I've Been Diagnosed With Bipolar, Too

[brother vinny]

I'm not too happy about it. It was easier to deal with when it was just Jade. I went and saw a psychiatrist today, and after over an hour of rather pointed questions, she diagnosed me as having Bipolar II (albeit not as severe as Jade's, who hears voices and such).

So, am I down in the dumps because I was diagnosed? Or was I already down and my diagnosis made it worse?

I don't know. Jade thinks I was already down.

Anyway, I began my meds today. We'll see where I am in a couple of weeks.

[Dee Dee Warren]

Do you agree with the diagnosis?

[Piebald]

Find a way to enjoy the euphoric periods and just relax during the depressive periods. Not always possible, I know . . .

I used to get so manic that I would dance around my bedroom. I'd look in the mirror and my pupils would be huge and glossed over.

I've also had some of my best ideas during the manic phase . . .




So, am I down in the dumps because I was diagnosed? Or was I already down and my diagnosis made it worse?


Depression and Mania are marked by exaggerated emotional responses. Every time you have an exaggerated sense of happiness/energy or an exaggerated sense of despair you are having an episode. It's natural to feel sad about bad news.

Train yourself to remember this when they occur, because it makes enduring them much easier. It's almost impossible to convince a person in a depressive state that things will be better. But when you feel yourself starting to get into a depressive swing, say to yourself "Okay, I am entering a depressive phase." Prepare to just watch TV or listen to music. Don't let them catch you off guard.

And I'll hypocritically suggest this because I've been too afraid to do it myself: If you ever feel suicidal because of it, call 9-11. It's a perfectly legitimate reason to do so. Lots of people don't understand depression and play it off as "just feeling sad sometimes" but professionals do not.

(edited to clarify in first paragraph)

[brother vinny]

Do you agree with the diagnosis?

I have no basis with which to disagree with it. I'd be the first one to tell you I'm far from perfect, but I kind of liked the delusion of sanity, while it lasted.

[brother vinny]

Find a way to enjoy the euphoric periods and just relax during the depressive periods. Not always possible, I know . . .

My manic periods aren't true mania but hypomania, and while euphoria is sometimes involved, I'm usually easily angered during them.

[Gideon Brown]

:pray:

:hug: Vinn

[Piebald]

Oh, hypomania. Well, in that case, when you start to feel overly irritable, isolate yourself and distract yourself -- e.g. I play World of Warcraft and commit genocide against NPCs rather than get angry at family.

I didn't realize you are Vinny, hi Vinny.

I wish you luck with this, it's an awful state of being, I can definitely empathize.

[gharfish]

My manic periods aren't true mania but hypomania, and while euphoria is sometimes involved, I'm usually easily angered during them.I have periods of hypomania--short term, and typically daily. You may have what some psychiatrists refer to as dysphoric mania.

[Dee Dee Warren]

BV, I asked only because, while obviously I believe that people can have emotional and mental disorders (I suffer from depression and OCD), I also know that such stuff can be over-diagnosed, and I know in my own life, way back before I ever had a depressive episode, I was just tired and stressed from my job in a normal way the doctor was wayyyyy overly quick to try to give me Prozac when it first came out. I went home with the sample packs, threw them out, and found another doctore. I knew I wasn't depressed, but I did suspect perhaps I had some persistent infection or something that was slowing me down. I forgot what happened, but I wasn't depressed, I believe I ended up getting treated for something else, or it just went away. So I was asking if your own body knowledge and inituition gave the diagnosis the ring of truth. I know now when I am going through a medical depression or when I just bummed out. For me, I trust my self knowledge and inuitions greatly, as it seems to me doctors over-diagnose.

[Adam]

I'm not too happy about it. It was easier to deal with when it was just Jade. I went and saw a psychiatrist today, and after over an hour of rather pointed questions, she diagnosed me as having Bipolar II (albeit not as severe as Jade's, who hears voices and such).
So, am I down in the dumps because I was diagnosed? Or was I already down and my diagnosis made it worse?
I don't know. Jade thinks I was already down.
Anyway, I began my meds today. We'll see where I am in a couple of weeks.
I'm Bipolar II, also.
Apparently you're in a depressive phase now. That means they would be giving you anti-depressives now. You and your psychiatrist have to be very alert for anti-depressives causing you to over-shoot and go hypomanic (not too great a problem unless you get angry enough to lose your job or get divorced) or even manic. Some depressives are actually Bipolar III, will have manic states that only come about when taking anti-depressives for the depressed stage they are in.
Hearing voices is not part of Bipolar II or even Bipolar I that doesn't go beyond the manic stage. And the voices would never occur in the depressive stage. Bipolar II is not just a milder form of Bipolar I. They have depressions just a severe and are as likely to commit suicide. It may even be a separate illness. In any case, family histories show that both Bipolar I and Bipolar II are associated with Unipolar Depression and are a less common subset of it. Unipolar Depression tends to be less severe than Bipolar is, but it is less fun. Yet it does have increased risk of suicide, explaining why doctors have an increased risk of suicide. (Both Unipolars and Bipolars tend to be higher in IQ than average, and young Unipolars tend to be the type of diligent student it takes to become an M. D., in their youth before they experience their first depressive phase.)

Are they giving you a mood stabilizer as well? If they are giving you lithium, you have to watch out that it doesn't work as only a downer and not as a stabilizer. Lithium for me was strictly a downer. My psychologist wanted me to keep taking it even when it had turned me into nearly a zombie. You can't necessarily trust your doctors to adjust your medicine properly. If you know you're getting too manic or too depressed, insist your doctors change your medication (or at least the dosage) or even reduce your dosage on your own. Personally I usually had to take half the recommended dosage of lithium and for all other medicines a quarter or even a tenth.
Lithium has bad long term effects. Don't let them keep you on it when you are not in a manic or hypomanic stage. I can't take lithium at all now because it is bad for the parathyroid glands.
Adam

[Piebald]

he doctor was wayyyyy overly quick to try to give me Prozac


About two or three months ago I asked my psychiatrist to reduce my dosage to half of what I had been taking. You should have seen his face; it was like I asked him to divorce his wife.

They have a lot of confidence in drugs. Drugs do work, of course. But the dosage of paxil I was taking was really reducing the joy I was deriving from life. I have had a few crying episodes since the reduction, but overall, I am enjoying my hobbies, movies, music, etc. 300% more than I was on the higher dosage. I guess you have to make a sacrifice of joy if you want to remove the despair.