Does anybody know the symptoms of bi-polar?

Question:

My family has been having some problems with my grandmother. She has not been herself. Everybody has tried anything they possibly can. She is seeing a therapist, but my grandmother had not been honest with her. She just goes because we asked her to. She is very temperamental. She’s happy one minute, then down another. She acts like a teenager most of the time, and dresses like one. She spends money out of control. She has been having blackouts. She rear-ended someone in her car recently because of it. My grandfather does nothing about it. She was out driving the next day. She tries to be cool, wears her i-pod everywhere. She calls me at work all the time and says she forgot what she was calling for. I think she has a personality issue? I want to know some opinions before I go telling my family what I think.

Answers:
Much of what you are describing are symptoms my friend has, who is diagnosed as a bi-polar schizophrenic (yikes!). If she is really seeing a therapist, she'd be in the looney bin by now. I doubt she actually is; therapists can spot someone with mental problems a mile away.

Is she taking any medication such as Risperdol (sp?), Prozac or Lithium? If not, she should be.

You have a few options:

1) See if she is prescribed and taking any medication for her illness. If she hasn't been prescribed medication, get her to a psychiatrist who can diagnose mental illness and prescribe medication. this probably won't go over with your grandma, but this is an obvious first step.

2) If she is really acting out of control, contact Adult Services or your state's Agency for the Elderly or some such thing. They will come pay her a visit and document her behavior. If she acts up in front of them, they may start proceedings to assign her a guardian (hopefully someone other than her husband, who is turning a blind eye to her illness).

3) Definitely discuss this with your family. Her kid (i.e., your parent who is her son/daughter) won't like to discuss the situation, but it needs to be addressed.

4) Be patient with her and set boundaries with her. For example, tell her you do not want her calling you at work. Also, just let her not "act her age". Sure, it's embarassing, but as long as she's not hurting anyone, you really can't criticize her.

Good luck!

Other Answers:
Yikes, yeah she's having problems, but I don't think it's bi-polar, it may be early onset of Alzhiemers.

http://www.bipolarhome.org/resources.html

I have been through this with a friend, and it sounds like a lot of the same symptoms. Check out some of the links on the website above.

Listen Babe
talk to your parents,
when you get old, sometimes get some mental illnes,
today , we can get very very good treatments and medications.

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Does anybody know the symptoms of bi-polar?

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