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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How To Treat Bi-polar Disorder?

Hello . We believe that my dad has a medical condition Bipolar. We not sure 100% though. However he has the following symptoms. These are from my research on the internet

Mood Changes
•     A long period of feeling "high," or an overly happy or outgoing mood
•     Extremely irritable mood, agitation, feeling "jumpy" or "wired."
Behavioral Changes
•     Talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another, having racing thoughts
•     Being easily distracted
•     Increasing goal-directed activities, such as taking on new projects
•     Being restless
•     Sleeping little
•     Having an unrealistic belief in one's abilities
•     Behaving impulsively and taking part in a lot of pleasurable,
high-risk behaviors, such as spending sprees, impulsive sex, and impulsive business investments.
He has this condition from long time ago. Maybe when he was 20 yrs old. He is now 58 yrs old. Previously he use to have this condition say once or twice a year. This year he is having it more frequently. Say intervals of 6 weeks. We haven’t seen a doctor yet. We not even sure whether he should take any medication. Or even the medication will work or make it worse. Is the frequency of this condition related to his age or some other reason

Please give your views
Mon, 6 Oct 2014
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Psychologist,  's  Response
You have done an excellent job with your research, as all of those symptoms you listed are textbook for the condition which you are asking. The best question to answer is: How much are these symptoms negatively impacting your father's ability to function? Since you say he has never seen a doctor, then it would appear that he has thus far been able to function relatively well. It is the impairment in functioning that leads people to seek help, either in the form of therapy or psychotropic medications. Typically, medications are sought when the symptoms severely impact a person's ability to function. The frequency of his manic episodes would not necessarily be related to his age, as much as the lack of his ability to cope with the symptoms over time. It could also mean that the symptoms are getting worse as he grows older. I would strongly recommend that he seek a professional's opinion, especially if his ability to function is very impaired.
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How To Treat Bi-polar Disorder?

You have done an excellent job with your research, as all of those symptoms you listed are textbook for the condition which you are asking. The best question to answer is: How much are these symptoms negatively impacting your father s ability to function? Since you say he has never seen a doctor, then it would appear that he has thus far been able to function relatively well. It is the impairment in functioning that leads people to seek help, either in the form of therapy or psychotropic medications. Typically, medications are sought when the symptoms severely impact a person s ability to function. The frequency of his manic episodes would not necessarily be related to his age, as much as the lack of his ability to cope with the symptoms over time. It could also mean that the symptoms are getting worse as he grows older. I would strongly recommend that he seek a professional s opinion, especially if his ability to function is very impaired.