor about her symptoms as accurately as possible..It may help find the RIGHT meds sooner..
I hate to say it but I remember when I was a bit younger, My mother actually saying that at times she had to "turn herself off" to my screaming and raging.
It would of hurt her too much if she hadn't.
I am not sure if we bipolar people (me included ) even realise that what we say causes other people pain. We sometimes seem incredibly self centred and selfish. We have been so drawn into ourselves that everything else seems small and petty in comparison.. We are hurting so bad inside and are just trying to get others to understand..
You are hurting too. Bipolar hurts the others around you, even if the affected don't realise it at the time..Tell your daughter you are there for her.But save time and emotional energy for yourself..Don't ever leave yourself "empty" Being a parent of a bipolar person can be frustrating, confusing and heartbreaking.
I suggest to join a support group for parents of bi polars.. I am sure there will be one near you. The people there will be able to relate to your problems at home, and maybe you can start to formulate a plan for your continued sanity and happiness.
This is a trying & troubling condition for a parent to deal with..
But there are others out there that you will be able to connect with. Remember, this condition has the ability to drain you emotionally as a parent.
First, try to understand and show to love your Daughter, she is going through hell.
But next, find a support group so that you don't have to go through all this alone.. There are others in your situation..
Good Luck
: )

My youngest daughter has bipolar and this is the way she acted at times. She chooses not to have anything to do with her father or myself. Every mistake she has ever made has been our fault according to her. Good Luck to you and May God Bless
umm.. hi!
First of all I am sorry that you are in pain. Your daughter may just be going thru a lot of stress. Please seek another doctors opinion about your daughter. Have they talked directly to her? This is a very hard time for you as well, you may want to also think about seeking help for yourself to cope with this. Remember stress does wierd things to people. GOD bless I will pray for you!
It definitely sounds like she is bipolar, as her highs seem to be very high and her lows seem to be very low. She's not going to get any better without medication. A mood stablizer will help her to be able to think through the low times a lot better and learn to change her attitude when she does get there. Also, the highs won't be as high, and that will be a good thing once the daughter gets older, because she won't be dreading mom crashing after mom is super nice one day.
OK well it sounds like she more then likely is well my sis is bipolar and how i coped when she would go off on me is i would just ignore her and walk away it is not easy at all alot of things she has said has hurt alot but u have to remember she can not help it just make sure if u cant handle it and she is causing u to much stress have her move out u don't want to put your self in harms way -stress can do alot of damage- i hope this helped oh and also after my sis get on medication she got alot better but it toke a bout a month to start working so if she gets on meds be patient i wish you the best and i hope this help some!!
First of all she must continue to see a psychaitrist. He will then put her on the medications she needs. More often she will be put on a mood stabilizer and maybe an anti-depressant. She defineetly seems to have bipolar. With the impulsive behavior, quiting jobs, being irresponible. Jumping into new things such as the Navy or having sudden burst of ideas and desires that are illogical is a sign of bipolar mania. Then, losing her job if she slept all day and didn't want to work or do anything.

She must get on medication. In bipolar disordre medication is a MUST. Her moods will level out then. It takes time to get on the perfect cocktail of meds. Some people only take one like Lithium, or some take four, a mood stabilizer, anti-depressant, anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic. It varies. Hopefully she will find the right one(s) for her soon.

You and her will need to educate yourselves on bipolar disorder. Know that it is not her fault and that she will sometimes be out of control and unable to understand or realize she is. It takes a lot of compassion to deal with bipolar. I should know, I am biploar, my sister is, my father was, and my boyfriend is. It is horrible sometimes!

Just know that her cruelty isn't about you, she just gets so aggrivated sometimes that she could bite the head of an elephant off if she wanted to. See a therapist yourself and you will learn coping techniques. Being reasonable and not blaming her or attacking her might make her calm down when she gets out of control. Also, don't be afraid to commit her when she gets too out of control. I would rather have someone commit me if I ever got too bad rather than screw up my whole life.

Things will get better, just hang in there and love and support her! Dont forget about yourself too! Take a break when you need it and remember not to take anything personally, it is the illness talking.
I am Bipolar and it has been hell on my family. I was diagnosed about ten years ago. I have gone on Manic Highs and i will date man after man then I crash and i don't even get out of the bed. My moods used to swing so fast that one minute everything was fine then the next minute the whole world was crashing down on me. I have been on Meds for about ten years now and I am stable but the one thing that bipolars tend to do is feel better and then they quit taking their meds. Sounds like you should maybe take your daughter to a Psychiatrist for an evaluation it can't hurt.
I am bi-polar. I'm 50. Many years ago I was diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder. (A shorter version of bi-polar). It later turned to bi-polar. Cyclothymic is having highs and lows...but not the high-highs or low-lows as bi-polar. Go to a book store and read the DSM-IV, diagnostic manual for Psychiatrist. Good luck to you. Meds help like Welbutrin or if bi-polar, possibly lithium which needs to be blood level monitored. Kitty
Coping is a lot easier when they are on medication. Both you and her will cope better. If she doesn't have a prescription or anything, then may I suggest some St. John's Wort.
First of all, if your daughter is really suffering from an undiagnosed mood disorder the both of you should sit down with a doctor and discuss her options. If I have learned anything from researching mood disorders, plus my own experience with having a sister with bi-polar, the disease usually progresses very rapidly if nothing is done to stave it off. But I can honestly say that it usually affects the people who love them more so than the person actually suffering from this disorder. Children of people suffering from mood disorders usually suffer from mood disorders down the line. Mostly it is due to predisposition to the disorder but oft times it is learned behavior. Believe me, the quicker your daughter sees a professional the better.
Sincerely ,
Goowey
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