Ok, so first off I want to say that I am not looking for anyone to diagnose me or whatever. I am going to speak to my GP and psych about this when I see them.
But recently I have been feeling increasingly frustrated with my "not set in stone" diagnosis of unipolar depression. I'm currently prescribed Lithium & Trazodone. For a while they worked. But now I think the honeymoon period is over and, argh, I dunno. I don't feel so good.
For a period of days or maybe a week or two I'll feel random things which include being increadibly irritable (as in can't keep still and wanting to rip off my clothes!), being more sociable, being more productive at work, being quite "chatty" for me, making silly noises with the horse/dog, F*cking someone you really shouldn't, having some random ideas, erm, I guess I could elaborate.
I never feel happy, content, or comfartable when I'm like this. It almost feels as though it's feeling like that or just pure hideous suicidal depression. And nothing else. I would love to just genuinely feel content.
So I guess that the question I'm asking is if anyone has ever had their depression misdiagnosed with anything else? Particularly Bipolar ii/hypomania? And actually, just any advice from anyone would be great!
I haven't had this experience myself, but I'm sure it happens. I've heard known a few people with bi-polar who were diagnosed as having depression because professionals didn't see them when they were manic.
Definitely speak to your Dr, cause like you said no one here can tell you what it is.
You have some good insight into your experiences though. I'm sorry things are so hard.
I hope you can voice this to the professionals when you see them, let us know how it goes.
Take care
Thank you for the replies. And yeah, unipolar is just your "bog standard" depression.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bleeding black
I've heard known a few people with bi-polar who were diagnosed as having depression because professionals didn't see them when they were manic.
Thats precisely what worrying me at the moment. I mean, because I don't get full blown mania it could be passed off as just me being happy or normal - whatever that is! I always feel so uncomfortable when I'm like that though. Yeah, it's great to not feel depressed, but I just don't feel "right", know what I mean.
Argh, I dunno. I've always complained about having moodswings and at one point my psych was considering the possibilty of me having BPD. But that seems to have fizzled out now I think. I'm not trying to self diagnose and I know that I shouldn't rely too heavily on what I look up on the net, but I've had a peep and I just feel as though I fit the criteria for Bipolar ii. It just seems to sum up my behaviour/moods more than BPD. Plus there's a history of it in the family. I'm not trying to say that I've got Bipolar now and thats that, it's just that I'm sure that there is something more going on than just depression alone, and I'm getting so frustrated.
I haven't had this experience myself, but I'm sure it happens. I've heard known a few people with bi-polar who were diagnosed as having depression because professionals didn't see them when they were manic.
Definitely speak to your Dr, cause like you said no one here can tell you what it is.
You have some good insight into your experiences though. I'm sorry things are so hard.
I hope you can voice this to the professionals when you see them, let us know how it goes.
Take care
This was very much the problem with me, on my ups i wouldnt go to the doctors cos i felt so good, on my downs...i could only go during the beginning of it because once i hit my down properly i couldnt talk to people.
i was constantly told when i did go in that it was depression, a diagnosis ive been getting for many years. its only recently where i had an appointment booked and i hit a high but went in cos i was pretty much forced too that the doctor realised that my mood was the way it is, that and the hallucinations...
Problem is mental health problems...bipolar, depression, schizoaffective etc all have their similarities and are somewhat interlinked with each other. the doctors can only go by what they see and they rarely see the full picture.
I would speak to someone about it, whether or not it fits the criteria for mania or bipolar your mood is affecting you and therefore you need to do something about it. Maybe you could keep a mood diary for a week or so (0 severely depressed 5 about normal 10 severely manic)
My diagnosis is currently transitioning towards bipolar from unipolar depression. I can understand the apprehension about speaking up about something which may appear to be a normal happy mood. You have to remember that this behaviour isn't normal for you and therefore it is something you speak up about it.
Here if you ever want to talk
Take Care x
here is a useful tracker which also prints off a detailed report for your doctor, also has a journal with it too...its a great help
That's definately good advice about keeping track of my moods, should be quite helpful. I should have started doing it ages ago to be honest! And thanks for the link by the way.
I'm feeling a little better about the situation now as I saw my GP today. I mentioned that my moods were becoming quite unstable again and she just asked me if I thought I was manic and we the briefly discussed some of what I've said above. So I feel quite relieved now that 1. I'm not the only one who's thinking it might be that, and 2. she just came out and asked me rather than me having to try and blurt it out! My GP is seriously cool!
Anyway, I've got another appointment with her in a few weeks time and I'm seeing my psych in around 6 weeks so I'll keep tabs on my moods until then to try and get a better picture of whats going on for them, hopefully they'll know how to help me a little better then.
Thank you for lending me your ears and giving me some good advice. It really helps to get stuff off your chest!
Sorry, is unipolar a form of bi-polar or is this the 'depression' alone type? My head is a bit muddled so I find it hard to understand the terms.
Roiben x
Unipolar Depression is the term for people who just experience feelings of depression. Bipolar Depression is a kind of mood disorder which causes periods of low or depressed mood like those which people with unipolar depression experience, but sufferers also have periods of unusually elevated or irritable mood, which can be either 'mania' or 'hypomania' depending on the severity. It's also known as Manic Depression or Bipolar Disorder.
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