My doctor has diagnosed me as bipolar but I don't have the classic symptoms.I don't have mood swings.I feel down all the time.No highs at all.No irratibility eithter.
He seems to think because I can't hold a job down that I am bipolar.(Bad attitude)
The last visit he threw his hands up in the air and said He didn't know what to do to help me.
I left crying and was very upset.
From all of the info on the web ,I think I suffer from major depressive disorder.
Need some advice.
Mike
No insurance.It's free county mental health program.
I think my only option is to confront him .
He has me diagnosed as n.o.s. bipolar.Not otherwise specified.
I'm on prozac,wellbuterin and seroquel.
I need to pin down if I'm bipolar or not.
He's the only doc that your county provides? That shouldn't be right cause people with bipolar need to feel comfortable with there doc......I don't know about anyone else but it's hard for me to find a GooD doc. one that i can be open and up front with.......you might want to look into that...... *jessi*
Thanks Jessi
Will ask my therapist if I can see a different doctor at another location.If so this doc will get an earful.
It is very hard to find a good doctor.
Strange at it might sound, the best docs I have ever seen were of the free variety- one was in the UK during an emergency assesment and the other is in the local city mental healt unit (here in canada). The two private ones in Canada were useless, and one is now facing a formal complaint. If possible, find a young one, preferably female- they seem to have more enthusiasm, maybe they think they have more to prove in a man's world, but they seem to take more notice of moods and symptoms.
The bad part about his diagnosis is that he has never really asked me about my behavior.He assumes way too much
He has only had me on prozac,lamictal and zyprexa and is giving up on me.He really is a horrible doctor.
He overwrote a 5 over a 0 on a script and accused me of not taking my meds when the pharmacy wouldn't even fill it.He also accused me of not taking my meds because there were no results.
What a mess.....................
Like I said, one of the private pdocs was useless...here's a few examples, which like you, he didn;t ask about behaviour
he wrote: "no history of self harm", though there have been a half dozen failed attempts- one doesn't think all too clearly when suicidal (eg 1 make sure there is sufficient gas in the bike when you start it up in a sealed kitchen- went blue, but came round in emerg 2 insulin, even a 3 month supply of actrapid and lente will not kill you, you will just do the chicken on the kitchen floor for 3 days, crap and wet yourself...and there were a half dozen extremely risky events that should have resulted in a quick end.
he wrote: "tearful, but no suicidal ideation"- how did he know? he sure didn't ask! OD later that day just to escape mental anguish for a bit, at any expense. GP later said lucky I didn't die by misadventure.
The list goes on, about 20 points in all. The arguement is that if a nurse on her rounds couldn't be bothered to check vital signs (temp, pulse etc) but just picked a number out of her head- she'd lose her licence on the spot, but this pdoc hides behind his "proffesional opinion". Anybody want his name and hospital?
1) whatever the 'type' of Bi-Polar ~ the list of symptoms is quite lengthy ~ as such it is quite easy to say if you are/are not depending on the symptoms you present with ~
MOST of the time.
2) do your own research on the internet for 'symptom definitions'
3) PLEASE change your Doc and find one better qualified/experianced with your (potential) illness.
4) diagnosis of Bi-Polar is RAPIDLY on the increase ~ not ALL are acurate. I wasn't.
Just wanted to echo what Hedge said - it amazes me how many bad doctors there are out there and the fact that they can hand out meds like smarties terrifies me. Trust your own instincts completely - you know your moods/feelings/emotions better than anyone and if you don't feel that BP fits then stick to your guns. Do all you can to change docs and complain about this half-wit if you're up to it - I know it's hard when things are tough for you but it just helps to make you feel like you're fighting if nothing else. Read up as much as you can, try as many different ways of helping yourself as possible - good diet and exercise have really helped me keep the depression from coming back - fish oil supplements work wonders.
Don't let this wally get you down - let us know how you're getting on
Had a therapy appointment last night and expressed my concerns about my pdoc.She said she will talk to him and come into his office with me on my next appt.She thinks I have situational depression but all three of my siblings suffer from depression also.
No other options really because he is the only doctor that works out of both county offices.The fifteen minute time slots make the problem even worse.Not nearly enough time for proper treatment.
Will keep you guys posted.
Mike
i have also just been diagnoised as bi-polar and i don't think i am?? not sure though. i have about 95% depression and maybe 5% happiness??? i would say i'm just depressed not bi-polar but doc seems to think so since it runs in my family????
Last edited by cajuncutie23; 08-13-2005 at 08:41 PM.
Your story sounds familiar. I didn't think I was b.p. either, cuz everywhere u look (internet, etc.) symptoms not only include depression, but also euphoria, heightened level of confidence, etc. Well, the depression part fits me, but definately not the euphoria or confidence part. Although when I get really p.o.'d, I seem to think I'm Betty bad-*ss and I've gotten in more than my share of trouble because of it! Guess that's where the confidence/feeling invincible part comes in.
Thing is, I've learned from my doc that the 'high' for some people w/b.p. manifests itself as a heightened level of agitation, bad judgement (over-spending, promiscuity, etc.) He also said that if u are infact b.p. then taking nothing but anti-depressants can actually make the depression part worse. Don't know how that is, but that's what he told me. If u can relate to any of these things, then u may be b.p.
It all seems so unclear to me.
They are now saying that antidepressants without a mood stabilizer can make you very moody and irritable.Also all of those years of not being able to sleep at night was due to the a.d.'s.I thought it was just me.Now they prescrible sleeping aids with them.
Prozac makes me downright mean and very irritable sometimes.It always has.
The lines between major depression and bipolar should be alot further apart.
This is a radical thought but I think antidepressants have blurred,if not triggered some of the bipolar symptoms.
I hope these doctors and drug companies know what they are doing.
prozack- It's not ridiculous that an anti-depressant could have caused some of your bipolar symptoms. For people that are predisposed to bipolar disorder and are currently in a depressive state, anti-depressants can sometimes trigger the onset of mania, and thus, the onset of bipolar disorder. Check out my posts on the topic "type II bipolar." Hope this helped!
-GatsbyLuvr1920-
__________________
"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal,' must necessarily be 'inferior.'"
-Hans Asperger
Thanks G1920
I hate taking the meds and try to keep a positive attitude towards them.I have suspected that ad's have pushed people into the bipolar category.Not really sure.
When I lost my insurance and was off prozac for 6 weeks it triggered racing thoughts that were unbearable.These are a symptom of bipolar.
I like a post in the depression forum.It made me really think hard.
It was "Do antidepressants really work" and the threadstarter stated that all of us on the board were on ad's and we were still all depressed.There was only one response.
I just wanted to tell you i was diagnosed with major depression for 4 years before they figured out that i was bipolar...... Those 4 years none of the ad's worked...I tried all of them, really all of them!! But after they put me on mood stabilizers the depression subsided in a sense.....Bp is really hard to diagnose......I lived with not knowing for 4 years.......But before they diagnosed me i kinda knew that i was bd.... I looked it up on the internet before and i knew......So if you really think you've been misdiagnosed stick with that, cause you know yourself better than anyone else does.....
I agree w/babygrl. I have battled what I (and several docs) thought was major depression for almost 15 yrs. Actually thought it was my way of reacting to the sexual abuse I endured as a youngster. Started thinking I may be b.p. a little over a year ago, but my doc at the time said I wasn't. Well, he was wrong and yours may be too.
Thanks babygirl and r.robin
My doc has me as "not otherwise specified" bipolar.I think I have major depressive disorder.
I'm gonna have to pin this thing down so I can get the proper treatment.
Mike
