Bipolar Disorder/husbands anger

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Expert: - 6/24/2011


Question
Im wondering if he may be bipolar we have asked doctors but get fobbed off.He gets very niggly and when it builds up he explodes sometime serverly eg he drove our car through our house but does not remember doing it. He choked our son once and dont remember, these rages come and go I can see it in his mood when it comes. After these episodes he can sleep for 2 to 3 days then he is back to the loving person everyone adores. I am at my ends with this he is on antidepression tablets but they arent doing much ? What can I do

Answer
Hi Amanda,

From your description, the situation you are in demands serious and prompt attention.
You mentioned that your husband is on an antidepressant.  Is he getting it from a general practitioner / family doctor or a psychiatrist?  If he is getting it from a GP or family doctor, you could ask for a referral for him to see a psychiatrist.  If he is currently seeing a psychiatrist, have you brought up the issue that the medication is not helping?  If you have and you've been "fobbed off", please consider seeking a second opinion and a third one if necessary.

It must be tiring and discouraging to have to seek medical help and not get the answers you need.  However, it sometimes takes many tries before you can find the right fit in terms of a therapeutic alliance with a psychiatrist and medication that moderates the mood.  Keep trying to find a specialist that will work with you.  Besides a psychiatrist to take care of medication management, your husband would probably also benefit from seeing a psychologist to help him with anger management.

As for your initial question as to whether your husband has bipolar disorder, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer that.  The diagnosis is mainly important in guiding treatment and when you find the right mental health specialist(s) to help manage your husband's issues, the question of the diagnosis will be secondary.

In short, stay the course, stay encouraged.  Your husband deserves care from a psychiatrist (and psychologist) who is invested in seeing him manage better for the sake of your family.

I hope this helps and all the best for you and your family!

Best wishes,
Joanne

Bipolar Disorder

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Joanne Chang

Expertise

I can answer questions pertaining to coping well with mental illness, being most familiar with bipolar disorder. I focus on approaching life from a wellness model and strongly believe that, with the right approach (sufficient insight coupled with positive action and adequate support), individuals with bipolar disorder can lead meaningful, purpose-driven lives. I am most happy to help by way of providing clinical information / psychoeducation, practical suggestions, and a third-party (hopefully, objective) point-of-view to increase insight. I am not medically-trained and am therefore not qualified to answer specific prescription-related questions.

Experience

I am an Australian graduate with an Honours degree (Class I) in psychology and plan to eventually pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. I have for several years been in close contact with patients with bipolar disorder, either as a relative or as a volunteer with various charity arrangements, and would like to provide more support to this group of patients.

Organizations
Singapore Psychological Society (Student member)

Education/Credentials
BCom (Marketing and Information Systems) with Distinction, BA (Psychology), BPsych (Honours, Class I)

Awards and Honors
Golden Key National Honours Society

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