[lotusflames]

I moved a few weeks ago and saw my new gp on thursday morning for the first time/ anyway, it went well. he seems really nice and was very understanding about everything and has referred me to CMHT in the area blah blah blah.

anyway, this is NOT his fault but has set me off on a downward spiral since thursday that i can't break.

apparantely, my old team have diagnosed me bipolar.

Am i? i can't agree with it! i dont want to agree with it. I always thought I was BPD and still do but bipolar? I was told at 20 i wasn't bipolar when i saw the crisis team nurse for all of 10 minutes having taken an overdose in Manchester. so why decide now that I am?

how do I know? how do i know whether the mood swings aren't just normal? That the bursts of energy and drastic shift in my sex drive weren't just because i was ok/ good and not ill anymore?

sure I feel restless today and cant sit still but I'm like this quite a lot of the time. My attention span is short. my head races so much when i try and sleep that it's sometimes impossible.

does that all mean I am bp? And that i should just accept it?

[bridgie]

Its possible do you have the dramtic drops into depression too. Only a doctor can diagnose you. You can always get another opinion if you feel they aren't on the right track

[lotusflames]

i do. every few months usually. getting closer together.

i just, i cant identify with being particularly manic though my partner thinks i do to an extent.

it's the psych who's diagnosed me. i should be seein a new one soon so we'll see.

[Berries]

Originally Posted by lotusflames

i do. every few months usually. getting closer together.

i just, i cant identify with being particularly manic though my partner thinks i do to an extent.

it's the psych who's diagnosed me. i should be seein a new one soon so we'll see.

Be careful in getting a second opinion. I wouldn't tell them that someone diagnosed you as bipolar. I heard (from a pdoc) that pdocs do not like to contradict each other and usually stick with the first diagnoses. AND I have had this experience myself. They just go with what the doctor before them said and it is very difficult to get an objective opinion.
I'd not even mention the word "bipolar" with the new one.

Also, mood swings are a part of borderline personality disorder, even though it is a completely different diagnoses. The mood swings are different too.

I hope this helps.

[lotusflames]

thanks but i wont get a choice in it. my notes will be teansferred over to my new team so they'll know everything that's been said before hand.

but i'm eeling better now than with my last psych so i might be able to be more open with them

[VickiesPath]

Originally Posted by lotusflames

thanks but i wont get a choice in it. my notes will be teansferred over to my new team so they'll know everything that's been said before hand.

but i'm eeling better now than with my last psych so i might be able to be more open with them

My rule of thumb has always been, talk symptoms. It's their job to talk diagnoses.

And I try to be object and not assume anything, just the facts re: the symptoms I experience.

Best of luck.

[Berries]

Vickie makes a very good point. Diagnoses are really just for Docs and insurance companies.
Who cares what lable the use. As long as they know your symptoms they can treat the symptoms.
Not every bipolar has the same symptoms as one another and that goes for ever diagnosis.
My advice--Just be open and honest and write stuff down for the appointment so you don't forget anything.

GOOD LUCK!! Be sure and let us know how it goes!!!

[lotusflames]

i think something is wron with me. so much so i've just sent a lon message to my sw even though i a) dont see him now and b) it's out of hours.

i feel agitated, antsy almost. cant sit still. legs have this urge to move. head is racing. just full of stuff but i have no idea what it is. Kind of spaced out too. had trouble sleeping last night cos head was goin round and round. half time today was struggling to sit still and concentrate. listening to like 10 conversations at once. I'm working ok but have to keep getting up and doing other things cos concentrating is just so hard.

what's going on?

I feel like i should go out for a run (I dont run) to see if i can feel tired and get rid of the excess energy.

---

My problem has always been i dont want everyone to know everythign and so i've kept a lot of stuff back from my team until my sw has been there to witness or has heard from my SO what i've done.

i need to trust the new team i know but i cant.

[thinker22]

Whether you are or you aren't, the symptoms you just described are like mine for the past 4 weeks. I've been manic or mixed according to my dx. I think one of the key differences between BPD and bipolar is the length of time in one state or the other. The manic episode at least a week long (or mixed with both depression and tons of energy, impulsivity, insomnia, etc.) and usually sandwiched between 2 or more weeks of depression on either side of the episode.

BPD has more relationship issues which may or may not be explained by bipolar related actions. I think the idealizing and then totally devaluing people in one's life is a key sign to BPD. It's more like whims and people are all for you or all against you. You can be both bipolar and have BPD, and they have overlap symptoms with mood swings. I just find that other than rapid cycling or mixed days, BPD seems like the moods swing a lot more often.

Sorry if I've already said all this. I'm kind of tired and can't remember things very well right now.

Wish you the best in your treatment and search for hope and treatment of whatever's causing your symptoms.