[CobolCapsule]

When i was hospitalized in January of 2015, i was initially told i had paranoia and prescribed 1mg of risperidone.When i was transfered to another hospital, before anybody even spoke to me i was diagnosed bipolar, and they increased my risperidone to 3mg. I assume they just read my chart and gave me that diagnosis.
I have been diagnosed with ASD, and diagnosing bipolar with ASD can be hard to do from what i have read.
Before taking risperidone i would go from being irritable and quite with despair, to talkative and laughing within an hour or less, but irritability would dominate most of my time. I also could be irritable, angry and excitable at the same time, with an over inflated ego about myself.

Irritability being something found in people with bipolar and ASD, makes it hard to diagnose.

My doctor that i am stuck with, because i use the VA, says bipolar is diagnosed in people who can stay up all night in a manic way. I have never done this other than having a hard time falling asleep occasionally.
I feel much better since taking a neuroleptic, and don't have any irritability, except for a little since lowering my dosage.
No feelings of despair or hopelessness are with me anymore, along with over excitable moods either.

Any opinions on whether i am bipolar?

Thanks

[Victoria'smom]

I can't tell you whether your bipolar or not but ASD and bipolar can go together.

[Icare dixit]

What you describe could very well be what they call a mixed state or mixed features (or episode). If it's episodic (it's not something you've experienced all your life, more or less) and you respond well to antipsychotics, I think it's unlikely it's ASD.

Do you generally have some kind of paranoia (i.e. did you notice you had been after taking antipsychotics)?

Have you ever had strong paranoia without (severe) mood fluctuations?

Autism originally was a set of symptoms that was considered part of schizophrenia.

Do you have difficulties socialising and, if so, why?

I don't believe you can have both (and I dare say a growing number of people don't).

ASD is most probably overdiagnosed because it's common practice to rule it out before looking at other possible disorders and because there's more stigma attached to the more severe psychoses, like schizophrenia. Schizophrenia and BP aren't considered developmental disorders, while ASD is. Developmental disorder are generally ruled out first (this diagnostic hierarchy is part of the DSM, but the DSM is only a guide, not something to solely base a decision on).

Edit:
Problems sleeping (at times or somewhat) can be sign of both ASD and BP.

If you're often unsure about what people mean or expect because you can't tell, it's likely ASD. If it's because you're very wrong sometimes when you feel you absolutely know what people mean or expect, but you can't reasonably know that and you haven't based it on anything you've read or analysed, something (maybe mildly but chronically) psychotic is probably the problem.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

I can't tell you whether your bipolar or not but ASD and bipolar can go together.

That's debatable.

[bioChE]

Without knowing more of your symptoms, it's impossible to suggest a diagnosis. That's something best left to the professionals treating you. Even if they are less than thorough, they have far more information about your situation than we ever could.

[CobolCapsule]

Do you generally have some kind of paranoia (i.e. did you notice you had been after taking antipsychotics)?

Have you ever had strong paranoia without (severe) mood fluctuations?

Autism originally was a set of symptoms that was considered part of schizophrenia?

Do you have difficulties socialising and, if so, why?

My moods before taking neuroleptics were epiosodic, and i found myself quite often having to apologize to others, who were victims of my verbal abuse, or irritability.
I use to have paranoia without mood fluctuations, but since taking antipsychotics my paranoia has deminished, but i do have a tendency to just worry a lot.
I have always had a problem with socializing, and friendships.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by CobolCapsule

My moods before taking neuroleptics were epiosodic, and i found myself quite often having to apologize to others, who were victims of my verbal abuse, or irritability.
I use to have paranoia without mood fluctuations, but since taking antipsychotics my paranoia has deminished, but i do have a tendency to just worry a lot.
I have always had a problem with socializing, and friendships.

The why of your problems with socialising is crucial.

[CobolCapsule]

Without knowing more of your symptoms, it's impossible to suggest a diagnosis. That's something best left to the professionals treating you. Even if they are less than thorough, they have far more information about your situation than we ever could.

I would like to think i described my symptoms pretty well, they are episodic with periods of just feeling nothing at all.
My DR will see me every other month for about 5 to 10 minutes and that is it. He has never been able to give me any kind of diagnosis himself. He just asks me if i have times when i cant sleep and stay up all night. My diagnosis for ASD came from a private DR in 2009.

[CobolCapsule]

The why of your problems with socialising is crucial.

My skills for socializing are minimal, and are just mimicked by what ive learned. Certain aspects of socializing i just don't like, for instance small talk is just something i don't like, but can bear through at times when called for, and mingling is something i have never been drawn to. I would rather spend my time on my own hobbies than mingling with others. I have been married once, but was divorced after just six months of marriage. People with ASD do have a 80% divorce rate, so i don't know if that applied to my situation or not.

[Victoria'smom]

@Icare dixit I know this because my son has been Dx'd several times with both by several Dr's. They are two very separate Dx's.

@CobolCapsule Do you see a therapist? If not can you? periods of feeling nothing can be depression. So yes if you have periods of agitation/paranoia and periods of feeling nothing then you probably have a mood disorder.

[Icare dixit]

Have you always had the same hobbies or interests and which are those, if I may ask?

Do you like or do a lot of abstract thinking (to the point where you might not make much sense)? Do you value proof? Do you like music?

I think all of us have more difficulties with relationships (and marriages) than many, at times. Why things don't work out might differ and could be (but doesn't necessarily have to be) important to get to the root of the problem.

[CobolCapsule]

CobolCapsule Do you see a therapist? If not can you? periods of feeling nothing can be depression. So yes if you have periods of agitation/paranoia and periods of feeling nothing then you probably have a mood disorder.

I don't see a therapist, but i guess i could but the VA doesn't offer any, so i would have to pay out of pocket for a private one.
Prior to neuroleptics without a doubt i had periods of no feeling at all. I was however in 1992 diagnosed with MDD, and was placed on an ssri. The mood fluctuations started in my thirties, with feelings of despair, combined with hyper feelings, almost a euphoric feeling combined with irritability.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

@Icare dixit I know this because my son has been Dx'd several times with both by several Dr's. They are two very separate Dx's.

@CobolCapsule Do you see a therapist? If not can you? periods of feeling nothing can be depression. So yes if you have periods of agitation/paranoia and periods of feeling nothing then you probably have a mood disorder.

Yes, I know. All I'm saying is that it is debatable. I think it's not possible, but I could be very, very wrong.

But why I think it's important to debate it is because people who now receive the ASD diagnosis may have schizophrenia and antipsychotics would help them an awful lot, while they may only be offered psychotherapy and what's worse, the therapy addresses issues they don't have (like uncertainty caused by psychosis, not caused by an inability to interpret all nuances of emotional and verbal expressions; sensing too much (subliminal) meaning, not too little).

[Victoria'smom]

If you can pay for one I would as they see you a lot more often then psychiatrists and can help narrow down your diagnosis.

[CobolCapsule]

If you can pay for one I would as they see you a lot more often then psychiatrists and can help narrow down your diagnosis.

Thanks for the suggestion. Ill try and see if i can fit it in my budget.

For a long time, I'd been wondering "Am I bipolar or not? Am I just fooling myself and everybody else?" The yesterday I took the bipolar test (top right on this page, small letters, link) and it lists me as "Severe Bipolar"!!! Yikes! I tried to be as honest as I could, with answers to the questions how I'd been my whole life, before meds. After that test, it says there's an earlier test. I did that one, too. Not only did I score Severe Bipolar on that one, too, I checked "All the time" rather than, for example, "Some of the time" on almost all the questions. Well, sigh, I guess I am not faking it!!!!!

I agree with above posts about being unable to diagnose. I just want to point out however that I note Wellbutrin is one of your precsribed medications. This sends up a red flag for me. I have always thought this to be ill advised to prescribe for Bipolar. It is an anti-depressant, some of which can actually trigger a manic episode. [I don't recognize your other medications,, perhaps they are prescribed to counteract the Wellbutrin]. I speak from experience. No sooner was I put on Welbutrin than I was thrust into a horrible state of mania and paranoia resulting in my own diagnosis.

[mossanimal]

[quote=Icare dixit;5425403]Have you always had the same hobbies or interests and which are those, if I may ask?

Do you like or do a lot of abstract thinking (to the point where you might not make much sense)? Do you value proof? Do you like music?

I've always wondered if I have some form of ASD. This is based on somewhat poor socializing skills NOW... although in college I was EXTREMELY social and had a lot of friends. However my friends always tended to be eccentric themselves and were able to tolerate and admire my own traits. As an adult I've had a more difficult time finding these people. But 'Icare dixit'... I'm wondering where you were going with these questions? I've gone through many hobbies and interests and always got obsessed with them only to move onto something else.. or nothing else for long periods. Cycles of intense interest followed by no interest in hardly anything. Do people with ASD tend to focus on single things their entire lives? As to music... I love music.. have tried to learn multiple instruments.. but have always failed.

[Faltering]

Your socialization and interests sound similar to those of people who have ASD. It is possible you have both ASD and bipolar. Do you have any sensory issues?

[LifeInProgress]

Bipolar and ASD have been found to have a high rate of comorbidity.

I also take Welbutrin. For me it is a wonder drug. Cleared up a lot of mental fog, and lifted depression.

Can only speak for my own experiences.

[mossanimal]

Originally Posted by Faltering

Your socialization and interests sound similar to those of people who have ASD. It is possible you have both ASD and bipolar. Do you have any sensory issues?

I can't think of any sensory issues... other than the fact that I took to photography really well.

I was wondering about the interest/obsession thing. My understanding is that people with ASD had a single topic of obsession for a lifetime. But I could be misunderstanding this. As to socialization... it seems like this has become more of a problem as an adult. I had lots of friends in elementary and high school as well... even though a bit quiet I was always in the 'in-crowd' .. if that makes sense. Sounds kind of snotty though.

[Icare dixit]

Not necessarily the same interests for all their lives, although there's often more consistency, but especially the type of interest and whether the interest is useful in some way other than satisfying a curiosity, whether it's goal-oriented, are crucial in distinguishing between a BP and a ASD obsession.

Music generally tends to be something that people with ASD are less interested in than those with BP (or, rather, for those with BP there is or there's more likely to be some real need; it fulfills a role and a possible obsession may therefore be more goal-oriented).

Learning to play an instrument is not necessarily a sign of either disorder. A desire to play music accurately and to approach music rationally might be.

Abstract thinking can be a sign of both, but the accuracy by which concepts/words are used might help to distinguish the thinking of someone with ASD from that of someone with BP, for example. Also consistency of thought (also more generally) might be used to make a distinction.

Depression (and loss of interest) isn't a sign of one disorder in particular, but the reasons behind the depression might be.

Loss of interest due to a sudden new interest, especially when based on (rather extreme) associative thinking, is more likely a sign someone could be described as having BP.

[mossanimal]

Okay.. thanks for this. One thing about me is that I see connections between a lot of things in an intense way. My obsessions over the last several years have been tangents to my main profession because I perceive what I believe to be very fascinating connections and I want to blend these together into grand ideas. I try to convince other people how amazing this is. And I usually fail. Anyway.. maybe this is something I should ask my doctor about.

Originally Posted by Icare dixit

Not necessarily the same interests for all their lives, although there's often more consistency, but especially the type of interest and whether the interest is useful in some way other than satisfying a curiosity, whether it's goal-oriented, are crucial in distinguishing between a BP and a ASD obsession.

Music generally tends to be something that people with ASD are less interested in than those with BP (or, rather, for those with BP there is or there's more likely to be some real need; it fulfills a role and a possible obsession may therefore be more goal-oriented).

Learning to play an instrument is not necessarily a sign of either disorder. A desire to play music accurately and to approach music rationally might be.

Abstract thinking can be a sign of both, but the accuracy by which concepts/words are used might help to distinguish the thinking of someone with ASD from that of someone with BP, for example. Also consistency of thought (also more generally) might be used to make a distinction.

Depression (and loss of interest) isn't a sign of one disorder in particular, but the reasons behind the depression might be.

Loss of interest due to a sudden new interest, especially when based on (rather extreme) associative thinking, is more likely a sign someone could be described as having BP.

[mossanimal]

Also.. how do you distinguish a 'goal oriented' obsession? I feel like my obsessions are linked to a final 'goal'.. and when I've attained it I drop it. For example my latest obsession (which led to depression and the hospital) was to unite pottery with my metal smithing job/interest and to have a big gathering of metal smiths, potters, etc to demonstrate these connections. I worked on this in such an intense manner that I fell way behind on my business leading to blah, blah.

Originally Posted by Icare dixit

Not necessarily the same interests for all their lives, although there's often more consistency, but especially the type of interest and whether the interest is useful in some way other than satisfying a curiosity, whether it's goal-oriented, are crucial in distinguishing between a BP and a ASD obsession.

Music generally tends to be something that people with ASD are less interested in than those with BP (or, rather, for those with BP there is or there's more likely to be some real need; it fulfills a role and a possible obsession may therefore be more goal-oriented).

Learning to play an instrument is not necessarily a sign of either disorder. A desire to play music accurately and to approach music rationally might be.

Abstract thinking can be a sign of both, but the accuracy by which concepts/words are used might help to distinguish the thinking of someone with ASD from that of someone with BP, for example. Also consistency of thought (also more generally) might be used to make a distinction.

Depression (and loss of interest) isn't a sign of one disorder in particular, but the reasons behind the depression might be.

Loss of interest due to a sudden new interest, especially when based on (rather extreme) associative thinking, is more likely a sign someone could be described as having BP.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by LifeInProgress

Bipolar and ASD have been found to have a high rate of comorbidity.

I also take Welbutrin. For me it is a wonder drug. Cleared up a lot of mental fog, and lifted depression.

Can only speak for my own experiences.

That's (arguably) just because they may appear the same. Delusional beliefs may be seen as unusual beliefs that are consistent over time. Goal-directed behaviour and interests may be seen as a consistent and not directly useful preoccupation.

ASD is also a safe choice because no meds "have" to be prescribed.