I am Bipolar, any tips or groups???

Check out this guide: https://medicalhealthcareinfo.com/rapid-cycling-bipolar-causes-symptoms-treatment/

Hi Rose, it must be a relief to be diagnosed, and begin the path towards managing mental illness. My mother's schizophrenia, manic depression and bipolar disorder were triggered by post natal depression following my birth, and she has exhibited many of the behaviors described by RuthM, among others. As a child, I was very confused as only my father and her mother were aware of my mother's diagnosis, but she appointed me as her financial trustee once I turned 22 and started leaking cryptic details of her condition. I am her phone counsellor who she checks in with every 2 weeks, or as needed. She continues to take some medication to stabilize her mental health. I am saddened to hear that you lack close family support, but you sound like you are eager to take initiative to manage your condition. Pls seek a support or therapy group, you will need people to contact you when you experience an emotional low.

I can second Dr Amer, he's in Dubai Community Health Centre

Therapy and having a support group is essential. I found many psychiatrists are too eager to medicate, rather than looking at alternative options. The meds can very often turn you into a complete, unfeeling, zombie - not much fun. Depending on the degree of the condition and whether it's Bipolar 1 or 2 or cyclothemia, and the degree, depends on what treatment course.

Hi Rose, Dr Amer is the best psichiatrist in Dubai , He has been working on my kids medication for 2 years now , I went to 15 differents Dr before I found him . If you need an ear to chat , I'm happy to help you I know exactly what you are going tru .

Hi Rose There is a meetme group for people with bipolar in Dubai - the people there are lovely. There is also Dr Gregor in Dubai Healthcare City as a psychologist for medical treatment. He may recommend CBT therapists which I hear help immensely too. Wishing you all the best <em>edited by tattler on 26/08/2014</em>

Dr Raymond Hamdan is still here and this is the link to his clinic. Always heard very positive feedback from this clinic. Hope you find some support and answers OP. http://www.hridubai.com/meetus_drhamden.htm

i also think that including getting the right medication it is very important to get some input from a psychologist. i have a client who has bi polar and has been on medication for so long now that it doesnt really work. she needs psychology input to talk about things that trigger her getting upset and depressed. it is also good to write down what upsets and gets you down as it could help to avoid it if possible or get help around it. as ruth as said in her thread, doing excercise, and doing something you really like helps, if there is someone who can provide some sort of intensive interaction to you on a regular basis would help too. it helps to talk about things rather then bottle up.

Hi Rose, I can try to understand the difficulty in finding a suitable psychiatrist that you can work with. My father worked with his doctor for several years. His doctor was Egyptian and semi retired some time ago to spend several months of the year with family in Egypt. During his last 'near manic attack' in 98 my father had to see a different doctor, the doctor basically told him to pull himself together, my father who had never previously been aggressive (he goes euphoric manic) became angry and stormed out. Luckily his original doctor consulted by telephone and managed to change his medication to get him stabilised. I am sorry I cannot recommend anyone in Dubai, although even if I could every person is different and some respond well with a doctor that others would not get on with at all. I can only suggest trying another psychiatrist until you find one you feel you can work with. You will probably need to give any new doctor several sessions to try and get a sense of if you think you can make progress with them. Sadly Dubai may not be the best place for mental health treatment and I imagine experienced psychiatrists are not common. But it is important you are seeing someone, even if only to monitor medication. I would be concerned regarding a psychiatrist who tells you to have 'self control' really they should be teaching you strategies to help you gain stability but simply telling you to magically become more in control is probably unlikely to help. I cannot comment on medication. My father was on I think four maybe even six medications. I know for sure he had lithium (mood leveller) plus a couple of things in the morning to help him wake up and something in the night to help him sleep. A good psychiatrist may spend some time finding the right combination for you. As for keeping busy I would suggest adding productive learning skills. Gym, cinema etc. is great in fact exercise is very important. However you will feel satisfaction from improving a skill and producing something. Many bipolar people are very intelligent so it is also good to keep your mind engaged and working and learning a new skill can help with this as well. This is why mental hospitals spend so much time on recreational things like woodworking, sewing, art etc. I hope you can find someone to help you stabilise and be able to learn the best strategies for yourself. If you haven't already I also suggest doing as much reading about the disease as you can. A good place to start is Mind (a British mental health charity). This is their page on bipolar if you haven't already read it: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/bipolar-disorder/about-bipolar-disorder/#.U1QmoF7dvbU If you have any further questions or would like to know more please let me know.

Hi RuthM, Thank You for sharing Your story. I can feel how painful it would have been. I have Rapid Cycling type. You are right about Dubai laws, I have had severe consequences of such depressive and aggressive phase few years back. I didn't harm anyone or anything, it was due to over dose of my medicine which landed me in hospital and doctors thought I tried killing my self. Thankfully I was already seeing this psychiatris so his report did the trick. It took couple of months to make authority understand difference between a criminal and a patient and retrieve my passport. Definitely Dubai is not a good place for anyone dealing with brain issues. I was told by Psychiatrist to have self control (which was a lame thing to even ask). Put me on some mood stabilizer and Neurontin which didn't work at all. I then tried keeping my self busy with things I liked I.e workout, movie etc. That worked well and I didn't have as many frequent mood swings. Now sometimes stress, sleeplessness and sometimes frustration triggers my depressive/aggressive mood. I can't go into details how torturing this condition is due to lack of energy and words. Unfortunately I have zero family support and no chance to go back to home country. At the same time I haven't come across a well qualified professional who could really help me. Needless to say I have already stopped seeing my Doc for now. Much sympathy to you Ruth for the experiences you describe with your father. Having a close family friend who has similar episodes I know that it is both heartbreaking and harrowing in equal measure - and that is viewing it from one remove. The family friend first exhibited these manic episodes here in Dubai in the mid- 90's - including the full Messianic complex in which he was convinced he was JC and went around telling everyone who would listen exactly that. Having been involved in trying to seek help for him I can say that the concerned doctors were excellent - particularly one who is very well known here. There was no condemnation but timely and appropriate intervention. I suppose I am only posting this to give the OP some hope that treatment is possible here - this was the mid 90's and I think that things have only improved since then. ( All the more so considering that this first appearance of a manic episode seems to have been triggered by lets call it a life style choice- sadly though it was only the beginning for him). ETA - sorry I quoted the wrong post. edited by Genie on 20/04/2014 Can You please give me details about that hospital/clinic/doc where he was treated. TBH talking and sharing about this illness in person is so embarrassing, even with educated people when they give me such weird looks. ?s Dr Raymond Hamden.. the other one was a psychiatrist in a local government hospital whose name escapes me now but gave very good advice and initiated treatment. The majority of the care was with Dr Hamden.

Hi RuthM, Thank You for sharing Your story. I can feel how painful it would have been. I have Rapid Cycling type. You are right about Dubai laws, I have had severe consequences of such depressive and aggressive phase few years back. I didn't harm anyone or anything, it was due to over dose of my medicine which landed me in hospital and doctors thought I tried killing my self. Thankfully I was already seeing this psychiatris so his report did the trick. It took couple of months to make authority understand difference between a criminal and a patient and retrieve my passport. Definitely Dubai is not a good place for anyone dealing with brain issues. I was told by Psychiatrist to have self control (which was a lame thing to even ask). Put me on some mood stabilizer and Neurontin which didn't work at all. I then tried keeping my self busy with things I liked I.e workout, movie etc. That worked well and I didn't have as many frequent mood swings. Now sometimes stress, sleeplessness and sometimes frustration triggers my depressive/aggressive mood. I can't go into details how torturing this condition is due to lack of energy and words. Unfortunately I have zero family support and no chance to go back to home country. At the same time I haven't come across a well qualified professional who could really help me. Needless to say I have already stopped seeing my Doc for now. Much sympathy to you Ruth for the experiences you describe with your father. Having a close family friend who has similar episodes I know that it is both heartbreaking and harrowing in equal measure - and that is viewing it from one remove. The family friend first exhibited these manic episodes here in Dubai in the mid- 90's - including the full Messianic complex in which he was convinced he was JC and went around telling everyone who would listen exactly that. Having been involved in trying to seek help for him I can say that the concerned doctors were excellent - particularly one who is very well known here. There was no condemnation but timely and appropriate intervention. I suppose I am only posting this to give the OP some hope that treatment is possible here - this was the mid 90's and I think that things have only improved since then. ( All the more so considering that this first appearance of a manic episode seems to have been triggered by lets call it a life style choice- sadly though it was only the beginning for him). ETA - sorry I quoted the wrong post. <em>edited by Genie on 20/04/2014</em>

Bipolar covers several conditions, it is like saying you have cancer, there are many different types. I would be concerned if your doctor has not advised what type you really need to know. My father had Bipolar I which is categorised by severe manic episodes often followed by depression. It is most commonly diagnosed following a severe manic episode which will generally come out of the blue and take everyone by surprise. Prior to his first manic episode most people would consider him sometimes a little down (typical moody bloke) but certainly not angry or manic. His first manic episode ruined his life, he never recalled any of it as he was completely delusional but within the space of a week he managed to get himself banned from entering a commercial airline, to lose all his money/give it away and sign up to a deal that resulted in several million pounds debt later on. We were on holiday and sent him back home by private plane (as we had no idea what was wrong with him), once he returned home he became worse and the neighbours called the police. I do not joke when I say the entire road was closed off, and the police turned up with a helicopter and assault rifles, he featured on the front page of local newspapers and we had weird people cruising by our home looking for where the 'axe man' lived for the next few months (we had one axe, in the garden shed which was locked and never opened). His second manic attack was milder (or we caught it earlier) but he still claimed to be the messiah, threw away a little more money (he was going to save the Bosnian war) and the depressive episode following that was severe. He had to be put on suicide watch and sectioned to a special part of the hospital where we were not even allowed to take in pencils or shoe laces. I was at boarding school for the third and we caught the fourth and changed his lithium before he became manic (handy as our insurance had stopped covering us for in patient care). He was then stable for seven years before he died, if we discount the fourth close shave he was stable for eleven years. His psychiatrist (who became quite close to the family) was considering trying him off medication as he was so pleased with his progress. If you have bipolar I, I would seriously urge you to leave Dubai. This is not something you would want to have in Dubai, I do not believe the authorities here are understanding regarding mental conditions and if my father had his first manic attack in Dubai or even the second with the religious nonsense he was spouting then I suspect he would still be in jail now. I am not sure what Dubai in patient care is like, but this may also be something of consideration. However your description sounds unlikely to be Bipolar I, in all honesty it could be BPD, depression or anxiety but if it is bipolar it sounds closer to cyclothymia (my cousin has this), or rapid cycling. You didn't mention depressive episodes. If your psychiatrist has not given you information on your condition and what type you have I would suggest you seek a second opinion, you certainly do not want to start treatment for bipolar unnecessarily and it is very hard to treat. You can expect to be on medication for life, or certainly 10 years plus and regular visits to your doctor and blood tests will be required to monitor your medication as it needs adjusting. This said please do not be disheartened, you can lead a normal and happy life if the condition is managed properly, just if it is something else it may be much cheaper and easier in the long run as some other conditions can be very severe at the time but then not so life long. Suggestions. Most bipolar sufferers become obsessive about things, they will bury themselves in perfecting a skill it is a way of managing the mania side of the disease as well as preventing the depression. My father mastered gardening, car maintenance, countryside management, tying fishing flies, fly fishing, shooting and decorating/plastering/wood filling all to a high standard. These sort of hobbies are good therapy, find something creative (something where you get a result) and immerse yourself in perfecting that skill. If you drink alcohol stop. It will make medicating much harder. Any drugs or alcohol can cause massive issues for bipolar sufferers. My father had issues with drinking but had to go teetotal, he could not have even one drink. If you have sole control of your assets get a counter signature now. You do not want to have control if you have a manic attack. This was my mothers issue even after we realised what was going on with my father and he was in hospital he still had access to a fax machine and phone and this is when he did the most financial damage. She had no power to stop what was going on we went from very rich to millions in debt in a week (although it took a few years for the worst issues to unravel). Try to stick to a regular routine, and it may sound simple but try to eat a healthy balanced diet, these things do have an effect. Get enough sleep, this is more important than you can imagine, you must ensure you get a good amount of sleep every night. This is probably one of the most vital tips. One thing I can say is my father was a brilliant man, he was highly respected both personally and professionally. He was truly skilled at anything he turned his hand to and after he passed away we really were touched by the things people wrote about him. Westminster Council planted a tree at the request of the public in the area where he worked. So do not think being bipolar can make you a lesser person. If you want more information let me know. I can post email.

Leave your email and I can contact you if you wish. I can offer advice on my work and experience of Bi polar..... However do not live with condition my self... And ... By the looks of it you have already experienced a taste of others options towards condition... I have taken down my original email this down .Good luck and chin up chick x can only get better x <em>edited by Lou101 on 20/04/2014</em>

do you have family here? if not, i would consider going home. Jeez, how bad is it? I am positively on the edge of something but nobody sent me away yet.

I am recently diagnosed with bipolar disease. After having recent emotional outbursts and anger attacks and not YET on any medication. My Psychiatrist is totally hopeless in this. I am looking for some advices from someone is in same boat or have some loved one in same trouble. For me its a **** for now ? Don't worry, you have come to the right place.

@SJ I sent you email. You can remove from here. @Izzy going home is not an option. Rose - I have replied x

do you have family here? if not, i would consider going home.