Q: Hello, I have a question about my sister-in-law who has bipolar. She is on meds but they r not helping much anymore. I am worried about her kids and my brother. Her episodes are getiing worse.
Since she is taking medication for bipolar, I assume she is seeing a psychiatrist regularly? Ask your brother to go with her to the doctor and get him to share his own concerns and his own account of how her actions are affecting family life. Sounds like she needs a medication adjustment -- either something added or a different dose. You're right -- it is bad for the kids, especially, to carry the emotional burden of their mother's illness. They shouldn't have to do that. If she might harm herself or others, her doctor can require that she be hospitalized until she can be stabilized. Only a temporary fix, perhaps, but she needs to know her actions are not acceptable and will not be tolerated. And time in the hospital could provide the right time and place to adjust the meds. When someone with a mental illness needs to be hospitalized, it is not a terrible thing. It is a good thing in that they are getting proper care and there is time for assessment of the home situation.
Best wishes.
You need to get her to the hospital. Sorry to be blunt, but in her state of mind, she really could harm her kids...or herself. You should also know that, although she has prescriptions, she might not be taking them. When a bi-polar is experiencing mania they very rarely feel the need to medicate....even if the rest of the world is telling them to.
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