Recognizing a Physical Symptom in Bipolar Patients

When we talk about bipolar illness or a bipolar symptom most of us are familiar with the emotional side of the depression. But you and I must know that this depressive illness can cause physical pain too. These physical bipolar symptoms include:

Headaches: Fairly common in people experiencing depression. These headaches can range from mild to severe and can be either linked to bipolar illness or bipolar medications. Because medication works differently in all of us some bipolar victims can experience these migraines when taking their prescriptions and others their headaches disappear with bipolar medications.

Back pain: Those already suffering from back pain can get worse with the illness. Acute back pain can be a sign of other illness in the muscles and arteritis (not to be confused with arthritis).

Muscle aches and joint pain: There are over 800 causes of muscle pain and over 200 causes of muscle cramps. Bipolar depression can make any chronic pain worse than before.

Chest pain: Because chest pain can be linked to depression it is important to be checked by an expert. It can be a sign of bigger problems.

Digestive problems:  There are two main causes of digestive problems one is diet and the other one stress. Those suffering from a bipolar symptom can experience regular constipation problem because of drugs or stress which is  bipolar related.

Fatigued and exhausted: Even with lots of sleep they will still feel tired and worn out and getting out of bed can be a big problem.

Not eating and Craving: Some people with depression do not feel like eating and lose weight while some others find certain craving for certain foods like carbohydrates.

The two Types of Symptoms

Bipolar symptoms are not all emotional because there are physical symptoms and changes in the body. One good example of a bipolar symptom is the  slowing down of food digestion when depressed or stressed, which can cause all sorts of problems in the stomach.

Body Chemicals

While depression is  related to an imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain,  these same chemicals play an important role in how pain is felt in the body. Many experts believe that depression can make pain feel differently especially with those suffering from bipolar disorder.

Treating Physical Depressed Pain

It is important to treat your bipolar depression either with therapy or by prescribed drugs, for this can help in resolving the problem of physical pain. Always make sure you inform your doctor about the physical symptoms you are going through because you may need additional medication. Some doctors have prescribed anti-anxiety drugs for insomnia which have helped patients to relax and sleep well.

Other Treatments

There are other treatments for the easing the pain of physical symptoms – like cognitive behavioral – which  teaches  you ways to cope better with the pain. Many doctors can miss the physical symptoms because they do not know that the physical symptoms are caused by bipolar depression.