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Bipolar Disorder described

TheChosenOne

Senior Member
Messages
209
I've seen a lot of documentaries and articles about this disorder but they are never in depth. I hope this post is elaborative enough to really understand the disorder. I think this belongs on this forum since some people here seem to suffer from the disorder.

Bipolar disoder is a mood disorder which is characterized by the alternation between overactivity and underactivity. It causes unusual shifts in mood, energy and activity levels. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are different from general mood swings that everyone experiences. Depression is unipolar because it only has one side, bipolar disorder has 2 sides.
The periods of elevated mood are also known as mania. Depending on the severity of bipolar disorder, these periods can vary from hypomania, which is a soft form of mania, normal mania and psychosis, which is characterized by very distorted beliefs about the world and a detachment from reality. A period of mania usually triggers a period of depression. The severity of the depression depends on the severity of the manic episodes, although it is possible to have severe depressive episodes without having a minor manic episode.
This is why bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression.
Loose paraphrase from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder

The basic idea behind depression in bipolar disorder is the fact that the person's thinking is slowed down. Because of that, the person has less to say, is less expressive and has poor eye contact. Someone in a depressed state doesn't have the energy to persue the future and their vision of the future is empty. The person also has difficulty accessing information, which doesn't mean that the person has lost their memories, they just can't readily access it. The person has less interest in the world around them and feels useless with low self confidence. What is remarkable is the fact that there may be feelings of physical pain during these periods. Possibly 25% of people who have fibromyalgia (a condition which is characterized by chronic muscle and joint pain) have bipolar disorder. Some people experience a depressive episode as anxiety and may think they are just very anxious. Before and after a depressive episode, the person often experiences anxiety or has anxious dreams or nightmares.

During periods of (hypo)mania, the exact opposite happens. The result is that the person has lots of energy and ideas, jumps from one subject to another, may be impatient and has an impaired judgement. The person feels very euphoric and creative. During this period, multiple activities and projects are engaged at the same time, which they might regret once the manic episode is over. These activities may include dare-devil activities as well as spending a lot of money or overall risky and impulsive behavior. People with bipolar have a hard time finishing projects or holding a job. Impaired judgement can lead to saying things that are inappropriate and might offence or hurt other people.
Loose transcription from https://youtu.be/HByl6pCGEps

People who have hypomania may not recognize these periods and will be convinced they have a soft form of depression which comes and goes. During the period of hypomania, the person may just strike as more social and outgoing or a little bit 'crazy' which makes it more difficult to diagnose.

During an episode of psychosis, one might for example belief that they are very successful or popular or have religious experiences like communication with a higher intelligence. Psychosis is very severe and requires hospitalization. Psychosis is not all that common.

Someone with bipolar can have mixed episodes, in which the person has rapid alternating moods such as sadness and euphoria at the same time. The main feeling during a mixed episode is high irritability, agitation and impatience. Some people refer it to as having high energy, but low mood.
The severity of bipolar disorder can change over time altough that doesn't happen all that often.

People with bipolar disorder usually have a disturbed sleep pattern. It's very typical during manic episodes to feel energetic, even after a few hours of sleep, while during depressive episodes the person has a lack of energy which is not resolved by a good night sleep. Some people don't sleep for a few days during a manic episode. Another sleeping pattern that can occur is delayed sleep phase syndrome. These people generally fall asleep some hours after midnight and have difficulty waking up in the morning. This is sometimes referred to as a 'social jet lag'.
There are a few different types of bipolar disorder. With type I, the person would have true mania and major depression. This type can include psychosis. With type II, the person would have hypomania and a 'minor' depression. Type II is much more common than type I. Besides type I and type II, there is cyclothymia which is a more chronic but milder form of bipolar disorder and is characterized by short cycles of swings between depression and hypomania. It's not uncommon that cyclothymia evolves in type I or type II.
Loose transcription from https://youtu.be/O3m7xozqqbA

Bipolar disorder is sometimes misdiagnosed as autism or borderline personality disorder since they have overlapping symptoms.
People with bipolar disorder are usually underperformers, have damaged relationships and have a low amount of friends. Mainly because their disorder is unpredictable and they also have other ideas about which activities are exciting. Most 'regular' activities might come over as boring especially during depressive episodes. (During manic episodes, suddenly everything seems interesting.)
The average onset of bipolar disorder is 22 years and occurs equally in males and females, although females tend to seek treatment much faster. Males may see the disorder as a weakness.

There is a connection between bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders.
The sibling of an identical twin who has bipolar disorder has about a 70% chance of also developping the disorder, even if they are raised in totally different environments, which means that the cause of the disorder is mainly genetics. Another important factor is nutrition.
Bipolar disorder is unlikely to be caused by trauma.
Loose transcription from https://youtu.be/HByl6pCGEps

There is a strong correlation between bipolar disorder and gambling, addictions and substance abuse, especially alcohol (which is used to slow them down or relieve anxiety) and cocaine (which induces the feeling of grandiosity). About 50% become dependent on alcohol.
The spending behaviors of someone with bipolar increases the risks of debt accumulation.
There is no cure for bipolar disorder, only 'symptom management'.
Any substance that increase mood can trigger a manic episode. This can be drugs like marijuana or cocaine, but also antidepressants or methylation supplements.
A major depressive episode in a bipolar disorder is more severe than in a unipolar disorder.
The mortality rate of bipolar disorder is 15%.

Famous people with bipolar disorder (to name a few): Catherine Zeta-Jones, Amy Winehouse, Mel Gibson, Emilie Autumn, Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carey and Stephen Fry.
The last one made a documentary about the disorder. The cases here are rather severe.

It is hard to diagnose the condition in children, although there are some symptoms that can be looked out for.
It's a general perception that people with bipolar disorder have more talent in art and science. This may be partially true. A lot of comedians and musicians have bipolar disorder. Those who score good on science and especially mathematics seem to have a much higher risk (a 12 fold) of developping the condition.

 
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barbc56

Senior Member
Messages
3,657
This is a comprehensive look at bipolar disorder. Thanks.

However, do you have some sources for the proportion of people with me/cfs who have this compared to the general population?

Barb

ETA It may help for easier reading to add extra space between paragraphs and/or text.
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
Another famous person who suffered from bipolar is the late Jeremy Brett -- known as Sherlock Holmes in the Granada series.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
You might enjoy this discussion of what bipolar is and how to treat it from a nutritional standpoint (William Walsh):
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/commentary-on-nutritional-treatment-of-mental-disorders-2/#Bi

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is not a single condition, but an umbrella term which includes a number of very different biochemical abnormalities. I’m bothered by any attempt to generalize over the bipolar phenotypes & to blindly recommend any formulation or therapy for all of them. The key is to determine a patient’s biochemical individuality, and to provide focused appropriate treatment. In our database of 1,500 bipolar patients, about 25% are overmethylated, 35% are undermethylated, and the remaining 40% do not exhibit a methylation disorder.

The three primary biochemical classifications of bipolar disorder are the following:

A. Undermethylation: This condition is innate & is characterized by low levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, high whole blood histamine and elevated absolute basophils. This population has a high incidence of seasonal allergies, OCD tendencies, perfectionism, high libido, sparse body hair, and several other characteristics. They usually respond well to methionine, SAMe, calcium, magnesium, omega-3 essential oils (DHA & EPA), B-6, inositol, and vitamins A, C, and E. They should avoid supplements containing folic acid. In severe cases involving psychosis, the dominant symptom is usually delusional thinking rather than hallucinations. They tend to speak very little & may sit motionless for extended periods. They may appear outwardly calm, but suffer from extreme internal anxiety.

B. Overmethylation: This condition is the biochemical opposite of undermethylation. It is characterized by elevated levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, low whole blood histamine, and low absolute basophils. This population is characterized by the following typical symptoms: Absence of seasonal, inhalent allergies, but a multitude of chemical or food sensitivities, high anxiety which is evident to all, low libido, obsessions but not compulsions, tendency for paranoia and auditory hallucinations, underachievement as a child, heavy body hair, hyperactivity, “nervous” legs, and grandiosity. They usually respond well to folic acid, B-12, niacinamide, DMAE, choline, manganese, zinc, omega-3 essential oils (DHA and EPA) and vitamins C and E, but should avoid supplements of methionine, SAMe, inositol, TMG and DMG.

C. Pyrrole Disorder: This condition, also called pyroluria, is a genetic stress disorder associated with severe mood swings, high anxiety, and depression. The biochemical signature of this disorder includes elevated urine kryptopyrroles, a double deficiency of zinc and B-6, and low levels of arachidonic acid. Pyrolurics are devastated by stresses including physical injury emotional trauma, illness, sleep deprivation, etc. Symptoms include sensitivity to light and loud noises, tendency to skip breakfast, dry skin, abnormal fat distribution, rage episodes, little or no dream recall, reading disorders, underachievement, histrionic behaviors, and severe anxiety. They usually respond quickly to supplements of zinc, B-6, Primrose Oil, and augmenting nutrients.

To me, a bipolar patient who becomes “well” with greatly-reduced medication requirements may have achieved complete success. I don’t believe that medication doses need to go to zero, as long as side effects are absent and long-term effects are minimal or absent.

Incidence of bipolar depression (diagnosis during lifetime):

TOTAL POPULATION OF ADOPTEES … INCIDENCE = 4.5%
FRATERNAL TWINS SEPARATED AT BIRTH …. Concordance = 32%
IDENTICAL TWINS SEPARATED AT BIRTH …. Concordance = 80%

We have seen more than 1,500 patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder, including a few hundred who presented with a diagnosis of “rapid-cycle” bipolar disorder. Many of the rapid cycle patients exhibited a severe pyrrole disorder as their primary imbalance. The key lab test is urine kryptopyrroles. Most “pyrolurics” are prone to high anxiety, severe mood swings, depression, and may be famous for their temper. Classic symptoms include aversion to eating breakfast, poor dream recall, sensitivity to bright lights & loud noises, abnormal fat distribution, poor short-term memory (often coincident with good long-term memory), and very poor stress control. (Feb 27, 2003)

We have worked with more than 1500 bipolar patients & found that most have an atrocious diet. I remember one young man whose only dietary intake for the past month consisted of Pepsi and potato chips.

In our experience, best results are achieved with a two-step procedure: (1) biochemical treatment followed by (2) life-style changes including a better diet. We learned the hard way that most bipolars are incapable of life-style changes until after their chemical imbalances have been corrected (or at least lessened). Once real biochemical progress has been made, the patient is more functional and real dietary improvements can be achieved. Trying to everything at once tends to overwhelm the patient, and they usually give up. (March 6, 2003)

About 20% of patients labeled as bipolar have a pyrrole disorder (genetic) which is associated with (a) fatty acid abnormalities, especially depressed arachidonic acid, (b) strikingly weak immune function, and (c) severe metal oxidative stress. The definitive test for the pyrrole disorder is urinalysis for kryptopyrroles (Direct Healthcare Access is the lab, 847/299-2440). These patients might benefit greatly from therapy concentrating on zinc, B-6, and primrose oil (or borage oil). Omega-3 oils can make things worse because of the competition for Zn & B-6 between delta-5 desaturase and delta-6 desaturase.

If a patient has a pyrrole disorder he/she likely would have at least half of the following symptoms:

Poor stress control
Sensitivity to bright lights and/or loud noises
Preference for spicy or heavily flavored foods
Significant growth after age 16
Morning nausea
Tendency to skip breakfast
Poor dream recall
Emotional outbursts
Poor short-term memory, perhaps coincident with excellent L.T. memory
Diagnosis of “rapid-cycle” bipolar
Much higher capability & alertness in the evening, compared to mornings
Dry skin
Reading disorder. (March 27, 2003)

DMAE passes the blood-brain barrier and converts to choline in the brain. Therefore it has cholinergic action & enhances formation of acetylcholine. As a result DMAE is generally very useful in treatment of high dopamine (low histamine, overmethylated) persons, but can seriously harm low dopamine, high histamine, undermethylated persons. We’ve seen more than 1,500 bipolar patients and confirmed that DMAE is generally effective for the overmethylated phenotype (25% of bipolar cases), but causes great worsening for those who are undermethylated (40% of bipolar cases). DMAE definitely should not be used indiscriminately for persons with serious mental illness. (Aug 15, 2003)

Childhood Bipolar Disorder. There has been an explosion in this dubious diagnosis in the past 5 years. It represents an attempt to predict which children are headed for a bipolar-type mental breakdown — The usual result is early intervention with powerful atypical antipsychotic medication.

A very high percentage of our incoming bipolar patients exhibit elevated liver enzymes, undoubtedly a result of the added stress on the liver due to powerful psychiatric medications. There is plenty of published data showing that many psychiatric meds can cause cirrhosis of the liver.

The benefits of psychiatric medications are often exaggerated and the risks minimized. A very common side effect of psychiatric medications is death.

-=-=-=-=-
Video on Vimeo, also from William Walsh
(the same video is on Youtube but it stops at about 50 minutes)
 

TheChosenOne

Senior Member
Messages
209
This is my own situation.

Bipolar disorder is mostly caused by genetics. Promethease found 91 genes that are related to bipolar disorder.
From the ones that I understood and that are significant, 15 involved a higher risk and 10 are protective against bipolar. From these, 13 are highly frequent and 12 are less frequent genes. From the less frequent genes, 2 are protective. Maybe noteworthy is the fact that I have rs267015 (TT) (3.5%) which is related to severe bipolar disorder (although this was a limited study). Not to forget, I also have COMT++.
I also know that my grandmother has schizophrenia, but that is not that uncommon in people with Alzheimer's. According to Promethease, my risk of schizophrenia is also significantly increased.

Now the symptoms. I kind of agree with most of the symptoms. I've done 2 online tests. The first one gave me a score of 41 which indicate "moderate to severe symptoms associated with a bipolar II disorder". The second test gave me a score of 29. 22 and more has an overall accuracy of 80% in detecting bipolar disorder. Of course this is as reliable as online tests are.
Especially the symptoms of a mixed state are very familiar. And I think that is very typical for bipolar. I also have delayed sleep phase syndrome. In low periods, I usually sleep at 1 am on average and sleep 11-12 hours. I'm NOT slept out after that. During a high period, I usually sleep at 3-4 am and sleep different hours. Sometimes 5 hours, sometimes 9. If I go to bed earlier (like 1 am), then I'm awake for 2 hours or so.
I know that I can go a whole week with just 1 hour of sleep a day. (This happened when I broke my arm and had some pain. I found it quite remarkable back then that I was not tired at all.)
During low periods, I have fibromyalgia and it's very difficult to find the right words.

Most mood problems are triggered by either a lack of sleep or stress.

Although, this is probably something that I have for a long time, it was most likely hidden because of other health problems. The problem is that because of this, it is not always clear whether some supplement is actually working or not.

If I remember correctly, according to Cutler people with bipolar or schizophrenia are susceptible to mercury poisoning, but I forgot where I read that. I'm not going to pay too much attention to this. My symptoms have improved significantly since chelation and methylation support and I guess they will improve down the road.
Things that have a positive effect in this regard:
GABA + magnesium
Hydroxycobalamin
Marijuana
Lithium (In the form of lithium orotate, 10 mg) This is a very low dose but I feel a significant difference and a feeling of well being.
I've also got a bottle with tyrosine. Maybe I can try this when I need it.

I have no idea how severe my case is and what type I have, but I guess it's cyclothymia.
It's well after 1 am right now. Maybe I have to go to bed now. Or not? :)
 
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Sea

Senior Member
Messages
1,286
Location
NSW Australia
Do you have ME/CFS as well @TheChosenOne or is your Bipolar diagnosis an explanation of all your symptoms?

@caledonia that link is very interesting. I am keen to track down the underlying cause of depression in my daughter so that we can help her heal. Her dr has so far tried many different medications with little response.
 

TheChosenOne

Senior Member
Messages
209
Do you have ME/CFS as well @TheChosenOne or is your Bipolar diagnosis an explanation of all your symptoms?
I had a lot of symptoms that would qualify for ME/CFS, although I'm not as impaired as a lot of other people on this forum. I think that all my problems can be traced back to mercury poisoning. Because of that, I had a chronic candida infection with all the issues related to it. I think bipolar is only a minor issue added to (and induced by) mercury tox.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Bipolar disorder, like nearly all psych disorders, can be described but still cannot be explained. There is a difference. So you can explain how its defined, what the symptoms are, and so on, but you cannot explain the disease ( I think its best regarded as a disease or group of diseases awaiting better science), or why its a stable disease category (as opposed to a syndrome or mix of diseases) or offer an objective diagnostic test. We will get there, and with mechanisms will come properly targeted treatments, but we are not here yet.
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
mr bean has bipolar!? wow.

i found out i had it because when i took paxil, i became a little "too happy"
 

TheChosenOne

Senior Member
Messages
209
Bipolar disorder, like nearly all psych disorders, can be described but still cannot be explained. There is a difference. So you can explain how its defined, what the symptoms are, and so on, but you cannot explain the disease ( I think its best regarded as a disease or group of diseases awaiting better science), or why its a stable disease category (as opposed to a syndrome or mix of diseases) or offer an objective diagnostic test. We will get there, and with mechanisms will come properly targeted treatments, but we are not here yet.
Good point.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Do you have ME/CFS as well @TheChosenOne or is your Bipolar diagnosis an explanation of all your symptoms?

@caledonia that link is very interesting. I am keen to track down the underlying cause of depression in my daughter so that we can help her heal. Her dr has so far tried many different medications with little response.

There are many things which can cause depression. Besides Walsh's list, you can also add hypothyroidism (you need to do a whole thyroid panel, not just TSH to detect it), mercury or other metals, gluten, candida. Nutrient depleted diet.

In females, birth control pills deplete folate, which can cause depression. Accutane (used for treatment of acne) is another. There are others too.

If you daughter is taking any medications, check out this website:
http://www.medicinenet.com/medicines_that_cause_depression/article.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/medicines_that_cause_depression/article.htm
Chemical exposure around the house or at work, such as from new carpet, cleaning products, etc.
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
@caledonia

Thank you for posting all that information.
My husband has bipolar (by the description an under methylator )and I feel quite helpless for knowing what to do. I have no personal experience and I have never found anything useful when I've gone looking. Psych medications have not really offered much relief and just make him tired.
I will try to acquire the list of supplements recommended in your post. If they help at all they will improve all our lives.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
@TheChosenOne
Interesting thread, though you may want to correct the spelling mistake in the thread title (via "Thread Tools" on top right).
 

TheChosenOne

Senior Member
Messages
209
Interesting - I came out borderline on Klinghart's questionnaire on pyroluria - enough to warrant testing. And I also have mercury toxicity.
I have 21 positives on the questionnaire.

Maybe the most 'special':
Pale skin +/- poor tanning +/- burn easy in sun
Sensitivity to bright light
Hypersensitive to loud noises
Much higher capability and alertness in the evening, compared to mornings
Reaching puberty later than normal (16)

I used to have white spots on my fingernails, but these are all gone.

The other things could easily be related to other stuff.
 
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