Can Bipolar lead to Schizophrenia?

Question

My wife has rapid cycling bipolar. I am having problems getting her to take her medication as she doesn't want to take it as she doesn't feel it works. I have been told off somebody that if the Bipolar is not treated properly then it could eventually turn into schizophrenia?

Answer 1

No, that's not true at all. Someone with bipolar can experience psychosis, but that's different from schizophrenia.

Don't take advice from people who don't have the credentials to back their statements up.

P.S. The girl who said you should hold her down and inject her medication is out of her goddamn mind. It is illegal to do that. It is a human rights violation.

Answer 2

You might have to be cruel to be kind here.  Ask your community nurses if your wife can get the meds by injection, and - sorry - you might have to hold her down while they do it.  The tragic thing about mental illness is that when people are fine they think they don't need their drugs, but of course they have to take them every day for life to stay fine.  My late mother in law was bi-polar, and it is a terrible thing for the people who have to live with it.  The person themselves is generally in their own world most of the time.  I do not know about a link with schizophrenia personally, but couldn't discount what you have been told.  You are quite the star for sticking with her through this!  So many marriages dissolve when people are mentally ill.  I hope that one day she will thank you for staying by her side - after all, she cannot help the way she is, but she could take her meds - that would definitely help.

Answer 3

I'm 100% with Acerah on this one. Said it best.

Answer 4

It has not yet been proven or disproven.

i believe that they are two similar mental issues and so in effect could only have one.I dont feel that it is in a pecking order.

If she has been given the tablets by a Professional who has diagnosed that this is the most effective way. then it probably is.

If your wife feels they are not working then they probably wont because she is rejecting them mentally.

if you are really worried i would say visit another professional for a second opinion, another form of treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy

Answer 5

They're kissing cousins.

Answer 6

I was told that it could when i was diagnosed bipolar (think i was told that because i didn't want to take meds).  Am studying neurobiology now and they are not disorders in the same spectrum.  Bipolar is a mood disorder.   Schizophrenia is not (forget the name for how its classed.....has to do with perceptions).  However Bipolar left untreated does get more severe, and at a more severe extreme can exhibit more schizophrenic like symptoms.....severe delusions, as well as hallucinations(hearing things/seeing things)  those symptoms are what is commonly associated with schizophrenia, but are not exclusive to it and can occor in bipolar (actually delutions are common with bipolar).

Answer 7

Bipolar disorder does not turn into schizophrenia. One mental illness cannot turn into another. However, some people are predisposed to mental illness, and may have more than one. Also, one mental illness can aggravate another.

If her bipolar disorder is disrupting her/your life, I would suggest you ask her psychiatrist for a different prescription. There are many different mood stabilisers out there; there's bound to be one that works, or she may need to take a combination. However, if she seems to be managing well without the medication, she may not need it. There are plenty of people with bipolar disorder who function normally in society.

If the problem is that she doesn't think she needs to take it any more... it's tough: people with mental illness, once feeling better after going on medication, think they don't need it anymore. It's illegal to force her to take medication, so that's something you'll have to work out yourself.

Of course, if she is a danger to herself or others, she needs emergency attention.