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Q: Is BPI Worse than BPII
My x-husband has been diagnosed with BI-PolarI and is receiving
treatment. He is in prison as his illness has lead him to steal. Anyway, he is
on lithium and depakota about 1500mg, twice a day. We are still friendly
as we have a wonderful son (he is two).
My two questions: Is BI-PolarI worst than BI-PolarII? Will the meds that
he takes effect his sexual abilities?
Thank you for your time.
Suzanne
Dear Suzanne --
They both can be bad, but they're both treatable with things like he's
taking. They can be not so severe, too. In some ways BPI is worse,
as people lose contact with reality. But in some ways BPII is worse,
because (a lot of people don't know this) the symptoms can be as severe
but the person doesn't lose contact with reality, so they know just how messed
up their emotion system is -- and that can be awful. But, fortunately, we
have several different treatment options and more coming along all the time, so
the important thing to remember is how treatable these illnesses are. And,
fortunately, the medications generally don't have a negative impact on sexual
function.
Dr. Phelps
Published November, 2001
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