Hello.

I recently went to a new GP for my annual checkup. I made it evident that I wanted to start back up on my AD since I did not go back for my med check since last year to get it refilled, which I should have done. She did, but then mentioned that I may have BP. I was surprised at this comment since I am 26 years old and I thought that these symptoms began earlier in life (although I have had depression since I was 12 and on and off meds). But the more I have been reading about it, the more I think I might have BP II.

Since the spring, about 2 months since I decided to stop taking my AD. I have had three distinct periods of feeling "different." Back in February, during the first episode I made an appt with a therapist, just to cancel because the feeling went away. I remember just being up, completing things that I have been prolonging, gaining a better sense of confidence....like I could change the world or something. About 2 months later this feeling came back....except this time I had these talking spells where I was talking so fast and skipping ideas quickly. During this time I went shopping and decided that I needed to buy arts & crafts projects for my kids and 2 guinea pigs all costing $500 in the course of 3 days (my husband was so mad as we didn't have the money for these things and a few checks bounced). And this last time I had this sense of feeling like I was the only one in the world that got this "joke" and it was hilarious. I felt intoxicated without drinking, minus the headache in the morning (as the morning was the same as night...all day long). In between these periods I have felt "normal" (whatever that is since I've had depression pretty much all my life) with some depression periods mixed in.

The thing is my "ups" aren't over the top.....I don't feel excessively "creative" as others say, I don't get myself in trouble with the law...just my husband....

I have an appt with psychiatrist next week that I was originally going to cancel if my new GP prescribed me meds (in which she did, but only a 30 day supply.....), but now I'm considering going to get evaluated.

My question is....since it is not overly destructive at this time, will they even treat it? Should it be treated? Can this be progressive (my last two episodes were closer together than my first) if not treated?

I haven't talked to anyone else about these feelings as maybe they are in my head and I'm just making excuses for my behavior?

What are your stories? Do you have any advise?

I'm Bipolar I. It took almost a year before I was accurately diagnosed. Bipolar has components of other mental illnesses so it's difficult to pinpoint/diagnose immediately. There are 3 types of BP (so far) that have been defined in the DSM (diagnostic statistic manual) IV. BP is usually inherited and can show up at any stage of your life. I was 36 when diagnosed BP I with severe, chronic depression and started treatment. AD's alone trigger manic episodes; therefore, it's the usual practice to prescribe a mood stabilizer or anti-psychotic to stop the mood swings. I currently take 2 AD's, 2 mood stabilizers and an anti-psychotic in combination with therapy. Finding the right combination & dosage of meds can take a long time (it's all trial and error.) It's a lifetime illness. If left untreated, BP can have some disasterous events. Extreme mania (BP I) causes a complete lack of control (hyper activity, no impulse control...). Severe depression can last what seems like forever. Or cycles up and down happen rapidly. There is a FAQ sheet in the pinned topics above, or you can do a Google search for Bipolar. Let's hope you only have depression as I would never wish this illness on anyone. Also as I age, it's progress is getting worse. Regardless how you feel, keep that psychiatrist appointment.

BTW, prescriptions are usually for only a 30 day supply. Prescription plans only cover 30 days; 90 if you do mail order.
Sheepwoman

Welcome to the BP forums!

I personally think it is very important to be evaluated for BP-II, but it is a very, very hard diagnosis to get. There are so many other problems that can cause similar symptoms, and it takes a detailed history to really get it nailed down.

That said, it is treated very differently from depression, and as such you really need to try and be sure which box you fall into. Your doctors will then have a much easier time trying to treat you.

I lost my slightly longer post which I put here earlier today, but this covers the gist of what I said!

Hope I helped
Hircon

Hi Jesluvmk,

This is first-class hypocrisy but yes you should have it looked into. As others have said, it is difficult to diagnose accurately and there are different classes of what is only superficially the same thing.



I suspected mine on-and-off but took maybe too long to do anything about it. That's at least my present fear.

It's hard to relate, and time without reflection dulls colours into shades of grey, but I didn't let an occasional doubt be anything more than that. I didn't until life nearly left me. When I was young, I thought I was less of a brat than everybody else thought. I thought I was easily bored, naturally erratic and had enough money to spend without seriously pausing to match it to a mood. I thought the sadness was just my own, to stay my own. I even thought my hate was rationale and vengeance was fair.

As hypocritical as it is, I wouldn't mind being 18 again, for no other reason than it might hit me the second time around that I had a problem.

If it's "in your head", then it is. I mean, if you're wondering, you deserve is to wonder no more.

Gisele

As far as I know, BP 1 is progressive if left untreated, but I don't know that much about the rest of the BP spectrum.

Something should generally be taken to the doctor if it bothers you or other people. So I guess it depends on just how much it bothers your husband (which in turn might bother you) (?)

Thanks for your input.

So it sounds as if not every doctor will really diagnose BP II....as it is less obvious than BP I. In that case, it really matters what doctor you get and what their underlying understanding of BP is.

I guess its just a wait and see game until Thursday.

Unfortunately, my mood since Sunday morning has drastically gotten worse. Its like a light switch was turned off and my whole world is dark now. I almost wish I could go back a few days ago to feeling like I was on top of the world and nothing could hurt me. Now, everything hurts.

i'm not a psychiatrist, i don['t know you in person and am not qualified to make any mental health dx, but it sounds like you should seriously consider asking to be evaluated for bp2. it's a "softer" form of bp. just because someone isn't in the hospital or bankrupt doesn't mean that they don't have a problem that should be addressed.

I think this is spot-on. BP2 and the whole BP spectrum are new concepts and many docs have not yet accepted them. However BP2 is now classified in the ICD-10 in the F31 category (you can look those up on the World Health Organisation's website, or pm me for the url.) - so perhaps you can print it out and say to the doc, this really matches me very well (if it does).

Thanks for your validation.

I tried talking to one of my friends about it and she was like, "Lots of people stay up at night and get things done. And of course when people feel good, they want to do stuff." I tried to describe it to her and she really didn't think it was unusual-how it actually feels like a switch being turned on and off.

And that makes me nervous. Maybe I'm not explaining it right? I am seeing a psychiatrist tomorrow and I am nervous I won't be able to describe it accurately.

I wish I would have never told anyone. Now I feel kinda like an idiot even brining it up....

Since July I have been diagnosed with BP. I have had unipolar depression since my early teens and has only recently transpired into bipolar. Reading some of your stories, fears, and celebrations on here makes me want to laugh and cry all at the same time. I am not just making this up, its not just in my head...though really it is, but it isn't. Anyway....over the last 3 weeks it have progressed into me being paranoid (thinking even my husband was trying to kill me), sleepless, with an increase of all my senses and countless other indescribable ups and downs and in the middles. Delusions have begun it the form of feeling things on me and in me and hearing things in my head, though I don't believe other people can hear it-its muffled so not even sure if you can identify it as anything. But despite my diagnosis and how it is effecting my marriage, I am most scared that this is being progressive to a bad place. I go again tomorrow for a week checkup because my husband got me in right away the last most dramatic event happened. I guess I am sick of myself and that I make people around me cry. I'm sick of taking medications that don't take it away. Its been over 3 months....and its getting worse.

Has this disease progressed with you? It seems rapid for me and just needing to know if there is hope.

jessluvmk:

I WISH, WISH, WISH I had been diagnosed when I was in my 20's. When I look back on my university years which spanned until my mid-twenties, I can see so many things I wish I could do over. Granted I had a few academically brilliant years between the ones I dragged myself through, but I also tried to kill myself in my fourth year and tried again 2 years later, ruined one marriage and then another marriage many years later. I'm 47 now and JUST diagnosed, and I can sometimes just sit and cry with all the regrets over how different things might have been.

The meds are lousy; like Sheepwoman, I'm also on 2 ADs, 2 mood stabilisers and an anti-psychotic, and it's even more lousy to take them in your 20's when it feels like your youth has kinda been snatched from you. But all of the above 3 categories of drugs have come a long way since amitryptiline, lithium and chlorpromazine (they still work for some, but I found them all horrible). At least what I'm on now is tolerable, even if they still need some adjustments for me to actually be stable.

I'm sorry, this wasn't supposed to be a "just be grateful, you're so lucky" post. My psychologist said to me while he was counselling me in hospital recently that it's a good idea to channel your manias into an adrenaline-giving activity. I am deathly afraid of heights, so it won't be skydiving, but I said I could conceive of getting a small off-road motorbike and riding on some track we have nearby with proper safely gear... wheeee, imagine going over a hump and then flying through the air. That has appeal for me. That way I can blow off some of the manic recklessness that I get. I've also turned to my art in a big way and hypomania is better for actually getting things completely in that sphere, even if I have more ideas in a more manic phase. What I'm suggesting is to harness it...