Kaiser, Don't Deny

My son was diagnosed at 17 with bipolar 1 disorder

My son was diagnosed at 17 with bipolar 1 disorder. There was no support for parents or patients. He was very depressed and walked out on his job at 20 years old. The psychiatrist gave him Zoloft, an antidepressant. Due to my ignorance with the illness, I was unaware that this medicine would send him into a full manic episode. I took him back into emergency and to a follow up the next day, and he was not admitted. He took off and assaulted and was arrested after assaulting someone. Due to the mania and stress of being in jail, he went into a psychotic episode that lasted more than two months. He could not be released as he did not understand his charges. If he had not been given the wrong medicine, he would not have had to go through that.

Christie
Manteca