Hi All,

I'm new to this forum and have been reading a few posts...I guess right now I'm having some confusion around my current diagnosis of depression and GAD and am now starting to wonder if I have Bipolar...In May, I was sleep deprived for 9 days, yes 9 days without sleep, didn't eat, lost about 12 pounds in a short period of time...suffered from paranoia, took off on a plane and took all my money out of the bank because I thought someone was trying to **** me, came somewhat to my senses, flew back to my home, then went to the hospital the next day via ambulance after I ended up calling 911 and trying to escape being harmed...I ended up on IV fluid as my electrolytes were all out of whack and on a locked unit for 10 days crying, screaming and completely wired up...doctors changed half way throughout my hospitalization and second doctor would not diagnosis with me bipolar, as he said I did not have the "right history" or meet other textbook criteria...I am a fairly high functioning person and have never had an episode like this before in my life, but, what concerns me now, is prior to the not sleeping for 9 days, just before the insomnia I went through about a week of my thoughts racing, like crazy thinking, that would not shut off and made it difficult to sleep. I think I started to hallucinate about the 4th day of no sleep....The pdoc I was seeing after I was dc'd from hospital refused to diagnose me with anything (he put down adjustment disorder as primary diagnosis). To make things more concerning for me, my mom just revealed that my dad had episodes of hypomania throughout their marriage and both her and my brother have had "high energy periods"...Maybe I'm over reacting, but when I started thinking back on my life, I came to the conclusion that my episodes of extreme energy and creativity and happy happy might be hypomania...But the other confusing thing is I don't have past history of not needing sleep or having hyper sexualized behaviour or spending money (the only time would be this last episode when ended up in hospital). Right now I'm on Risperidone, Seroquel and was started on an antidepressant for depression and anxiety (after reading posts in this forum I even question if it is anxiety its more like my thoughts just don't stop at times). My thoughts have started to speed up again, not to the point of being out of control but bothersome (like I was up at 3 am and it felt like my thoughts were "loud" if that make sense and I had a difficult time shutting them out). I know the SSRI Zoloft is definately contributing to this, as I was really really depressed prior to taking SSRI's about a month ago and could not even get out of bed to feed myself or take a shower. I don't want to stop taking the SSRI cause the depression was bad, and I feel happy now but maybe but also wired. I am also getting spells of feeling like I'm losing it (sort of like anxiety and panic at the same time) and doc gave me clonazepam for it....I want to be on the right meds but doc doesn't seem to think I have bipolar, she had me screened by a psychologist who thought my hospitalization was a result of mental breakdown due to work related stress...after reading stuff here I'm wondering if I should push another consult with a pdoc...has anyone been in a similar situation...I've increased my Risperidone which seems to help with the racing thoughts, and the Clonzepam helps calm me down somewhat....I should mention that I cleared in hospital after the IV fluid, sleep and medication...My current doctor says some people just have low thresholds for breakdowns, and I was going through alot prior, but everything I read points to classic symptoms of Bipolar...My moods have always been eratic, and I'm always "thinking" about stuff, like overthinking things to death...

Hi Theblondegirl

You have had a lot going on, a lot of stress and a lot of pressure.
Bipolar is incredibly difficult to diagnose, as it contains many symptoms of other disorders as well.
Going for a second opinion can't hurt at all, but what you are explaining could be a multitude of different things as well.
Also with a bipolar diagnosis, it can take a long time to diagnose.

Trace

I agree with Trace, a second opinion would not hurt. You certainly have been through a lot I'm glad you are thinking about continuing to get help and get diagnosed correctly so you can receive proper treatment. Maybe you can write down you ups and downs (if any) over the past 10 years or so and take it to your next Dr visit, it might help your Dr diagnose you, whether it be Bipolar or not. Hang in there, do not give up and let us know how you are doing. We are always here to listen.