My Boyfriend Has Bipolar And Also In Constant Pyschosis Posted: 07-21-07 08:49am
My boyfriend is the most wonderful man I
could ask for and I love him dearly, but
he is unable to hold down a job as he is
not capable of working fulltime and when
he brought up the future and us getting
married, I brought up the issue of
instability and that I would not like to
raise children in an unstable environment.
Thats putting it simply.
He tells me he lives in a state of
psychosis and has to fight himself each
day to get through it. No one else is
aware of this as he is worried if the
doctors or his family find out he will be
put back in hospital and drugged to the
max, and I don't want that to happen. I
would hate the thought of him spending his
life heavily drugged to the point he cant
function and in and out of hospital. He is
currently on 10mg of Cyprexa. We have been
together just over 12 months and we broke
up for 8 weeks because I also suffer mild
depression and occasionally have down
periods, and this took affect on my
boyfriend. I was ignorant to bipolar and
he never mentioned the psychosis at this
stage and even if he did, I knew nothing
of what it meant as he seemed much more
stable than myself at the time so didnt
worry too much. He went on a high while we
broke up and we got back together at his
tail end and that was difficult as it was.
He tells me I "level him out".
Since we got back together, I am really
noticing the bipolar and psychosis, and in
the time we broke up, his medication was
lowered and he had a morning tablet taken
out. Not sure what that was called, but it
was to help him to be "up" and the cyprexa
is to help shut him down. Thats how I
understand it. When he went on his high,
the cyprexa was increased back to 10mg and
thats all he currently has. In my opinion,
it is not enough, but I don't know what to
do as he doesnt exactly tell his doc
everything and gives him the impression
all is ok. I suggested he see a different
doctor as this doctor tells my boyfriend
to ignore emotional issues and that he is
ok.
The situation at the moment is my
boyfriend is woozy in the mornings and
unable to focus or interact properly, and
his body shuts down practically when the
sun sets. He is good for a couple of hours
a day, as in able to interact, focus, and
this concerns me as we are unable to live
any sort of normal life and if we expect
to have a future, then we both agreed we
would find it hard to imagine he would be
able to help raise children, simply for
the fact he would not be able to give any
support on many levels and in fact, he
would need to be looked after.
Does anyone have any experience and shed
some light on how to get through this?
Does anyone else know of anyone that
claims to be in constant psychosis and its
not just the "highs" and "lows", but the
battle with the mind on a daily basis? I
am so confused and feel so helpless. I
love him and wish desperately for a future
with him, but it is purely the reality of
the disease that makes me wonder should I
stand by him no matter what, or despite
loving him so much, move on and ensure I
have a semi-normal life with a man who can
provide some stability and support on all
levels?
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lisaali
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Jul 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Maryland
Posted: 07-23-07 06:25am
I think you need to suggest to your
boyfriend that he seek the help of his
doctor. I'm bipolar myself and I never
heard of a constant state of psychosis,
however, a person may be manic, hypomanic,
or depressed for months at a time
ACCOMPANIED by psychosis. This may be the
case with him. As far as his medication
is concerned he is taking Zyprexa, which
is an antipsycotic. It works by changing
the actions of chemicals in the brain.
I believe most of us who are bipolar are
on both an antipsycotic and a mood
stabalizer, but I suppose it can differ
for each person. If the Zyprexa is not
keeping psychotic symptoms at bay, your
boyfriend should definitley seek the help
of his doctor. A simple change in the
meds maybe the answer to this as well as
his other problems.