Can you be bipolar and never diagnosed?

[Manda]

I'm only asking because at 54 my new boyfriend, who isn't really fazed by it, and my half real sister I found through an adoption site said she thinks I am, and that there is a family history of it.
My two closest friends have also said ups and downs are noticeable. I spend more money than I can when giddy, but take sleeping tablets and hide when low.

 

[Fairy Lucretia]

my BF was only diagnosed with bipolar last year ,but he suspects he has suffered from it for many years so i would say yes it is possible x but im not an expert if you are concerned please see a doctor
love Lu x

 

[Manda]

I don't think it's any more than part of who I am. Sometimes I reckon the labels make other people happy.
I've refused NHS services since I was 20, just because of bad psychiatrists, I saw since being about 7. Labels are long gone for me, but I think my boyfriend would like one.

 

[Wishbone]

Hi Manda. People can obviously hide things very well but just because there are fluctuations doesn't mean you have a disorder, and just because it's in the family doesn't mean you have, or will get it, either. I've seen enough documentaries to know that people have been diagnosed at your age, possibly even older, but I would wonder about how problematic things have been for you, as you would expect that this would have caused you significant problems by now if it was Bipolar. So I guess the question is, have their been significant problems through your life that you could put down to mood changes, or periods when you've acted completely out of character?

 

[JessisMe]

yes

 

[daffy]

I think you can go thru life and not be diagnosed. My mother and sister both have quite severe personality disorders but refuse to accept anything is wrong with them. I’m the only one thats seen my problems and got help for it. They just ruined two families with being untreated.
There’s no shame in being assessed with a MH issue and some treatment may make your life a lot better

 

[natalie]

I have traits of bipolar, spending too much money or withrdrawl is one of them, and also up and down, I glean mainly towards szhiophrenia, so yes, I have never been officiially,

So i have a slight bout of bipolar about me, bu tboy to talk about mood swings, when one happens and in accordance with british weather patterns as well, boy, does it take an age, before i can happily and eagerly sap out, and that's where I take 7.5ml of Fluxoetine antidpressant, for that purpose.

So, the answer from me to the que stion for this thread, is no, never have been diagnosed.

 

[HLon99]

It is definitely possible. A lot of people with bipolar go undiagnosed for years. I myself went undiagnosed for a year, but I ave heard stories of some people going undiagnosed for 5, 10, 15+ years, especially those who have the milder Bipolar type 2. Theres various reasons for that, some people choose to hide their illness due to the stigma, some simply get misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression or substance abuse problems. You said you take sleeping pills, is there any particular reason you are prescribed them?

I'm not a doctor so I could not tell you for sure, but if you think you have symptoms and especially if there is a family history of it, you ought to definitely see a doctor, to rule it out if nothing else.

 

[rawlinsc]

I have bipolar. I have symptoms like spending too much money, sleep problems, anxiety....One of my best friends has no diagnosed health problems but I thought he could possibly be bipolar because he spends too much money and has gotten into debt because of it. He also wishes he had better social skills but I don't know if that has anything to do with bipolar.

 

[Keesha]

Absolutely.

 

[Rex Smith]

Yes, it's call never visiting a doctor.

 

[keith74]

Yes, many people are never officially diagnosed. It is worth talking to a good doctor just to get evaluated.

 

[calypso]

I'm 64 and was only diagnosed in my 50s. I have had problems all my life and a stay in a MH facility when I was 24 but not diagnosed then. So yes its possible. You need to see a professional to get a proper diagnosis though.

 

[khuang]

I think you could. I firmly believe that the alcoholic woman that helped my dad raise me and my sister and later on stole my money and verbally and emotionally abused me was actually bipolar but was undiagnosed because she refused to get any type of treatment or stick to any treatment plan. She’d have these huge meltdowns once every three or four months and change moods so quickly as if someone flipped a light switch inside her head. She went from being perfectly calm to raging screaming fit because I burned some popcorn in the microwave which did not cause any damage because it was less than five seconds. She’d literally be screaming in my face about how much she hated my guts and that I ruined her life and order me to leave the room because she couldn’t “stand to see” my “face” and then call me back fifteen minutes later in tears and sobbing where she then would hug me and sob how much she loved me and didn’t want me to ever leave her even though she had just said how much she wished I would just get out of her life. The first five times this happened I believed that she was truly sorry and didn’t mean all of those horrible words but after about eight times this happened, I began to question if she really was sorry or if she actually hated me because it was happening so often. There was definitely something seriously wrong besides the alcoholism and she would teeter back and forth between completely loathing my existence and blaming me for her own choices in life to being so nice and loving and telling me how much I saved her life and that I was the thing she loved most in life. Sometimes these moods changed in less than five seconds.