Bipolar teen with "voices" advice?
 

Less than two months ago my teen was diagnosed with BPD. I had no idea what that meant other than mood swings and other symptoms. With her current meds and constant doctor monitoring of her meds I felt that things would be ok and eventually they would just "kick in" and she would become a normal happy teen. I was more than beyond wrong. This week she hit the worst low I have ever witnessed from anyone. First came the anxiety, then hours of tears and not wanting to live like this, then sudden disconnect and blankly she looks at me speaking of another voice asking her to "let go". Of course I was holding whatever body part she allowed me to touch trying to calmly give love and comfort while discreetly texting her doctor in sheer panic. She eventually wore out and slept for nearly twenty hours. This pattern has continued all through the week until it slowed up last night with a new med from the doc. (Never mind the fact that school is starting to suffer and she has slipped from straight A and honor roll to struggling B's and C's. Devastating to her as she is a freshman in highschool and feels she has lost her scholarship chances. I reassure her that we can do anything and then hide to cry, pray, and wait till she is at school to scour the internet for answers.) Does ANYONE have any thoughts? I have never been more scared for her as when she didn't speak in her own voice and spoke of "we". She has NEVER done this before...new territory.

Hi, CrystalRoseheart,

If she never did this before, you can be 98% sure that one or more of the medications is causing it. I would take her to the ER. They will have a psychiatrist evaluate her. You do not have to do this by yourself.
School can wait. It is not a priority at the moment.
If you want, you can list her meds for here:


Is she taking any anti-depressants? Those could be causing the "we" and other things you describe.

Mari

Hi, CrystalRoseheart,
The book Bipolar for Dummies will be helpful.
Also helpful is nami.org (National Alliance on Mental Illness) depending on where you live.

Getting the diagnosis is a good step but it is only the first step. Getting the meds straighened out can take a while and they will need occasional adjusting. It is good to keep a mood chart of

1. symptoms
2. sleep
3. meds
4. side effects

that you can show to the psychiatrist to assist in her care.
You can make your own chart, google mood chart for some examples, or try this one https://www.moodtracker.com

These kinds of things are devastating for family members to witness. I am sorry that you both are dealing with this. She is going to be o.k. because you are trying to help her.
Things do get better.

Take her to the absolute best psychiatrist you can find in your region. If you can get her to a major medical center/ research hospital / teaching hospital, that would be great.

M

I'm sorry i'm just seeing this.

Want to send some hugs, and hope she is doing better. Please keep us updated. Let us know what we can do.

Mari, is right. It can easily be one of the new drugs. Please get her to ]
the ER soon.

Donna:hug::grouphug: