Blacking Out

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Someone I know says they are having symptoms of bipolar disorder; is this also a symptom of it?  Stress precipitates episodes of them blacking out where they will have a blank stare and grit their teeth and they start attacking whatever stressed them out and it has gotten them in trouble several times.  This needs to be resolved soon because they are going to have a kid and are really concerned about it.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Oh OK.  I could of swore I read something written that said seizures can mimic BP.  I guess I didn't. lol

[ILADVOCATE]

No I would not think so. Its just that anti-convulsants often are found to helpful as mood stabilizers because bipolar stems from an overactivity in the limbic system (emotional part) of the brain. That doesn't mean the two appear like, just what settles one form of overactivity in the brain (which a seizure of course is) can help another.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Doesn't a seizure disorder sometimes have the propensity to mimic bipolar disorder?

[ILADVOCATE]

Their treatment should not be their parent's concern and if they don't have an income there is Medicaid and as a last resort there are free clinics. They can seek help on their own at any time and all doctors are required to follow strict privacy laws.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Alright, thanks for the information, you helped them out in what direction to go and I learned something.  One of their parents are against medication because they "do it for money" and it's "not natural" to which I said yeah of course they do it for money, nobody do anything out there on the market without intending to make money and of course it's also not natural but it can save people's lives and explained to them how I needed medication.  I told them at first I thought it might be a seizure but wasn't sure if it could cause attacking people as I'd only heard of silent seizures where the person sits there vacantly or they shake like crazy and that they should just go see a doctor secretly and they don't have to worry about their parent knowing because by law they can't tell unless you want them to.  Any tips on them secretly taking medication without the parent knowing?  I honestly don't know how the guy expects them to hold a job like this without being treated which is one of the reasons they are unemployed right now.

[ILADVOCATE]

Yes that can happen during a seizure although its rare. There are a variety of classes of seizures and some such as temporal lobe epilepsy affect the thought process and causes mental changes rather than physical seizures. Remember a seizure is a disruption in the functioning of the brain. If it occurs in the area of the brain that controls thought rather than motion this can happen. There are some books and websites that give more specific clinically accurate information on this and you could post the question in the neurology forum as well but regardless they should see a neurologist first to rule out any neurological concerns such as epilepsy. A simple EEG can test for that. I know because I had an EEG and although epilepsy was not found it was an easy procedure and was sensible follow up on behalf of my doctors.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

This is what I thought it might of been but I didn't know if it were possible for a person to attack someone while having a seizure.

[ILADVOCATE]

Sounds more like a minor seizure to me. They should see a neurologist first before any other doctor.