1. The reason doctors are primarily concerned with controlling the manic episodes is because the suicide risk skyrockets during manic periods compared with depressive episodes. That may sound bizaare, but if you'll follow me for a moment I think it will make sense. About 1/4 BPD people attempt suicide at some point, but during a manic episode this risk increases almost 35 times. Why? Well, to explain that I think we should look at why anti-depressants are touted for increasing the risk of suicide, especially in kids. It comes down to the fact that depressed people, generally speaking, can't conjure the strength to do anything, including kill themselves. However, once they start an anti-depressant, they may suddenly have the motivation to go through with it because the pills have started working enough to increase energy but not enough to alleviate depression. Therefore, it makes sense to me that someone with bipolar would be more motivated to actually attempt suicide after having suddenly snapped out of a bad depression. I'd guess this would be amplified in rapid-cyclers. Talk to your doctor and ask why he/she is more concerned with treating the mania. I could be off base here, but I think it's logical and factual from what I've read/experienced.
2. I personally think that I suffer more from major depression and hypomania than full-blown mania. If I am in fact bipolar, I'm a pretty rapid-cycler. I think it's also possible that I'm cyclothymic but I think my depressive end too bad for that. Anyway, does anyone know anything about Symbyax? I have only read two articles about it, but it's basically a mixture of Prozac and Zyprexa. It seems worth looking into, so if anyone has input/info please throw it out there.
3. That said, I haven't been formally diagnosed with BPD but rather with ADHD. (I'm 23 but was diagnosed as a teenager.) I'm not entirely sure if I'm misdiagnosed as ADHD and BPD are similar in symptoms and often confused or if I legitimately have both (which I've heard is not uncommon). Anyway, I just wondered if you've had a formal diagnosis that eliminated the possibility of adult ADHD because some things you said seemed more characteristic of that than BPD. I'm new to this forum so I don't know if "pdoc" means primary care doctor or psychiatrist, etc. Again, I'm not doctor, so I'm just asking. <font color="blue"> </font>