Bipolar or unipolar?

Maybe this sounds like an easy question, but I'm wondering how one tells if one's bipolar or unipolar. For example, how does one define "hypomania"?

I'd been diagnosed for a long time as having clinical depression. Then one pdoc noticed irritability and diagnosed me as bipolar 2. Another pdoc said he'd never seen any signs of hypomania and returned my diagnosis to clinical depression. My current pdoc, to whom I've been going for years, says that I've been on so many antidepressants without help for so long that I MUST be bipolar 2.

Me, I'm confused.

I'm going to research "hypomania" and "bipolar 2" yet again and see what I find. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you folks and get your take on bipolar (2) vs. unipolar/clinical depression. Thanks so much for any help you can give me.

I don't care WHAT I get diagnosed as, as long as I get help!

Yerz trooooooly,

Havana

 

Thanks to both of you for your take on the unipolar/bipolar issue. I can't even tell you if I've ever experienced hypomania. If I have, it's never morphed into mania. It--if I've had it at all--has simply felt good. I've experienced the feelings of well-being and productivity. The only time I've had an extended period of serious depression has been over the past couple of months, and this is becoming unbearable. Usually, in the past, panic/anxiety were much harder to deal with than depression. Now, I've got panic, anxiety, AND depression! What fun!

I will definitely talk to my pdoc about getting a second opinion. Maybe if he arranges an appointment for me, I'll be able to get in and see another pdoc for a second opinion a lot more quickly than if I called around and tried to make an appointment myself. I live in a relatively small place, so there really aren't many psychiatrists around here. I'd have to go a lot farther afield to find a bunch of pdocs. Maybe my psychiatrist knows pdocs in other cities. We don't exactly have a stellar cast of psychiatrists around here; I'd definitely say that the doc I go to is the best pdoc in town. Despite everything, I trust him, and I know he's trying hard to find something, ANYTHING, that will work on me. And I know that he's as concerned, frustrated, and worried as I am. That goes a long way, but still, getting my problems fixed would help a lot. It stinks being someone who doesn't seem to respond to meds.

Thanks again for your insights!

Warmly yours,
Havana