Please share an interesting fact about bipolar disorder.

Some: Some of the features are common between adhd and bipolar disorder: decreased focus & impulsivity.

Smarter: Diagnosed bipolar patients are smarter than most, but include increased suicide rate.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder commonly runs in families, reach out early if you see a family member exhibiting symptoms.

Myth:: Myth: if one of your parents is bipolar, you'll have it for sure! truth: only risk is increased.

Alcohol: Alcohol abuse resulting personality change & anger is often confused with bipolar disorder!

Formulate: Formulate an action plan for when your bipolar family member escalates; if at risk, call 911.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder may be "set off" by certain antidepressant medications. Talk to your doctor.

This: Myth: this always involves extreme ups and downs.

Myth:: Myth: people with a bipolar disorder cannot be good leaders or hold positions of responsibility.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder spectrum has the highest heritability rate in psychiatric disease, ~65%.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder is linked more to mania among people, but it's course has 20% mania & 80% depression.

It: It is a somewhat common mental health disorder. Many high functioning people are affected.

Bipolar: Bipolar is a word that is commonly used inappropriately. Bipolar disorder is a treatable condition.

It: It is common & treatable. Stay on your meds.

Children: Bipolar can be diagnosed in as young as 6 years of age.

Bipolar: Myth: bipolar is just a dramatic term for mood swings. Myth: you can "snap out of it".

Bipolar: Myth: bipolar disorder only affects moods. Reality: it affects mood/cognition/lifestyle choices.

If: If one parent has bipolar i disorder, their offspring will have a 10% chance of inheriting it.

People: People with bipolar disease can be very creative.

With: With good care, you can do anything you want in life. Rule your condition, don't let it rule you.

Hypomania: Hypomania is addictive, but not sustainable. What goes up must come down. Mood stabilizers help.

A: A large number of "bipolar" people are not. Learn to track your moods more accurately and find out!

A: A common myth is that individuals cause their disorder.

A: A common myth is that you can will yourself out of mood swings.

A: A common myth is that you’ll never be normal.

A: A common myth is that bipolar disorder is easy to diagnose.

The: Myth: person with bipolar will never get better & will not be able to function in marriage & work.

It: It is highly genetic and runs strongly in families.

Only: Only 30 % of bipolar patients who are untreated are functional in work and relationships.

It: It may take up to 7 years or more to correctly diagnose bipolar illness.

Antidepressants: Antidepressants alone, without mood stabilizers or antipsychotics, could induce mania and psychosis.

Efficacy: Success of currently diagnosed and treated bipolar disease could reach up to 70% or more.

Bipolar: Bipolar patients have among the highest suicide rates.

Work: Work up to taking 6 grams of omega fatty acids daily. They have mood stabilizing effect!

People: People with bipolar disorder more often seek treatment for depression than mania, and not report it.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depressive illness.

Myth:: Myth: everyone responds to bipolar medications in the same way.

IT'S: It's recurrent. Don't wean off meds without dr's advice and continual follow-up.

If: If you do have a bad reaction to antidepressants, you may have bipolar and not simple depression.

People: People with bipolar disorder are always crazy, dangerous, and should be in the hospital.

Some: Some people with bipolar disorder are some of the most productive people in society.

Severe: Severe form of up and downs of life cycling that needs management.

Manic: Manic people often spend money and engage in promiscuous activity without normal caution.

There: There is a strong concordance rate in identical twins for bipolar 1 disorder. Heredity is important.

It: It affects about 3 % of the population in all of it's variations, and is frequently missed!

Antidepressants: Antidepressants may be cause worsening for people with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition that was known before as manic depressive disorder.

The: The main symptom involves swings between moods of mania (or hyperactivity) and depression.

It: It usually occurs by 30 years of age, in both men and women.

The: The disorder seems to run in some families. It affects as many as 10 million individuals in the unit.

Cause: Cause is unknown.Stress, drug or alcohol abuse, and use of some prescription drugs may increase risk.

Main: Main symptom of bipolar d/o involves swings between the moods of mania (or hyperactivity) & depressi.

People: People with bipolar disorder in the manic mood feel full of energy and happy and need less sleep.

People: People in the manic mood feel full of energy and happy. They need less sleep.

Speech: Speech and thoughts race. Self-esteem is high. Overeating is common.

People: People can have poor judgment and make reckless choices.

Manic: Manic people can also hear voices or see things that aren’t there.

Some: Some people do things like clean the house to burn energy.

In: In a depressed mood, people have less energy, feel sad and cry for no reason, sleep too much etc.

Bipolar: Bipolar disorder often occurs in cycles—an episode once a month, once a week, once a year, etc.

The: The doctor makes the diagnosis after an examination and asking about symptoms.

Doctor: Doctor may order blood tests or other medical tests to make sure another illness isn’t causing it.

Medicine: Medicine (lithium) is the usual treatment to help even out moods.

Some: Some people may need to take lithium for a lifetime, but it isn’t addictive.

Continuous: Continuous treatment is necessary to prevent relapse of depressive or manic symptoms.

Therapists: Therapists can help people change behaviors that may make the illness worse.

A: A therapist can help people find out why they have mood swings. Group therapy sessions may also help.

DO: Do talk to your doctor about any herbal remedies and medicines that you’re taking.

DO: Do find a support group if you think that it might help.

DO: Do tell your doctor about your medicine’s side effects.

DO: Do avoid drugs of abuse, especially stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamines, and pcp.

DON’T: Don’t change your diet or salt intake while you are taking lithium.

Mood: Mood disorders support group of new york city tel: (212) 533-mdsg (533-6374) http://www.Mdsg.Org.

Many: Many patients with bipolar disorder are depressed a large part of the time.

An: Myth: an episode of mania has to last 7 days. Fact: the average mania or hypomania is 1-2 days.

300: 300 mg of Lithium Carbonate contains approximately 56 mg of elemental lithium.

The: The first-line treatment for lithium tremors is beta blockers. Second line treatment is primidone.

Lithium: Lithium can cause pseudotumor cerebri. Symptoms are frontal headaches, inausea, vomiting, impaired vision, increased intracranial pressure, and normal results on mri. Palsy of cranial nerve six.

10%: 10% of patients with major depressive episodes qualify for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder when using dsm-iv criteria. In the same patients when using shorter duration in diagnostic criteria, that number increases to 50%.

Ignore: Most cases of bipolar disorder are diagnosed as bipolar disorder not otherwise specified.

Ignore: There are three approved treatments for bipolar depression. These are seroquel xr, symbyax, (fluoxetine and olanzapine) latuda.

Ignore: On a rare occasion lithium can cause hyperthyroidism.

Ignore: With him guidelines now include monitoring of calcium levels. If these are elevated then a level of parathyroid hormone should be checked.

With: With him can cause an increase of 3% and brain gray matter 14% in hippocampal volume which helps control memory.

Ignore: Divalproex sodium is a compound containing equal amounts of valproic acid and valproate sodium.

It: It takes treating 12 people with Lamictal in order to see improvement in one patient.

Ignore: Topiramate can cause kidney stones, so hydration is a must. It can also cause glaucoma.

Ignore: People of chinese, thai, philippine and taiwanese decent are more prone to severe tegretol skin reactions.Any people of japanese and korean ancestry are at relatively low risk.

Ignore: In people who test positive for hla-b*1502 allele, some specialists recommend avoiding tegretol, trileptal, lamictal, and dilantin.

Ignore: Most people usually are diagnosed by early 20s.

Ignore: Even though children can have it, very few carry the actual diagnosis.

Ignore: The frequency and severity of mood changesdata can help tell effectiveness of the mood stabilizer.

Ignore: Common myth is the same medication should work for different people with bipolar disorder.

The: The majority of the symptoms is the suffering of depression. There is mania, but mainly depression.

Ignore: It can be misdiagnosed for depression.

Ignore: It is completely manageable to take the medicine and have a normal life.

Ignore: Many bipolar people are incredibly bright, and creative individuals.

Ignore: People with Bipolar Disorder are more likely to seek help when depressed than when manic.

Ignore: Bipolar patients are no different from patients with other disorders like Diabetes or high blood BP.

Ignore: Be a 100% compliant with the medication and stay away from alcohol and drugs.

Ignore: Bipolar disorder can be inactive and then flare up suddenly ; take your meds regularly.

Ignore: Bipolar disorder is frequently misdiagnosed for the first 10 years of the illness.

Ignore: Psychotherapy /CBT beneficial, stop caffeine, take medications regularly,ECT if needed, relaxation.

Ignore: Bipolar sufferers often have higher intelligence and creativity.

Ignore: Myth: Alcoholism and other addictions are a sign of lack of willpower or of just not caring.

Ignore: A bipolar parent's first mania episode may get unmasked by an antidepressant used for depression.