Could I be misdiagnosed?

I was just recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety, after going to a CNP per my husband's suggestion. He had noticed an increase in my irritability, my lack of enthusiasm toward things, and overall listlessness. What I find strange about my "depression" is that I don't really feel depressed.

Instead, my symptoms range from extreme mood swings (intense anger/irritability to complete lack of emotion/listlessness to extreme elation (joking, laughing, wanting to be around everyone), spurts of creative energy, and spurts of productivity. When I'm feeling angry or irritable, I'm usually also very creative and productive. When I'm feeling elated, I'm highly productive, interested in everything, and the life of the party. When I'm feeling listless and calm, I just don't want to do anything or be around anyone, and my work suffers.

I have been taking an antidepressant, Fetzima, for the past two months and have noticed a dramatic decrease in my mood swings. However, I don't really feel less depressed. In fact, I've noticed an increase in my anxiety levels since taking meds, which I'm not sure is due to the meds themselves or due to the fact that now I have something to call my symptom, so I'm more hyper-aware of my state of mind.

Just two days ago, I was driving home from work, after not being at all productive (this whole week has been like this), and I started to get severely anxious about the traffic. I had nowhere to be, my husband was at band practice, so no one was waiting at home, and I normally don't mind traffic because it gives me time to think by myself and listen to my favorite music.

However, this time I found myself becoming increasingly agitated and anxious. I started tapping my hands on the steering wheel to occupy my nerves, humming to myself (my calming method, similar to breathing exercises), and changing the songs on the radio until I found something soothing. All of these things though, did not stop me from having a mild panic attack in my car, completely out of the blue.

I have a prescription of Xanax for the anxiety, but I don't like taking it during the day because it completely knocks me out (I fall asleep within 20 minutes of taking it - no matter where I am.) Before I started taking Fetzima, my anxiety didn't feel nearly as pointed. I hadn't had a true panic attack since 2007, my anxiety usually just manifested itself through small fidgeting and rituals: biting my nails, tapping my foot, twirling my hair, pacing, etc.

After reading through this forum and the psych central articles, I'm starting to wonder if I may have been misdiagnosed?

I don't know if you have been mis diagnosed but your symptoms sound a lot like mine and I have been dx with bp2.

I would try to see someone for another diagnosis.

I think you should be seen by a Pdoc . Keep in mind that many Pdocs are not in a hurry to" label "someone Bipolar and that is a good thing, you don't need that label following you around unless its the solid truth.

Most Pdoc's work on treating the symptoms and finding a good treatment plan that you can both agree on, Yes you have a say in your treatment.

Be your own best advocate

Welcome to PC !

Sounds like mine, I have been labelled with BPD, but have been told I have to be re-diagnosed. So I guess you get told you are BPD before bipolar...that's usually where they put you when they aren't too sure what's wrong

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Misdiagnosis is not uncommon. Many people are first diagnosed with depression because that's when they're most likely to seek help. People in a hypomanic phase may not necessarily believe that there is anything wrong.

I'm not a medical professional but based on what you've written you might be displaying some characteristics of bipolar.

However, there are a few diagnostic criteria one must meet in order to get a diagnosis. Only a qualified pdoc can do that. If it's something that's bothering you, can you make an appointment to see one. That way it could put your mind at ease because you may be. Or you may not be.

On the anxiety issue. That's treated as a separate issue by my pdoc and not one of the criteria that he uses to define my bipolar.

Hi purplepearl, this sounds a lot like bipolar. I'm BP2 and was misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder for 15 years, which made the bipolar much worse. BP and depression are very different conditions-- even the depression that is part of bipolar is due to different brain chemistry imbalances, and occurs in a different part of the brain, than bipolar.

Bottom line: I second the motion of everyone above who's said seek a second opinion. Pdocs make mistakes; patients pay for them. It's up to us to take charge of our own recovery and you've made a great stride in that direction by posting here about your concerns you may be misdiagnosed.

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate that you took the time to read my concerns. I am scheduling an appointment to meet with a Psychiatrist to ease my worries.