[StayinAlive]

New here and really comforted by "meeting" people with problems similar to mine. As many of you have said, I don't know anyone in person who has BP (well, no one who is "out," but I have my suspicions). I did an intro in the intro thread and my story in a nutshell is in my profile.

For many years, my diagnosis has been cyclothymia. But the more I read about BP2, it sounds more like me.

Has anyone here moved from cyclothymia to BP2?

Thanks!

[kaliope]

im sure there are more people than you think. someone will come along....take care

[StayinAlive]

Thanks kaliope. I think cyclothymia is less common, so maybe not. Honestly, as long as my symptoms are under control, maybe it doesn't matter. I'm still going to ask the pdoc when I see him.

[Tucson]

IMO A label only helps the doctor to more narrowly focus on options for treatment. But my current pdoc treats the symptoms and not the disease.

[Hottiedepressed]

I think they're basically the same, except the mania and depression are more intense with bipolar II individuals, and for me at least it is since I was cycolythmic, and now bipolar II. Also, the older I get the worse my disorder becomes!

[StayinAlive]

Originally Posted by Tucson

IMO A label only helps the doctor to more narrowly focus on options for treatment. But my current pdoc treats the symptoms and not the disease.

That does make the most sense. I'm starting to wonder if I have described my symptoms well enough recently. My depression has been much worse. Reading this forum has reminded me that I need to make sure my pdoc knows exactly how I'm feeling, even if I need to make a list.

I don't track my moods in any way, and I think I should start.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[StayinAlive]

Originally Posted by Hottiedepressed

I think they're basically the same, except the mania and depression are more intense with bipolar II individuals, and for me at least it is since I was cycolythmic, and now bipolar II. Also, the older I get the worse my disorder becomes!

Thanks for sharing that. I've never met anyone who had cyclothymia. Most people have never heard of it!

I think the difference is the severity of the depression, and that both have hypomania rather than full blown mania. Need to check that. Just curious.

You look really young, much younger than me. My symptoms got much worse in my mid forties -- hormonal, I'm sure. Something to watch out for.

Thanks so much!

[JoyDivision7680]

I self-diagnosed with cyclothymia before my episodes got worse and I had to see a psychiatrist. And please, don't give me the "s/d is not good" bs, cause I know what I was experiencing.

[Hottiedepressed]

Sure, you're welcome! Yeah, Cyclothymia was much more easier than bipolar II! Especially the depressive episodes! I find that Cymbalta is by far the best anti-depressant, like a study at John Hopkins said. Also, Lamictal at 600mg since at that dosage it has anti-depressant properties. And also Latuda at 120mg. Oh yeah, and Buspar and Lithium also augment anti-depressants!

[StayinAlive]

Originally Posted by JoyDivision7680

I self-diagnosed with cyclothymia before my episodes got worse and I had to see a psychiatrist. And please, don't give me the "s/d is not good" bs, cause I know what I was experiencing.

I can barely keep myself straight, so I'm definitely not in a position to judge how anyone else handles his/her mental health. Functioning well and feeling better is what I wish for you and everyone here.

[JoyDivision7680]

Sorry about that, I was angry when I replied, hence the sharp tongue. It wasn't addressed to you though, I just wanted to mention it.
In my case it probably began with depression&GAD, then most likely due to stress it turned into cyclothymia and finally into bipolar 2. I still haven't been told 'yes, you have it for sure', I'm going to therapy (it's almost redundant) in order to discover if this is what bothers me or something else and to fix my anxiety problems on the side. It's complicated, no certain diagnosis and no papers - not that papers are that important - still in progress.
In my opinion my initial cyclothymia diagnosis was correct and since now I'm doing a lot worse I can only assume bipolar 2 is exactly what bothers me. Maybe it has already turned into bipolar 1, but I can't afford another assumption since my highs were never out of control.

[~Christina]

The main difference is Cyclo causes mood swings very often in a day or a few days ... Bipolar cycles typical last at least 1-2 weeks or more ,, and BP II has hypo but not full on Mania. BP I has full blown mania which will also last weeks , Both also have depressions that last more than a few weeks ...

So it really boils down to the lenght of your episodes. If you have a good pdoc then he/she is treating symptoms and not just worried about a diagnosis/ label right now.

[JoyDivision7680]

Yes, I had totally forgotten about the length! I guess I'm still at #2.
The thing is, given that I don't complain very much even if it hurts real bad my therapist probably thinks it's not something very serious. Probably that's why I'm not labeled yet. I just can't open up, I'd be disgusted by myself. Nevertheless, psychotherapy is still redundant. I could use the money spent every week for therapy to buy some nice clothes or better - some vinyls.

[Hottiedepressed]

Actually about 40% of bipolar individuals suffer from ultra-rapid or ultradian cycling have mood episode changes in the course of a day. For instance, I can have euphoric mania and a depressive episode and even have dysphoric mania in the same day, and I'm bipolar II

[StayinAlive]

Originally Posted by JoyDivision7680

Yes, I had totally forgotten about the length! I guess I'm still at #2.
The thing is, given that I don't complain very much even if it hurts real bad my therapist probably thinks it's not something very serious. Probably that's why I'm not labeled yet. I just can't open up, I'd be disgusted by myself. Nevertheless, psychotherapy is still redundant. I could use the money spent every week for therapy to buy some nice clothes or better - some vinyls.

I realized I've been doing this, too, not telling my pdoc exactly how bad I feel. I've been seeing him for a long time and just see him for short med checks. I got in the habit of telling him about funny things that happened at work and trying to guess people's diagnoses. Not very helpful.

Sounds like we both need to get more serious about helping the docs help us. Last time I brought a list of recent symptoms and just read it to him. That helped a lot.

It stinks that the organ we utilize to think and communicate with others about our problems is, largely, the problem.

[BipolaRNurse]

Originally Posted by StayinAlive

.

It stinks that the organ we utilize to think and communicate with others about our problems is, largely, the problem.

Yes. THIS. ^^

[Curiosity77]

The difference between bipolar II and cyclothymia is that both have hypomania, neither have full mania, bipolar II has major depressive episodes, and cyclothymia had low mood/dysthymic episodes, but never meets criteria for major depression. So the highs are the same, but the lows are lower in BP II than cyclothymia.

[Velouria]

Originally Posted by StayinAlive

Sounds like we both need to get more serious about helping the docs help us. Last time I brought a list of recent symptoms and just read it to him. That helped a lot.

It stinks that the organ we utilize to think and communicate with others about our problems is, largely, the problem.

I need to start doing this too. I might ask for an overall reassessment with my pdoc because I leave so much out. I feel so pressured because of the 15 minutes I have. "How are you?" "Fine. Give me my drugs" or "Not ok. I may need more drugs." But it doesn't really get to the crux of anything. So far I'm being medicated as though I have some form of bipolar and yet my doctors are like, "Nah, just elements. Here's your antipsychotic. . . . Oh? Things have gotten worse? Now here's a mood stabilizer." Okay. . . .

I forget to tell my pdoc major things, though. My therapist pointed out that my symptoms/behaviors will magically disappear when it's time to see him, or I'll forget to tell him. Well, sometimes I forget and sometimes I'm afraid to. It's definitely time to keep lists and be honest with both of them.

[Cocinella]

Hey!

Well my diagnosis is cyclothimia and I hope it won't progress in anything bigger than it already is for me. Still haven't catch that right dosage of meds I think...

don't want to struggle with anything bigger.

the difference between cyclothimia and BP is in general that BP is worse than cyclothimia which is a little over normal mood swings that every human has. at least that's what i read about it...

hope it helps! there are a lot of articles and web sites to read about it more, but yea, cyclothimia is a less known mood disorder...

Take care all!

[StayinAlive]

Originally Posted by Velouria

I need to start doing this too. I might ask for an overall reassessment with my pdoc because I leave so much out. I feel so pressured because of the 15 minutes I have. "How are you?" "Fine. Give me my drugs" or "Not ok. I may need more drugs." But it doesn't really get to the crux of anything. So far I'm being medicated as though I have some form of bipolar and yet my doctors are like, "Nah, just elements. Here's your antipsychotic. . . . Oh? Things have gotten worse? Now here's a mood stabilizer." Okay. . . .

I forget to tell my pdoc major things, though. My therapist pointed out that my symptoms/behaviors will magically disappear when it's time to see him, or I'll forget to tell him. Well, sometimes I forget and sometimes I'm afraid to. It's definitely time to keep lists and be honest with both of them.

My best friend made me make a list. Sounds so obvious, but I had never done it with the pdoc. He was very pleased to have the clear input. 15 minutes is silly. I need to have some kind of basic human connection with this person. One barely has time to get past some greetings and "how are you" and then it's out the door. Odd. Mine sometimes brings one of his little dogs with him, too. I love it but I don't need to get distracted.

Anyway, try the list. We need to do it with the tdoc too. Duh.

[StayinAlive]

Originally Posted by Cocinella

Hey!

Well my diagnosis is cyclothimia and I hope it won't progress in anything bigger than it already is for me. Still haven't catch that right dosage of meds I think...

don't want to struggle with anything bigger.

Thanks for responding. As I said, never met anyone else with this dx.

I was thinking about this thread and realized my real concern is what you expressed above: I don't want things to get any worse and was wondering if it had gotten worse for others with the same dx. So I'm less concerned about the dx than feeling worse.

No sense worrying about what might happen, I guess.

A big thank you to everyone for responding. So very glad I found a place where I can talk about this.