[casey1231]

Hi all,
I have a long history of anxiety/depression. I tried to go on Prozac over 20 years ago and had severe akathisia after one dose which took a while to get over. After a period of struggling on no meds, a psychiatrist put me on Paxil and I did not have the same reaction. I did well for many years on a low dose of Paxil (10 mg) but in retrospect I have always been prone to cyclical bouts of depression and then periods of higher irritability. Now it's happening with more frequency, and when I read about BP 2 I wonder if i meet that criteria. My moods feel very unstable, but granted I am also a 50 year old female and hormones play a role. My doc thinks BP 2 is over diagnosed at the moment, and I trust him, but lately I'm really wondering if adding a mood stabilizer might not be a bad idea. I should also mention I tried to switch to lexapro some years back and felt like I was on speed for weeks after one dose. I appreciate hearing anyone's experiences, thanks!

[CaminoDeOro]

I was diagnosed, after about 20 years of misdiagnosis, because I went on prozac and after being on it a while it kindled a truly amazing ultra-rapid mood cycle which stopped immediately upon going off it. That was the evidentiary straw which broke the camel's back. Once having the diagnosis, upon re-examining my life in light of it, things made A LOT more sense.

[UpDownAround]

I was depressed for quite some time. It was causing problems at home and at work. My wife insisted that I talk to our GP. He tried a couple of things. Prozac seemed to work; I felt great but my wife thought I was just as hard to live with as when I was depressed. I went back to the doc with this and he referred me to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist gave me the tests and interviewed my wife. He made the preliminary dx and prescribed meds. Based on my response to them he made the dx.

[UpDownAround]

A couple of common stories. SSRIs have a habit of fixing depression or revealing that isn't the only problem. I had the same experience of looking back on some wild times through a different lens after the dx. I then denied it for about 20 years until not long ago. I was using a dx of depression and ADHD because of stigma. I was re-diagnosed with the tests and history evaluation. I knew what my history meant this time and rattled off some relevant episodes, so it was pretty much confirmation of the old dx.

[Wild Coyote]

For many years, I was diagnosed with Severe Atypical Depression and Anxiety.

As time went on, and after working together with the same pdoc for a few years, the diagnosis was changed to BP II.

Just a note: When I was first diagnosed, there was no BP II diagnostic option available in the DSM.

I experience very severe and lengthy depressions. I am rarely-- very, very rarely-- hypomanic. It's so rare, I could argue I am "never" hypomanic.

I hope you find a diagnosis/info. which somehow helps you to enjoy life!


WC

[casey1231]

Thank you for replies, did addition of mood stabilizer make a big difference?

[scatterbrained04]

I think I was one of the lucky ones. Never went through the whole antidepressant issue. I went straight to a psychiatrist, who made me fill out a book of an assessment, asked me questions for an hour, then diagnosed me outright with BP2 on the first visit. My problems started when I was 13/14 and I didn't seek any help until I was 26 though. So I had 10+ years of mental health history to work with.

[Sunflower123]

I had treatment resistant severe depression for many years that would go in cycles. I went to a highly recommended psychiatrist in tears and she gave me a book and gently said read it before we meet again. I did. She asked if I saw myself in any of the case studies. Yes, I did. We talked awhile and I was diagnosed.

I was put on a mood stabilizer for sleep. I can't tell whether it is the stabilizer or the good, quality sleep I'm getting that is helping most.