I need help w/Bipolar & Borderline questions

I can definatly understand why you would question your diagnosis. Is this from a doc that you know and trust? If it isn't, you may want to get a second opinon to just be sure. Of course, none of us on this can diagnose you, but we can offer you insight from our own experiences. I was diagnosed bipolar a few weeks ago and I had been questioning myself for a year before I finally got help. My college counselor recommended me to be evaluated because of a test I took called the mood disorder questionnaire. You can find the questionnaire online if you go through google. I waited a year before I finally got help because I thought I was fine. Like you, I didn't want to hurt myself or anyone else... I just had mood swings. A year later I am totally going crazy! My moods have switched from being too hyper and upset to being so low I have been suicidal. My husband almost took me to the hosptial because of suicide threats. If you would have asked me over a year ago if I ever thought I would be in this situation I would have said no and would'nt even think of it. I was so out of control that I quit my job I loved and was seriously suicidal. I went and got help and that was when I was diagnosed. I have been taking a mood stablizer called Lamictal for a week now and I feel much better! I also have wondered if I have borderline because I fit all of the symptoms BESIDES

Hi Kriste, I have been both labled as bipolar and borderline. One thing we have to remember. In order for the doctor to write a report that other doctors can understand, insurance companies can understand, and even social security can understand, there has to be a concise label, i.e. bp or bpd. These labels are described in a dsm iv manual. This is actually more for the doc than for you. Borderline is not a stand alone problem, but usually stems from another disorder, i.e. bipolar. They have many of the same systems which can be very confusing to both you and the doctor. Borderlines don't go manic, but oftentimes they are considered to be rapid cyclers, which mimic bipolar. Also very moody and impulsive. You may be labeled manipulative and even lying; but, actually you are not necessarily doing either, it is that your perception of things is different than reality as others see it. The medicines are usually the same to treat both of them anyway. Perhaps one of the big differences, imo, is that bipolar is understood primarily as a chemical imbalance, whereas borderline is your thought processes. It's like borderline is a P.S. to bipolar. Along with a chemical imbalance, you have a thought process imbalance. But these thought processes have been ingrained in you since childhood, you're actually unaware that you are doing anything different from anybody else. Don't let the labels depress you, ok. - denise