All of that pain...

I was diagnosed as bipolar II in June.
Why?
Because one night I was very pissed off and irritable, so I wrote down what I was experiencing on paper and showed it to my doctor. She said "Oh, so it's not depression we are dealing with, it's bipolar disorder."
I told my close friends. Nobody believed it. I was convinced that I was bipolar. My doctor said I was, so I had to have been, right? I was wrong.
I took a risk.
I was put on Wellbutrin, Remeron, Seroquel, Geodon, and Topamax. I had a thought race through my head "Hey, Convalescence. You know, if you want to find out if you're [really] bipolar, then quit your mood stabilizers, but continue taking your antidepressants. If you're bipolar, you will experience some form of mania." It's been a week. I haven't experienced any mania. I spent all summer [sick] because doctors were throwing mood stabilizers at me from left to right. It was a guessing game of which one is going to work. But really, that's how it is for everyone, lol.
I don't know what point I'm getting at here, but I'm very upset. I'm not upset because I don't have bipolar disorder. I'm upset because of the unnecessary pain I was put through because of my doctor.

By the way, I do not in any way promote stopping your medicine abruptly like I did. My clinical counselor, two professionals, family members, friends, and myself all said that they didn't think I suffered from bipolar disorder.

So, that's my story, friends. I hope everybody has a good day. Thanks for reading.

That's a lot of meds to be put on right out of the gate. I'd say you were definitely over-medicated. Are you still on antidepressants now?

Yes, Mountainbard. I currently take Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Protonix.

Do you have a history of mood swings? Borderline Personality Disorder is often misdiagnosed as BP and mood stabilizers may only be needed for short periods of time.

Its so overdiagnosed and over medicated no wonder there are so many stories like yours. One night of irritation is no bipolar but perhaps there is more to know?
I've suffered at the hands doctors being told my issue was ALL mental when large part of it was physical for many years.

WibblyWobbly, I might have BPD. I was diagnosed with it when I was hospitalized, but I don't see myself as having it & nobody else does either. Although I do respond better to DBT than I do to conventional CBT.

Supanova, what do you mean by "perhaps there is more to know?" As in there's still a possibility of bipolar disorder? I can relate completely! People kept telling me my anxiety was ruining my digestion. Turns out I have severe IBS-D, which was causing anxiety! Hugs! Doctors can really miss our suffering!

Going off some meds except for antidepressants wouldn't automatically induce mania. One is NOT either manic or depressed. It doesn't work that way. I took just antidepressants for about 15 years before I went hypomanic and that was triggered by a major life change, NOT because of the anti-depressants.

I'd just fire everybody and get on with my life with a new pdoc.

You were labeled bp2 by what you wrote in a notebook?? Wow, thank God nobody has seen my notebooks!

Most bipolar affected peeps go unstable when a mood alterant like AD is introduced in the system.

I went into serious ultradian cycling with extreme highs and lows. I was a yo yo.

I've heard some pdocs Rx AD alone to test to see if one bipolar cycles.

Sorry, rcat, but you're going to have to elaborate. What do you mean? I'm not comprehending what you mean by "one is NOT either manic or depressed." I only experienced SSRI induced mania. I know people without bipolar disorder who have experienced SSRI induced mania, too. Sure, there have been times when I was getting poor sleep, delusional, and elated, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm bipolar. Those symptoms could have arose from sleep deprivation. Only [one] professional diagnosed me as bipolar and then continued to shove medicine down my throat. Besides, my current psychiatrist told me that I shouldn't be taking antidepressants for the long term anyways. She advised that I wean myself off of them once my doctor, therapist, and I all agree that I'm stable enough to come off of them. And if I am bipolar? So what. I would already know which meds I react well to and which ones I don't. My "manic" (probably sleep deprived episodes) have only gotten in the way of my functioning once or twice.

Although I will say that I screened positive for bipolar disorder, lol, but I just don't see it at this point.

And yes, AlwaysChanging2, that's exactly what happened.
That's also why I don't believe I'm bipolar. I would probably have experienced some mood disturbances by now. I'll ask my mental health nurse practitioner about it.

There are people that wants to add another classification to the bipolar spectrum....people who are mania induced by AD.

Sorry, I was just making a joke on my behalf. I'm sorry that you are experiencing all this. I would give anything to get off these meds.

Keeping a journal or mood chart is what I've found to be the best proof of my daily well being.

You see, I went in for depression and they gave me AD...then...

My other thought is that my others are moody too, so why couldn't my mood changes be the other personalities? The bipolar DX (told my pdoc I was because I was cycling nutz because of the AD. Come to find out, he retired 2 months later :/) was first, but now being a multiple can totally trash the bp DX.

I'm so tempted in cleaning up, but it's been horrible the last few times I tried. I'm more scared of going off meds then the bipolar part.