I am so excited, I have been working on a personal site of mine for sometime now. Its about Borderline Personality and Bipolar disorders. The site features a forum community, articles, recommended books, Q&A section as well as blogs. A lil over a week ago I applied for it and went to make sure that all the qualifications I need to get it were done before they reviewed it which took about a week to do. Yesterday I received my email saying CONGRATULATIONS, and that I was certified. This is a certificate that all major health sites get and I am so happy to know I was able to get it as well. I am still in awe of it when I see the logo at the bottom of the site. I guess that is where the geek comes out of me.

Now in case you are wondering about this site it is www.bpdfriends.com

What is HONCode? – Information below borrowed from http://www.hon.ch/

HON has been created for improving the quality of information intended to both patients and medical professionals for facilitating quick access to the most relevant and up-to-date medical discoveries.

HONcode is the oldest and the most used ethical and trustworthy code for medical and health related information available on Internet.The HONcode is designed for two target audiences: the general public and the web publisher, actively involving the site owner in the process of certification.

The HON Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organization, internationally known for its pioneering work in the field of health information ethics, notably for the establishment of its code of ethical conduct, the HONcode.

Introduction

The Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health Web sites addresses one of Internet’s main healthcare issues: the reliability and credibility of information.

The Internet has become one of the most widely-used communication media. With the availability of Web server software, anyone can set up a Web site and publish any kind of data which is then accessible to all.

The problem is therefore no longer finding information but assessing the credibility of the publisher as well as the relevance and accuracy of a document retrieved from the Net.

In many cases, a given Web site provides no appropriate documentation regarding the scientific design of a medical study, nor are studies made available that support given claims.

The Health On the Net Foundation has elaborated the Code of Conduct to help standardise the reliability of medical and health information available on the World-Wide Web.

The HONcode is not an award system, nor does it intend to rate the quality of the information provided by a Web site. It only defines a set of rules to:
- hold Web site developers to basic ethical standards in the presentation of information;
- help make sure readers always know the source and the purpose of the data they are reading.

Almost two years ago I wrote this post in where I mentioned that after it being brought to my attention by friends and family that I may suffer from Bipolar Disorder. I went to a doctor and started to take Depakote twice a day, each being 500mg. I was on it for a while but slowly stopped taking it. I’m not sure why other then pure forgetfulness or maybe thinking I just didn’t need it anymore, I am sure alot of us probably think the same. Now that I’m in a relationship I have seen how not taking these medications has effected her, the kids (both hers and mine) and myself, and it’s not good. Thankfully this is where I am happy that I talked with her about this and some of my other issues I had before we got really deep and she does her best to be loving and understanding, even though I may not always see it that way. Anyhow I am now seeing a psychologist (thanks to her being persistent) and he prescribed new medicine. He first prescribed Lamictal except that my insurance company did not want to approve it and suggested that I try Valproic Acid along with Lithium first, so we shall see what happens with that. Needless to say as always with any drug (especially with any kind of mood stabilizer) I am a lil nervous but that will be another post for another day. Anyhow now that I have that out of the way, lets get on to what I really came here to write about. Being Bipolar and in a relationship. I will try to also post more findings on here time to time get even more people more aware.

Tell your Partner

If you have recently been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and or you are manic depressive and have just started a relationship, there is stuff that you need to tell them soon. Please don’t be embarrassed or secretive about being bipolar. I was a little at first, but the mood swings affect you way to much to try and control it on the side. You will only end up doing more damage then good. If they don’t know you are bipolar or understand it, they may get hurt, angry or get confused by your actions. You will put far more stress on your relationship than is necessary.

Don’t be afraid of what they may say or think when you tell them. If they react harsh, and reject you just know it wasn’t meant to be and there is someone better out there for you and more understanding. I know that it’s easier said then done. As I myself have this same issue of being afraid to tell someone. But in the end it’s worth it, it’s not to fair to you to try and hide it and it’s not fair to them as they are dealing with it without even knowing what to do.

When talking about it I suggest maybe you both sit down together and read information about this disorder on the internet there are many great sites to find information, one being Bipolar Connect. It might make it easier to tell them what you feel or what your going through when your in your manic or depressive stages, by maybe saying “I go through this or that” thus possibly striking up more of a conversation about it, when they want to know more and start to ask you.

Good Luck

I finally decided to check out twitter and see what it was all about. And a few seconds later I signed up and started testing it out. I must admit that it is quite addictive. And I know I will make great use of my unlimited text messages.

You can see my tweets here on my blog (over in the sidebar to your right) or check me out and follow me at http://www.twitter.com/hbalagh