Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 1/4/2011

Question
I'm a 19 year old woman who has been dating a 21 year old boy for over 4 months. He broke the news to me after a week of seeing him, i didn't think too much of it since I knew many facts about bipolar. Also since he takes meication everyday so I wasn't worried. throughout the 4 months we've been dating I only see him once a week. Hes a full time student so I figured that's why he's not very available. He recently went home for the holidays.  Upon his return 2 weeks later, I took him out to lunch. For some reason he didn't kiss me or hold my hand, Looking back on the past four months, there has been days where he was really into me and wanted to be with me for long periods of time, those are the times where we make love and act like a couple. Other times  when we are together he treats me like I'm just a friend and doesn't want to spend to much time with me.

My question is why is it that he is only into me sometimes when he is taking medication to control his disorder?

Answer
Hi, Jane . . .

The treatment of people with bipolar disorder involves the combination of medications and psychotherapy. While the treatment is fairly effective, it is far from being completely effective. What this means is that people whose bipolar disorder is being adequately treated may still show mood fluctuations. When people are more depressed they lose interest in sexuality sand interpersonal contact. When more on the manic side, their interest in interpersonal contract and sexuality increases, sometimes to the point where hypersexuality becomes a problem.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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