Any diagnosis advice?

[YellowCat]

I've thought i'm bipolar for about 10 years now but have never had a diagnosis.
My previous GP, when i went to her on a low after months of insomnia and manic behaviour, basically gave me the 'pull it together' speech. This put me off getting any medical help for years.
When i joined my new surgery, I went to see my new GP (again on a low) and she refered me to a psychiatric nurse. I saw her for a few months and she helped me to learn how to deal with my depressions but she didn't think i was bipolar.
I accepted that maybe i'd been wrong about the bipolar but after my meetings with her stopped, i started to feel the way i had before.
I really think i am bipolar and if i'm not then there is something else wrong.
I did an online questionairre (which i normally wouldn't even consider as being reliable) but it said any score of over 25 showed bipolar and i scored 52 and its really playing on my mind.
I really want to approach my DR again but i'm worried that i won't be taken seriously or that they'll think i can't be bipolar because the psychiatric nurse didn't think i was and she didn't pick up on anything serious.
I don't know what to do next! Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Allyke]

Hey, I'm currently having problems with diagnosis too...I don't really seem to fit anything either. However, I think if somethings bothering you then it's a good idea to get it checked, particularly if your doctor has only ever seen you on a low... and I'm also starting to think that everyone's symptoms are really different anyway and that sometimes they don't seem to be easily categorised. But if it's a big problem for you, even if it's hard to put a label on it, you deserve to be taken seriously. Sorry I can't be of more help, I'm kind of new at all of this, but I hope everything turns out ok for you and you get the help you need.

 

[Ainsworth]

they dont really like you telling 'them' what you think is wrong. though i dont like them telling me what they think i am lol

online things arent a good guide, im autistic....or so the online tests say <shoulder shrug>

you should go back to your doctors and see if you can be assessed, there are many types of BP, keep a mood diary to show how fast it happens and the type of mood your in.

goodluck

 

[gcare]

I think the problem with diagnosing bipolar is that when you feel good/high you don't go banging on the docs door giving it 'Woooohoooo!'.... they never see that. Only those close to you will probably see this and know if it out of character/over the top. It took over 5 years before our GPs finally twigged.

Mental health is about team work and relying on those close to you sometimes also.

 

[warriorprincess]

you definitely need more than a doc if you're feeling this way. I'm on the same path myself, and totally agree with above comment that they never get to see the full spectrum, that I think is required to receive an accurate diagnosis. We're only really bothered by it when we're down, the other times it's like - what's the problem? me? problem? I don't think so! and on til the next downer....

I went to my gp about 4 months ago now and asked to be referred, and it took a couple of weeks to get a psychiatric appointment. that didn't exactly go to plan, he suggested something else, which like you I am sure it's bipolar I have, not that i am bipolar. I'd just like to make that clear. the disorder is not who i am, rather something i have. So I saw another shrink 2 weeks ago and he seemed more inclined with the bipolar.

Although 'd like a quick diagnosis - someone to say - that's it now take these meds and you'll soon feel better, I also want to know that they are as close to knowing how my head works as they can be, before i receive any treatment. it doesn't much help with timing at the moment that i am also nearly 3 months pregnant! But i am having to persevere as it is the only way i will eventually get the help i need.

Sorry I hope some of this helps, my aim was to explain what to do and the timescale of what you can expect. This is how i think it works if you are presenting as someone who is depressed. I did actually seek help 4 years ago as I was on a high, and they diagnosed it straight away from referral of my local a&e, but as I've mentioned, this tends not to happen when someone is clearly in a manic episode, as you get on with it, and enjoy the ride. I lasted 2 days on meds then thought wa-hey i'm fine this is all in my head, power on!!!!!

I am interested to what you experience that makes you feel you have BP, how often would you say you cycle?

good luck in any case, and make your first mission a trip to your gp and ask to be referred to a psychiatrist.

xx

 

[suzy]

Don't stress and feel the need you have to be diagnosed as bipolar

Just because you scored high on some internet test does not mean you are bipolar

 

[YellowCat]

Thanks everyone- you've all been very helpful and kind

I can cycle anywhere between 3 and 8 weeks (it used to be longer than this when i was younger, normally months).
When i'm in a 'good mood' i can't stop talking (at about 100miles/hour), i get a bit aggressive (play fighting and not knowing my own strength or when to stop), very busy (taking on 3 times as many tasks as i can normally complete), my sex drive goes through the roof, i can't sleep, i pump out loads of ideas that never amount to anything, think i'm more important than other people (mostly in situations like waiting to be served in a shop or things like that) and get really annoyed that other people don't see it and i spend money impulsively.
When i'm 'down' i find it nearly impossible to sleep and equally impossible to wake up, i don't have an appetite and have to make myself eat, i fele guilty and useless, i feel ugly and my confidence plummits, can't make the easiest decisions (things what to eat, or whether to have a bath or shower- i actually have to ask my other half what he thinks i should do) and i avoid contact with everyone who isn't part of my household (including ignoring the doorbell, phone and emails and becoming moody and withdrawn if i have to have people round- even my own mum).

There are other things too, that affect me most of the time but don't relate to a specific mood. Things like thinking i've got extra-sensory abilities: i always know whose on the phone before its answered (i normally make other half answer the phone), 80% of the time i know what amount is in a box when its been picked in Deal or No Deal and when other half is watching his footy team i can guess qho is going to score and guess the time within 5 minutes and i've never been wrong about when they'll win. Also, i sweat loads, loose my temper easily and sometimes i hallucinate.

When i was in my teens i used to hallucinate a lot and its really hard to describe, but i used to make my image change in the mirror so i was looking at someone else entirely. It sounds really crazy now!

Warriorprincess- congrats on the pregnancy! I've got a 3 year old son and a 10 week old daughter.

 

[warriorprincess]

Oh my god yellowcat totally relate to every point you have made - even the extra sensory abilities - time i'm quite aware of though not all the time and i know my gut instinct has always been right about so much but i think i try not to get carried away by this stuff too much, but wow that's amazing to read similar stuff. haha i'm sweating buckets right now! that onlt started a few years ago in a midst of a 'high' but now can't turn off the tap in certain situations or it seems sometimes to be pinpointed to about 3 specific moods I might be feeling - my flight or flight reaction, hehe nice eh!

will try and write again soon, I'm a bit racy at the mo so don't wanna write heaps of boring stuff on a tangent...

Wow, congratulations on your little daughter how are you finding it? Hope all is going well, take care and good luck, I think taking this along will help when you see someone. These are all the words that elude me in speech but I could write whole essays on. well done for putting it so concisely and understandably. If that makes sense!

xxx

 

[snnny]

hi Yellowcat,
I have also have wierd psychic abilities but only when i am manic- and they are very accurate but when iam not experiencing mania they just dissapear. when iam normal most of the time ifeel mildly depressed my brain seems so much slowerand its like an anti climax feeling, and although my mania can be quite scary - i miss it as ifeel half a person without it- its like kind of super confidant drug

 

[Grant]

I seem to have similar abilities xD. Like playing monopoly against my friends I would always win because I could predict the dice roll. Or I would say something and it would happen. My friends think it is really weird, but my pdoc just says its because I notice more when I'm manic. I lose it when im down though - and that makes me more down as nothing goes the way I want it too.

I guess its the manic feeling of power - why it only works 80/90% of the time not 100%.