Can it be possible after seven years that I am really not BP? I don't feel out of control anymore like I used to be. I think it is more environmental and poor coping than anything. Or maybe I am just hypomanic right now and feeling a little too good. I don't know. Is it possible to live without meds by coping properly.

[Jifiner]

I feel the same way sometimes. I was diagnosed when I was only 16 way back in 1992 by a family doctor. After years of GP's "wonderful" medical knowledge of off and on again antidepressants, I finally saw a pychiatrist who admitted me to the hospital in 2005. She then put me on up to 9 different meds a day once I got out of a week of hell in the hospital. Now I am med free and most of the time feel like I can cope.

My DH says that he doesn't think I am bipolar at all and I just suffer from anxiety attacks.

Does anyone know the difference? I think Drs are too quick to label, and not quick enough to help.

Oh, BTW, I suddenly stopped going to my shrink about 6 months after the hospital incident still on about 6 meds a day, and to this day (2 1/2 years later), neither she nor her office ever called me to follow up!

I am better off without Drs - they make life worse than it is!

[Pughead]

I've been wondering the same thing lately. I'm so doped up on 6 different meds with high dosages, that I don't think I know what normal is anymore.

I'm wondering if I too just suffer from anxiety disorders and BPD. It seems that anti-depressants just don't do anything for me anymore, except Wellbutrin, but that's because it's like speed. I can't take those types of drugs though because they cause too much anxiety.

I pretty much just feel ho-hum now these days. Stable, but blah.

I wanna know what it would be like if I started fresh and got off all my meds, now that I've learned more about myself and how to deal with certain situations.

[girlN]

I stopped taking meds november 06 and went for almost 1 year with no symptoms and just in october i started to have major depression issues and had to start meds all over again. I think it is just part of this whole illness and the "bipolar journey" to hope you are "over" bipolar but i think this road is long and curvy road with no end. I personally would keep on the meds and talk to my dr.

Thanks (((Jifiner, pughead, girlN)))
I am not going to stop my meds except Lithium. I am stopping the Lithium no matter what due to my pdoc does not do lithium levels like they should be done. My hair was falling out in chuncks and my phone calls were ignored so I am slowly taking me off of it.

So far I am stable. I upped my lamictal by 25 mg a day. I see pdoc next week. The only problem is I feel a little more irritable than normal, but that could be also from recovering from a minor surgery.

Twirls, I also had a doctor who was not monitoring my Lithium levels properly. In fact, he ended up completely abandoning me after not returning my phone calls, not calling when he said he would, and not mailing out my order for my blood tests.

I seriously doubt my bipolar diagnosis. I think that the doctors like to throw put that one down when the depression is anything but typical. I am still on Lithium (with a much better doctor now) because there is no doubt that I experiencing mood swings and cycles. My current doctor has me down as bipolar NOS. I get depressed in cycles, but I do not attribute my "high" behavior to hypomania. I hate being labeled bipolar because then when I do feel good I end up worrying if it's part of an illness. I don't really experience classic hypomanic-- I do impulsive spending and stuff, but I believe that to be attributed more to my personality stuff-- wanting to fill an empty spot. It is not so much a mood thing.

My Lithium levels have finally crawled up to a good number (we were going really slowly) and I don't mind being on it because it is the first med I have ever been on (I have been on 15) that is not giving me side effects and I am hoping it will help with the depression and irritable, impulsive stuff.

I am not big on diagnoses of any kind cause then you end up getting hung up on the labels. I say, you have symptoms-- then you deal with them. Not so important what they are called. There's not a whole lot that can fit so neatly into a category.