Ok. I have been reading bunches and bunches.

The new trend in medicine is to link pain and fatigue with depression. Fibro is treated with anti-depressants. (and other stuff) I have to wonder, is the depression a physical manisfestation of the actual problem in the brain.

I have also read that studies, post mortem, of bipolar and schitzophrenic brains show delamination of the mylan sheath that surrounds the nerve ends in the brain. Like Myasthenia Gravis in the muscles and MS. Auto immune. (There is also a new thought that the reason anti seizure meds work as stablizers-like bipolar is another type of seizure.)

Other articles I have come across talk about the nicotinic receptors in the brains of MG and bipolar patients. The AchR anti bodies in a MG patient block the receptor while the BP patients are soothed by nicotine attaching to the receptor. (Which is why so many of us self-medicate with cigarettes.)

Bipolar as and auto immune disease? I wonder if research will show us that in the future. I am very curious about the research the Mayo clinic is doing with MRI imaging on their new machine. It can track brain chemistry shifts, it's that sensative. I really want to see their findings.

So, I have a family history of rare auto-immune disorders on my moms' side; alcoholism, heart trouble and diabetes on my dad's side, which is where the bipolar might come from. But there are pcychotic features in mom's family too.

My oldest sister has thyroid problems, spinal stenosis and diabetes. Some of her kids have bipolar, one has asthma and another is starting to sound fibro like.

My other sister has fibro and depression. She also had endometriosis real bad. Her kids-aspergers, arthritis, bipolar and celiac.

Me; depression-bipolar, fibro. Kids; bipolar-both, celiac and weird joint thingy for the little one.

My brother; god the list is huge. But it all boils down to bipolar and celiac.

My sister had a stroke at 11 years old. Sticky blood and a heart condition. She has chronic depression, but we really think its from the brain damage the stroke caused. Her little girls are teeny but she cries to me that the oldest reminds her so much of Wes. I told her to wait and see. It could just be a difficult toddlerhood.

My mom has MG-myasthenia gravis and sticky blood. She is also depressed a great deal.

My dad has heart problems and diabetes.

Genes? Heck yeah. Some really wild ones.

But.... they all seem to be boiling down to coming from a similar source. The little part at the end of all of out nerves is coming unravelled.

I wonder how many of us have family members with so many diagnosis and so many different things wrong with them. Multiple or co-morbid diagnoses.

Is there really a connection? Will future research come to that conclusion? I am so damned curious about the whole thing.

OH! I went to the chiropracter. He is The Marque DeSod. Torture specialist. It hurts so damned bad. I can barely move. He showed me my x-rays. My neck has no curve to it what-so-ever. It is perfectly verticle. I guess it's suposed to bend just a little bit. He says that it is pinching all of the nerves. If this crap I have been living with for the past 5 years is mechanical instead of me just being a mental case (which is true-you just can't blame EVERYTHING on a little bipolar.) I am gonna be SO ticked off.

grrrrrr

Well. If you have read this far.....wow. You are a patient person.

Bear-just ranting.

I think autoimmune-bipolar/depression/sz fits in quite well with thediathesis-stress model.

I've got my flu like symptoms at the moment.

Thanks, Bear,

It is interesting to think about bipolar being part of a messed up immune system.

I'll be glad when the researchers start making more connections.
mari

Firemonkey,
Thanks for the link:
Mari