[jnhuscg]

Hi Everyone,

I've been recently diagnosed with Bipolar I from a psychiatrist, and I keep seeing "triggers" that everyone talks about. What exactly ARE some triggers? I'm currently under a lot of stress with work and my family situation (going through a divorce, moving). Could my wife be a trigger and can this bipolar go away on it's own, or be a complete misdiagnosis because I've just been under so much stress?

The reason I ask is because I am in the US military and I was diagnosed by a civilian doctor. I have an appointment with the military psychiatrist next week and he is pretty much going to decide my fate in my career. If he agrees that i'm bipolar, I'm gone, but if he doesn't, I get to keep my job...I'm in quite a condundrum. Hope someone can help me out with what some possible "triggers" could be

My main symptoms include:

-Rage
-Irritiability
-Some depression, but feeling angry at the same time
-Forgetfulness (my biggest complaint, I can't even remember my symptoms to tell the doc)

Thanks,

Jeremy

[madisgram]

my interpretation of triggers are any event that sends me into a tailspin and i react in a way that disrupts my serenity. in therapy i work on learning how to cope when things set me off. thinking thru rather than reacting in ways i don't want to. more grey thinking rather than black and white thinking. less rigid.

[Detach]

I'm sorry you are going through this

With my most recent mania I had the symptoms you mention.... Stress triggered my episode.... after 2-3 weeks of hypomania, I went into mania. I wasn't grandiose or jumping up in down or hallucinating, but the irritability, agitation, anger and forgetfulness were TERRIBLE. I'm sorry this Dx may be the end of your career, but you need to have proper tx or your life will be unmanageable. And if you ARE Bipolar, then the Dx will never go away, however with proper Tx you can become... "stable". However, with loads of stress you can still have episodes, even if you're taking your meds... "stress" is different for everyone, so your triggers may be different then mine. The worst stress I can have however is the type of stress that makes me worry.

I was working a LOT, totally stressed and then my son got into trouble (it's fine now) he was facing a possible felony and a restitution of $28,000. That was it... and my "episode" began. So, I think my son getting in trouble was the straw that broke the camels back.

My Tdoc says stress itself is horrible for Bipolar people, more so then the general population, it can make us become "out of balance", causing an episode.

As far as you question regarding can it be a misdiagnosis- well anything is possible, however when I was Dx my bro-in-law was dying, I hated my job and I was going through bankruptcy..... But I was still DX with Bipolar.

[jnhuscg]

Originally Posted by madisgram

my interpretation of triggers are any event that sends me into a tailspin and i react in a way that disrupts my serenity. in therapy i work on learning how to cope when things set me off. thinking thru rather than reacting in ways i don't want to. more grey thinking rather than black and white thinking. less rigid.

So I'm just going to use myself as an example. Would my wife and I fighting be considered a trigger since every time we fight I go into a "manic" phase to where I feel like I could rip the head off of an elephant with my bare hands, slamming doors, punching walls, doing things that I normally wouldnt do?

I've only been to one therapy session but he told me to picture my son in the worst possible way immaginable, in a hospital bed dying of cancer and him asking me to tell him he'll be OK and relate that to me getting mad over something petty, I'm assuming that's what you're talking about. Basically I'm unsure that I'm bipolar. Almost in denial

[Detach]

Originally Posted by jnhuscg

So I'm just going to use myself as an example. Would my wife and I fighting be considered a trigger since every time we fight I go into a "manic" phase to where I feel like I could rip the head off of an elephant with my bare hands, slamming doors, punching walls, doing things that I normally wouldnt do?

If your not stable and/or still manic, then yes a fight could cause your feelings and behavior.

[Anneinside]

You didn't mention anything about mania, the key indicator of bipolar. From this site:

Three or more of the following symptoms must be present:

• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
• Decreased need for sleep (e.g., one feels rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
• More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
• Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
• Attention is easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant items
• Increase in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
• Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g., engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments)

[AbeIsAbe]

Originally Posted by Anneinside

You didn't mention anything about mania, the key indicator of bipolar. From this site:

Irritability is a symptom on mania. Just not as pleasant as the rest, so it's not typically listed. Irritability is not just found in manic episodes but also mixed.

The symptoms I have found for mania include:
Increased Energy
Restlessness (this IS different from Increased Energy)
Very High Mood
Extreme Irritability
Racing Thought
Talking Fast
Distractability
Poor Judgement
Spending Sprees
Increased sex drive
Intrusive Thoughts
Aggressive Thoughts
High Motivation

...

I hope it turns out the the doctor was wrong as I understand that this will take away your career, which you obviously chose and would not want anyone else going through this. Based on what you have listed so far (although you not knowing the whole list of symptoms could result in you not listing something as a symptom, like if you didn't know a runny nose could mean you had a cold, you wouldn't list it because you would think its not related.) I wouldn't consider it bipolar. I'm hoping that maybe this is maybe just some anger problems and Situational depression (I call it situational because when the situation you're going through is over, the depression is gone).

If you are in denial, Look up the symptoms (in multiple places, one site won't list them all). Take a really good look at your moods and your behaviors. Because the sooner you start treatment, the sooner you can become stable. And look up Mixed Episode... see if that fits.

[AbeIsAbe]

PS. Bipolar does not go away but people can become stable and go into remission.

[Detach]

Originally Posted by Anneinside

You didn't mention anything about mania, the key indicator of bipolar.

Everything he mentioned IS mania....I know because I was just in the psych hospital for 9 days for the same symptoms, except I also had distraction, sensitivity to noise and fast talking. Also, when at the hospital their were some patients jumping up/down, screaming, yelling.....I yelled at them days in a row to shut the "F" up and sit the "F" down...

So much so that it changed my diagnosis from Bipolar II to Bipolar I, yes I had hypomania first...all the classic "good" symptoms, but then it took a turn for the worse and I didn't recognize myself...

[roads]

I'm 65 & for 50 yrs was dx clinically depressed. Maybe I was, but I verged on, & several times attempted, suicide during that time until almost 3 yrs ago when a dx of bipolar changed my life, because finally I was prescribed medication that gave my brain what I guess nature didn't.

Like all the others, Jeremy, I am so sorry for what you're going through. The thought of losing your career is more than I can imagine. But I do know--even without knowing you--what would be worse: to go thru life being bipolar & being untreated (or improperly treated) for it. You don't really have a life.

As scary & horrible as losing your career would be, I wish you the best in proper diagnosis & therapy--whichever way that goes. I hope you come back here & let us know how you're doing. This is a great place to be & wonderful, wise, caring people to be with--if you have to go thru the bad stuff.

[me_myself__I]

Originally Posted by jnhuscg

Hi Everyone,

I've been recently diagnosed with Bipolar I from a psychiatrist, and I keep seeing "triggers" that everyone talks about. What exactly ARE some triggers? I'm currently under a lot of stress with work and my family situation (going through a divorce, moving). Could my wife be a trigger and can this bipolar go away on it's own, or be a complete misdiagnosis because I've just been under so much stress?

The reason I ask is because I am in the US military and I was diagnosed by a civilian doctor. I have an appointment with the military psychiatrist next week and he is pretty much going to decide my fate in my career. If he agrees that i'm bipolar, I'm gone, but if he doesn't, I get to keep my job...I'm in quite a condundrum. Hope someone can help me out with what some possible "triggers" could be

My main symptoms include:

-Rage
-Irritiability
-Some depression, but feeling angry at the same time
-Forgetfulness (my biggest complaint, I can't even remember my symptoms to tell the doc)

Thanks,

Jeremy

u really need more than one dr to diagnose u, Let the milataryknow this...tell them you really need at least 3 drs say that you are BP1 before they fire your or else they aren't even giving you a chance.....Maybe see a therapist regularly just like your civil dr and pcp so u can work through some of the issuse that are going on right now ie. devorce. You are thinking logically therefore your BP is not severe at least not yet and that is only IF you do have BP. Along with your issues, you have your job u worry about and fate, so i understand u r under alot of stress! This could deffinatly be a simple misdiagnosis but you will not know untill u c a therapist, he/she will be able to untangle this mess!
Now i don't know the deffinition of "triggers" are but i have a pretty good idea. A trigger is when someone or something brings out a symptom of your diagnosis. Once you can identify your "triggers", usually the trigger will not effect u becuz u know how to identify, cope & manage it.

for example: If you & your soon to be x get into it and u get unraged, irratable or angry...She is your "trigger" get away as fast as u can untill u can cope & manage the situation. However u may still not be able to talk to her because she may still be a trigger simply by fighting with u continuously again. So, YES she could be a trigger.
One of my triggers are watching a horror flick ... I know that I can't handle the violence so... i don't watch them allthough i once loved them.

BP can come on and off as your brain chemistry changes because BP is nerological.. it can only be treated with meds. There is no cure yet.
Good luck and hope you get this all figured out. It will take time though.
idk, but hope this helped a little.

[jnhuscg]

Originally Posted by roadrunnerbeepbeep

I'm 65 & for 50 yrs was dx clinically depressed. Maybe I was, but I verged on, & several times attempted, suicide during that time until almost 3 yrs ago when a dx of bipolar changed my life, because finally I was prescribed medication that gave my brain what I guess nature didn't.

Like all the others, Jeremy, I am so sorry for what you're going through. The thought of losing your career is more than I can imagine. But I do know--even without knowing you--what would be worse: to go thru life being bipolar & being untreated (or improperly treated) for it. You don't really have a life.

As scary & horrible as losing your career would be, I wish you the best in proper diagnosis & therapy--whichever way that goes. I hope you come back here & let us know how you're doing. This is a great place to be & wonderful, wise, caring people to be with--if you have to go thru the bad stuff.

Roadrunner, thanks for the kind words and support. My dx was kind of the same thing, but in a shorter time span. I went to the military doctor and he just said I was depressed and put me on Lexapro. I started taking Lexapro (for 6 months) and I felt "better", then "good", then "really good", then started having symptoms of mania listed above to the point where I wanted to committ suicide. It was horrible. I guess you could say I had (and still have) psychosis (a lot of "word salad" and what-not). The Pdoc put me on Depakote ER (divalproex ER) and it's been helping. Hopefully I'll start feeling like myself again soon because I'm moving out of my ex's house and that will relieve some stress. Have an apppointment with the Pdoc and Tdoc this week, so things are looking up (minus the whole getting discharged from the military lol)

[roads]

Jeremy, I just posted to you on another thread! With the Rays banner & Florida connection, i ought to have recognized you. Sorry, you'll think I'm demented as well--but truth is my memory's not the best thing going for me.

So glad to hear you're lined up with both pdoc &tdoc this week. Hope they're both good fits for you & you can get a start on your strategy.

My very best wishes go out to you. Stay in touch & let us know if we can do anything. Hugs available, or I'm around if you need non-judging ears for a much needed .

[Detach]

This is a sentence from the article I have copied below regarding several types of mood disorders and the military, are you positive you will lose your job?

"Return to duty depends on a range and balance of several factors, including the patient’s goals, the medical recommendation, the patient’s military occupation, the location, and the likelihood of deployment."

http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentG...e_Military.htm