Are Bipolars Pathological Liars?

QUESTION:

Dear Dr. Heller,

Hi, I have a sister-in-law who has manic depression and she is also a pathological liar.  Is this related to each other?  Can she be treated for this or is this something she could just stop doing on her on?  Also, my brother has had depression and trouble with drugs and alcohol.  He recently had his blood taken to see any signs of manic depression which came out ok.  Is that the correct way to diagnose something like that or to diagnose chemical imbalance????  Please let me know the correct way to have that checked out.

Thank you

ANSWER:

Bipolars are not pathological liars.  There are no blood tests to rule in or rule out bipolar, it is a criteria driven disorder ( http://www.BiologicalUnhappiness.com/BUD_Crit.htm).  Bipolar is probably a form of epilepsy (nerve cells firing inappropriately and out of control).

This FAQ may be of help regarding lying: http://www.BiologicalUnhappiness.com/AskDoc/Do4Liars.htm