Bipolar Spouses Online Support Group

Hi - I am English and my husband Italian. He has been behaving erratically for many years, and suffers from panic attacks depression and anxiety. I said last year I though he was bipolar and his psychiatrist agreed with me and put him on Seroquel and Citalopram, only about a month ago, and the first few weeks he became less aggressive but very sad and sleepy too. Now he is starting to behave a bit more normal. I dont know where to start but I really need some support and to know how much I have to put up with and when it is time to leave. Our children are 7 and 9.

cmjo

Thank you for posting.

Medications are a necessary for recovery and stability.

We understand your plight.

All of it.

Keep posting, reading... responding to posts..

Take off your coat and stay awhile.

Welcome to the group.

welcome cmjo - it's different for differet folks,,, as far as how much you can take, what you are willing to endure, if you can be a caretaker - and depends on he severity of the BP I think too. It CAN be controlled and many families cope well, but it does take patience and I think councelling is important too. It isn't hopeless, bt can be very hard, I'm glad he is on treatment, stick with it and stay involved and that should help.

Keep us posted and feel free to share on any posts here too...

Glad you found us - reading other posts may help as well as reading books about this.

HUGS

It does take some time for the meds to work or to find the right meds...

please find hope in that he is in treatment and things will get better with treatment.

My husband is better then ever after 5 months of meds and med adjustments, he spent time in the hospital. We still get in to crisis mode, but I know now how to deal with it for the most part.

I find a lot of support on here when it gets bad, and from friends and family. My pastor asked me today how Tim was doing...he calls and checks on him. With out all the support from this group and church and family I don't know who we would make it.

The shame of mental illness can keep us from reaching out to others...but to get healthy we need to get over the shame and reach out.

Welcome to the group

Hi cmjo, It is good to see you reaching out here on the board, Welcome. As stated above, symptoms have to be treated with meds. Sometimes its good sometime not so good this is what keeps us on our toes. I have learnt a lot from this site, there is a lot of wisdom in these posts and it has helped me be more paitent with things that are.

Again welcome aboard, all the best to you.

hey cm,

As everyone has said it takes time for the meds to really kick in and word a few months to get him properly stable, i understand this is very scary for you as it is for all the ppl on this site. Your partner will have his ups and downs, and it's different for everyone,it's not an easy road to travel but there is hope as long as he stays on his medication. The sleepiness is a result of the medication working so that's good, hang in there and just take each day as it comes he may very well funtion beautifully and live a normal productive life, but at times he may need his medication adjusted. one day at a time we are here for you when you need us