I am almost positive that I have bipolar disorder, there is a strong family history of it on my father's side of the family. I have all the symptons, with the exception that I've never had a manic episode (some hypomanic but never full fledge mania). So this leads me to believe that I have bipolar II disorder.

However, my psychiatrist told me that I am not bipolar because my moods are not severe enough and because I am not suicidal. The thing is, I don't even talk to him. My sessions with my psychiatrist usually last 5-10 minutes, just long enough for him to increase/decrease or change my meds. I currently take 1200mg trileptal and 600mg lithium a day, to control my mood cycles.

I have a therapist, who I talk to for an hour each week for various issues I have. She seems to think that it is a strong possibility that I may be bipolar.

My question is should I seek out a second opinion with a new psychiatrist? It just seems a little weird that because I haven't attempted suicide that I can't be bipolar. I have several people in my family that are bipolar and not one of them, to my knowledge, has attempted suicide. It just makes no sense to me.