Bipolar Symptoms!! help?

I think I have bipolar, what is the best way to make sure completely? are there any tests or anything? My doctor claims I have a serotonin imbalance already but I'm only on prozac and its not helping at all. I am completely new and lost to this subject. Any information will suffice. Thanks.

Why do you think you have Bipolar? What makes you feel that your doctors description is incomplete?


Ellie as an aside :

REM latancy was used as physical test. It is not a conclusive test but can help bolster the clinical evaluation. The test consists of connecting electrodes to your head and recording the output from just before you go asleep until you wake up. The doctor then evaluates the time between you fall asleep and the start of Rapid Eye Movement. People with bipolar disorders [and some others] usually but not always have a short time until REM starts.

If you do in fact have bipolar disorder the Prozac will only make it worse.  Prozac can induce a manic episode with people who have bipolar disorder.  If drugs like Prozac are used at all in bipolar disorder, it has to be with a mood stabalizer.

I was first diagnosed with depression and put on Zoloft.  The Zoloft really put me into a manic state like I never had before.  I would tell your doctor that you are concerned about being on an SSRI antidepressant (like Prozac, Zoloft etc.) if you are bipolar.

Well my psychiatrist gave me depakote ER for a "mild bipolar disorder" this morning. I hate the way that he didn't even ask about anything and I was really in no condition to push it out of him. That should be his job to push things out of me. I sat tehre and I told him about migraines and anxiety and panic and feeling overwhelmed and that I thoguht it was bipolar.. but who is the patient to diagnose himself? He wrote it all down and then said I'll give you effexor.. come right this way. I stood up and said, well I think im in no position to diagnose myself, do you think thats really it? And he said we'll see I think its gonna help. You'll have a follow up visit in 10 days. And there goes 200 bucks.. in less than 10 minutes. I didnt have insurance so he gave me depakto ER, I'm guessing its the same? I don't think thats very fair. I've been battling against something for too long to just be a guinea pig. What is anyone's thought on this?

fphlix, just wanted to say hi and hope that you're able to find some help in the forum. I was reading your earlier posts and there are a few things that stand out; it sounds like you need to find another dr. for a second opinion if you feel like your's is jumping to conclusions. As SMSIRL pointed out, there are very few conclusive tests for BP, but it seems in most cases, a dr will usually run a few routine blood tests to rule out other conditions that might be at play - this won't diagnose BP, but can help in the evaluation. Too - its usually easy to find the clinical criteria for BP if you google it. It basically shows the characteristic behaviour and timeline that a doctor will evaluate in order for a proper diagnosis.

Depakote and Effexor are drastically different medications as els pointed out - as far as I know - one doesn't replace the other, although your doctor might try one at a time. If you are indeed BP, the depakote will usually kick in relatively quickly (a few days to a few weeks) and can often cut the extremes of mania. The Effexor is an anti-depressant, and shouldn't be used in a BP patient without a mood stabilizer like Depakote. There are no cure alls, but the depakote is usually a good place to start since it has a wide range of doses, is usually well tolerated with low side effects and makes managing the other symptoms more practical. I currently take depakote and have used Effexor in the past.

Take care and I hope that you're able to find some answers,
Putter

if you are bipolic the depokote should take affect,the only thing is it can take up to two weeks of being in your system before you could notice the benefits.i to was treated for depression with prozac,they had no affect on me either,when i was diagnosed with bp i was given dep.it worked for a while,i was then moved on to lithium.its just trial and error for a while untill they find the right one for you.good luck.

Mood swings DO NOT equal bipolar disorder. They're more of a symptom of a psychiatric disturbance than anything. Bipolar is one of them, but the mood swings are not like ordinary mood swings. Theres happiness and then theres mania. Sadness, and depression. Are you switching from irritated to happy, or sad to elated often? That could be indicative of a cyclothymic disorder, but probably not full-blown bipolar. Calling them mood swings is almost degrading what bipolar disorder actually is. It would be strange for a doctor to allow you to diagnose yourself, but not unheard of. Introspection can bring about a good deal of insight, but probably not this sort of diagnosis. I've always been 100% allowed to choose my own medications, and I've been on dozens. Besides lithium and carbamazapine, I can't think of a mood stabilizer I haven't been on. Nor can I think of a antipsychotic besides the really old ones.

Lord, I was on Abilify and Geodon just weeks after they were made available, and then I was spending $15+ per pill, sometimes taking two or three of them. I know how you feel about the costs.