Mental Disability

[Ceylon_Star]

[QUOTE=invinoveritas;9036775]
I don’t understand this? (This is old thread but was bumped up recently.) If you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, does this mean that a thyroid tumor has the same symptoms as does bipolar? I boarded at a barn where a woman had been disposed with bipolar disorder and was supposed to take meds for it, I think lithium?, but she did not like the meds and chose to not take them. Should she go check and see if she has a tumor somewhere that is causing the same symptoms? I thought it was depression with bipolar??? Please advise.[/QUOTE]

Thyroid issues can definitely cause mood instability. And lithium can actually cause thyroid malfunction so people on lithium need to be going for regular bloodwork to monitor thyroid function.

I was on a high dose of lithium for several years, and it actually caused thyroid issues. Once I was off the med, on a new one, and the lithium toxicity was addressed, my thyroid sorted itself out again.

If the woman doesn’t want to take her meds, there’s not really anything you can do to make her take them. It’s her body, and her choice, unless she’s committed to hospital, in which case legally she MUST comply with treatment. But that’s neither here nor there.

[DancingArabian]

[QUOTE=invinoveritas;9036775]
I don’t understand this? (This is old thread but was bumped up recently.) If you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, does this mean that a thyroid tumor has the same symptoms as does bipolar? I boarded at a barn where a woman had been disposed with bipolar disorder and was supposed to take meds for it, I think lithium?, but she did not like the meds and chose to not take them. Should she go check and see if she has a tumor somewhere that is causing the same symptoms? I thought it was depression with bipolar??? Please advise.[/QUOTE]

Thyroid problems can cause depression, fatigue, and a bunch of other things. If she was prescribed lithium, it’s not likely it’s a misdiagnosed thyroid problem.

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On topic:
I have a traumatic brain injury which has left me with all kinds of issues, including ADD.

[CorazonLock]

Horses have helped me in SO many ways. I have struggled with anxiety and depression since high school, more anxiety that then develops into depression because I feel like I’m losing control. I have a phobia of throwing up, which has gone in and out of remission, and over the summer I developed irritable bowel syndrome, so now I have anxiety about losing control of my bowels. On top of that, I have always been a socially anxious person and struggle with self-esteem issues. I’m the type of person that makes mountains out of molehills and holds onto any negative interaction for a very long time. I’m sensitive and have trouble discerning between my instincts and my overactive imagination, especially when it comes to people. I think my friends don’t like me, I worry about being alone, and I struggle to shut my brain down.

Horses have helped me challenge my comfort zone. I am forced to meet all sorts of people through horses and interact. When I’m around horses, I feel brave and confident. When I feel like nothing is going right, and I just want to break down, horses have always been there for me.

Recently, I’ve relapsed and have been going through a really tough time. I was thinking about starting a thread here on how people manage their mental illness when it interferes with their horse time.