psychotic features in bipolar

Hypomania is distinguished from mania by the absence of psychotic symptoms. In other words if there are psychotic features its mania. BP2's can get psychotic features in mania the same as anyone does. Is this what you are referring to on the Black Dog Site ?

I do know that for schizoaffective disorder delusions and psychosis occur at all times whereas in bipolar with psychotic features they occur only during moodswings. You can speak to your psychiatrist about this but also keep a mood tracker and print out the results for your psychiatrist as that can be markedly helpful as well.

I suppose the real question i had was what is the difference,in general, between bipolar disorder w/ psychotic features and schizoaffective disorder?

ve made a good recovery from schizoaffective which clinically is a step further than bipolar with psychotic features as in bipolar with psychotic features a person has delusions and hears voices during moodswings and in schizoaffective disorder its all the time. Even with current treatment the symptoms can be mitigated. He should have his psychiatrist follow up as to an exact diagnosis and when the onset of it was.

When I was younger before my diagnosis I had similar psychotic features and I was treated for major depression with psychotic features. I was treated with anti depressants and anti pyschotics. Unfortunately the anti d's triggered rapid cycling and lithium was then added to the mix. If it helps I no longer hear voices, it stopped around age 20. Now during an episode I have classic bipolar features.

That can also occur in people with bipolar with psychotic features. Discuss this with your psychiatrist and ask if psychosis is part of your diagnosis.

I recently requested information from the place I am getting help from and I was reading their off official word on me and it was Bipolar 1/MRE-manic, Severe with mood incongruent psychotic features. and Panic attack with Agorophobia. This is my diagnoses since I have seen them. I thought it was only bipolar one not all of this. Now with the Mania it never seems to let up even with the medication nor do my moods.

can anyone share their experiences with psychotic mania or bipolar with psychotic features? i have no idea where mine are heading but they are here, and they are not backing down.

Bipolar in some people can worsen over a life time, certainly if untreated and there are many subtypes of bipolar, including bipolar with psychotic features. In mood swings there are difficulties in the understanding of emotions and relations with people and ability to focus and understand things and make appropriate decisions but when a person encounters psychotic symptoms there is a full break in reality testing.

I was diagnosed with Depression with psychotic features, not any Bipolar disorder Anyway I was on Prozac with Wellbutrin, then had a relapse and they took me off both and started me on Abilfy only. Is this a normal procedure or should I also be on some low dose antidepressant in your opinion ? Thank you very much for your time.

I know of four bipolar 1 with or without psychotic features, bipolar 2, bipolar nos, and cyclothimia. With bipolar 1 you get full blown mania and major depression, with bipolar 2 you get hypomania and major depression. cyclothimia fluctuates between minor depression and hypomania. Bipolar nos is where they put you when you obviously show some symptoms of bipolar disorder but they do not know which classification to put you in.

Bipolar with psychotic features is not that rare. When a person has bipolar with psychotic features they have psychosis specifically during moodswings. When a person has schizoaffective as I do they experience psychosis all the time (as I did before my current recovery). The whole spectrum of bipolar to schizophrenia is linked up and they are just learning how.

There are so many different varities of bipolar as well from cyclothymia (mild bipolar) to bipolar with psychotic features to schizoaffective which is schizophrenia with aspects of bipolar (what I have and have recovered from). Too complex to discuss in a post but I'd answer specific questions. Go to "Depression Central" (for all mood disorders) for more comprehensive information. Its a great resource.

It could also take some time to find the medication which is right for her because not every medication works the same and as effectively for every single person but chances are that one of them will work for her eventually. It could be bipolar disorder with psychotic features like ILADVOCATE said or some psychotic disorder since 120 conditions can have psychosis as a symptom.

However having auditory hallucinations can be part of specific types of bipolar such as bipolar with psychotic features. Only a psychiatrist could determine the difference. It would be worthwhile to follow up with a psychiatrist if you haven't before. Also keep track of whether these inner conversations come and go with mood swings or remain the same at all times. The mood tracker feature can be helpful for this and other related concerns.

My son was diagnosed at age eight with bipolar disorder w/ psychotic features. He is now seventeen and was recently diagnosed with schizoeffective disorder. His birth mother also suffers from schizoeffective disorder. In the last year I have noticed a disturbing difference in his actions. He has been telling friends, family members, and teachers all sorts of "lies". I don't know if it's right to call them lies though because I think to him they might be true...

As to your question that's complex. A manic episode is a mental change in that its a break from reality. A person's emotions are not normative to what is going on. It may impair judgement such as the grandiosity typical for mania where a person has an inflated sense of self importance. As for psychosis that is a sharp break from reality in logical and normative thinking.

Depakoate is a mood stabilizer. Zoloft is an anti-depressent. Seroquel is an antipsychotic and I believe by psychiatric standards that is a subclinical dose (when I was on it 300 mg. was where it started working). Not sure what "the pill to calm her nerves" is? You mean an anti-anxiety medication? Although only a psychiatrist can determine medication dosages and which medication to use I'd suggest you inform yourself.

You have to remember that there are times where people with bipolar are euthymic (normal) in between moodswings and it sounds like you are a rapid cycler like me. What triggers off mood changes is complex. I remember years ago, way before recovery, I was on a lot of very old line meds (a standard mood stabilizer but the antipsychotic was Haldol or something similar plus a side effect pill).

As anti-psychotics can create diabetes and tardive dyskinesia if a person has straight bipolar (as opposed to bipolar with psychotic features where an anti-psychotic is absolutely needed) there is the potential to change to a mood stabilizer, none of which have the risk of creating tardive dyskinesia and out of all of them Lamictal has the least potential for weight gain and is generally safe and effective. Perhaps you could ask your psychiatrist about Lamictal.

My mother has Bipolar 1 with psychotic features, dx at the age of 48, now 66 yrs old. I believe she has struggled with it her whole life, I know I can remember her having psychotic episodes when I was as young as 5-6 years of age. I learned to hide her behavior very well, but I'm glad she finally got her dx when I was in my teens, it's still a challenge very single day for the both of us (and also for my family), it's like I am the parent and she is the child.

And if you have suicidal urges you need to see a psychiatrist right away. Depression with psychotic features is when a person has psychotic thoughts only during mood fluctuations. With schizoaffective disorder psychotic thoughts or auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) can occur at any time. But as to how to look at it I'd say look at it as I do, I am a person with a psychiatric disability and I need treatment as part of my recovery.

Risperdal and Seroquel are both antipsychotics. If a person is psychotic they require an antipsychotic. Bipolar with psychotic features is one form of bipolar. You could ask your psychiatrist what specific form of bipolar you have and if you require an antipsychotic at this time. They could decide from there. As for mood stabilizers, atypical (the current generation) antipsychotics are approved for usage as mood stabilizers as well. They can have cognitive blunting effects.

I was up and down for a while after the birth of my fourth beautiful baby. Then one night I stayed awake all night and that was it, I plunged into a very severe depression. I could not hold down water, struggled with an antidepressant for one month also with zanax. It was not getting any better, really it was very severe and I became like a skeleton and very irrational.

Psychotic features in bipolar

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