2nd opinion pdoc did not diagnose as BP

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Registered: 04-08-2003
2nd opinion pdoc did not diagnose as BP
4
Fri, 12-30-2005 - 8:25pm

H just called, the pdoc says he doesn't think H is BP ... says H doesn't get depressed enough to be BP. 'What?' I said, 'being suicidal is not being depressed enough?' Then H said they went through the list of symptoms of both depression & mania. There is 1 item in depression in the whole list H said no to (he didn't tell me what that was) and only 1 item in mania. H says he is not grandoise.

Ummmmm... tell me, does this sound grandoise???

EXAMPLE ONE - FROM YRS PAST - DOESN'T DO ANYMORE BY ME INSISTING HE DOESNT:
In our earlier yrs H would make terrible jokes about people in line in front of I would get so upset & H would say his jokes were too intelligent for them & people didn't get he was putting them down.

EXAMPE TWO:
Believing that even though he slept all day long (worked at home) & drank all day that he could not lose his job because he was too important. Usually he is very careful about his job, but while in a 'mood' thinks he can do no wrong.

EXAMPLE THREE:
Tells me, his wife, he is going to 'rent a room' from the woman he is having an affair with and is leaving on Saturday. On Friday he makes 2 dates for us to meet friends as a loving couple later in the month. Huh? He doesn't see what he's doing is wrong and there would be reprocautions.

Frustrated. Who knows what his work is going to say about this? The pdoc did tell H he didn't think he is an alcoholic & does drink to self-medicate for something that is wrong with him.

NOT WHAT I EXPECTED & LOOKED FORWARD TOO WITH THIS APPOINTMENT!

I hoped he'd get on some drugs that would help even him out or at very least help the depression. Nope, stuck with the appointment on Feb 28th.

If he's not BP then why in the world would the Zoloft react this way with H & the AP bring him out of what ever it was he was in? Zoloft is the exact drug his mother was on when she committed suicide & she was diagnosed with BP. 1 month after starting Zoloft H had lost about 20 lbs w/o changing anything in his life. He started to stay up late at night & then became an early riser too. He started to drink heavier than I've ever seen him drink. Co-workers (when he traveled for work) were a little freaked about how H was behaving. H doesn't remember this, but a co-worker told me H was trying to find cocain on one of their trips.

Grrrggggh, I hope this doesn't mess up his work.

Bonnie




"Only when we are sick of our sickness shall we cease to be sick."

~ Lao-Tzu, from The Tao Te Cheng
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Registered: 04-07-2002
Fri, 12-30-2005 - 9:14pm

I do think H sounds grandiose. I'd watch out for wacky pdocs that don't know what they are talking about. I went to a pdoc once that said I wasn't bipolar when all the others said I was. He took me off mood stabilizers and six months later, I was so manicky it was unbelievable (I ended up on the street for a bit, after losing my job and pissing off my folks so much that they refused to let me live with them). I say your pdoc may be of this wacky variety, because even in a beginning psychology book I read about the three types of bipolar- I is a fairly even mix of mania and depression, II is more depressive, AND THERE IS A III THAT IS MOSTLY MANIC!!!! (For the record, I am a type I and my brother is type II).

And Zoloft? I don't doubt that he could be having problems w/ that stuff. I was in a mixed state once when my pdoc at the time prescribed Zoloft. I ended up through-the-roof manic and was hospitalized. Man, I probably could've sued and won!

Express!
Beth "Petrouchka"

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Registered: 11-18-2003
Sat, 12-31-2005 - 12:33pm

((((((((Bonnie))))))))) I agree with Beth. First, with all the symptoms your H has, to say he's not bp is odd enough, but then to say that his drinking is not alcoholism??? Sorry, I've lived with alcoholics my entire life.......my family is full of them. It's a disease, just like bipolar. Your H needs to be treated for both. Yeah, he's self-medicating. That's pretty much a given. He's suffering from one illness so he takes to drinking to ease the pain. This creates the second illness. And this doc apparently can't see that.


I would first make sure H knows you are still supportive, and have him contact his work to see about a 3rd opinion to see if there is a doc out there who can concur with one of the first 2.


As for the Zoloft, there are many a/d's out there that will trigger a manic episode. That's why it's important to have a med that offsets it. To keep it in check. So make sure he continues to take the seroquel if he continues the zoloft.


Just remember you are doing the best you can and that is good enough. We are here for you and we care. Post as often as you need/want.


Hugs,


Traci

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Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 12-31-2005 - 3:29pm
i tend to agree with traci...as a matter of fact...& please don't hate me...i think that bp is the "diagnoses of the current status" much the same way borderline once was.
as long as he is getting the help he needs...let the dr.s do what they will.
no...they do not know him as long as you...hey...some people might consider that behavior narcissist.it's one area of a dianosis(once i was just diagnoses as a very bad person..hah!)
listen...relax...leave it to the dr. who KNOWS they have not seen this man at his worst.the best WILL come from it.
warm thoughts to you.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 01-03-2006 - 7:47am

Bonnie,

In my opinion, not that it weighs much, but that pdoc is whacked out...first of all, to be BP, you don't have to meet EVERY SINGLE criteria on the "sheet" the pdoc gave your H to answer. Secondly, yes, he sounds grandiose, and to give the pdoc a bit of credit, there ARE degrees of grandiosity that we all have...some more than others...but that pdoc cannot, and i mean CANNOT, say for certain that your H is NOT BP in that one session. Not by a long shot.

As for the alcoholism...H is an alcoholic. You know that. He did start drinking as a self medication technique...we've all done that in some fashion or form...some drugs, some drinking, some both...some cutting...some other things...we all have to cope.

You're having a tough time with pdocs, and I feel for you, hon. You need a GOOD pdoc. One you trust with H's life, literally.

A pdoc who says you aren't "depressed enough" when you are suicidal, is a real whack job.

Sorry this is happening. Stay strong. Keep H strong as much as you can.

By the way, Zoloft MESSED ME UP too. Ugh.

We're here for you.

Love and Hugs,

Keli