My son now 44 was diagnosed about 14 yrs ago, and yet to this date they have not found the right meds! I have heard that people w/this disorder must try to help themselves! He also suffers from severe back pain and R/H so I never know if it is the pain or the Bipolar. He lives in one part of the house and I see him once when dinner is ready which he takes back to his rooms (which are always dark, cannot get him to open curtains) and when he comes out in the evening to say goodnight............that may be 0 to 2 words a day..............Is there anything to make it easier on me, I am constantly wondering if there is something  can do or say................I asked one time if it would help him if I talk to him or just not say anything? he said sno talk.....but that doesn't work for he just smiles and nothing else.... Thank you for reading this.....I f you have anything that could help this situation please contact me by email...

I suffered with depression and anxiety for most of my life. Since the age of nineteen I have seen therapists regularly and took a variety of antidepressants prescribed by my family physicians. Nothing helped for long periods of time.

Four years ago, I am now 57, I felt I had reached the end of my rope. I made an appointment with a psychiatrist/
psycho-pharmacologist who gave me an extensive evaluation and diagnosed me with Bi-Polar disorder, as well as several other conditions. Unfortunately all 3 of my children have similar problems as well.

It took nearly a year to find the right drug “cocktail” which is still being adjusted occasionally. The first year consisted of experimenting with the right medications, dosages for those medications and the right combination of medications.

My family and I found talk therapy equally as important as the prescriptions. Since the Bi-Polar brain works differently than others, those of us who are Bi-Polar learned to cope with life differently than others. Therefore talk therapy becomes extremely important in order to learn new coping skills and to help understand how others view and react to normal day to day situations. Unfortunately, the older one is when diagnosed the more difficult it is to change those coping mechanisms acquired to survive.

The description you give of your son's behavior paints a picture of a depressed individual. Given his age it may be difficult to convince him to speak to his psychiatrist about trying new dosages or Rx's altogether. You don't mention in your comments if your son is working with a therapist if not he should find one who specializes in Bi-Polar disorder.

As I said it took nearly a year to find the right combination of drugs and the right therapist for me to feel as though I was making significant progress

A friend of mine who is 22, has bipolar/anxiety. He decided not to go the drug route first by seeing a psychologist for a few months first. She, after a few months, decided he needed to see an MD (shrink) who could presribe meds appropriate to his condition. She forwarded her notes and diagnosis to the MD. After he met with the MD, he prescribed Lexapro and seroquel - the lowest possible dose. He takes 1 seroquel before bed and 1 lexapro in the AM. Its been about 2 months and he is doing remarkably well. He finally sleeps well, and functions well all day. He is truly glad he took the first steps.