Bipolor - Version 2? What is it?

I could google this but I'm sure it would confuse me more.

My new team of Drs has not given me a code # for my Bipolar and I haven't asked because they were the ones who diagnosed me and I had fought that diagnosis for the last couple visits..but I am more accepting of it "today".

I would like to know from the forum - since this is where I keep seeing the reference to 2...what this is?

Thank you.

I think you are referring (I could be wrong) to the two versions of bipolar. There is Bipolar I, and Bipolar II, (2). Some people here have one or the other and some don't even know. For myself personally I had no idea I was Bipolar I until my therapist researched into my file to find out. It is really confusing because here are the technical terms:

Bipolar I disorder is characterized by one or more manic episodes or mixed episodes (symptoms of both a mania and a depression occurring nearly every day for at least one week) and one or more major depressive episodes. Bipolar I disorder is the most severe form of the illness marked by extreme manic episodes.

Bipolar II disorder is a bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by at least one episode of hypomania and at least one episode of major depression. Diagnosis for bipolar II disorder requires that the individual must never have experienced a full manic episode.

So I guess from reading that, if you have never experienced a full blown mania episode, (I am guessing psychosis like hearing voices, seeing God and Jesus and aliens like I did). then you are Bipolar II. I am no doctor but I hope the information helped clarify some.

I've been diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder. From my research and understanding in talking to my pdoc and t, it does mainly have to do with the extremity of your mania episodes. Those of us with Bipolar II tend not to experience the full blown effects of mania, therefore they call it hypomanic. Also, from what I've read, Bipolar II patients tend to spend more time in depressive episodes, as compared to those with Bipolar I.

I'm still so confused! I don't know what I am...but I'm way more manic than depressed usually. Sometimes I am both manic and depressed at the same time. I don't stay super depressed for too long anymore, about 3-5 days than switch rapidly to mania for 5-14 days. I don't sleep, I don't eat, it's like a natural form of cocaine(which I used to be addicted to few years ago for self medication of my depressive episodes.) Now though, it's like I have a cocaine storage that lasts for nearly 2 weeks at a time, but without actually doing it. I've evolved so much since my first diagnosis...do you guys think I need to be re-diagnosed?

What you describe would be BP1. The code depends on the state you were in when diagnosed (again), when your treatment ended and whether you were diagnosed before September 2015. The new code starts with F31. and ends with a number smaller than 8 (0–7; F31.8(1) is used for BP2 and F31.9 for BP NOS or Unspecified bipolar disorder). Only whether it's F31.81/F31.9 or not (BP2/BP-NOS or not) is important, but it still doesn't matter much and you don't have to remember these codes. They're used for bookkeeping only.

BP used to be called manic-depression (or manic-depressive illness or psychosis). BP1 is manic-depression and it was called BP1 when BP2 was added to describe another type of bipolar (two-way, let's say) mood changes. The unspecified version was added as a diagnostic category so that if doctors aren't sure whether it's BP1 or BP2 they can use that one.

Maybe you used to have BP2, but, again, what you describe sounds like BP1. But it's probably not something you should be too concerned about. I'd expect your psychiatrist to change the diagnosis if necessary. What's important is what you describe in your own words, not what some book says and which codes they use.

Bipolar 1

I live in mania all the time....ALL the time.
Rarely crash...and when I do it is super bad and goes right to Major Depression.