caughtinthemid

My AS was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and bi polar around age 15. We have been through many different types of meds, but since we now know he has been using many other drugs since that time - heroin, mushrooms, marijuana, alcohol, coke, etc... his mental illness diagnoses have come into question.

Since he entered rehab on 1/4 and is still sober, he has taken no mental illness meds. He is working his program hard but I do see little signs that make me worry, particularly around the depression side. He was also diagnosed with epilepsy a year ago, which is also possbily drug related, but that rules out many SSRI type meds for depression.

Sorry to write such a book, but I guess I am asking if anyone's addict loved one found relief from mental disorders thru sobriety and the program alone.

TIA!

teke

i'm sorry that your son seem to be having a hard time. i think maybe it would be a good idea for his to continue to seek medical attention. when i THOUGHT that i have some type of mental illness, i was too afraid to go to the doctors for a long time and when i finally did, i was only told that i had a chemical imbalance, never diagnoses with anything more and was prescribed zoloft. don't know if this counts at all, but i choose and was able to get better just by working the program.

depression comes with addiction, but i think its always good to see a doctor for it. i don't really know that answer your question but i do want to show my support, send hugs and keep you and your son in my prayers.

Barbdee

Tia, that's a great big YES!
RAS was depressed constantly, panic attacks, raging, cutting himself and burning himself with cigarettes, etc. We were pretty sure he was bi-polar since it runs in the family. But no, it was ALL the drugs!
He's 3 months clean now and ALWAYS happy, never anxious and one of the most mentally stable people I know. So it def is possible.
However if you still see signs of depression, it should be checked out. Is he still in rehab? Or alone too much?
Hugs!

caughtinthemid

Thanks, SecretMom and Teke. He is out of rehab in and in a half way house. Funny you should mention the being alone too much thing.. he says he is fine when he is around other people but when he gets alone his mind goes nuts. He is not always happy but working his program hard. And he is not always sad, just often so serious and introspective. He now has a girl issue in the mix.. someone he likes but can't fraternize at the half way house. I did tell him that his HP allows this situation to occur because there is a reason for it, and he agrees.

We did talk tonight and agreed he needs to see a therapist too. Problem is that darned epilepsy which rules out many depression meds. Sadly his seizures were likely drug induced but the protocol is that you stay on anti-seizure meds for 3-5 yrs before you consider tapering off just in case.

He does just want to work his program and thinks it will help. Guess he and I gotta put this in the hands of our HP. I just hate for him to suffer this way if his brain chemicals are thwarting his progresss.

I so much appreciate your prayers and advice.

tryin2bstrong

My AS was was diagnosed bi-polar about 2 years ago. This was after he was into his alcohol and drug use though. He was diagnosed ADHD at age 4 also. He always did much better when he was on ritalin but once he started selling it, we stopped that. Although he has mood swings, gets very depressed and seems to have manic phases, I still question the diagnosis. When he was put on medication for the bi-polar, he OD'd and ended up in the hospital and a psych ward for a week. It is like a vicious cycle. Until he gets clean and sober, I don't think we'll really know what is going on. It is so hard to to try and figure out.

hope213

i hpe with him working his program things will get better.prayers,