Benzo Withdrawal Psychosis or real Bipolar psychosis?

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Hello everyone,

 

I am needing a bit of help from you guys.

 

My mom is 62 and was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (Bipolar 1) at a late stage in life, around late 30s.

She was put on Xanax 20 years ago. It caused her not to have a life and her to have very frequent depression.

Of course no one ever told us that it was the Xanax, or the terrible dangers of being on it and that you shouldn't

be on it for longer than 2 weeks (typical doctors).

 

My mom did a very fast taper because a psychiatrist gave her a schedule. We were completely uneducated at the time

so she tapered a 1.5mg short acting dose of Xanax after 20 years in 3 weeks, per psychiatrist orders.

What followed has been 9+ months of hell for her. She has had practically every symptom in the book.

 

The one I am severely worried about is the psychosis. With my mom already being Bipolar, it is difficult

for us to identify if it has been caused by withdrawal or is actually real Bipolar...or does it present itself

in the same way and is almost impossible to know? February is generally a bad month for her and she

is currently in the hospital now as she continued to go downhill, not getting any better.

We cannot reach her. She feels she is not sick and it's just us...that nothing she is doing is out of the ordinary.

It is important to note that she hasn't had any break in reality for 15 years.

 

So my question is....is there a way to identify withdrawal psychosis from actual bipolar seasonal psychosis?

Or do they appear the same and are practically impossible to differentiate between?

 

Please can someone help. There doesn't seem to be many threads on people who were previously Bipolar

coming off Xanax. I hope and pray to God that someone will be able to shed some light on this.

I am extremely worried about her.

 

P.S. since coming of the benzos, my mom is a new person. It truly has been miraculous. This is just another hiccup

in her complete healing journey. I just need some help identifying what it ACTUALLY is.

 

Thank you in advance

[[Tr...]]

Sorry you're dealing with this and I wish the best for your mother. It's hard for any of us online to make a diagnosis. What are her doctors saying? You mentioned she's in the hospital. Have they made a diagnosis? Has she been able to do anything else to deal with the bi-polar?

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Thank you very much for your concern.

 

My father is yet to speak to the doctor in about 20 mins...but so far we know that the doc

is giving her quick release dissolving risperdal tablet of 1mg. This doc is new to us so

we are really not sure what we are dealing with at the moment. Good psychiatrists are extremely

hard to find, especially where we live. She has taken Lithium all her life and was previously taking Risperdal

2mg. She has never stopped her Lithium ever. It is only since the benzo withdrawal that this has started

happening.

 

Plus the interesting thing is that the leaflet of Xanax says it can induce mania so shouldn't be given to bipolar patients.

Why on earth do these doctors not read the inserts??

[[Tr...]]

Plus the interesting thing is that the leaflet of Xanax says it can induce mania so shouldn't be given to bipolar patients.

Why on earth do these doctors not read the inserts??

 

Indeed. I wish your mother the best in her recovery.