Bipolar symptoms, or multiple disorders?

I'm quite new around here. I've only recently become aware that I am most definitely bipolar. I fit the profile very well, from the quizzes and lists of symptoms on this site. However, I also find that I have symptoms which match Generalized Anxiety Disorder, (again, as described on this site.) I have always painfully shy, far beyond anything like anyone else I have known, had difficulty with confrontaion, chronic nervousness, etc. But panic attacks have also begun to present with the last few years. Fortunately, aside from the odd noise that no one else seems to have heard, I haven't experienced anything like voices. Insomnia, excessive periods of sleep, shaking, and irritable bowel syndrome (due to stress) have been recurrent problems. The whole list is rather longer, but that should give you the picture, I think. I'm basically a mess.

So, my question is whether these are separate issues and should be treated as such, or if they are all parts of the same overall problem and could be treated in that manner?

Have you seen a t or a pdr to find out what your dx is, this would help you understand more
Reah

Well, yes, and no. My doc is a bit of a yo-yo, his response to anything I tell him is to reach for a scrip pad. I did see a therapist for a short time, but not really understanding the nature of the problem, I stopped going as soon as I began to feel better, thinking at the time that it wasn't doing me any good. I wasn't holding up my end of the bargain either. I wasn't motivated to do "homework" and for many reasons, missed as many sessions as I remembered to go to.

I'm planning to bully my doctor into another referral on monday, but, frankly, there's really no doubt about the bipolar nature of my personality. I was mainly just wanting an opinion of whether the other things were merely symptoms, or seperate issues in their own right.

Hello Rebound. Nice to meet you. In response to your message, according to recent studies people suffering from bipolar disorder also experience extreme anxiety due to a number of complicated issues. Now as far as actually being bipolar, I'd suggest that if you are that concerned and your problems are causing impairment in your life then talk to a professional. Only a certified doctor (M.D.) can diagnose you with a mental disorder. I know it can be alarming to read about a mental disorder and immediately associate the symptoms to your own life and react irrationally. There are so many mental disorders with similar symptoms and in my opinion it's not accurate to base your diagnosis off of an Internet test or any other self-diagnostic method. Again, if you think you are suffering from a serious problem seek professional help. It's the only real way to find out if you have a problem. If you have any other questions please ask. My best wishes go out to you!

Welcome, Rebound!
Irritable bowel, anxiety, bipolar... that's me. It took a Iong time to get a diagnosis, a gastroscopy and an endoscopy - not fun - before my doctor basically said "You've got irritable bowel and there's nothing I can do about it." I cried when he said it, I was so hoping they could just figure out what was wrong and the FIX IT. But nothing ever seems to be that simple. I know exactly what you are talking about, so you're not alone on this. It took me a long time to figure out that the irritable bowel was related to my anxiety. And the catch 22 is that I'd be so nervous that I was going to get sick that I WOULD get sick, because I was nervous about getting sick from nervousness... It went on and on. I hated camping with friends because there were no bathrooms and I didn't want everyone to know. I hated car trips, days away with friends, going out to crowded places, the theater, parties where people would be waiting outside the bathroom door... I was always horribly ill before and during piano recitals and would have to go to the washroom many times during them. Anywhere it would be difficult to get to a nice private bathroom, I'd stay away. At one point I was so SICK OF BEING SICK I refused to eat and had nothing but water for four days. Incredibly, symptoms continued... I'm sure you know what those are, I don't really feel like writing about that specifically in a public forum (eew). I understand now that stress, wearing clothing that is too tight on the abdomen, not getting enough sleep, and not eating enough will make me sick. It doesn't seem to matter much what I eat. I tried food journals, and even went on a no carb no milk diet for five months, eating mostly dried fruit, and I felt better for a while but was still getting sick so I gave up. As long as I stay away from a lot of sugar and junk food, or I will inevitable get sick the day after. If I get in a fight, feel nervous about a party or date, or see a certain X of mine, I will immediately feel ill and have to run to the bathroom. I try to avoid all the triggers, I have been a lot better since the anxiety improved, but part of the reason for that is I was drinking to self medicate for anxiety, which was a vicious cylce again because drinking would make me sick too... it's so frustrating.
The best I can tell you would be to try to get professional and/or medical treatement for the anxiety, which can be caused by bipolar, focus on positive social experience, and when you stop being nervous or at least learn how to deal with it, you'll hopefully stop being sick too.
I'm not absolutely sure but I think this is caled a psycho-somatic reaction illness? Something that happens to your body because of what's happening in your mind. Like I said, I didn't put two and two together on that one for a long time, but I get it now. Talk to your doctor, and keep posting.

I appreciate what you are saying, Dahmas. I know I'm not a dr. However, I have been receiving treatment for depression for quite a long time. In the past, I was inclined to accept periods of what I now am certain was classic mania (if perhaps not as severe as that experienced by others) as merely feeling better. But agan, it fits the profile to a 'T'. I didn't just read something on a web site and suddenly decide, oh yeah, that's what I have. My depression lately has been severe, but were I to go into detail about the period just before this I think you would be forced to agree it was more than just temporarily being in a good mood.

My main question to your post, have you seen a psychiatrist?
Quizzes and literature, cannot give you a diagnose, maybe ideas, but not an exact DX, a person can have several disorders or variations, self-diagnosing is not the way to go, make an appt. with a psychiatrist ( a local hospital or your general practitioner can refer you to one) let the pdoc evaluate you, if necessary he will DX you, also if needed, he or she can prescribe proper meds to help your disorder(s).
He or she can also refer you to someone for talk therapy in adjunct to his or her medication treatment plan.
I wish you lots of luck with this.
Please take care,

DE

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
My main question to your post, have you seen a psychiatrist?
Quizzes and literature, cannot give you a diagnose, maybe ideas, but not an exact DX, a person can have several disorders or variations, self-diagnosing is not the way to go, make an appt. with a psychiatrist ( a local hospital or your general practitioner can refer you to one) let the pdoc evaluate you, if necessary he will DX you, also if needed, he or she can prescribe proper meds to help your disorder(s).
He or she can also refer you to someone for talk therapy in adjunct to his or her medication treatment plan.
I wish you lots of luck with this.
Please take care,

DE

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I have seen a psychologist, not a psychiatrist. (I think I have that right, I can never remember for sure which is which. The one that can't prescribe meds, anyway.) $100 a session is way out of my league, whereas a psychologist is available free of charge thanks to the Canadian heath care system. Unfortunately, when I did, I was not in the right place for it to be effective. There's a long, drawn-out explanation for this but it's of little importance right now.

Given that people keep responding to my original post with the statement that self-diagnosis is a bad idea, I guess I need to reiterate: I have been receiving treatment in the form of anti-depressants for major depression for a long time. This is not new to me. But the periods during which I am not feeling depressed are characterized by feelings of unconquerable confidence or irrational irritability, bursts of creative energy, extremely poor decision making - particularly along the lines of jumping into relationships with the first woman to show interest. Recently, within a 3-month period I went from an "A" credit rating to the point where the only thing stopping me from declaring bankruptcy is that I cannot afford to begin the proceedings. Um, that sounds like a manic episode to me.

Please understand that I am not discounting what you are saying, but my assessment of the situation is not based solely upon what I have read here, or the quizzes. Further, I agree completely that seeing a professional is the way to go and I fully intend (although you know what they say about good intentions,) to approach any sort of therapy with an open mind with a view toward describing the situation and letting the pro make the dx. However, I admit to being a little surprised at the lack of credit I am getting for having a brain of my own. Especially since I have repeatedly stated that my question was not related to whether or not I am bipolar. That is to be confirmed, or not, by whomever I am referred to. I was merely hoping that other, more knowledgeable visitors to this forum, would be able to offer anecdotal or other information as to the interaction of various disorders and their relationships to each other in a general way. I admit that I stated I knew I was bipolar. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that, but it was intended to set aside that question and not distract from the actual question I was asking. It appears to have had the opposite effect, much to my dismay.

I mean no offense. But I am nevertheless very surprised. Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post, and if so, I apologize if I sound pompous or arrogant about my knowledge or lack thereof in this situation.

You do not seem arrogant, and I apologize for my reply, my ADD, besides Bipolar thing tends to screw me up when reading posts, doesn't happen too often so I guess that is a good note, eh?
Whatever, I hope you much success with this, I understand (from my own experiences) how frustrating, pdocs, meds and people can make you.
Main thing, please take care.

Sincerely,
DE

Thanks, DE. I appreciate your thoughts and your taking the time to read this thread. No matter what the diagnosis, this site has already been of more help to me that you folks will ever know. Thanks again.

Further, I think it needs to be said that when I am up, whether you wanna call it manic or not is irrelevant, I tend to get pretty full of myself to the point where I think I am the smartest person around. I can emberass myself sometimes by talking as though I am the only one who knows what he/she is talking about. So here's to apologizing in advance to everyone here should I post anything like that now or in the future.

It's a nice thread going here. Funny how they can end up.

Not to take away anything from the importance of professional dx, I would still have to say that a good part of that dx is no more meaningful than your own. Whoa, I feel the village rising up with torches and pitchforks. But what I mean is that any dr. dxing is only able to deal with what you tell him that day. Trouble is, we are mentally ill. I should put that in quotes or italics or something really. But because the whole perceptual aparatus is flawed, the information we relay about it is too. Sure dr's are trained, have seen many examples to compare to the ONE we are focused on, but in the end, the whole process is more than flawed.

Another issue I have with the dx process, is the reluctance I have found on the part of dr's to change or even modify thier (or even another dr's) dx. Once it's there, it's carved in stone, and likewise the course of rx.

It's excellent that you made a full capitulation of it, Rebound. At least you stand to benefit from the Dr's expertise in all areas.

But never surrender youself to the process. It isn't pure. Corrupt influences from drug companies pervert the whole experience in places. Always educate yourself about a medication. I mean log on and google the crap out of it. The little slip of paper you recieve with each rx that discloses side effects, NEVER tells the whole story.

You will always be balancing your own understanding with that of your health care providers.

Hope i'm not just suddenly ranting. Now i'm spooked. Ok, bye.

Nah, that's cool man. I agree with you. Most I have been prescribed a medication, I come home and google it.

hi reb.

Hi, Well I just wanted to say that I am dx with 3 other dx in addition to bipolar type 1 with mixed states and so it is possible to be dx for more than one disorder.

The Psychiatrist I see (rarely) has me down as primary being bipolar type 1 with mixed states and Anxiety NOS, as well as ADHD.

It all gets really confusing to me all the different dx's that I get. Forever it seems changing as I started out being Chronic Parinoid Schizophrenia then to Schizoaffective and now the bipolar and others.

I too have many other disorders in which I truely believe go unoticed and undiagnosed by the Psychiatrist. Such as PTSD and others. I think for me being unable to work and gettting disability benifits the Mental Health System dx me whatever is the most profitable or such for a 'non profit' organization.

I just think alot of things overlap when I have changed (not by choice) psychiatrists and many simply dx me on my history from the previous pdoc not really evaluating me to the poing in my opinion of an accurate dx. I don't feel in my case any such dx could even be made to pin point me to all of the disorders and a very long list of 'issues' which I know I suffer from even though not dx. So I guess I just try to deal with the fact they do not have the time to really even 'know' what I am all about and don't care enough to even try and figure it out.

lol. My current pdoc when I told them that I have been doing better at establishing 'bounderies' looked at me in question to the terms meaning as I do not think they learned that word in med school ore something.

I dont know, I just say keep doing as your doing to survive and its cool you got the referral and it is a good start for answers.

Peace~

I hear ya Kryz. One of the reasons my one brief attempt at therapy was an abject failure was that I didn't know where to begin. Fortunately, thanks in large part to this site and others on the 'net, I have gained some insight as to where to start, and hopefully, that's half the battle