Kerry Katona - Whats The Problem?

The woman has no discernable skills and nothing resembling a steady job.

She also has (or has had) considerable drug / drink / psychological issues over the years.

Her only source of income is to constantly parade herself and her family in front of a gawping public in exchange for cash.

OTT? Are you for real?

They're side effects of drugs she's taking to deal with a serious mental illness. Doctors and patients to find an ideal balance between symptom control and unwanted affects from the drugs. It's not exactly a fun situation for her, so to suggest they are "OTT" is beyond ignorant.

Well.....so she says. It could of course just be convenient for her to say that's what it is when it's in fact due to other factors - she does have known substance abuse issues.

I am afraid I am that cynical, I have a very low opinion of KK and wouldn't put it past her to say anything to try and get people to feel sorry for her.

ETA just to clarify I'm not saying she doesn't have bipolar disorder (although AFAIK we only have her word for it she does) but that it would be easy for her to just blame all her slurring/twitching etc on the drugs for that. Certainly that day she was on This Morning, she appeared drunk.

Firstly, the clips I saw of the This Morning interview - I don't think there was enough to tell what her slurring was caused by. I'm not a psychiatrist but from what I have read, I don't think it would be a particularly easy thing to tell.

Secondly, even if her slurring/dyskinesia is caused by "recreational" drugs or alcohol rather than prescribed bipolar meds, describing them as OTT would be inappropriate. And substance abuse (a mental illness in itself) is incredibly common in people with long-term mental illnesses like bipolar disease or schizophrenia, for a variety of reasons but not least because they can try and relieve symptoms that way.

Last time I checked you didn't need to walk around with your medical records with you at all times ready for inspection. Who else would you expect to tell us?

She subsequently admitted she was pissed and had a major alcohol problem.

Oooh, sarky! I never mentioned anything about medical records. Same as I never said she never had bipolar - she might well do. I couldn't give a sh1t what's wrong with her personally. I can't bear her.

But then she was on Five news last week making no mention of it and saying Fern & Phil were rude to mention her slurring. To be honest, without the aid of Max Clifford, the woman is a walking car crash.

I wasn't being sarcastic at all. You were infering she's making her disorder up as "we only have her word for it". How do you suggest she prove it?

I didn't infer that, it's you who's taken it that way. I said she might have it, she might not. And given how she seems to pull every other bit part player in her tawdry little life into the spotlight with her, I'm sure she has a doctor or someone she could wheel out if she was so inclined.

Is there actually anything that would cause those side effects though? My sister is a psychiatric nurse and says not.

I never understand why people get so vitriolic about her. Surely one is either interested/concerned or completely uninterested? I'm in the latter group (am not sure I could pick her out of a line-up tbh) but can at least scrape together a bit of sympathy for someone who seems to have so many problems. I don't see how people (in the world generally, I mean, rather than here) get so worked up with hatred and disapproval for someone they don't know.

She didn't admit she was pissed on TM, she admitted after the interview that she used to have an alcohol problem, which has been pointed out by others in these threads before.

I have experience of Bi Polar and can say with certainty that the side effects of some of the drugs can be horrific, including slurred speech and twitching. I have nothing but sympathy for the girl, she's clearly unwell. In fact, Bi Polar can be set off by substance abuse which could be why it's a relatively new thing for her.

Also, just because someone has suffered an addiction in the past doesn't mean that every single thing they do in the future should be held up as evidence that they're possibly using again.

I get so cross about this subject, because Bi Polar is a truly a vicious illness, and the ignorance shown towards it just because it's Kerry Katona knocks me sick, tbh,

I feel sorry for her, whether it is bipolar or something else, and try and stay away from conversations about this, but just wanted to post the list of sideffects from lithium which it is likely she would take if she suffers from bipoler )posted from the MIND website)

Early side effects
These happen as the body adjusts to the lithium. They are not usually medically serious, and most get better or go away after a few weeks. You should tell your doctor about them at routine appointments, unless they become particularly unpleasant, in which case you should tell your doctor at once. They include:

• feeling thirstier
• needing to urinate more often
• gaining weight
• feeling sick
• mild stomach cramps
• shaky hands
• sleepiness
• slight muscular weakness
• a dry mouth
• loss of interest in sex
• slight dizziness
• worsening acne or psoriasis.

Intermediate side effects
These persist after your body has adjusted to lithium, or may emerge during the course of treatment. You should keep your doctor informed, since persistent side effects may mean that your dosage needs adjusting, or that you may be helped by additional medication. It's also possible that changing your diet and the time of day when you take your dose could help.

Intermediate side effects may include:

• gaining too much weight
• needing to urinate too often
• skin rash
• changes in kidney functioning, which may lead to damage
• mild thirst
• memory problems
• loss of mental sharpness
• shaky hands
• high blood calcium levels after long-term treatment
• thyroid changes.

So her actions could be attributed to this

Sweetersong, that list doesn't say anything specific about slurred speech though. Or would it fall under one of the other side effects?

I would put it under sleepiness TBH, only because when I get very exhausted with my diziness, my speach gets confused and a bit slury

A dry mouth can cause slurred speech, and it's not only lithium that could cause those things, if she's taking a mixture of medication it's perfectly possible that the mixture itself can cause side effects.

They won't put my cousin on lithium yet because he's young and once he starts it he's on it for the rest of his life, which is a shame because he's currently in hospital suffering from Bi Polar induced psychosis. If someone saw or spoke to him it would be easy to assume he was pissed, high, or off his head, but he's not, he's desperately desperately ill.

Bi Polar is a serious mental illness but it doesn't seem to illicit the same empathy or understanding that other illnesses do.

Come on, she was as pissed as a fart on that show. a dry mouth could lead to slurring, but not like that. she says she has a constant battle with alcohol, but that she can go "days at a time" without a drink, so it isnt something she s over, or was over 4 years ago. an alcoholic always has problems with alcohol, you cant just "put it behind you", it doesnt work like that.

anyway, why do i even care? ?

Most mental illnesses are treated with apathy, eye rolling and the age old 'pull yourself together' comments aren't they? I think it's a crime. Basically if you can't show someone a bandage/cast/physical symptoms etc it's not valid. So it's no surprise that people will be quick to condemn poor ole Kerry and make out she's full of sh1t. Poor cow...I don't particularly like her to be fair but I wouldn't wish bipolar on my worst enemy.

I agree. I think it's because the symptoms of Bi-Polar can be tough to deal with My SIL has BP with psychosis, and when she's off her meds her behaviour can be horrendous. Bi-Polar, by the nature of the illness, can lead people to be deceitful and manipulative, and I think that sometimes people find it hard to understand that.

From a laymans POV, alebit one who has worked in mental health and who has had close dealings with BP, I think KK's behaviour exhibits the classic signs, so I wouldn't be surprised if she does have it.

HH - have the docs tried your cousin on a drug called Abilify? My SIL was misdiagnosed for years until, eventually, my FIL took her back to the country where he lives and had her diagnosed there using a private doctor. The Psychiatrist put her on Abilify and within 6 weeks the difference was unbelievable. She came back to the UK and tried to get the drug here on the NHS, but they refused as it was 'too expensive'. Now she gets a private prescription shipped to her every 6 months from FIL. It may not work at all for him of course, but I know of other BPs who have had success with this drug. HTH

Katchoo, I'm going to email that info to my uncle right now, thank you so much! He's in Ireland and things are a little different there, especially the attitude to Bi Polar. My poor cousin is currently in a really bad way so anything that could potentially help him is welcome.

?

With the best will in the world, we have no idea what she is taking (both medicinally prescribed or otherwise... thinking about alcohol specifically here). However there are plenty of combinations of drugs that you can take together in an attempt to counteract the symptoms of Bi-Polar (which themselves are varied) and which would produce slurred speech (seeing as we seem to be stuck on that point).

Speaking from closehand experience (family member) you can take lithium and tamazepam together and it can produce a seemingly drunk state... one of the common side effects of tamazepam is slurred speech. I didn't see TM so have no idea if she was drinking or not - if she is then clearly she is negating the useful benefits of the drugs that she is taking which is very sad.

For me, although I don't really pay much attention to what she is up to, it's not really within my sphere of interest... there's no doubting that she is battling one, or possibly two, very difficult illnesses about which the general public don't seem to know much (or quite frankly care to find out, which makes me cross - why do people find it easier to belittle, prejudge and suppose rather than to actually try and understand what might be going on? Entertainment for them I suppose).

A lot of sense has been spoken on this thread and I truly help that she gets the help that she needs, it's an awful, destructive and lonely road to an awful destination if you are not able to manage mental illness.

I cant comment on Bi Polar as I only know what I see in 'Stenders ?

I do feel sorry for her though and quite like her, I wish she would dump that husband of hers as I think that would reduce her problems by 50% at least, I think he is a sponging no**er.

? to anyone who is affected by it,

I'm a mental health nurse in an acute inpatient setting & can assure you that medication can have all kinds of side effects including slurred speech, and appearing drunk, especially in the beginning when trying to get a balance between several different drugs for different aspects of the mental health problem. Eg mood stabilizers for a manic phase and sleeping tablets to get someone back into a regular sleep pattern and often antidepressants on top of this.

Also mental illness itself can make you slur and appear generally 'spaced out'. I have no idea about KT though!

The only thing I object to is how much she is paraded about claiming to have a new life every few months. If she is ill then surely being in the limelight consistently is the worst thing for her.

I have experience (not me) of manic depression and the stuff they give you (Haloperidol?) can make you drooly and slurry.