why so many

I keep wondering why I have so many mental illnesses that I am diagnosed with... I have bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder, dissociative disorder NOS, PTSD, and now the newest one is ADD. I guess my *main* one would be bipolar disorder, since it causes me the most problems, well and so does ADD cause i just started college again and its really affecting my ability to focus in class and study for tests. I just got put on adderall, but it doesn't seem to be helping. It just makes me spacey and nervous feeling. I am on a low dose, 5mg so maybe I can increase it or something i dont know. But still, how come I have to have so many illnesses. It is not fair. Why do all my neurotransmitters have to be so screwed up. I've asked my boyfriend and he tells me it's because of the trauma I have experienced as a kid. Bipolar, panic disorder and ADD are probably just genetic. How come I can't just have one diagnosis though.

sorry that you are suffering

imo, Diagnoses are just ways for the psychiatrists to put us into certain categories so they can medicate us more easily. My psychologist doesn't even believe in diagnoses, he says it's just a matter of where you are with your functioning and how you can manage daily life.

As a NOS (mood disorder), I don't even fit into a specific diagnosis (and I think my psychiatrist just puts one on paper because he has to). So I guess it's one extreme to another.

Are all of those diagnoses coming from one doctor or a bunch?

Each doctor has their own opinion.

lol wanat to know a list of all my past Dx's? since i was 16..

• ADHD
• major depression w/ psychotic features
• PTSD
• dissociative disorder NOS
• ED NOS/ usedt o be anorexia/purge type
• social phobia
• polysubstence dependence
• OCD
• schizoaffective
• psychotic DO NOS

I GUESS what im tryin to say is that, whatever they put on that chart doesnt mean **** only to ur insurance company

Doctors don't really know. They think they do, but they don't.

Perhaps, your list of disorders and symptoms can be explained with another disorder that no one bothered to consider. Eg. schizoaffective disorder.

I went through a multitude of labels before I found out what was apparently wrong with me:

PTSD,
Dysthymia,
Depression,
Psychotic Depression,
Psychotic Disorder NOS, (I almost got Dx'ed with schizophrenia)
Bipolar II,
Cyclothymia, &
Borderline Personality Disorder.

I only agreed with dysthymia, depression and psychotic disorder NOS. At the time, I was a hurting teenager who wasn't very cooperative and honest with the psychiatrists so rest of these diagnoses are BS.

Most of my symptoms disappeared in my early 20s when I stopped taking medication.

Were all of those diagnoses from one psychiatrist whom you continually saw? If not, then there can be discrepancy among psychiatrists because mental illnesses can be difficult to assess accurately. In other fields of medicine, results diagnostic imaging and various tests are used alongside patient history and current symptoms to form a diagnosis. In psychiatry though, these tests are not possible and it's not possible to isolate a part of your body to examine in detail.

((Kriskira))),

I agree with the other posters about psychiatrists not always getting it right when they diagnose. I do know that often people who struggle with PTSD can first be given other diagnoses that PTSD's symtoms can mimick.

You should look up PTSD and the symptoms. Also sometimes PTSD can appear to look like BPD as well, and many who have BPD suffered abuse or neglect as children.
PTSD can make it hard to concentrate. It can have some lows to it as well with pops of light and what seems epifanies. And there can be a depression as well with PTSD and ofcourse anxiety.

Do you have a Therapist?

Open Eyes

They're diagnoses that are from basically the same pdoc, except dissociative disorder NOS which is from a T and BPD is from another T, the one I currently see, and my pdoc agrees with all of them. So yeah, I have a therapist... I kinda agree with all the diagnoses I have because they fit me so well, but I just think it sucks to have them all. If someone were to ask me what my diagnosis is, I would probably just say bipolar disorder. But some of you made good points, that it is not all about the name of the diagnosis. I am getting the help i need for the problems I have, and I guess that my pdoc labels me with these things so she can better treat me. I feel kinda embarrassed for having so many though

Hi krisakira - theres nothing to be embarrased about, i can understand your concern about issues such as stigma but as long as your care is being appropriately handled and you're making progress, these illnesses won't define you as a person and you can continue with your life as best you can. You said in your original post that it wasn't fair - im one of those people who thinks, why not me? The universe is sadly indifferent - race, colour, creed, none of it means anything. As someone wiser than me once said, we're never given more than we capable of handling so as bad as you might be feeling at the moment things are likely to improve - allow your medication time to settle and as long as you're open with your therapist, they will be able to adjust your treatment plan accordingly. Illnesses such a BPD improve over time with or without treatment - as for only having one diagnosis, some conditions mean you're more susceptible to others, thats not to mention the amount of illnesses which are alike and have symptoms that overlap. I would try and focus more on the symptoms - in essence labels mean very little. I hope ive been of some help. All the best.