How long did it take you to diagnosed???
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How long did it take you to diagnosed???
| Fri, 10-27-2006 - 1:07am |
Hey,
There is mental illness on my mom's side of the family but it is undiagnosed and not talked about much. I have ADHD and depression and had one hypomanic episode. It was in April '06 and lasted about 10 days. I've heard that it can take years to be diagnosed with BPD and was wondering how long it took each of you to get diagnosed. Also, my pdoc wanted to put me on meds but I refused because if I'm on meds, I won't have the hypomanic thing going on and therefore how can I get diagnosed if I have no (or fewer) symptoms?
When did you suspect you had BPD and when did you get diagnosed?
Thanks guys :)

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I didn't get dx'ed until I was 29. Then I resisted meds for another year, until I had my first breakdown, and psychotic episode. Now that I know what BP is, I've had it since I was about 14.
Probably, if you suspect you have BP, you do. One hypomanic episode along with the depression, most likely, is BPII. But, of course, I'm not a psychiatrist, and if you can get the meds, you probably should take them.
BP gets worse with "age" and progresses quite rapidly sometimes.
Good Luck!
Keli
I was diagnosed almost 3 years ago. I had been treated for clinical depression for 3 years before that. It took me a good while to accept that I was bipolar but my biggest problem is finding the right combination of meds to control it. Looking back I can trace manic episodes to my teen years - I'm 40 now - and depressive episodes for years even before I sought treatment.
I actually have not been officially dx with bp.
God could not be everywhere, so
I had my dx "confirmed" by a pdoc 3 to 4 mo. ago but self dx'd myself (about 6 yrs ago) as EOBP from the age of 7 (I am now 39). Only started taking meds at the urging of DW, MC, and tdoc, that's when I went to the pdoc and had the dx "confirmed". I felt I was/had been doing O.K. After I started meds, DW said she noticed a difference in the first week or two. Had been treated for depression about 9 - 10 yrs ago with Zoloft, then self treated with St. Johns Wart (sp?) about 6 - 7 yrs ago.
The ONLY reason I self dx'd was DS started having problems in school. I had noticed "issues" since about 4 yrs old (rages, not "needing" sleep, easily upset, crying, sometimes all in one day). School wanted to label DS ADD/ADHD and several pdocs did the same. Tried various ADD/ADHD meds with the usual results of treating bp with "speed" and no ms's. Finally went to a tdoc who specialized in children and knew what and how to ask questions then told DW and myself what to look for in family history. I found out then that my maternal great-grandmother had been institutionalized for "manic-depressive". Also had rampant alcholism on the paternal side, when I mentioned to the tdoc that I had an aunt that drank herself to death he recommended a book called "The Bi-Polar Child" to DW and myself. When I got done reading the first chapter I KNEW that was what DS was and strongly suspicioned I was because that chapter described DS's and my childhood to a TEE.
I was still taking the St. Johns Wart and that point and had been waking up in a FOUL mood and then by lunch was giddy, had trouble not talking, felt like laughing insanely outload. I quit the St. Johns Wart and within a week noticed I was not waking up in as foul a mood. Also my high after lunch was not as high.
One positive of all this was I loaned that book to my mother to understand what DW, myself, and DS were going through and that started us talking and we (my mother and I) strongly believe my mother was EOBP also. Quite the family history. Anyway, to wrap up, I will just reiterate what everyone else here has said, the sooner you start the bp meds the better....don't wait until you are having the highs and lows all in the day (not as likely with adult onset those cycles usually last longer, very likely with Early Onset bp).
Sounds like your cycles are longer and more spread out and also sounds like you are staying in the depressive stage more. That happens with some bp's is they spend "most" of the time in a depressive or normal state with the manic states being long and happening only every once in awhile. (Anyone else feel free to disagree, but this is what I have picked up through research and listening to pdocs and tdocs talk to DW and myself and DS). Anyway, I said I was going to wrap up so here goes.
Good luck and hang around, this is a GREAT support group,
tk
Edited 10/27/2006 11:24 am ET by txknight
10 months. Sort of. That's how long I've been seeing my pdoc anyway. And I've been on meds the whole time.
I've had problems for a lot longer than that though and my dad's side of the family are like the poster children for bad things that happen when you don't treat bipolar. The reason I started with my pdoc was that I couldn't get my head together no matter how much, or what kind of AD's my primary gave me and I was convinced I couldn't trust that my thoughts were my own anymore. I took a long look at my dad's family, full of suicides, institutionalizations, failed careers, failed marriages, and one dramatic attempted mass murder of an entire family that he thought would be a "mercy killing" (followed by a lengthy institutionaliztion). I didn't know much about bipolar except most of the people in question had late life bipolar diagnosis' (or post death speculation of bipolar disorder). I went to my pdoc in tears the second appointment because I thought a dx of bipolar was a life sentence of degenerative mental functioning into insanity and a lost life full of people that would hate me. My grandmother, for example, had 4 sons. Only my father (and his children) went to her funeral. In all honesty I only went to support my father.
I've done a whole lost of reading since then and I'm calmer now. When the pdoc finally told me, out of the blue, after a year of telling me I had a unipolar depressive disorder, that he really thought it was bipolar I actually handled it pretty well.
Mary
However, in past few weeks I have been profoundly depressed (first time in 8 years) and am not handling it well. How quickly and easily we forget how deep it gets.
Good luck, Kelli
Awesome, thanks for your reply.
When the hypomanic episode was done, I bought a few books about BPD and I also think I have BPII (comorbid with ADHD). I think I need to get a new pdoc though becasue mine is a total ass. He told me "If you really had ADHD you wouldn't be smart enough to be on the honor roll in college" so I told him "Thats interesting that you assume ADHD makes people stupid and that hard work and determination can't help me achieve a goal because I have it. In fact the psychologist that diagnosed me has ADHD himself, do you think he's to 'stupid' to be a Dr.!?"
Then I told him about what I thought was a psychotic episode (about 2 days into the hypomanic episode) where I was laying awake staring at the ceiling and my cat jumped into bed between me and DH and I screamed and freaked out because I honestly thought my cat was out to get me and was going to bite me. I feel so dumb for saying that because it sounds so crazy and out there but at the time it was so real! Anyways the pdoc told me that was just paranoia. My gp told me paranoia is when I think I see something out of the corner of my eye and then find out its nothing (more than just small movement- I would think someone just walked past my bedroom in the hall way when I know I am home alone)
Anyways since April, I haven't had any more hypomanic episodes just depression and angry mood swings. Also, my depression can vary between mild to moderate and sometimes I don't feel depressed at all. Like this past month or so I have been in a good mood all the time but don't feel up or down... just slightly up.
Anywho sorry for the long post, just thought you looked like someone good to talk to about this :) Thanks!
Hi,
The reason I didn't take the meds is because I also read somewhere that some people can have just one hypomanic episode that never comes back. Another reason is that I'm sure that I have BP but need to convince my pdoc of it and feel that being on meds will stop or lighten the symptoms and make it harder to be dx'ed. Another issue is the weight gain that goes along with those kind of meds. I've told my pdoc when he tried to put me on meds that I would rather be dead than fat. I'm already about 40 pounds overweight and any more and I will just get more depressed. If I did get a diagnosis out of a pdoc I would start taking the meds though I guess. I have an appt w my gp on Nov. 2 and while I am there I will ask for a referral to a pdoc that isn't an ass like the one I have now LOL!
Thanks for replying to my post :)
I got diagnosed with BP II at 21 and OCD but I was diagnosed with unipolar depression when I was 19 and hospitalized. Looking back I have always been OCD. When I saw What About Bob? I thought I had invented the tissues on the door handle thing at age 7 but I guess quite honestly it is classic OCD. I have been in denial about the BP since I go out of college and stopped taking the Depakote they gave me but now it feels like my life is spiraling out of the control and I am the one who is destroying it so back to the pdoc I go.
In the past 7 years I have known things arent right but since I feel so good in hypomania I really didnt want to anything about it. I would go for depression but downplayed it. But now I see how both are destroying me and the relationships I have been in and I am the one causing it.
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