At the young age of 27 I’m considering a vasectomy. It’s not a new thought, I’ve been considering it since I realized I was bipolar at 16.
Given a family history of mental illness, heart problems, and diabetes there are plenty of reasons to do it.
People keep telling me I’ll want kids someday and I’ll regret this decision, but it’s not that simple.
Any children I would have would likely suffer from some mental illness. I’d rather be disappointed that I didn’t have kids, than heartbroken watching my child battle depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
Remember to smile,
Hipster Harrison
Bipolar Harrison 
Hmm. Interesting thought. I can’t say I agree or disagree but the whole concept is definitely something to consider. I hope whatever decision you make, it’s the best one for you!
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You could store your sperm in a sperm bank. Not an ideal situation though I’m guessing you’ve looked at the issue from all possible angles, and really, I’m no one to advise you. People who say you’ll miss having children later are also the ones who can’t understand the concept of bad parents/parenting. The process is almost irreversible, though you never know what future tech might bring with it. Start strong
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I chose not to have children for fear of passing this Mental Illness on to them. It’s not an easy decision and I applaud your courage.
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Awesome! Being biploar myself with other dx’s as well , I chose not to have children at all. I do not want to pass this stuff down at all. I feel it is a morally responsible decision to not pass down serious mental illness. On top of it, I really do not feel wired to want to have kids either. I wish more people would think more like us.
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I think that must’ve been a really difficult decision to make, yet very easy. I completely understand where you’re coming from and it’s not that difficult to disagree… I hope you find an alternative though, if you ever decide to have children… maybe Adoption? Whatever makes you happy, because that’s all that counts 🙂 xx
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I felt the same way for a long time.
I have no control over what you’ll take of this, but my biological mother is also Bipolar. I adopted a lot of her tendencies when I was younger, and that made things tough for a while– but manageable.
We had a questionable relationship, but it was strong. We love each other.
The hardest things I had to live through were not in her control, although I liked to blame her.
What I’m trying to get at is, such is life. Things can get really shitty, really fast. And if you’re going to stick around for the ride, you might as well enrapture yourself in the full experience.
I don’t know when my mind changed, but the idea of having my own kids started to become fulfilling once I discovered my strong will to lead a normal life. I will have children one day, and you will too.
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How old were you when you decided you wanted kids, if you don’t mind me asking?
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I was 22 when I realized that I have just the same amount of potential to be a good parent as anyone else. I don’t mind answering any question you have for me. I think you’re interesting, and I would like to hear whatever you have to say– hence why I’ve followed you.
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I think that is a rather intelligent way to look at things, most people don’t think about their children’s future when having them. I was diagnosed Bipolar and suffered greatly from depression and later was told after sorting through my childhood and walking away from my narcissistic family that they were the problem, I quit struggling with depression and am happy with my life. They beg me to come back, but I don’t want my son to suffer the way I suffered as a kid and did everything i could while they were in my life to keep their claws out of him. he gets to have the childhood I didn’t and he doesn’t feel like he is missing a thing by not having his grandmothers from that side of the family in his life, he even told me he likes me better now that we aren’t around them because I’m always happy. If more people made decisions with their children in mind the world would be all the better for it.
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You have my respect for being so smart and thoughtful.
I think I would have made the same choice had I known before having a child. Having said that, however, I cannot imagine this world with the amazing human I happened to birth.
My son will be 18 in a few months and I worry about him going through what I did, I’ve done my best to educate him while hopefully not scaring him, once I figured out what my issue(s) was/were, so I have a feeling he won’t suffer QUITE the way I did if he does start losing his mind in the next few years. He was diagnosed with Aspergers a few years ago and I hope so hard that this is the only thing he’ll have to deal with. If he does end up on the bipolar-coaster, he at least has someone in his corner that gets it, unlike what I had.
Have you considered all the great people in history with bipolar that added positively to society and human evolution? We may suffer, but the things we can give when able are pretty farking wonderful. And, honestly, everyone suffers with something(s). The older I get, the more I think this is just part of being human.
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There’s always adoption, if you ever decide to raise a child. It doesn’t have to be an ultimatum. I knew from the time I was 12 I didn’t want to have kids/bring kids into this world. Plus, the world’s overpopulated (by humans) anyway. 🙂
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Always a difficult choice, a friend of mine wanted to have a vasectomy after one child, but the doctor advised him to wait until he was older. They had twins the next year.
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