[CalmingOcean]

Anyone feel they have been misdiagnosed as Bipolar when deep down they know it's PTSD except they are to scared to open their stupid mouth to their male pychiatrist that they can't explain themselves properly...

Or is that just me.

Ugh.

[CANDC]

Calming Ocean, sorry you are frustrated. I have not had the experience.

But here is something you could try if you are interested.
Quizzes to see if you have tendencies for PTSD or Bipolar
PTSD Screening Quiz - Psych Central

Bipolar Screening Quiz | Psych Central

If you go at it with a sincere and honest attitude and don't try to slant the results the way you want it will be a fairer assessment of tendencies, NOT a diagnosis

[Crazy Hitch]

No, certainly from what I have read on forums, you are far from being alone about wanting to open up and be honest with your psychiatrist.

An option for you is to see a second pdoc and lay the cards on the table. Doesn't mean you can't go back to your regular pdoc.

[Disorder7]

It's possible you could have both.

[CalmingOcean]

Thanks CANDC... I find those quizzes to general maybe... I score th on both.

Disorder7 I suppose it is possible, I just know sometimes PTSD is misdiagnosed as bipolar.

I guess I am also upset that a Psychiatrist can somehow diagnose a person based on what they are able to open up to in one stupid session.

[MotownJohnny]

Originally Posted by CalmingOcean

Anyone feel they have been misdiagnosed as Bipolar when deep down they know it's PTSD except they are to scared to open their stupid mouth to their male pychiatrist that they can't explain themselves properly...

Or is that just me.

Ugh.

Well, absolutely misdiagnosed - it appears to be a very regular happening. To me, it was utterly devestating. I wasn't afraid to open my mouth once I got over the shock of the entire thing and realize I had been screwed over a thousand ways to Sunday.

The thing is, you have to advocate for yourself, you have to stand up to these idiots if they get it wrong, and your gender should have no bearing on it.

Can I ask, why are you afraid to say something? I don't want to generalize, I don't know your circumstances or location, I know psych care is very limited in some areas. Here, in a major US metropolitan area, there are about a bazillion psychiatrists, and they practically trip over each other for patients. Well, maybe not really, but of the like 4 I've seen (plus a number of psychologists), I've been able to get same-week appointments for initial consultations. I didn't like the first ones, so I kept looking until I found a really good one.

Those online "rate your doctor" sites are a great source of information. Read the reviews other patients have written. Run like Hell from anyone who doesn't get great reviews and accolades from a lot of patients. My first one was a real nightmare, her online reviews reflect that - terms like "brutal thug" were used by other former patients.

The one I saw during the day hospital program - funny thing, after 2 years, I just got around, for the Hell of it, to checking him out online. Mostly because his office is like a mile from my office, I pass by his sign all of the time touting a "Wellness Center" - which sounded like a joke to me, he was a perfunctory quack going through the motions for $$$$. Online reviews confirmed this, he got about 1 1/2 out of five stars - the only one lower I found was my initial quack who got one out of five.

[MotownJohnny]

The thing about a misdiagnosis is this, IMHO. Wrong drugs, wrong treatments/therapies. Admittedly, the mood stabilizer lamictal seems to do SOME good for PTSD patients, but it's definitely an "off-label" use at this time, per my understanding. SSRI's are often NOT indicated for bipolar, as they can induce mania, but the depression component of PTSD kinda calls for anti-depressants.

Funny, I kept being told that the "label" didn't matter in functional terms, it was just finding treatments/therapies that worked. Well, I still contend it matters a great deal. If you had leukemia but were diagnosed with lung cancer and got the wrong chemo, it wouldn't be effective, probably harmful. Same here - wrong drugs and therapies at best get you no where - been there, done that. When I desperately needed SSRI's and an anti-anxiety drug, the quacks gave me neither, insisting I needed lamictal, and well, if it took 2 or 3 months to ramp up the dose and kick in, so be it. For me, it seemed to do nothing whatsoever when it was all I was on. I gotta admit, after some significant tinkering, I am taking both Prozac and Lamictal, a high dose of Prozac and a moderate dose of lamictal, and it seems to be working well at this time. But, I am also seeing a PhD trauma therapist twice a week, and that is definitely a big part of the equation as well. Whatever works, that part is true, but there is NO excuse for sloppy medicine and misdiagnosis.

Insist on a proper evaluation, get second and third opinions as necessary. As I was told, you could have PTSD and bipolar, so that is possible as well. But, with me, I never "felt" like bipolar fit, and overall it doesn't. I've taken a whole bunch of those online screening tests, and always score really low. However, they are, IMHO, pretty much junk, like a push-pull political poll designed to lead the respondant to a pre-determined outcome. The questions are so blatantly obvious "Do you find you think you're Napolean and hook up with 44 people a day?" (I'm being facetious here) that kind of thing. A much more detailed, subtle evaluation would be great, the kind that has hundreds of questions, many redudant, and not easy to "guess at" the kind of answers that indicate one or other outcome. But, that's me.

[Disorder7]

I didn't believe the first pdoc who said I had both. So I went to another pdoc who gave me the same diagnosis.

I went to a therapist and told her I didn't feel bipolar. She explained that I'm the "mean bipolar" type. I don't bounce off the walls with happiness. When I'm manic I'm easily frustrated and irritable. I feel nervous and it's hard to concentrate.

After three professionals all saying the same thing, I guess I believe them.

[CalmingOcean]

Ok- here's some more info.

I was working with my t and I was able to tell her most of everything... At least the basic run down and she said most likely PTSD. I know she can't diagnose.

So a couple months ago I see a pychiatrist. I'm not sure what the first one put me down as because I didn't ask and he didn't say.. I couldn't really say much to him. Then second pychiatrist I was a bit better with, was able to tell a bit about past anise but since he was male I personally just have a really hard time discussing things with men, let alone anything sexual (uncomfortable just for me to type that). Anyways, so he takes family history which very well could be wrong, now that I know of actual causes of PTSD and hyper and hypo arousal, I told him I thought as well as relatives, that she was bipolar however, she went through worse trauma than me! (I learned from aunts about her past). Anyways, my brother was diagnosed as bipolar II but I doubt he mentioned any abuse or how he was the cause of lots. So anyways, point is, I told him they were bipolar but that is based on my (then way more) limited knowledge. So I don't think family history is a fair and a curate way of diagnosing someone.

Then, since he didn't ask my feels towards sex, or if I dissociate (he did ask about flashbacks but I really didn't understand what they were at the time.. I get it now) but I said no. So he said since you have a husband and a child I do not think you are PTSD because most people who have gone through childhood sexual abuse shy away from relationships and I wasn't at the point to argue why my marriage and child is a big fake entity to my so much wanting a 'normal' looking life.

Second visit with the is psychiatrist he did end up asking about my sex life and I said, actually it is not good, I don't ever engage unless I have been drinking and I won't get into much more detail, but it's nil (because of me of course). And he said low libido is a side effect of depression Meds or something along that line and told me to google a sex therapist because- get this- you don't want him to go looking outside the marriage.... Well no **** asshole. So of course, I clammed up and couldn't talk after that.

It's all through a government program (I am thankful I have that option, I feel so bad for the us peeps) but it means I am kinda at the mercy of what they have available.

I'm not saying I'm not bipolar, I do see definite signs, but hey so much run into PTSD and like stops of said, I don't want wrong treatment or Meds or to think I have a problem gay isn't there. I do that **** enough.

As others have said, it can be both. I don't see how they can be confused (one produces symptoms independent of environment and the other produces symptoms based on environment/trigger), but I guess a pdoc who isn't paying attention would not ask the right questions to sort it all out.

And you don't have to reveal any details. At least, I didn't. My pdoc asked me general questions about trauma--did I ever experience one, did I have flashbacks, nightmares, and do I avoid certain situations. She later came back to it and asked what had happened, and I said I would not talk about it. She kept my primary dx the same as it had been, which was bp, but added PTSD. It wasn't her job to counsel me and she knew that, so she didn't press for details. All she needed to know were the symptoms. I hope you can find a better pdoc who will ask the right questions.

[Hedwig3.0]

I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia for 7 years. I got Haldol injections in my arm once a month and my friends thought I was autistic (I'm not). I frequently started my doctor visits by saying "I don't think I'm schizophrenic." What does a schizophrenic say?: I don't think I'm schizophrenic. What does an inmate say?: I didn't do it.

I was hospitalized in that seventh year and asked for a different doctor. On my first meeting with him he had my chart in front of him. He didn't talk with me first and the first thing he said was: I think you have a mood disorder, not a thought disorder. He became my doctor.

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[Hedwig3.0]

I am in recovery and have probably met 20 people over the years who were diagnosed bi-polar but just had a drug and/or alcohol problem.

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[CalmingOcean]

Originally Posted by Hedwig3.0

I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia for 7 years. I got Haldol injections in my arm once a month and my friends thought I was autistic (I'm not). I frequently started my doctor visits by saying "I don't think I'm schizophrenic." What does a schizophrenic say?: I don't think I'm schizophrenic. What does an inmate say?: I didn't do it.

I was hospitalized in that seventh year and asked for a different doctor. On my first meeting with him he had my chart in front of him. He didn't talk with me first and the first thing he said was: I think you have a mood disorder, not a thought disorder. He became my doctor.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Oh my God... 7 years... Very sorry that happened to you. Wow...