[Undead33]

Hey, I'm new here and you guys are probably tired of the "could I be bipolar?" threads, but I could really use your help. No one knows what's wrong with me. I've been diagnosed with almost everything. I'm starting to wonder if I could be bipolar. I've been depressed since I was a teenager. For about a week (or less) every few months I get kind of wacky. This started happening to me about 3 years ago. I'm 22 years old. Sometimes this happens for like four days in one month. There's no definite cycle. It happens randomly.

I apply for all kinds of jobs, take way more classes than I can handle, think I'm the smartest/sexiest/most awesome/[insert random quality here] person in the world, stay up all night and meet a ton of people (I'm kind of an antisocial snob so that's way out of character.) I woke up one morning and decided to join the Air Force... and got kicked out 3 years later. I cheated on and lost the best person that was ever in my life. I hooked up with a ton of strangers. I got arrested. I broke some guy's window with my fist because he pissed me off. I raced my secret lover on the highway going 120mph at 3am. I have many more stories...

I described these symptoms to my psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with mood disorder NOS. He said that I couldn't be diagnosed as bipolar because my manic episodes weren't long enough and they happened far too often. Was he right or wrong? Should I get a second opinion? I do have ADHD and this could be a sign of poor impulse control I guess... I suspect bipolar because I'm not a window breaking psycho all of the time.

[99 FAIRIES]

I have bipolar. And i know mania when I hear it. But Im no doctor either. So my advice? Definitely get that second opinion. Sooner rather than later. Best of luck to you.

[dragonfly2]

Yes, I would get a second opinion. Psychiatry does what it can to try to standardize the diagnosis of disorders, but our illnesses don't read the textbooks and there are many of us who don't fit the DSM mold. While you may not fit into the neat little boxes marked BP1 or BP2, you may still have bipolar disorder. Some would call this simply semantics, that it's the symptoms that they need to treat and not the diagnosis, but very often the diagnosis will determine the treatment and getting the wrong treatment can prove disastrous.

You're at the age at which bipolar symptoms can really begin to develop, and it sounds like you have good insight as to what's going on with you - knowing when things are out of character for you for instance.

Do you keep a mood chart? That would be my next step - documenting all these mood shifts. Here is a link to a good one: http://www.michaelbarbermd.com/yahoo....143191138.pdf

There are others out there if you simply google "bipolar mood chart", but this is the one I have found the most helpful. Start now while you're waiting for your next appointment or waiting to get in to see another pdoc for a second opinion. Sometimes it takes writing things down on a daily basis for us to see patterns and for things to make sense.

Another helpful tool I have used when I was first getting my diagnosis is life charting. You basically make a timeline of your mood episodes, going as far back as you can remember, noting exact months/timeframes and including any significant events (family deaths, start of school, holidays, etc) that may have come before a mood shift. That can help you see seasonal or other patterns you may not have realized were there, which can be another indicator of bipolar disorder.

As far as the ADHD, the two can coexist. Both my husband and my daughter have both ADD and bipolar. They each have their own qualities but can be very difficult to tease apart, so you could very well have both. Granted, there are some impulse control issues with ADHD/ADD, but one generally doesn't see the grandiosity or some of the other issues you mentioned with ADHD.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Skittles56]

If you don't agree with your doctor, you should definitely get a second opinion. What you describe certainly sounds like bipolar mania, but none of us is qualified to give you a diagnosis.

Hope this helps.

[ultramar]

It sounds like you're describing some grandiose thinking and especially a lot of impulsivity. You could be labeled with any number of things. Since it's so complicated, pdocs I think do tend to reply -when it comes to bipolar- on how often and how long when it comes to moods.

You could go for a second opinion (and if you do this, or even stay with the same one, I would do some mood charting while being as specific as possible as to your experiences, triggers, how long they last, etc.) -or you could stay with this one and just give it some time for him to get to know you and you to get to know yourself better (are you in therapy?). Many pdocs just don't want to make such a devastating diagnosis before they've gotten to know you better. It may just take some time to figure things out. Best of luck!

[Victoria'smom]

Personally stay with the NOS and go to a psychologist for therapy. As they get to know they'll be able to diagnoses you better (psychologist will see you 48 hrs a year vs 4 hrs a year psy). Bipolar is something you want them to take they're time with diagnosing you. Mood disorder nos Is not otherwise specified bipolar or depression.

[Aquadove]

Originally Posted by Undead33

Hey, I'm new here and you guys are probably tired of the "could I be bipolar?" threads, but I could really use your help. No one knows what's wrong with me. I've been diagnosed with almost everything. I'm starting to wonder if I could be bipolar. I've been depressed since I was a teenager. For about a week (or less) every few months I get kind of wacky. This started happening to me about 3 years ago. I'm 22 years old. Sometimes this happens for like four days in one month. There's no definite cycle. It happens randomly.

I apply for all kinds of jobs, take way more classes than I can handle, think I'm the smartest/sexiest/most awesome/[insert random quality here] person in the world, stay up all night and meet a ton of people (I'm kind of an antisocial snob so that's way out of character.) I woke up one morning and decided to join the Air Force... and got kicked out 3 years later. I cheated on and lost the best person that was ever in my life. I hooked up with a ton of strangers. I got arrested. I broke some guy's window with my fist because he pissed me off. I raced my secret lover on the highway going 120mph at 3am. I have many more stories...

I described these symptoms to my psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with mood disorder NOS. He said that I couldn't be diagnosed as bipolar because my manic episodes weren't long enough and they happened far too often. Was he right or wrong? Should I get a second opinion? I do have ADHD and this could be a sign of poor impulse control I guess... I suspect bipolar because I'm not a window breaking psycho all of the time.

Hi,

Not sure if I am replying the right way. I was much like you at the same age - honestly. They called it rapid cycling. Boy, am I relieved to finally have the right medication to counteract. Took a very long time to get there. You are very lucky to live now in this day and age - still young. Science has come a long way and so have different treatments.
You might appreciate a book called "Touched by fire" written by a bipolar woman who became an acclaimed psychiatrist. Forgot her name but I could get back to you if you don't find it yourself. Besides where would we be if Churchill had not pulled himself voluntarily down into depression only to rise up and violently proclaim "We will never surrender!"

Nor should you. Where there is a way there is a reason or was it the other way around. Works well anyway for me. Blessings,