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 Absolutely Best of Its Kind December 6, 2008
Having had a bipolar and addictive husband and currently living with a bipolar adult daughter, I've felt it difficult and frustrating over 45 years to find clarity on specific manifestations of the illness. Have been to county mental health lectures and numerous informational programs of DMDA and NAMI. Until Burgess' book, I'd never been exposed to so much helpful, insightful, practical and specific information in one little paperback. The question and answer format makes sense and makes reading easy. Anyone of any age can read this--it's easily understandable. This should be required reading for the clerical, nursing staffs, and medical students of every psychiatric facility and office. It also should be required reading for anyone upon diagnosis and/or for loved ones and extended families. The illness, unlike others, takes its toll on the entire family and network of close friends. The illness is truly a cross to bear. Thank you, Dr. Burgess.
Only one other book, Jan Fawcett's "New Hope for People with Bipolar Disorder" 2nd edition, is as inspiring. Together the two books have given me renewed hope.
Dana, Illinois
 Bi Polar Handbook/Wes Burgess Author November 23, 2008
I found the book informative as it shed light on Bi Polar behaviours.
However the 100% bias toward standard medicine, meaning Phd. written prescription treatment was not what I was looking for. The author's main push is to get folks with Bi-Polar symptons on drugs. Little emphasis is placed on diet and exercise and herbal and vitamin supplimentation. The reason given was dismissive and said testing had not given conclusive results. In other words, spend money on drugs, don't even think about alternative routes.
After almost dying as a result of over prescription of Depakote and Lexapro, I have found that diet, vitamin and herbal supplements along with strength training and gentle-vigorous aerobic workouts very effective in managing my Bi-polar mania and depression. Meditation as taught by the Vietnamise Monk Thich Knat Hahn also had been extremely helpful.
For folks already on drugs and thinking that the side affects are not worth it there is a website that can help you. It is called theroadback.
Check it out and God Bless.
A Friendly Chat about Bipolar Disorder June 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this comment useful.
For twenty years, Dr. Wes Burgess has been writing down all the questions asked by his bipolar patients. In this book he thoughtfully answers each question, providing a safe friendly environment for the reader.
What I appreciated most about this book was all the information I had never read in other books on bipolar disorder. I had no idea that left untreated, this disorder can grow worse as you age. This is enough of a reason to convince anyone to keep taking their medication. Stopping medications seems to be an issue that the author addresses numerous times because uncontrolled manic episodes can make the disease worse. It was interesting to realize that it is high levels of adrenaline that cause manic symptoms.
Suicide is also dealt with in this book. Thirty percent of individuals with bipolar disorder will attempt to kill themselves. Some of the other symptoms include: insomnia, intrusive thoughts, rapid speech, memory problems, obsessions, hypersomnia (sleeping during the day), spending sprees, hypersexuality, anxious depression, fatigue, anxiety, social isolation, fear, panic, paranoia and auditory hallucinations.
Left untreated or treated with the wrong medications this disease gets worse over time. The author talks about medications he prescribes and gives detailed information about each one. He mentions Geodon and Ativan as well as numerous other medications that work for bipolar disorder.
You may also want to read: New Hope For People With Bipolar Disorder Revised 2nd Edition: Your Friendly, Authoritative Guide to the Latest in Traditional and Complementary Solutions
For doctors I can recommend: Treatment of Bipolar Illness: A Casebook for Clinicians and Patients.
~The Rebecca Review
Excellent resource June 22, 2008
The Bipolar Handbook is set up in a question and answer format in an attempt to address real concerns of real people. This is a special resource for anyone who knows or suspects s/he knows someone with bipolar disorder.
Somewhat helpful, mostly stuff that is already known about BP May 27, 2008
This book is ok. It is a questions and answers book only. I thought it would be more helpful for stuff that I don't know, it's stuff that most people who are BP and their families already know, so it wasn't helpful for me, but for those people out there who really don't know about it and have someone in their life that they are trying to deal with, it would be. There are better ones out there also.
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