Some Facts About Bipolar Disorder

An estimated 1-3% of the general population has bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder affects males and females at equal rates.

The peak age of onset of bipolar disorder is between the ages of 15 and 25.

Emil Kraeplin found that the average period of feeling "well" after a mood episode is:

4.3 years after the 1st episode
2.8 years after the 2nd episode
1.8 years after the 3rd episode
1.7 years after the 4th episode
1.5 years after the 5th episode

Some professionals recommend considering 5 factors for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder:

Age of onset
Course of symptoms
Family history
Response to treatment
Current signs and symptom

Source: ManicDepressive.org

This Week's Bipolar News

Credit Card Consolidation Speeds Freedom from Debt from Bipolar Disorder
by David Oliver
There's no question that many people dealing with bipolar disorder have unfortunately developed a tremendous amount of debt.

A patient's view of bipolar
Minnesota Public Radio
After being diagnosed with the most severe form of bipolar disorder, Marya Hornbacher chronicles her journey to accepting and managing her mental life.

Mother's mental illness diagnosed a decade ago
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Sherri Love has a history of mental illness dating back more than a decade. The 47-year-old, on trial in District Court on charges she fatally stabbed her 7-year-old daughter, tried to kill herself multiple times and was diagnosed as bipolar, authorities said.

Click here for all Bipolar News.

Don't be a Victim of Pharmacy Errors

CNN Medical News published a story about a woman who was pregnant and filled a prescription for prenatal vitamins at her local Walgreens in St. Louis, Missouri.

Unfortunately, this woman miscarried within a few weeks of taking the drug. Later, she learned that instead of being given a prescription for her prenatal vitamins (Materna), she had instead been given Matulane, which is a chemotherapy drug used to treat Hodgkin's disease, according to a lawsuit filed this month in federal court.

According to the lawsuit, the drug (Matulane) is intended to interfere with cell growth and DNA development.

According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, each year in the United States there are 30 million dispensing errors out of 3 billion prescriptions which occur at outpatient pharmacies. Some errors are minor, and some patients catch them easily; however, other errors can be serious.

Click here to read the entire article.

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