Bipolar??

[boobie]

just wanted to ask you guys something. well i have had many issues growing up. but recently my mood has been really low. so i went to my doctor and he said i was sufferring from major depression. since then i am now on my 5 anti depressant and still dont seem to be improving. over the last 6 months i have also been receiving councelling. well today my councellor said ' i cant bit my tounge any longer' she told me although she is not a doctor so she maybe wrong. but she thinks i am bipolar. she has also asked my permission to contact my doctor about this.

well i just wanted to ask your experiences of diagnosis and could my councellor be right? i hadnt really contemplated this before but been doing some reading and somethings are falling into place. anyone experienced similar? should i let her contact my doc?


any reply would be great xxxx

[sherlock holmes]

Have you been having any episodes of mania?

Your counsellor may be right, but she is doing the right thing in contacting your doctor as only he can diagnose.

[Cedrus]

I think you should let her contact your doctor as it's the only way you are going to get formally diagnosed.

I think its quite important for the dr to assess whether it's bi-polar or not. I personally think that when someone goes into mania, well not full blow mania, lets say someone being hyperactive, it can be a coping mechanism. A bit like running away from their feelings, untill reality hits and they crash.

Sorry, bit of a useless reply but I just wanted to add that.

[boobie]

basically i have been episodes of i dont know what to be compleatly honest. i had never thought of myself being manic but we (councellor and myself) looked at these different experiences and how i was feeling and my behaviour and the impact it had and yeah these could be manic episodes. the issues with my doctor is that although i have been having problems since i was very young it hasnt been until recently that i have sought help. i have only ever looked for help when i have been serverly depressed never in my alternave state if that makes sense??

[Kija]

your making total sense, i think its a good thing that your councelor can get in touch with your doctor over it. you dont have to have full blown mania to be bipolar, you can just be hypomanic wich is a less severe (not the word i wanted but i cant think) state of mania.

i'm manic depressive/bipolar, but didnt get diagnosed till about a year ago, even though i suffered from it for around 6years before anyone really helped me. i got treated for depression, and was put on so many different anti-depressants, none of wich worked. apparently not responding to anti-depressents alone can be a sign of manic depression ( i know its called bipolar, but i prefer manic depressive! bipolar seems to just be too politically correct hehe)

i only ever looked for help/was made to look for help when depressed as when i was manic i was having far too much fun, and no one could keep me in one place long enough to make me do anything i didnt want to!

my doctor thought i was manic depressive and then put me onto a pysch to do the whole analysis thing. getting assessed by a pysch is really scary, (i had 3 people assessing me!) but it was worth it, as it could have been anything wrong with me, and they are properly trained to look for it.

sorry i have rambled there, if you want you can pm me to talk more if you want! lol sorry.

[boobie]

thank you Kija, your reply really helped. i still havent given my counsellor my permission yet. to tell you the truth i am terrified. she wants me to be in total control of the situation as many things have happened in my past which i wasnt even consulted about.

i am scared about what will happen when/if my doctor reads her letter.

i really dont know if i want to open another can of worms

why are these things so hard???

[Kija]

oh wow i'm glad it helped!
it is terrifying. i'm seeing a new pysch tommorow, and have no idea if i still have my old Occupational therapist or a new one! i think i may freak if its all new people! so to conclude i still find it terrifying after doing this alot of times.
being in control sounds like a good idea. when i had my assesment, they ask so many questions, i felt like my brain couldnt function afterwards, but the questions were alot about my past, and past behaivior wich in itself brought up some very uncomfortable things for me, but they were pretty good and didnt really want to know too many details!
sorry i'm rambaling and not being very helpful with this post. weird headspace today sorry!
i wish i knew why these things were so hard, then it would be possible to make them easier!
any questions at all just pm me!
sorry being useless now!