Bipolar support thread

Former_MSE_Archna

Hi all,

Please can I remind you that we don't allow people to post medical advice on the forums. We're responsible for what's published here and we're not qualified for making judgments on what is and isn't correct advice. Many thanks for your understanding.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Just wondering if anyone suffers with Tinnitus alongside their mental health issues?

septemberblues

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone suffers with Tinnitus alongside their mental health issues?

Yup, I do. But i think it's a side effect of the medication, I am on 200mg Amitriptyline and it does list tinnitus on the side effects sheet. I'm also one Seroquel XL at 300mg but I don't think it's that.

I have constantly tried to lower the Amitriptyline dose cos of the ringing in my ears, but I have never been successful

the_devil_made_me_do_it

My tinnitus has been going on for a while now & over that period I've been on different medications.

However, I've been quite ill over the past few months & it's definatly gotten worse. My OH rekons I should ask to see an audiologist to rule out any other ear problems as the mental health team are quite dissmissive over it.

sunnyone

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

My tinnitus has been going on for a while now & over that period I've been on different medications.

However, I've been quite ill over the past few months & it's definatly gotten worse. My OH rekons I should ask to see an audiologist to rule out any other ear problems as the mental health team are quite dissmissive over it.

Ask you GP for a referal to an audiologist, tinitus can be helped with hearing aids that mask it if your having a lot of problems with it.

I am on amitryptaline septemberblues and I have tinitus but I am also severely/profundly deaf and its much more likely to be a side affect of my deafness than drug side affects but I might mention it when I have my new hearing tests, thanks for that.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I'll have to pluck up the courage to see the GP. Feel abit iffy since it seems I've never been away from the doctors due to mental health going abit wrong.

Hear-Hear

the devil made me do it

If you feel "iffy" about seeing your GP, you could always go and see a private audiologist. There's at least one in every town. Be open and up-front about it - you want a basic hearing test and to raise your concerns about your tinnitus. There should be no charge made for this, certainly not by the major chains that do hearing tests. If you are up-front about it, the audiologist will be quite happy to send a copy of the audiogram together with his/her findings and notes regardinf tinnitus to your GP at your request. Again, all at no cost to you.

It's a bit like having a problem with your eyes >> you would go to see an Optician first, who will always refer you to your GP if a 'medical' condition is found (or at your request for any non-medical reason). Same with your ears.....

Doctors are notorious for being unsympathetic to hearing loss, as the RNID statement just last week (16 November 2010) testifies:- "GPs need a better understanding of hearing loss to commission services effectively...".

The British Tinnitus Association website is one of the best around, as it lays out the facts about tinnitus, kills the myths about it, and avoids any of the so-called 'cures' that you may find discussed elsewhere.

Indie_Kid

Can I have a bit of help please:

On Thursday, I came across a message from my cousin who pretty said that she's bipolar and there seems to be the issue of her "friends" abandoning her after she admitted that she has bipolar.

I have a few questions:
- what exactly is bipolar? I've looked on the BBC pages, but don't get it. All I can work out is that it's a mental illness which causes depression and hyper episodes.

- is there anything I should / shouldn't do to help her? I've not sure if I've made a big mistake - I sent her a message last night, asking her if she was ok. I also said that I have a friend and a friend whose wife has bipolar and I can (if she wanted, only) put her in touch with either person.

Thank you

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Still haven't gotten round to having my ears checked out. Been busy trying to get the mental health team to re-diagnose me.

At the moment, I've reached the stage of having a mental health social worker assigned to me & referred to a Proffessor of Psychiatry as the consultant dosen't have a clue. However, not sure how long the proffessors' waiting list is.

System

sh1305 wrote: »

Can I have a bit of help please:

On Thursday, I came across a message from my cousin who pretty said that she's bipolar and there seems to be the issue of her "friends" abandoning her after she admitted that she has bipolar.

I have a few questions:
- what exactly is bipolar? I've looked on the BBC pages, but don't get it. All I can work out is that it's a mental illness which causes depression and hyper episodes.

- is there anything I should / shouldn't do to help her? I've not sure if I've made a big mistake - I sent her a message last night, asking her if she was ok. I also said that I have a friend and a friend whose wife has bipolar and I can (if she wanted, only) put her in touch with either person.

Thank you

My friend who has biplor find this site to help, might be able to explain it better or at least send you in the right direction

http://www.mdf.org.uk/

or try rethink http://www.rethink.org/about_mental_illness/mental_illnesses_and_disorders/bipolar_disorder/index.html