Hello again BipolaRNurse

Incidentally you replied to my thread about two hours after I got out of the pdoc's office. Here's what went down.

I didn't bring my wife, but I did take about a 6 page "manifest", so to speak, of the events that I could remember leading up to yesterday, just as you did. We immediately launched into why I was there. On the advice of some of this thread's commenters, I didn't immediately mention bipolar as a self-diagnosis, but I did begin where I had my first major mental break from a year and a half ago. About half way through the visit, I concluded my story with the bombshell that my father has bipolar and that I thought I had it too, which is why I was ultimately there. She nodded in agreement and then we went straight away into the billion question questionnaire that she needed to ask.

At the end of the visit (about 2 hours) her diagnosis was Bipolar II, despite my intense manic driving incidents (see my previous threads for more info). I thought it would be Bipolar I, but after thinking about it, Bipolar II makes a good deal of sense and it gave me an idea where she drew the line. She prescribed me Risperidone to help me get back on a good sleeping pattern and Lamotrigine for the mania and depression, which I am currently in. Took my first pills last night and this morning. I gotta say, that Risperidone sure kicked in pretty good and I would out like a light within an hour and a half!

In conclusion, I agree with you that treatment is the most important reason why I was there. I was ready to accept almost anything so long as I could get a little something to help sort out the crazyness of my days. I was not at all surprised by her diagnosis and it made me feel better knowing I was at least on the right track. And to top it all off, my pdoc and I connected really well almost right away -- she's a really neat lady, I like her a lot.

Thanks again for your advice and support. I'll keep you all updated on how the meds affect me over the next few weeks/months. Cheers!