[Corrupted Angel]

Well, all my life... from early childhood up till about 2012 or so I've had extreme struggles, which has given me a severe case of PTSD.
I don't wish to go into details at this time but....

So.... PTSD VS Bipolar, seems to me that they have VERY similar traits. I guess in a way it's frustrating for me to not know exactly what's really wrong with me. It's hard to get the proper treatment if it's left unknown. My therapist blames how I act on my past experiences (PTSD). And she does not think I'm bipolar, yet all of my other therapist I've had in the past has told me that I am infact bipolar. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue?
Any type of feedback would be greatly appreciated!
~Angel~

[kaliope]

they do have similar traits. my last t kept emphasizing the fact that I was ptsd and said he didn't believe I was bipolar...until that awful mania of course. I know I am bipolar as well...my first t didn't believe I was bipolar either...but testing showed I was...he said the meds would be the same for both...my current t agrees with both...she added the dissociation to the ptsd but feels the bipolar symptoms would be greatly reduced if the ptsd were under control. that I may even be able to get off meds. I know many years ago when I had my breakdown, the ptsd was out of control and that made the bipolar get out of control. so I think it just comes down to the other criteria that separates the two.

[Corrupted Angel]

Originally Posted by kaliope

they do have similar traits. my last t kept emphasizing the fact that I was ptsd and said he didn't believe I was bipolar...until that awful mania of course. I know I am bipolar as well...my first t didn't believe I was bipolar either...but testing showed I was...he said the meds would be the same for both...my current t agrees with both...she added the dissociation to the ptsd but feels the bipolar symptoms would be greatly reduced if the ptsd were under control. that I may even be able to get off meds. I know many years ago when I had my breakdown, the ptsd was out of control and that made the bipolar get out of control. so I think it just comes down to the other criteria that separates the two.

Very helpful insight, thank you so much!

[MotownJohnny]

Yes, the symptoms are very similar. PTSD hypervigilance can be mistaken for mania, but hypervigilance, my prior T explained to me, is based in fear, whereas mania is based in pleasure. Depression is depression, what can I say. The other things that go with it, like anxiety, insomnia, are pretty universal to all kinds of MI.

I was misdiagnosed as bipolar. A lot of people with PTSD are. I think part of the problem is that PTSD treatment is pretty new - heck, it wasn't even a recognized disorder until the late 1970s. Also, I hate to say it, what I was told and found out, bipolar is the "trendy" diagnosis right now, and I suspect that has to do with the fact, I was also told, that insurance companies reimburse more and better to doctors for treating bipolar.

[Teacake]

Therapists ought not diagnose anyone. They aren't allowed to prescribe medicine because no one I. their right mind would trust them to do so. They make their living off people who are not in their right minds, with very little oversight.

I had a month in which my own behavior made me ask ER doc if this was mania. It took several interviews with several board certified psychiatrists to sort it out. It was important to sort it out because I had had insufficient insight into my own recklessness. That's what psychiatrists are for.

Be careful about therapists and some doctors who will diagnose you according to your wishes. They are doing you no favors. They may be delaying appropriate treatment or endangering you by catering to you for their hourly rate. It happens. It happens a lot with people who want a ptsd dx because they think it is more prestigious and honorable than what they have.

[Big Mama]

I have PTSD. My T was under the impression that is hat I had because of past abuse and issues. She has never suggested bipolar. I don;t have mania, and my moods are rather stable. But the dissociation and the night mares and the flash backs and hypervigilance are all fear based and the reason being the PTSD diagnosis.

There is nothing prestigious and honorable about PTSD. Or at least not the kind I have. Mine stems form abuse and battery and sexual issues. Maybe in a combat sense it could be more prestigious and honorable I suppose. But not everyone who has PTSD is for that reason.

I have combative PTSD and it has nothing to do with being in combat. It is the body memories and actions taken because of that. WE do seem to get stuck in our own PTSD moments and that is a hard cycle to get your self out of. I have a mentor that I talk to because I get stuck so often and I can't dig my self out of my won personal hole. I can see how that could be confused with bipolar. But mine is much more PTSD then bipolar.

Good luck figuring out which it is. PTSD is treatable to some extent. Maybe consider treating the PTSD and then the issues will resolve and you will know if you are bipolar to.

[CosmicRose]

Your therapists are technically not at all allowed to diagnose you, only a doctor is. So if you've had therapists tell you you're in fact bipolar, tell them they need to go to medical school before they start diagnosing people without a license.
I see very different characteristics between PTSD and bipolar, because my mom is bipolar and I have PTSD.
Granted, everyone is different - but if you look up the symptoms between these two and compare them you'll notice they aren't so similar.
My mom was a classic bipolar. She had intense moods that would sway from extremely positive and hyper, to extremely low and even downright abusive.
She often complained of having "racing thoughts" and she would also talk a mile a minute. She could almost never sit down and just relax unless she was having a glass of wine, she was always cleaning something or going shopping, often spending large amounts of money on the credit card and racking up huge debt.
She was easily distracted, had very reckless behavior, became alcohol dependent, poor temper control, very easily irritated. She had kind of a jekyll and hyde personality and you never knew which one you were going to get.
Now when it comes to PTSD, it has to do with something horrible that happened to you, hence the name post-traumatic stress disorder. Something horrible happened to you that makes you extremely stressed out and you can no longer properly manage your stress responses. Your body takes over when you are triggered and you experience an "episode" of some kind, usually this is where it differs from person to person.
Being easily startled or frightened, being unable to handle your emotions or feeling emotionally numb sometimes, always being on guard for danger, trouble sleeping, difficulty maintaining relationships, feeling shut out from the world or unable to participate in normal activities that you once enjoyed, general feeling of hopelessness about the future or negative feelings about yourself and other people.

I just wanted to reply to let you know that I read your post and that I can understand that must be a really frustrating situation.
I am not bipolar, so I don't know if I can fully relate because both my therapist and my pdoc say I have PTSD, but I can still understand how that would feel for you.

And I reference to the post above me, if your therapist is a licensed psychologist (which most are, so I'm assuming yours is a psychologist) they can legally diagnose you. Some therapists are just counselors and they can't diagnose people.

[Disorder7]

I have both. For me at least, bipolar is a cycle of low and high energy. It has very little to do with situations in the real world.

Unfortunately, I don't have happy mania. When my energy level is high, I'm restless and want to hurt people. I do crazy, risky, impulsive, things.

When the energy drops, I have debilitating depression that is so intense that all I want to do is sleep. It's hard to eat because that would mean lifting my hand to my mouth...it's too much effort.

This energy moves very much in a cycle. A week here, and a week there.

My PTSD and panic disorder, well, that's a whole different set of issues.