I was diagnosed by my p-doc 13 years ago with "Major Depression - Recurrent." It took a good year to find the correct anti-depressant in the right dosage to keep my depressive episodes at bay. Finally, p-doc said my depression was "rapid cycling" and he was going to add Depakote to the Zoloft I was taking because Depakote will stop the cycling. Ok, made sense.

Then in a former job, I went out on FMLA and when I saw the info p-doc had submitted, I checked the code in my DSM handbook and found that it was bipolar! I had a friend who was getting her license in Mental Health Counseling and I told her about this and she said "Get that expunged from your record! That is not your diagnosis and you don't want that on your record!" That concerned me so I contacted my p-doc and he said he had put the wrong code down and changed it to Major Depression - Recurrent.

I was also in grad school for mental health counseling at the time and when I prepared my paperwork to submit to the state to be approved for a "license to pursue a license" I needed documention from my p-doc that I was stable. The letter he wrote did not use any codes, but just again stated I had been under his care for the depression.
*************
Fast forward to the present. I'm currently out on short term disability from work. Once again, when I saw the paperwork p-doc submitted it had the bipolar dx on it again. This time I was too ill to call and question this.

I began therapy again this week (really, really like my new T by the way) and during our session, plus looking at the symptoms I had noted on her paperwork, she said "You don't have depression, you are bipolar." I told her all of the above and she said she had just taken intense training on this. I said I have never had a manic episode - I'm either way down or steady, no highs.

T explained that I am Bipolar II and I'm hypomanic not manic depressive. I asked her to explain the difference but I was so anxious being there to begin with that I didn't really wrap my mind around it then. I was mainly disgruntled with why my p-doc told me one thing, then used a different dx code, then changed it when challenged, then used it again.

I just checked my DSM and I DO see now what T was talking about. The symptoms of Bipolar II are exactly what I experience.

So, hi everyone - will be reading/posting on this board.

Also, anyone else have any experience with their p-doc like that?