Posted 1/13/2021 5:13 PM (GMT -7)
The way I found out I was bipolar was, I was talking to a lay counselor on the phone, and telling him of my troubles. He said, “I knew your uncle. And he was bipolar, and you probably are too.”
So, I would have told my psy. and he would have added Lithium stabilizer to my anti-depressant Sinequan.
My panic attacks stopped as soon as I was put on the Lithium stabilizer.
Because, the doctor prescribed Sinequan anti-depressant, because I was mis-diagnosed as simply depressed, and the anti-depressant was throwing me into mania, because I was really manic depressed.
I had two conditions, but the psy. only saw the depression, and they don’t ask questions, they sit there. He could have asked, do you ever have any manic episodes? It never dawned on him that if someone is depressed, they could be manic-depressed, and anti-dep. by itself will throw them into the mania.
In addition to my uncle, my mother’s mother also had bipolar, and I inherited it from her. It skipped a generation, my mother did not have bipolar. So my parents did not have to have bipolar for me to inherit it from my mother’s mother. Do you have any relatives who have emotional problems, possibly bipolar?
You say, “It does seem that people get diagnosed with Depressive Disorder then later Bipolar.” I think they get mis-diagnosed as depressive, because they come in as that, and the psy. doesn’t ask them about possible mania. Then when they keep getting in trouble with the untreated mania, that Psy. or another one will hopefully dx them as bipolar. I don’t think these patients change, I think they get mis-dxed.
As far as if anyone gets dxed as Bipolar, and then not, I don’t think that happens. They get mis-dxed as depressive, and then not. So if a mood stabilizer works then likely Bipolar, probably so. These are just my opinions.
Mayoclinic.org says, two kinds of bipolar: Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Difference is, it says, is Bipolar I you have full mania, and Bipolar II you have hypomania, but no manic episodes. You’ll want to check all of this with your doctor.
“Mania is more severe than hypomania and causes more noticeable problems at work, school and social activities, as well as relationship difficulties” mayo says.
Have you had full mania? For me, it would be working on something until I collapsed. Or do you just have hypo, or reduced mania?
Signs of “manic and a hypomanic episode include three or more of these symptoms,” says mayoclinic.org:
Abnormally upbeat, jumpy or wired; Increased activity, energy or agitation;
Exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria); Decreased need for sleep;
Unusual talkativeness; Racing thoughts; Distractibility; Poor decision-making — for example, going on buying sprees, taking sexual risks or making foolish investments.
Do you have some of those?
Then the shift to depression (mayo says some of the signs are):
Depressed mood, such as feeling sad, empty, hopeless or tearful; Marked loss of interest or feeling no pleasure in all — or almost all — activities;
Either insomnia or sleeping too much; Either restlessness or slowed behavior; Fatigue or loss of energy; Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt; Decreased ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness