I heard this recently and was curious as to why.

Well not that I know everything about anything....except what it's like to be a Bipolar female...my thoughts are that some of it has to do with hormones ...

I know there are some suspected ties to that ...and Hypo/Hyper thyroidism.
Here are some of the studies ....

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/159/1/116

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/thyroid-disease/AN00986
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/558733

I know many of us Bp women also stuggle with PMDD which I have, and also have a really hard time with our cycles around our cycles....might be tmi, but well that's just my thoughts...


Btw where did you here this?

Hmm. I'm bipolar but I don't have any thyroid problems.

Neither do I that I am aware of. The problem is that normally the thyroid doesn't fluate in the sense from up and down, most diagnoses is it's up or down period. It was just a study I found interesting, because of the similiarity in the symptoms, tied in with hormones, weight issues etc. Something my sister and I have been talking about. You brought it to my mind asking the question. ADD moment I guess. Sorry

We have thought a lot about that because she has Hyperthyroidism, my mother hypo, not that either of them have BP, but it runs in the family. I have been tested for both several times. It fluctuates and I get the head scratches from doctors who want to retest and it comes back normal. My niece and I are both BPII, have some of the same female issues. PMDD, mensus irregularities, weight struggles, etc. We were tying it in to a female thing. Plus in reading here you will find quite a bit of discussion about the female and hormone thing. I just think seeing more females with BP has sometype of hormonal tie in. Nothing scienticifically found on my part, just a random thought..

So you didn't tell me if you read this somewhere or just heard it? I am just curious to read about it if you read it somewhere?

I don't have weight struggles at all but do suffer immensely from PMDD. Oh my! My anxiety is through the roof and I can barely function. I don't have thyroid problems at all (as it can be measured) but I do have the symptoms related to hyperthryroid. After my first baby, I lost so much weight for no reason. We were surprised when the tests all came back negative for hyperthyroid. Very interesting.

After Tweetie brought this up ,that of course sent me into a typical ADD bunny trail, into a semi BP hyperfocus thing..I did find a few things ....out


Btw I did send you both an invite the the social group for Women (hormones struggles , ADD & all the other fun stuff) if you would like to come over feel free...

Here are a couple of things I found ..and the links...

www.righthealth.com (http://www.righthealth.com)


Here is some information about that subject.
http://www.amwa-doc.org/index.cfm?objectid=12A16BAF-D567-0B25-5CF282ECD284D765


I will post more later ....gotta tend to some mom things...

Hope

Hormones hormones hormones.

Being on a monophasic (same level all month) pill and not subject to my own monthly hormones is a huge part in controlling my BP disorder. I am so much worse without it.

I also lost a pregnancy about a year and a 1/2 ago and the insanity that ensued afterwards was what led to my BP diagnosis. I was ok (as ok one can be in this situation) and realized that I was not ready anyway at 25 to have a kid. The extreme dip of hormone levels after a miscarriage spun me into a mania and in retrospect I totally lost touch with reality for a while.

Probably for the same reason that Mood Disorders are 2x as common in Females.

I think it is socialization and environmental, myself, YMMV.

And we have to put up with men. And children.

I'm bipolar ii and every thyroid test the doctor has ever done has come back within the normal range. So if I do have a thyroid problem it's not anything that's ever shown up on a thyroid test.

That is often the case they are finding in the research they are doing. It's not until they do a more controlled and longer test over a period of time they are finding the fluctuations. And of course there are the issues related to hormones. A new spectrum study is showing up now, I am not sure if it's made it's way to the DSM yet, but they are showing that some onsets are showing up after childbirth. And I know about the one that is the onset is in the teens after hormone changes. That was the case for me.

I am not saying that is the reason I am saying that is some of the studies they are doing now in reference to women.

The links above in my earlier post have some of that information.


Hope

Nonsequitor --
SO sorry to hear about the loss of your baby. It seems like grief and loss send some of us into a tailspin with the mania -- my worst was definitely tied to loss.


PMDD, I am right there with the rest of you. My mom had mood disorders, extreme B*&ness around her cycle, just evil really, it was like I had two moms and I was always trying to figure out which one I was talking to. Menopause and BAM! it all went away. She is on an even keel and sailing through life, no more of the suicide talk and wild swings in mood that used to drive me crazy. She says menopause was great and that estrogen is poison, LOL.

Hormonal birth control makes me evil, I can't take it. It almost wrecked my marriage. Hormones have to have something to do with this thing.

Hey I´m a gay male with bipolar-II and wondering if there might be a connection.

Personally I believe that sexuality is mostly shaped by hormones while still a fetus, apparently the more older brothers you have the more likely you are to become bi- or homosexual (because after each boy born it changes the hormones in the mother). Not saying all men with bipolar-II aren't straight, but still there could be a connection if hormones effect both.

Interesting theory , perhaps it could be? I have never done any research of seen any type of studies on the subject, perhaps on one my more research driven nights I will have to see if I can find something?

Just this subject in reference to hormones, and the research my sister did on BP for her nursing CEU's , makes me believe more and more that our BP is often a factor in at least the intensity or onset of more extreme cycles for BP women. My own struggle with PMDD has led me to try to research it more, and talk often to my doctor about it. While a doctor and professor of phychiatry, he is often vigiliant of the female hormones. And he is the one who diagnosed me with it not my GYN. As it has grown with intensity and caused havoc in mostly level symptoms of my BP, I have grown more concerned about what challenges I will face in perimenopause. That is one of the reasons I started the social group for Women in refernce to hormones and co-existing conditions such as BP , ADD, etc. My sister who I referenced above is a nurse and has been for years, also a Mod here, has provided several links recently I am anxious to research.

This is a topic of interest to me, please keep us updated. I love research :)

This is a topic of interest to me, please keep us updated. I love research :)

This thread was interesting enough to get me to register, so yeah keep it updated please :)

I'm a very unemotional person with bipolar II, maybe these are related as well?

Well glad you registered Shawn D.

Why don't you tell us a little about that whole unemotional thing?
That I am not familiar with? Well except for in the depressive stages I do suffer from the common Apathy stage, but the rest of the time I find, and have found in a lot of other Bipolars, that we are hypersensitive to other's emotions? Sometimes so much it's like having bionic hearing or vision?
With ADD added , double whammy on the "missing filter" thing.
Interesting because BP is a mood disorder which would or should effect "emotions" in extremes?

Can you "splain" in more detail what you mean about being unemotional?

Thanks and again, Welcome!

I think women do get labelled bp 2 and I do think there is an underlying hormone issue that needs to be looked at.

When I started really struggling with depression I also struggled with weight. Then I remember losing a little weight, and then going on the pill. After I stopped the pill, I lost so much weight it was disturbing.

I'm not a big woman (I weighed 120 when I was on the pill) but after the pill I dropped below 100lbs and had periods every 2 weeks.

My moods were okay, but it was strange. I was only 20 when that happened. i slowly put on weight after that. Two years after that I was hospitalized and labelled bipolar 2.

When I hit 30 my problems with anxiety and depression seemed to go haywire. I often wonder if it is has anything to do with changing hormones, past issues with stress, and depression etc.

And I've had my blood sugar/thyroid levels tested on numerous occasions. So I often wonder if girly hormones often has something to do with it.