I need advise from those who've been there.

I'm new to forum, and also new to the idea that I may be bipolar. I haven't been to a doctor or diagnosed with anything yet, but I have alarmingly similar symptoms to the disorder. Some fellow members, and close friends and my boyfriend believe I may have the disorder, and have encouraged me to look more into the matter, and I also scored a 49 on the bipolar screening test. But thing is, I don't know what to do from here. All I know is that I want to get a grip on my emotions, because it's ruining my life one step at a time. Could somebody help me out? What steps do I take to get diagnosed. Where I can learn more about treatment types? What different types of BPD are there? How do you handle it? Any information or advise will be greatly appreciated, and a friendly word or two never hurt anyone. Thanks to all who reply, and also, thanks to the people who made this website for people like me, who are in need of help.

I saw a diagnostic psychologist before being referred to my current psychiatrist for meds. It was the diagnostic psychologist who diagnosed me and the psychiatrist followed up and confirmed the diagnosis. we had no health insurance at the time, we do now but then it was a lot of money out of pocket. I think that I went through over three thousand dollars before it was said and done and I was properly medicated. but it doesn't have to be like that. I went all out. it only takes one visist to a psychologist to confirm the suspicion and they might give you a written test that needs to be "graded" to know for sure. you could go right to a psychiatrist and do the same thing, here in arizona, only a psychiatrist can prescribe meds, not psychologists.

There are counselors and therapists that can assist with what's going on too, but they definitely can't prescribe anything for it.

I hope this helps. Hang in there and keep us updated!

Hello dmliddicoat16,

I think that you should consult a doctor, it may be one step forward.

Being a member here is a good start.

I hope you will find what you need here.

Look into your local Universities psyc. Department they are usually cheaper. County health departments can give you a referral, even urgent care. I would look into a therapist first because they are usually easier to get appointments with. Unless there's an emergency it usually takes 1 1/2 or more to get into a psychiatric.

The best thing to do is go see a licensed psychiatrist. Don't put it off though. Go as soon as you can. Don't do what I did and put your trust in any other kind of doctor. That landed me in the psych hospital due to being diagnosed and treated incorrectly.

Hi and welcome. In terms of what to do, you'll definitely want to consult an professional who deals with psychological issues. Although some go through a GP, it's not a great idea, because psychiatric things are very complex and specialized -- beyond the ability of a GP, no matter how well-intentioned. (And like tnlibrarian, I learned that one the hard way.) They can be very useful though. In giving a referral.

No need really to worry about treatment types till you know what is going on. What it is that you might be dealing with, you know? Similarly, the types have various diagnostic parameters and often people do not fit neatly inside one. Sometimes it is neatly "enough" that that label is given to it, and sometimes it goes into a category called "NOS" (not otherwise specified). Then, there are situations where bipolar criteria are not met, but there is some similarity of symptoms noticed that led the person consult with a professional in the first place. Might be cyclothymia. Might be BPD, which is the acronym for borderline (not bipolar -- whose acronym is simply BP, but the letters cause a lot of confusion -- for obvious reasons(!)). I throw the BPD possibility out there not only because it is often confused with BP by the layman (and to further confuse matters, some people have both), but in your saying that you wanted to get a grip on your emotions because they are ruining your life ( on that btw). Emotions is the word that caught my eye. Interestingly enough, there is talk of changing the name of borderline to ERD -- Emotional Regulation Disorder, which would be a much much better name and actually reflective of the symptoms, which the current name is not. But I digress... (all the time... )

What was the question again? Oh. Right. So as you can see from above (and there's far far far more where that came from, lol), it's complicated. Hence the need for a psychiatric professional to sort out what is going on in one's individual situation, and it's best not to get too far ahead of oneself.

"How do you handle it?" Sometimes better, sometimes worse.

If you want to learn more about bipolar, look under Conditions at the top of the page of psychcentral. There is a lot of information there. Then remember google is your friend.

I suggest you edit your OP to remove the personally identifying information.

Good advice Hamster. We make up names to keep our comments private. If you include your name in the entry then someone can google your name and this complete entry will come up. You want to be able to control who gets your personal information.

I think the best step forward to make an appointment with your general doctor and get a referral to a psychiatrist. There are many ways to treat bipolar from medication, meditation, exercise (yoga helps me a lot!), breathing exercises, and creativity release. I hope you look into these and seek help! It is possible to get your emotions under control, even if it takes a while. It's worth it to not let it control your life.

Hi Dory,

like others said best to speak to your doctor. But also keep in mind that many bipolar symptoms are mimiced in other illnesses, which is why it's good to see a doctor. Also good to keep a mood chart. Or, you can use the mania and depression quizes here to track how you're doing. It will save your results. Either way, when you see your doctor print out your results and mood chart and take it in as well. This is a huge help to the doctor.

I also agree with hamster about removing identifying information from your post. It can be dangerous to have that.

also remember that friends and others can't diagnose you. Only doctors can.

Idk how to edit my post

Thanks, I'll definitly keep tack of those things.
Does Doc John ever talk to people's doctors, or give referrals or something?

At the bottom of the post will be a white button that says edit.

If I'm not enrolled in college, can I still go to their psyc. Department??

I think what they mean is that universities often have teaching programs which are often times cheaper because you're working with someone who is still in school. We have an entire hospital where I live that is a teaching hospital but they see real patients. It is cheaper than a normal hospital.

Hi again, dml! This is true and the way you'd generally use, but after it's been there awhile, that option's not available. What to do? No worries, PC's thought of that. From the FAQ page:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/faq.p...q_editingposts

"You can edit your post or delete it for up to 4 hours after posting your entry. After that time, please contact a moderator (by reporting your own post) to have it edited or deleted. Why do we limit your time to edit or delete a post? We have found that, in the past, some people were using this feature to "change history," which resulted in confusion and member upset."

Hope that helps.

Im thinkin BPD is more like what I have than BD (I hope they change the acronym to, its so confusing! Lol). I started a thread much like this one in the BPD forum.

Oh I see. Thanks

Does anyone know if Doc John does referrals or talks to people's doctors??