[moninja7]

I am SOOO confused with my illness. I've seen 3 different NPs and MDs and I've been diagnosed with several things that no one wants to put a name to it. My newest psychiatrist said "let's not worry about that now". Just take your medication and see how you feel. FINE! GRANTED I know I have to do that but can't you at least give me some insight? Can I get my question answered? What's the mystery? Is this something common that happens?

[Odee]

The best insight you can get is research online. Keep researching your diagnosis, your current, past, and possible future.

Mental illness is the mystery that no one you have seen can solve. Unfortunately, sometimes your response to meds is the closest you can get to puzzling out the correct (or most correct as close to anyone can ever be with mental illness) diagnosis. It's pretty common.

[bluefish27]

Originally Posted by moninja7

I am SOOO confused with my illness. I've seen 3 different NPs and MDs and I've been diagnosed with several things that no one wants to put a name to it. My newest psychiatrist said "let's not worry about that now". Just take your medication and see how you feel. FINE! GRANTED I know I have to do that but can't you at least give me some insight? Can I get my question answered? What's the mystery? Is this something common that happens?

Hi. I am in a similar situation. As soon as I brought up I think I have BPD it was avoided like the plague and told that is not a stigma you want attached to you for the rest of your life. But hello......how are we expected to recover if we aren't treating the right things ? Some doctors say the diagnosis is not important , but I totally do not buy that. For a few reasons, being self aware of what is going on and how to not trigger those things and how to help yourself is necessary you educate and understand the nature of your illness. Anyway, keep fighting for yourself and find a doctor that will openly talk with you about what he thinks is going on and explain why....in my opinion when something is true all of the sudden the pieces will fit together like a puzzle and the whole picture will become clear...you will have an ahh haa moment Good luck !

[Bipolar mom]

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? Sometimes pdocs wont want to diagnose id you are young bc your aymptoms might change.

i started showing signs of mood swings at 14. My pdoc felt i was too young to be labeled. i was only diagnosed bp after inpatient stay when I was 17... And that was well, you show abc signs of bpd... Minuse the anger, so lets say your bp and try this med. but my pdoc still wouldn't talk about it after and after trying a couple more meds I got frustrated and decided talk therapy for a while instead.

The thing is bpd and bp are treated differently medication wise I believe... So I always wondered if I was bpd instead since mood stabilizers didn't work for me.

You are definitely not alone, I understand your frustrations.. Good luck and hopefully you find some answers.

[Victoria'smom]

My T (therapist) always smiles and asks why I want to know. I doubt T ever give me a real answer. I don't ask my pdoc (psychiatrist) because I don't think I could handle him not giving me a straight answer. Your dx. may still be up in the air or pdoc may be worried about med compliance. I tend to think my Dx. will change when the DSM 5 comes out.

[BipolaRNurse]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

My T (therapist) always smiles and asks why I want to know. I doubt T ever give me a real answer. I don't ask my pdoc (psychiatrist) because I don't think I could handle him not giving me a straight answer. Your dx. may still be up in the air or pdoc may be worried about med compliance. I tend to think my Dx. will change when the DSM 5 comes out.

That's what I was thinking, too. I've been dragging around this BP-NOS label for almost a year, wondering what my eventual dx will be but not wanting to ask "OK, so what number am I gonna get?" My pdoc originally gave me the NOS designation because he wasn't 100% sure I really had bipolar, and he told me he might change it back to depressive disorder depending on what he saw from that point on. In fact, I was only supposed to have 2-3 visits and then go back to my regular doctor....well, we all know how THAT turned out.

It didn't take more than another couple of visits for him to decide that I was very definitely bipolar, and the 'depressive disorder' diagnosis went away completely. I don't even have seasonal-affective disorder listed in my medical history now......I think it all folds into the bipolar dx because there are seasonal patterns to my mood episodes, and my pdoc has been seeing me long enough now to have observed both 'poles'. Should be interesting to find out how it changes when DSM-V comes out.

[Lil Ant Lady]

Could be both?
Comorbid disorders do exist, ie my Dx is Cyclo and bpd. I dunno bout the Cyclo Dx as I def HAVE had at least 1 MDD actually think I've had about 4 or 5 since I got Ill I'd say I was BP II but hey I'm not the psych.
Can tell the difference between each Dx too.
Depression and Hypo hit with no triggers whereas Bpd does. Sensitivity to emotional stimuli.
Some experts argue that bpd is in fact a manic depressive illness anyway.
I dunno, all I know is I'm f@#'d in the head lol
Can't live without meds, tried and failed epically.
Meds treatment is pretty much the same for both
Therapy differs tho x

[broncogirl]

Originally Posted by bluefish27

Hi. I am in a similar situation. As soon as I brought up I think I have BPD it was avoided like the plague and told that is not a stigma you want attached to you for the rest of your life. But hello......how are we expected to recover if we aren't treating the right things ? Some doctors say the diagnosis is not important , but I totally do not buy that. For a few reasons, being self aware of what is going on and how to not trigger those things and how to help yourself is necessary you educate and understand the nature of your illness. Anyway, keep fighting for yourself and find a doctor that will openly talk with you about what he thinks is going on and explain why....in my opinion when something is true all of the sudden the pieces will fit together like a puzzle and the whole picture will become clear...you will have an ahh haa moment Good luck !

I also am confused between Bipolar or BPD ! My mom in law thinks my thyroid is messed up & mentioned Bipolar to me....the Psy evaluated me with Post Tramatic stress syndrome.
So, I am very confused!..

[bluefish27]

Originally Posted by Bipolar mom

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? Sometimes pdocs wont want to diagnose id you are young bc your aymptoms might change.

i started showing signs of mood swings at 14. My pdoc felt i was too young to be labeled. i was only diagnosed bp after inpatient stay when I was 17... And that was well, you show abc signs of bpd... Minuse the anger, so lets say your bp and try this med. but my pdoc still wouldn't talk about it after and after trying a couple more meds I got frustrated and decided talk therapy for a while instead.

The thing is bpd and bp are treated differently medication wise I believe... So I always wondered if I was bpd instead since mood stabilizers didn't work for me.

You are definitely not alone, I understand your frustrations.. Good luck and hopefully you find some answers.

I am 27. Whatever I have its been a problem my whole life, but I was 18 when things got really out of control suddenly. Good luck to you.

A lot of Pdocs & Ts don't like to give labels because, in a lot of people, having a label gives them esteem issues. It makes them feel like they're a walking diagnosis -- not an individual deserving of their own type of treatment. I know I'm interested in knowing what EXACTLY I'm dealing with, but really? It makes no difference. If it's being treated appropriately then it doesn't matter what it's called. Just do some online research -- find what you think applies to you more so you can practice self-help habits.

[thickntired]

I asked my T once I thought I had BPD and she said, "show me a 17 year old and I'll show you BPD." Now, that was not professional IMO, but I think her point is a huge amount of people could fall under the BPD diagnosis.

My pdoc hit me with Bipolar NOS which I think is bs because I was psychotic when we met, OCD, and ADHD.

My SSDI evaluation came back bipolar I, PTSD, personality disorder NOS borderline what ever in the world that means.

My advice is don't sweat the labels and remember psychiatry is not a science. They can't take a blood sample to prove any of us are mentally ill.

TnT

[hamster-bamster]

Go see a PhD psychologist and ask for MCMI that would shed light on what you have.