[Angelwngs25]

I just wanted everyone's opinion on if I am possibly actually Type 1 than Type 2. I have had like 5 or 6 visual hallucinations. Multiple Auditory hallucinations. One touch hallucination where I thought something was touching me and I have very severe Psychosis at times where I am super paranoid that an invisible alien is in my apartment. I have times where I am constantly doing something like being on the computer all the time. Or I will get obsessed with something and do it till the morning hours. I have stayed up till the sun comes up in the past more times than I can count. I seriously feel like sometimes I am going through really severe mania because I will be really happy for sometimes days and then all of a sudden something so trivial happens and I drop down into depression. I really don't know what to think. Previous doctors think that I am definitely Bipolar Type 2. But then I don't usually have the same Psych for very long. I've been through like 7 or 8 Psych's since I first started going to my first one in 2011. I wasn't diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 until just recently sometime in 2013. So I really don't know what I am because I am not a doctor. But from what I know about Bipolar Type 1 I think that's the category I fit in to more than Type 2. Because I am not severely depressed all the time. I am mostly manic feeling I think. You know nostalgic and everything. And I don't know what to do about approaching my Psych about this problem about being diagnosed type 2 when I am more than likely type 1. What does everyone else think? And what do you think I should say to my Psych next time I see one.

[~Christina]

To be honest ... You might not like my opinion but I will be as sensitive as possible..

I have followed along on everyone of your threads , you seem to be chasing after all kinds of medical diagnosis's. Sure people want to nail down the exact slot they fit in. Everyone is unique my BP is nothing like someone elses bipolar.

Sure there is criteria that Pdocs follow to diagnose a patient , but that often takes months , many Pdocs like to take there time , really get to know you. Do you see a Therapist? If not you should look into it, Therapy is a great way to figure things out , learn about yourself, make goals, improve yourself.

If you going through Pdoc after pdoc and not happy with there diagnosis , why not try just addressing the problems, learn coping skills, focus on learning ways to self sooth, self ground when your unsure of whether your having hallucinations, work on finding a routine for your day to day life, Do you work? Do you have hobbies? What are you doing to improve your life , regardless of whatever label your wanting and chasing.

Just somethings you might consider.

[Velouria]

7 or 8 psychs is a lot to go through in 4 years. Why so many?

You could have multiple diagnoses.

Have you told your most recent psych about all of your symptoms?

[xxblackrosesxx]

you seem to be chasing a lot of hardcore dx. maybe you should just learn to accept what your pdoc tells you instead of demanding that you have a certain dx.

Honestly, what you describe doesn't particularly fit bipolar. You need to stay with your doctors so they have time to work with you over a long period of time. Only then can they make a solid diagnosis. You seem to do a lot of hunting for diagnoses and symptoms and have no consistency of psychiatric or medical care, and until you do that, you won't receive any reliable diagnoses.

What you describe fits alone with BPD and your constant need to chase down Dx's is consistent with a condition called hypochondriasis.

[Velouria]

I kind of have to agree with ChaoticInsanity, although I was going to go further and suggest the possibility of Munchausen syndrome:

Munchausen syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please don't take any of what anyone's saying as a form of bullying, abuse, or attack. It might not be what you want to hear, but be assured we are here to help.

Everyone has said what I was going to say pretty much. You are doctor shopping and chasing hard core diagnosis. Not sure why, could be what others have suggested - Borderline PD or another disorder.

[Here2There]

I don't know what your diagnosis is, but it doesn't sound much like bipolar 2 to me either. Why don't you tell your Psych the same thing you posted here?

[whoknew005]

Are you on bipolar medication? are they helping?
I know you want to fit nicely into a diagnosis. But the reality is they are treated pretty much the same? right? Your doctor will give you the dosage of each medication based on your response not if you are bipolar 1 or 2.
As hard as it is just focus on the symptoms and not the diagnosis.
Hope you feel better

[quasicrystalline]

Honestly, I don't think that this is something anyone in a forum can decide or figure out for you, but if I had to guess... Please keep in mind this is my personal, completely unprofessional opinion. From your other posts and this one, it strikes me as borderline personality disorder. The thing you said that stands out to me is that your mood will dip over something trivial. This is characteristic of BPD. With bipolar, moods often (although not always) happen without regard to our environment. Things could be going wonderful and you're slammed with depression, but with BPD, moods are generally triggered by issues with interpersonal relationships.

If BP is on the table, I would guess 2 for now. It doesn't sound like you're manic symptoms are severe enough to be full blown mania. This doesn't mean they're not troublesome. There's a misconception that hypomania is harmless. People can make destruction decisions during hypomania.

Also, just a note that sleep deprivation can account for psychosis (Even people in the normal population will hallucinate if kept up long enough. That's why it was used as torture in past wars!), so if you're staying up into the early AM, that very well could be the cause of the hallucinations. I get psychosis most often in mixed states when I haven't been sleeping. Sometimes the cause isn't as scary as we think.

7-8 doctors is a lot of doctors to go through in such a short time. I understand that things happen. People move, insurance policies mandate you use a different facility, the provider is (although this should hopefully be rare) downright terrible, etc., but it honestly would be in your best interest to stick with one or at least have all your records forwarded to the new one when you switch. You'll get a more accurate diagnosis that way, and as you've already recognized, you're not a doctor and you can't diagnose yourself. The longer they work with you/the more records they have to review, the better able they will be to serve you.

[Blue_Bird]

Trivial things causing mood to drop, that's a trait of Borderline Personality Disorder., I'm not diagnosing you as I'm not a doctor but that's what it reminds me of. You seem to want to be diagnosed with these things, Lupus, etc.

I would look up a therapist and start exploring why you feel the need to be labeled with something.

[quasicrystalline]

I just want to emphasize that nothing we tell you here is going to be a substitute for seeing a pdoc, getting a proper diagnosis AND treatment. We can give you opinions and moral support, but that's about it.

[butterflypower]

We are not professionals. You need to spend time with your psychiatrist. Stay with one where they get to know you. I'm dx Bipolar I and psychosis doesn't apply with me. Mine is more where I get suicidal where my doctor says it's necessary to be on the right medicine to stay alive. Everyone is different. From what it sounds like is that you are hypochondriac (not sure if that's spelt right). Maybe you have borderline personality disorder. Only a doctor will tell you what's wrong. You need to tell them how you feel in detail. Tell them everything you feel. I know a title to all your problems is what you want. Don't spend you life spending it on finding what's wrong with you. You need to live. Doctors can be really expensive.

[*Laurie*]

Hi Angel, I know how frustrating it is to not have a solid diagnosis. I'm one of those people. P-docs all of my life tell me my situation is "really interesting"...and I don't fit any particular diagnosis and so on and so forth.

What I have tried my best to do is not focus on my diagnosis so much, but focus instead on ANYTHING healthy that works to treat the symptoms that bother me...the symptoms that take a tremendous amount of my energy and effort to cope with.

What helps you, Angel?

[butterflypower]

I like to add that taking medicine for the rest of your life is irritating. It's not fun.

[Nammu]

Having a Dx, any Dx is not an excuse for bad behavior. We are still responsible for our actions whether or not we have a Dx.

[Pikku Myy]

You know you are BP1... when locked up in mania for S

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

To be honest ... You might not like my opinion but I will be as sensitive as possible..

I have followed along on everyone of your threads , you seem to be chasing after all kinds of medical diagnosis's. Sure people want to nail down the exact slot they fit in. Everyone is unique my BP is nothing like someone elses bipolar.

Sure there is criteria that Pdocs follow to diagnose a patient , but that often takes months , many Pdocs like to take there time , really get to know you. Do you see a Therapist? If not you should look into it, Therapy is a great way to figure things out , learn about yourself, make goals, improve yourself.

If you going through Pdoc after pdoc and not happy with there diagnosis , why not try just addressing the problems, learn coping skills, focus on learning ways to self sooth, self ground when your unsure of whether your having hallucinations, work on finding a routine for your day to day life, Do you work? Do you have hobbies? What are you doing to improve your life , regardless of whatever label your wanting and chasing.

Just somethings you might consider.

I have gone through so many Psych's because they usually just leave for some reason or the other. It has nothing to do with me. The permanent doctors just don't seem to stay there very long for some reason. They are constantly having to find new ones. Currently I have a Temp Psych because my Permanent Psych left for some reason that I don't remember. I think it was something to do with his family or something.

I am Mentally Disabled according to the SSA so I currently receive SSDI. And yes I have hobbies. I like to surf Facebook. I like reading (I prefer E-books and now that I own a Kindle that's a lot easier). I go to Support Groups for people with Mental Illness. One of them is every Tuesday and it's called New Dawn and it's for people with any mental Illness. The other is every Wednesday and it's called Bipolar Bears and as the first word in that name says it's for people who are Bipolar or with Depression. And I believe being able to socialize with other people like me is helping me grow and be a better person and improve my life.

Oh and by the way, my fiance thinks I am actually Bipolar type 1. He has studied 2 years of Psychology too by the way.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by Velouria

7 or 8 psychs is a lot to go through in 4 years. Why so many?

You could have multiple diagnoses.

Have you told your most recent psych about all of your symptoms?

To answer the "Why so many?" question go read the reply I made to "Christina".

And no I have not told my most recent Psych. Because my most recent Psych was a temporary Psych until they get a permanent one and I have had him before and I do not like him. We butt heads majorly. He never listens to me or my symptoms and he doesn't speak English very well or understand what I am trying to say to him.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by xxblackrosesxx

you seem to be chasing a lot of hardcore dx. maybe you should just learn to accept what your pdoc tells you instead of demanding that you have a certain dx.

I'm not chasing **** . My previous permanent doctor told me himself he thinks I have PTSD and Social Anxiety Disorder but that he doesn't see the need to diagnose me with them because I am already on meds that treat them. So maybe you should get your info straight.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by lolagrace

Honestly, what you describe doesn't particularly fit bipolar. You need to stay with your doctors so they have time to work with you over a long period of time. Only then can they make a solid diagnosis. You seem to do a lot of hunting for diagnoses and symptoms and have no consistency of psychiatric or medical care, and until you do that, you won't receive any reliable diagnoses.

Read what I said to the user "Christina" please. Then you can say something.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by ChaoticInsanity

What you describe fits alone with BPD and your constant need to chase down Dx's is consistent with a condition called hypochondriasis.

I am far from a Hypocondriac and yeah I am already Diagnosed with BPD. So what are you trying to say that I am not Bipolar? That you are smarter than the doctor that diagnosed me that?

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by Supanova

Everyone has said what I was going to say pretty much. You are doctor shopping and chasing hard core diagnosis. Not sure why, could be what others have suggested - Borderline PD or another disorder.

I am not going to repeat what I said to the user "Christina" so please just go read that. Also yeah I am already diagnosed with BPD. And my previous permanent Psych said he thinks I have PTSD and Social Anxiety Disorder but that I am already on meds to treat them both so he sees no need to put it in my file.

[Angelwngs25]

Originally Posted by Here2There

I don't know what your diagnosis is, but it doesn't sound much like bipolar 2 to me either. Why don't you tell your Psych the same thing you posted here?

Thank you. For once someone actually agrees with me.