Um..Bipolar??? I...IDK.
 

A few weeks ago i was in the hopsital for slashing myself up. That was vulgar, sorry.
Now i am seeing the head psychiatrist there. He didn't exactl say that i am bipolar, but he kept saying stuff like "This is the only medication we use to treat bipolar", and "In bipolar people they...." and stuff like that. So i guess he's saying i have bipolar. I dont know much about this dissorder and i dont know ANYONE who has it. Please, PM me, email me, TXT me if you live in saskatchewan or even CANADA! I will give you my number if you PM me and ask. I feel so aloone.

Heya, I'm sorry to hear you've had a rough time lately. I wanted to point out however that medications used for bi-polar are often used for many other mood disorders and it definatly doesnt mean that he has diagnosed you with bipolar, though I can see why his comments have lead you to believe that is a diagnosis he has given.

You need to go back to the dr/psych that prescribed the medication and ask more, ask why he believes it will benefit you and if you have an official diagnosis, if you wish to know. Often professionals treat symptoms rather than the label, since within each 'disorder' there is so much variance in symptoms that its not helpful to treat the disorder as a typical set of symptoms and causes.

May I ask what medication he prescribed? Some mood stabilizing drugs treat epilepsy, psychosis, and mood disorders, it doesnt nessarsarily mean you have bi-polar symptoms.

Hope that makes sense x

This happened to me with my latest med change, my GP continued to say "this is a tablet we use to treat bipolar" and things like that, which did make me question what was going on. But after a recent trip to my psych I know that a bipolar disorder is only being considered along with some other possible mood disorders, so it's best to make another appointment and ask what's going on. Bipolar medication is used to treat other types of disorders, various medications can be used to treat various things really, so it's best to go and speak to someone and get a straight answer.
Sorry that's not much help (and I generally just echoed Miss Annonymous's advice, which is great) but I just wanted to add my experience in.
Take care
xxxx

I'm not in Canada sadly :( but I would reitterate what the above have said and go back to the psychiatrist (or you could get some kind of second opinion :S not sure how easy that is for you, here in UK it would be nearly impossible but hopefully not the case where you are). I used to think I had bipolar until my school counsellor told me that I was stupid for thinking so, that if I did I would be swinging from the lamp shade, and that I was just a normal teenage who's period was making me hormonal.

However, if you want to read up on BP then there is tons of stuff on the internet and I have a book called Manic which is a memoir of a girl who has BP.

i think you should make sure the doctor has diagnosed you with bipolar before you start talking to other people specifically with it and familiarizing yourself with the dx.

im bipolar, im in uk but feel free to pm me for a chat if you want but i agree with the others. the drugs are used to treat lots of things but id still love to chat pm me xx

lou, age 21, uk.

i went to see my psych and she well both said they dont know if i have it or not.