Quote:
Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse
Same here.......I carried the MDD diagnosis for over a decade and wondered why the hell I was unstable on antidepressants.  It was a year ago tomorrow that I finally received the right diagnosis, and it explained almost everything about the way I've been for most of my life. You cannot imagine what an immense relief it was for me to know at last that I was NOT defective---that I had a brain disorder, not a weak character or a bad disposition.
I don't know whether you are bipolar or not, as I'm not a psychiatrist and can't diagnose you; however, you need to see one in order to be properly diagnosed and treated. Your internist or family medicine doctor isn't the right person to do so either---bipolar is just too complicated for a generalist to deal with.
Wishing you the best, and welcome to PC!! |
I'm glad you finally got the right diagnosis. I'm seeing a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist, and both say I have depression but have not given me formal diagnoses (unless mood disorder counts). Regarding the hypomania, it only came up after I started meds, although you could argue that I had had mixed episodes prior.
I guess now is as good a time as any to ask: I read about how people with bipolar can function on little sleep (and I have a friend like that). I slept later than usual last night, and I'm tired right now on 7.5 hours of sleep (with interruptions). Then again, I feel like I could scale a building, and now that I'm sitting up, I've woken up more. My psychiatrist says it can't be hypomania because of the sleep. I was wondering if anyone else felt similarly. I do function on relatively less sleep and I do have some sleep debt, not to mention I have a lifetime of bad sleeping habits (but I'm working on those).
I should get ready. Toodles!