Comments on: Bipolar Disorder and Schizoaffective Disorder: What is the difference?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:27:47 +0000

Hi Julie,
I wrote on one of the other topics last week relating to your book and my undiagnosed husband.I was for a long time told it was all me and I was the problem as I said.Last year I found out that my husbands birth father had schizophrenia.I wonder if it was misdiagnosed and was bipolar?He is deceased now and from what I was able to learn had a horrible confused life and nobody was really able to help him after all the treatments.My husbands family always told my husband that his real father abandoned them and was a alcholic not mentally ill.I know that because of his father, my husband has a one in ten percent chance of having something(and he does).It was not until I was about at the end of my rope with really hard and at times irrational problems in our realtionship,I started to look up stuff on the internet.Things were so confusing and I did not know what was wrong. I finally came upon what I think it is.Bipolar 2.Things all make sense now.Are the two illnesses connected?I did not realise that bipolar can have psychotic behavior too until I was reading your “Loving Someone with Bipolar”
Right now I am stuck with him in denial and not wanting to deal with anything.(I am confused he says)The more I think back into his behavior in the three years we have been married the more I see the pattern.I am doing alot of the things your mentioned in your book and it has helped ,but I cannot talk to him about it at all.It is hard being in this alone.How in the world do you get someone to admit they have a problem and get help?He functions at work and is not too bad with money.His symptoms are mostly evident here at home and in our marriage nobody really sees it.His family lives a long ways away and they are not much help .There is alot of disfunction there.He is from away from here .He has never had a relationship that has lasted and now I know why(that should have been a red light when we were dating!).He has been married twice and had a few girlfriends.It was always their fault-infidelity.I can see why if he treated them the way he has treated me.I am more understandin now that I know this is a illness.It is like you said in the book I have had emotions to work out in my journal!

By: James

James — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:34:02 +0000

I have Schizoaffective and bi-polar2. I just want you to know that there is recovery from this illness with proper treatment. I am 48 years old and have not had any symptoms in almost 10 years. I starting taking an a-typical anti-psychotic with my other medicines and the voices stopped as did the psychosis. This happened about 7 years ago, up until then I had done pretty well on my own for 3 years. Before that time was sheer hell for about 13 years, I never thought it would end, but it has.

By: Admin

Admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:45:47 +0000

Hi Kathy, Thanks for your kind comments. I have to say that the only time I don’t blog is when I get overwhelmed with work- but I’m loving work so much these days. It’s a miracle to work when I’m not either depressed, manic or psychotic. I tend to write more blogs when I’m sick! I try not to upset people as it’s just the illness and I live through it. I hope you are doing well. We take what we can get and cherish it! Julie

By: kathy

kathy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:03:51 +0000

Lofty goal, “easy to read and lovely prose’ of technical info.. Glad you are working and well.

By: Admin

Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:59:20 +0000

Hi Kathy,

I have been writing an artilce on the role between physicall illness and mental illness- 20 pages of technical information that has to be put into easy to read and lively prose!

I am back to blogging today.

Julie

By: kathy

kathy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:48:30 +0000

Noticed you haven’t blogged lately. Hope you are okay and just busy….Kathy