finally dx'd

My T knew I was BP for months, but Pdoc would NOT add it to my Dx until yesterday. He dropped two of my meds and it sent me into a mixed episode that almost landed me in the hospital.

Finally saw it on paper:
"296.7 Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Unspecified"

Hm not too sure how I feel about it. I mean I know it's just a label.. but I guess it's a dose of reality.

Labels are good and bad. One the one hand people may use it to judge you. On the other hand if you ever have a major episode or health concern it is good for the health care professionals to know your history.

I remember I was relieved when I was given a Dx. It finally explained what was going on with me instead of me being the "crazy weird girl" all the time.

Yup, they can be good because until we know what's going on, we lack insight. The very thing we need to deal with our problems appropriately. You could try to look at your dx as a gain of power and knowledge. Both those things are needed for you take take control back.

I know it's kind of a double edged sword and there is a bit of a grieving process involved, it's important to work through that stage. There was a thread awhile back about that very topic. Bipolar will be what you make it, in terms of a label, just like anything else. We do have the power to choose what it means to us. Of course it's no bed of roses, but what in life is. We are all handed something.

Sometimes I think pdocs like to play on the side of caution when it comes to dx'ing. There has been much talk about wether it's being over diagnosed. And sometimes the symptoms are nothing short of perplexing if you do not present classically. And who with Bipolar really does? I think it could be a good thing that your pdoc is being careful about dx'ing too quickly. It's better to make sure it's the right dx than to be given the wrong one.

You can say that again! I'm thankful my own pdoc is very conservative about diagnosing patients, although he did dx me with BP NOS at the first visit. He told me his colleague in the next office is a national expert on the disorder and HE probably would've put me in the hospital, because I'm somewhere between I and II with mixed episodes and rapid cycling.

Well, I don't think I needed to be in the hospital, then or now, so I'm really glad to have a pdoc who admits to UNDERdiagnosing bipolar. The other thing is, when a doc like mine says you have bipolar, you know it's true, and it makes it a lot harder to stay in denial about it.

What is a "dx"?

grin, dx is short for diagnosis...

although being dx'd bipolar isnt fun, finally having the dx officially can be relieving because it gives a reason, an explanation for the madness. at least for me. it was such a relief when i was dx'd ptsd because it made sense of a huge part of my life that was tearing me apart. the criteria matched up with so many things that were going on in my life. most recently pdoc dx'd me with panic disorder with agoraphobia and again, its like, wow, this makes sense, this is whats going on in my life. so my labels feel sort of like guideposts for me.

Kaliope~ Thanks...

I've had a lot of confusion about my dx. My own pdoc has called me BP for several years, but I wasn't sure I believed her. Big case of denial along with not really remembering any manic episodes, but looking back they were there. My other pdoc, that I see only for my ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) has me dx only as major depression, recurrent, but he's only seen me depressed, not manic. My pdoc finally made it clear that I am definitely Bipolar I after this last big manic episode, so I guess it's a relief to finally be able to put a name to it. I feel like now that it's "official" I can get to work on managing it better and try to make my life as normal as possible.