Bipolar in the family Support Group

So, the four of us (my husband, my youngest son and my bp son and myself) were sitting here munching and watching tv when I noticed that my bp son was gone. I went in his room and he was laying on his bed...said he had a headache. I asked him if he needed anything and he told me that he took some Ibuprofen. A few minutes later, I walked by his room and the overhead light was on, which I found a little odd since he was laying on his back and the light was shining right in his eyes and with a headache, that didn't make sense to me. I asked him why he had turned the light on and he said that his closet door had started moving. He did this same sort of thing when he was staying at my sisters back in the fall. He kept telling her the house was haunted bc he was constantly hearing/seeing things. I think that it is all becoming clear to me. He is most definitely having some type of hallucinations. Of course, he would NEVER admit it, but I honestly believe this is what is happening. Any comments anyone?

Jf, yep, he has delusions. Why won't your son admit his bipolar disorder? Or the worst manifestations of it? Would it help if you can find,through NAMI or DBSA, a support group for him? I am not sure you can, so don't promise it yet.

married...he does admit that he is bipolar, but he has no interest in educating himself about the illness. I wish that he would do research on it so that he would understand better what he is experiencing in his life. I'll be relieved when we start seeing his new pdoc in Feb...hopefully, he will have some answers for us.

How old is your son? What medications is he on? Are you sure he isn't taking too much of the medication or using other drugs or alcohol. I am not implying anything, but marijuana could do this. If not he may need a med adj.

I think I would have to ask the same questions that capecod84 is asking. It really sounds like he is having hallucinations. Some of these psychotropic meds can induce hallucinations if they didn't pre-exist, particularly in combination with one another. My daughter clearly had medication-induced hallucinations at one point. It's also possible that the hallucinations pre-existed his meds and he never told you. This is something that definitely needs to be brought to the attention of his pdoc. Like Capecod said, illegal drugs can also cause this in combination with his meds. I would talk to him about the importance of letting his pdoc know and of not mixing unprescribed things with his meds.

<HUGS>

Yes, I do believe that he has always had these episodes in his lifetime, but he would never admit them to us. He is on Abilify 15mg, Cogentin, Strattera , and Inderal. We have a pdoc appt next Wed and I'm definitely going to discuss this with the doc. I informed my son that if he didn't tell the doctor about his happening to him, then I would. He promised that he would. I don't think that he is taking any other drugs because he is with me 24/7. He has no friends and no access to anything. We have no alcohol in the house, so that is out as well.

Jf, I would mention this to the pdoc. I would not leave this up to your son to mention. You can call his office before the visit and tell someone, and ask that your call not be mentioned except as a last resort.

Hugs to you. I can understand how distressing this must be to you.

married...I was hoping that I could speak with the doctor after when he is finished with him. I have so many things that I must tell him as my son will NOT. Calling ahead of time is a great idea and I think I will do that tomorrow after I get home from my other son's shoulder surgery. Thanks for the advice..

jfwc61 , I also wanted to mention that Strattera (Atomoxetine) does have the side affects of hallucination as well. Just curious was he ever dx with ADD ? This is what strattera is usually given for .