Yep, sorry, it's another one of those "I might be bipolar help me!" threads. But here we go.
I think I might have stumbled into ssri-induced mania. It started as sleeping far too much, but graduated into mild insomnia, and then into me staying up for sixty hours straight. I had another 40+ hour sleepless spree a few days ago. This is all within the past few weeks. My doc prescribed me some trazadone, 50mg, to get me to sleep, and I didn't even bat an eye! Now I'm worried. I'm to call her back at the end of this week and tell her how I'm doing, and if I'm not doing better, I either have to increase my AD (Lexapro) or see somebody about an evaluation for possible bipolar. I've had some manic history - I had a huge sleepless spree last year around this same time, but it wasn't near this bad. It's not that I don't try to sleep. Eventually common sense kicks in and says, hey, you won't sleep if you don't try, right? So I lie down, and my thoughts race so hard and fast that it frightens me and I feel sick and I have to do something else to get my mind off it. Sleep terrifies me. My anxiety has been through the roof.

So.

My questions, I guess. :D
-It's my GP who is prescribing my AD and who suggested bipolar. I've never been to any other kind of doctor. Can someone tell me what sort of doc I'd be sent to, and what an evaluation would possibly entail? I'm curious, and it would put my anxiety at ease.
-Also.. how do treatment and medication differ between depression and bipolar? I know nothing about bipolar medication.
-And this is just a random question, that is probably very difficult to answer, but - how do depression and bipolar originally surface? Are they triggered by some event, or what? A few years ago I was mostly fine, but in this last year, I've spiraled all over the place. I'm sure these things are hard to say, because it's individual, but is it normal for someone to lead a perfectly normal life (or at least, normal as far as I can tell) and then explode into major depression and possible bipolar? (I didn't really explode, it was some months of me spiraling down and down, but.. now I'm rambling. Sorry!)

Thanks all.

This post has been edited by astralis: Apr 3 2007, 03:30 PM

I would suggest you see a Psychiatrist. They can diagnose you and also prescribe medications if needed. My psychiatrist has helped me immensely. She has explained everything to me and that is what I would suggest you find also.

Usually psychologists do the initial evaluaton and resting for your condition. The findings are sent to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist will also interview you. Bipolar is very difficult to diagnose and I think that is why there are three catagories of this mental illness. It can appear at any stage in life. I wasn't accurately diagnosed until I was 35 or 36. There is such a thing as mania-induced reaction from ADs (you don't have to be BP, either). You mentioned that your sleeplessness occurred about the same time as now last year. Could this be due to the change in seasons or daylight hours? My depression is at its worse during the winter and lifts in the spring. It's part of a condition called SAD. That's another possibility you may want to consider. What time of day are you taking the Lexapro? That could also have something to do with your sleep issues. BTW, Trazodone is also an AD.
Ask your GP to give you a referral to a psychologist for testing. The psychologist may be able to give you a referral to a psychiatrist. Check with your health insurance carrier for covered providers within their network to keep your out-of-pocket expenses low.
Sheepwoman