Posted by MelindaJ on May 25, 1999, at 12:38:18
Hi! I'd like comments from anyone who's bipolar re. whether or not my husband's story sounds familiar.
My husband was an angry, aggressive kid who used to pick fights as a release for his anger. He was so
violent that his mother turned him over to the State and he eventually wound up in a juvenile lock-up
facility. Even though he's a warm-hearted, funny, intelligent person, this behavior has been a major
obstacle in his life. Through studying and participating in martial arts for over twenty years, he
developed amazing self-control and found an acceptable physical release. However, with increasing
age and responsibilities he's no longer able to do what he loves. Due to the tension created by
trying to deal with recurring bouts of depression, anxiety and extreme anger, he suffered a mild
heart attack last year. He was put on Wellbutrin and Xanax which helped a great deal but the doc
prescribed the meds for the short-term (to help him quit smoking and deal with "temporary" stress).
While on the meds, he said he felt "normal" for the first time in his life. Now he's off the meds
and back to his old self. Given my husband's turbulent childhood and the fact that he's dyslexic
I suspected he probably had ADHD. BUT, his youngest son(who's behavior mirrors his dad's)was diagnosed
with bipolar disoder last summer. SO, perhaps my husband needs more than an RX from our GP. The problem
is that, after growing up being called a "nut-case" by his peers and having bad experiences with psych.
docs as a kid, he won't go for an evaluation. I'm hoping to get some feedback that I can use to help
convince him to change his mind. I understand that treatment is his decision but I feel that lack of
treatment is threatening his physical health. Thank you for any comment/thoughts you'd like to share!
poster:MelindaJ
thread:6502
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/6502.html