Pdocs taking previous BP dx for granted

I'm wondering if others have seen different pdocs who have just accepted the BP diagnosis because your previous pdoc had already diagnosed it.

I've had 4 pdocs over 12 or so years and each has taken what the other has said for granted. I was first diagnosed BP II about 12 years ago and then that I was changed, in another state, to BP 1 after I had a full-blown manic episode.

In any case, there was only one instance where my pdoc at Mass General sent a note with me to the Bipolar Clinic at Stanford indicating why he thought I had BP. I left that note with Stanford and didn't take it with me to my current pdoc in Delaware and I think she assumes I have BP because of previous pdocs' treating me as such.

Has this happened to others? Have you had new evaluations when you see new pdocs, or do they just take for granted that you're BP and treat you accordingly?

I just went through an episode here in DE and I guess that will help to confirm the dx with my current pdoc, but I was stable for the 2.5 years I was at Stanford...

So what have your experiences been?

They do a full evaluation.

I have a mix of BP 1 and BP 2 Dx. I’ve gone back to the pdoc that gave me BP 2, but honestly I think I’m doing better with the pdoc that thinks I’m BP 1, which is where I am now due to insurance.

I find this bothersome regarding bp1 vs 2. I won’t say what my general doc said because it will upset people. I came away realizing it probably isn’t that important as long as the treatment is working.

Yeah, I get new evaluations for new pdocs. It's really nice.

My therapist did a mini evaluation when I first met her, but she obviously couldn't tell anything because she didn't know me. But apparently she's seen my mania and my depressions, so she agrees with the diagnosis. I'm just glad she didn't willingly accept the Dx until she got to know me better. That's how you know you've got a therapist who wants to find the right treatment. And she has a PsyD, so she can technically diagnose if she feels the diagnosis is wrong.

When I switched doctors I had a full evaluation and the answer came up bipolar 1 (it has since changed to schizoaffective though). In various hospitalizations that I've had, though, my diagnosis of schizoaffective has generally been taken for granted and not reevaluated. This makes me kind of nervous but at the same time I think the dx is right.

Yes, get new evaluations from a new pdoc.

I carried around the diagnosis of major depression for 10 years before I was correctly diagnosed as bipolar. (Also, as it happened, I didn't have insurance, had to use a state program that was stretched and over-worked for a long period of time.) After the first pdoc made the diagnosis, any subsequent pdoc I saw just seemed to take it in stride that the diagnosis was correct and go from there. I only got the diagnosis of bipolar when I showed up at an appointment for my pdoc in a seriously manic state, so bad she wanted to hospitalize me on the spot. I had just started seeing her at the time, but it also turns out she is just a really good pdoc, heads & tails better than the rest. I am sad that she is retiring and I have to see a new pdoc, but now at least, I have the correct diagnosis.

Especially if you doubt your diagnosis, it is important to be certain you have the right one.

I've noticed it depends on the doctor really. For the longest time (since I didn't have insurance and it was cheaper) I went to Texas Tech, which is a learning school, so I saw a sh%t load of different student doctors. They were all in their last year of med school and worked under a real doctor. The good ones would evaluate me first before even reading my file. The not so good ones would read my file first and not evaluate me, they'd just give me my meds and call it a day.

Now that I have insurance I'm still at Texas Tech but I've been moved to their new mood disorder clinic. In this clinic they have actual doctors, they have med students sit in on their sessions and they do their own evaluations so they can report to the doctor. My first doctor there was great! He evaluated me first, gave me a diagnosis, then looked at my file. He agreed with the BP 1 diagnosis. Sadly, he left and I got a new doctor, who just happens to be the charge doctor at the clinic. He did a mini eval (a handful of questions) and looked at the file. I think he just went along with what my old doctor said. I've only met with him twice and I don't think I like him that much.

When I went to a new office, they did a full evaluation. For my interoffice transfer, there wasn't one done, though. The pnurse accepted what the prior pdoc said. That's fine for me as I've been stable on my current combo.

I’ve only had one pdoc, though I have seen multiple ones with hospitalizations. Sometimes there is the question of whether I am BP 1 or 2 or whether I have C-PTSD, but there’s general agreement on the bipolar. I have accepted the dx.

I usually present mixed manic/psychotic whenever I switch pdocs because usually when I switch I'm out of meds. They usually start with bp1 and then switch to mood disorder NOS or SzA. Some have me having a PD. I use to think having therapy notes attached to your PDoc notes help but a bad T just screws up the Dx process.

They all do. I confronted my shrinkette with my certainty that I have MMD and not bipolar, and she inmediately told me: "You came here with a bipolar 1 Dx". Like blaming the previous shrink. Never did any examination or questions. I have MDD dammit!!!.

My PDOCs never wanted to know what my previous diagnosis was. That's why I have so many diagnoses. Many of which were wrong and difficult to take. Hell, the Community Services Dr. didn't even consult with me and said I had breaks with reality which was never true.

I was diagnosed bipolar 1 in the hospital, and it just kind of followed me through two providers until I started seeing a new pdoc who did a thorough evaluation. He said it was "clearly bipolar 1" so I basically had to accept it at that point. Up until then I'd been able to attribute it to a few mental health professionals who I figured saw bipolar 1 in everybody (which was probably NOT the case). I knew the stigma surrounding this diagnosis and I didn't want it. Now I know it doesn't really matter as long as it's being treated properly.