I believe I am Bipolar, where do i go what do i do???

What 6 different anti-depressants were you on?

My psychiatrist informed me while I was thankfully hospitalized, he said it takes time and detailed documentation to form an accurate diagnosis. Personally I had six different psychiatrists inaccurately diagnosed me; all diagnosis were on an outpatient structure. It wasn't until I was hospitalized and under their care and many eyes observing me; I finally got an accurate diagnosis. Bipolar 1 is my diagnosis and I am treated with lithuim,& lamotrigine. Maybe admit yourself into the inpatient ward in the hospital and inform them of your situation and your not feeling right. I am sorry your having a difficult time.

Tickinit:

This all sounds like a stuck record.

You say you've been to a number of psychiatrists who misdiagnosed you.

Kiwi says he's been to a number of psychiatrists who misdiagnosed him.

Now, I'm saying, I went to a number of psychiatrists who misdiagnosed me.

What's going on here?

You say: " saw psychiatrists who gave me antidepressants, 6 different ones at different times, they never worked."

And "i think i treated Lyme as much as i can, and after spending time online the last week, i truly believe i am bipolar. Wether it is related to lyme i don't know, but i have to look into treating bipolar."

You said, "i truly believe i am bipolar." How did you come to that conclusion?

You said: "So, would there happen to be a list of approved doctors or places to go?" (I think you're meaning a list of psychiatrists here who meet the specs of your insurance."

Then you add, "i don't want to risk being misdiagnosed again." Which would be the psychiatric thing.

So we're looking for a list of psychiatrists to satisfy our ins. company. I think any of them that are psychiatrists will be OK with your insurance.

1. I would go to your Real Yellow Pages in the computer phone book. Look up psychs for your hometown. Some will be men, some will be women, take your choice. I've had better luck with females psychiatrists and regular doctors also, and because it was a male psychiatrist who screwed me up. Does that remind you of anything?

2. Here's another deal. How do you improve your chances of getting a good psych?

A. One time I took an assertiveness training class. Got to know by name the head of the women's health center department at the hospital where the clinic was put on. I went to her after one of the meetings, and asked her, "Do you know the name of a good psychologist?" And she gave me one, who was very good.

B. When I needed a psychiatrist, I called a woman who was the head of a mental health organization, a woman I had met before, and I asked her for the name of a female psychiatrist. She said, "D. Jane Smith. I'd go to her myself."

I've been going to that psych for about 4 years. She's the best such doctor I've ever had.

So, you could call a women's health center, often they're at a local hospital, each hospital probably has one and you can call the main switchboard. Ask if anyone can recommend a good psychiatrist.

Along with "Mental Health Clinics," call these places, there could be 3 or 4 in town, and get some names.
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Kiwibear said:

"My psychiatrist informed me while I was thankfully hospitalized, he said it takes time and detailed documentation to form an accurate diagnosis. Personally I had six different psychiatrists inaccurately diagnosed me; all diagnosis were on an outpatient structure."

Six psychs miss-diagnosed this guy, about like with you? What's going on here? So now his properly dx'd as bipolar, just like you think you are.

Same experience with me. Miss dx'd as depressive for over 15 years.

All 3 of these united in that they went into the doctors' offices depressed. The psych sees them as depressed. He rx's them as depressed.

What's wrong with this picture? In all 3 cases with probably 10 psychs, none of them ever asked, "Do you ever have racing thoughts?" trying to find out if they are bipolar.

Why didn't they ask? I've never heard a psych say a word. They sit there and listen for the entire session. They don't say anything, how could they ask?

How did you figure out you were bipolar?

I learned from a lay counselor who knew my uncle, who he said was bipolar, and added, "And you probably are too." Notice, it wasn't through a psych that I learned that.

I then realized my mother's mother was bipolar, and that's where I got it from. Which was a big help, for it let me knew it wasn't my fault, and its good for getting a good dx.

Were your parents or gp's with emotional problems? It can sometimes skip a gen., so even if your parents were OK, it could come from a gp. I would ask around, sometimes aunts or uncles may have had that, another sign of that.

Here's signs of bipolar from mayoclinc.org. You might take this list to your next appt. and go down the list with him or her. Just as safety precaution. And if he or she doesn't agree, you can get another doctor.
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mayo clinic.org

Mania and hypomania

Mania and hypomania are two distinct types of episodes, but they have the same symptoms. Mania is more severe than hypomania and causes more noticeable problems at work, school and social activities, as well as relationship difficulties. Mania may also trigger a break from reality (psychosis) and require hospitalization.

Both a manic and a hypomanic episode include three or more of these symptoms:

•Abnormally upbeat, jumpy or wired

•Increased activity, energy or agitation

•Exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria)

•Decreased need for sleep

•Unusual talkativeness

•Racing thoughts

•Distractibility

•Poor decision-making — for example, going on buying sprees,
taking sexual risks or making foolish investments

Major depressive episode

A major depressive episode includes symptoms that are severe enough to cause noticeable difficulty in day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities or relationships. An episode includes five or more of these symptoms:

•Depressed mood, such as feeling sad, empty, hopeless or tearful (in children and teens, depressed mood can appear as irritability)

•Marked loss of interest or feeling no pleasure in all — or almost all — activities

•Significant weight loss when not dieting, weight gain, or decrease or increase in appetite (in children, failure to gain weight as expected can be a sign of depression)

•Either insomnia or sleeping too much

•Either restlessness or slowed behavior

•Fatigue or loss of energy

•Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt

•Decreased ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness

•Thinking about, planning or attempting suicide

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 4/17/2017 10:30:20 PM (GMT-6)

Evening Tickinit,

Tim Tam, contributed great information. A common denominator we seem to share is the frustration of incompetent psychiatrists. Please keep me informed how your doing. Navigating the health care system is overwhelming and more difficult when your not feeling well. Looks like you support here

Tickinit:

Thank you for the update.

Sounds like you've been through it, like Kiwi and I have been through our own brand of that.

It's good that you reached out for help. That's why I got on this website.

1. You've explained it very well, so are you doing OK now? From a one (worst) to a 10 (best), how are you doing now?

2. Do you have any tranquilizers that can get you through the next few hours, the next few days, if you're doing poorly right now?

3. You can always go to the Emergency Room if you're doing bad, and perhaps they can give you some tranquilizers. They may hesitate, because they may worry about people going from er to er for such meds, but I would definitely consider that.

I've gotten some tranquillizers before, well, actually it was not from an er, but from a medical clinic, one of those, open Monday through Saturday, during the day, no appointment needed, things.

So, you might want to consider going to a medical clinical first, before an er. ER's can be more crowded, except those in the suburbs can be less crowded, and less wait, than those in the city.

Can you make an appointment with a psychiatrist? I find female psychiatrists to be more attentive, but it's your choice.

You can find a list of them for your town in the computer Real Yellow Pages. Write down the name, number and addresses of a few of them, and pick one.

To find a recommended one, may not be easy, but I would suggest in the Real Yellow Pages, looking under title, "Mental Hygiene" or "Mental Health," or "Psychological Counseling" for the name of a group connected with that.

Then call, and ask for a recommendation for a good psych. See if they can do that.

Otherwise, I would just go to one, show them the list of bipolar traits, tell them you think that's what it is. Maybe if the don't agree, ask them what on that list they don't agree with.

Get a list also of the medicines for bipolar, so you'll know if they are treating you for bipolar.

is your wife helping you with this? What does she think

I think you should also be positive that you can get through this. I've read that, believing going into a problem that you can solve it, increases your chances that you will.

Or, "One problem at a time, and be positive about that problem."

Can you let us know how this is going?

These are just my opinions as a bipolar.

Tickinit:

Thanks for the response. It's good to keep us up to date with what's going on.

Sounds like you are making progress.

You said, "Tim Tam tonight is a good night. I am a 5 on your scale. Still a bit of a balancing act."

Sounds good that you are in the middle. Maybe from the middle we can move up a little bit.

"You say, "I will be calling the local clinic tomorrow, they left me a voicemail today stating the hospital called them. I can't afford to wait any longer. If I don't like the Doctor I'll try and switch, same for the therapist."

That sounds like a good plan.

It's also good that the mental health clinic called you, left a message.

And you added, "I will be calling the local clinic tomorrow," which would be today, or Thursday.

That does sound like real progress.

Can you get some tranquilizers?

What did the clinic say about an appointment?

You said, "So here I am, stable, strong. Thinking and thinking. Why so strong? Just for the moment? Could be. But i was strong last night, and took matters into my own hands. Happy for it. And if i can get thru so many years i'll keep going."

Sounds like something I heard along the way, or "Looking for a helping hand? What about the one on the end of your arm?"

Good to hear that things are going so well.

It's good to know that you got your tranquilizers from your primary doctor.

Also nice to know that you have an appointment Tuesday, which might not have happened if you had not checked yourself in a week or so ago.

Or, as you said, "In time with the help of medication maybe I'll look at the hospital visit as a good thing despite knowing I had to go there."

As you say, sometimes a negative can have a positive part.

You said, "I hope a little xanax keeps it (anxiety) away til Tuesday."

Right, that's what tranquilizers can do, get you through until your next appointment. It's always good to have some on hand in case of a problem.

You say, "It's been difficult to look for answers for so long and not find any." OK, you said you had been misdiagnosed as depressive only for basically all of that time.

I've just really learned from looking up some of this stuff on the net that, if they misdiagnose you as depressive only, they will give you an antidepressant which can throw you into mania (and panic attacks), because they are not giving you anything like Lithium to slow down the anti-depressant.

You said, "Right now i don't feel the need to do a partial hospitilazation. That was to be discussed at my appointment Tuesday. I think an outpatient will work, but i'm hesistant as i do not want another psychiatrist to not help me."

Yes, often people can be treated outpatient. They don't always need the, as you say, partial hospitilazation, when, again you said, "outpatient will work."

So by getting some help when you did, you may have avoided a hospital visit.


You say, "but i'm hesistant as i do not want another psychiatrist to not help me."

Yeah, easy to understand your concerns. Maybe take in data on bipolar to remind the doctor of things. Have in mind what you are see if the doctor agrees with you. Make your case for what you think is going on.

Or, as you say, "Now there is your advice, to write down what exactly i have been feeling that makes me think i'm bipolar."

You have talked about getting assistance from this website. I have a medical procedure tomorrow. I have a helper who is going to take me to that.

She e-mailed me today and also phoned me, leaving a message. Both said, don't forget to take your medicine for the hospital visit tomorrow.

Until I got those messages from her today, I had been putting off looking at what I was supposed to do about those medicines today. When I got those reminders from her, I first started looking for the paperwork that talked about that, and it said, take your first such meds at breakfast. I was going to wait more.

I emailed her back and thanked her for reminding me to take my meds, and told her, "It's like having somebody in the house with me."

Electronically, she was in the house with me, even though I'm here by myself. This website allowed us to be in the house with you, and to give you our views and encouragement, perhaps something we didn't have.

You said, "I thank both of you for your support, you have really helped me. I want you to know that. Your experiences have done that for me."

One day somebody will come up and tell you about their difficulties, and maybe you can help by telling them, "Guess what happened to me one time."

You're still going to have troubles, but it can help if you can be positive, not about the problem, but about your ability to solve it.

Or, "One problem at a time, and be positive about that problem."

Or, as you say, "Take care everyone, stay strong, lets stay supportive of each other."

You said,

"I was misdiagnosed for years also! Sometimes a dr hears depression...and won't ask any questions after that. So it took some really bad life choices during mania to make me realize I'm not just "depressed"."

That is sad, sad, sad, sad, sad.

My worst is a male psychiatrist who gave me the worst possible advice, which ended up causing me troubles to this day 23 years later.

From then on, I could only go to female doctors.

Tickinit:

Good to hear from you.

My medical procedure went well, thank you for asking.

You said:

"I just finished a 3 week Intensive Outpatient Program and before that 10 days in a partial hospitalization program. It has been tough. This has been a lot to process. So many years to get this diagnosis.
I saw a psychiatrist 2 weeks ago, I don’t think they are still asking the right questions. He wanted to put me on an antidepressant. I had to tell him they never worked, and how I reacted to them. Atleast he put me on Seroquel, something I wanted to try”

So, you’re now taking Seroquel anti-depressant. I’ve been on that.

So, if you’re bipolar, are they giving you anything for the mania?

You said, 4-21, "The girl didn't think what i described fit bipolar when i stated i had been feeling disconnected. She asked if it was psychosis. I didn't know what the meant. The term scared me. Yet when i looked up the definition it was what i felt. It doesn't last long, but it happens. It has not happened since last Saturday. I hope a little xanax keeps it away til Tuesday. I have been reading that is does happen to bipolar people, and that most of the time there are other things like panic, anxiety, ocd, adhd stuff like that. I have felt that too.”

You said they are have given you something like 5 anti-depressants over the years. And this will be the 6th? Yet with nothing to treat the mania.

You said you had heard that psychosis can be connected with bipolar.

The net says all of that can be treated with a variety of medicines.

Are you doing OK now?

Thanks for the heads-up Alice.

It's good that you can reach out to help others with having difficulties yourself.

I have difficulties I don't often mention on here, so I know that we can help ourselves by trying to help others.

I once entered a health helpline that dealt with one particular ailment, and went on there with complaints that I had about my difficulty.

Then I saw some of the problems others were having, and my psychic energy got turned around as I tried to help some of those others, and my problems reduced. It hard to explain.

My concentration was on their difficulties. I never did mention my problem, and I'm trying to do the same on this website. I don't think about a lot of my problems, and that's all I use to think about.

For my bipolar, I'm on Lithium for the mania, and Mirtazapine for the depression. I'm sorry to hear yours was caused by Lime disease

You say, "I'd really recommend going to an LLMD" (Lime Literate Medical Doctor).

Since my psychiatrist helped me with my bipolar, I often recommend people with emotional problems see a good psychiatrist.

Are you in a hospital or are you at home? Are you having any trouble with your spirits? I kinda spends most my time at home, I don't drive, so I don't get out much.

At night I like to watch TV. Do you have any favorite TV shows? Do you read? Do you get to be around others very often?

There is also a "Lyme" disease forum on this Healing Well website, below the "Bipolar" forum by about 15 or so titles. You might want to visit that, also, to see if any of those people have some of your situations.

The monitor for this forum, UA, might want to give your part of this this tread a new title, since your topic it is a combination of bipolar and Lyme disease.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 8/24/2017 5:55:15 PM (GMT-6)