Bipolar...(the consequences)?

Ok, lets say someone (lady) has a bipolar disorder she is married and wants to have kids....but they cant, so they want to adopt, because they cant have kids on their own...so now they are looking into adoption...and of course im sure they look into your medical records?....can they keep you from adopting a baby if one or both of the parents have bipolar disorder...??could they keep them from being foster parents, for fear that they will hurt the child, physcially or mentally???

sure they could get medication...but sometimes people slip up and dont take it...(sometimes) and the child is at risk for a potential 50/50 situation...so things could go either way right?

no. they cannot deny someone with a disability, mental or physical, those rights. "fear" of them hurting the child is not a valid reason. now, if the lady has a past of abusing kids or puting herself or others in danger, something like that, then its different. people with disabilities can have a stable life, and a family and hold down jobs. all people, disability or not, have to have stability in order to adopt or do anything like that. so they will check the financial situation and living situation and if they have a stable job. but just based on a disability, like bipolar, then no. they cannot keep her from adopting. i know plenty of people with disabilities who are great parents, and if not parents, they have a great career and make a living and are great people. yes, there are some downsides to having a disability but there are good sides too. when a person has a disability and has a kid of their own they dont take them away right? so there has to be a substantial reason to take away (or deny) a person a child, disabled or not.

I am curious of the same thing! I am bi-polar and not approved to foster due to the illness. I want to adopt, but who would allow me to do that if I was not approved to foster a child!? I can't have kids and wouldn't want to risk the child being bi-polar anyways. Good luck.

I don't see why someone with bipolar disorder, who is med compliant and (mentally) stable cannot adopt or even foster a child.

Let me assure you that you don't go off the deep end just because you forgot to take your pills one day. It takes a lot more than that. ;-) There are ways to make sure you take your meds every day if you're prone to forget. They sell reminders with little alarms in them. You can use seven day pill boxes and get in the habit of checking them. You develop a routine (aka habit) of taking them as soon as you get out of bed, or right before you get into bed, etc.

Myself, I use a seven day pill box (a dosette) and take them with my first coffee. If something happens that throws my first-thing-in-the-morning routine off, I can always check that dosette to see if I've taken that day's pills. If not, then I take them right away.

The worst danger a child is in with me is having too much ice cream or learning how to do The Time Warp the wrong way! LOL

The agency could require a sworn statement from the person's psychiatrist stating that the person is stable AND med compliant. IMO, that would not be out of line considering a child's safety is on the line.

The hard part of being the child of a bipolar parent is the time before the diagnosis or stabilization. Or if the dx'd parent isn't med compliant.

Although there were some "fun" times in those pre-dx days. My son calls those "the manic years." LOL!