Daily mood shifts vs classic bi polar.

Your symptoms are classic to a mixed mood bi polar disorder that comes in both variants, and a lot in bp2.
Mixed mood for me is all over the shop, and in various blocks, minutes hours etc, it can be in mania or in a depressive component. Some have mixed mood, some will rapid cycle, some will crash, some will become hypomanic, in the mixed mood it is more of the sum of parts that are pronounced by us, than just up then down.
A shrink trained in bi polar disorders is a must, some are just general shrinks, like a general doctor with a basic understanding of many things.

Bi polar is one of the most recognised complex mental health disorders, along with BPD. If your shrink is not a consultant psychiatrist then i would seek further info. Hoping i have been helpful. I live with mixed mood bi polar disorder and this is my diagnosis, HT

You say you have been dxed with bipolar 2, I have bipolar 1, for which I am taking Lithium to hold down the mania and Mirtazapine anti-psychotic to work with the depression.

I don’t fluctuate all during the day between the two moods.

My medicine keeps me functioning in the middle.

When I was first put on Lithium for the mania, I felt like the air had been let out of an overtight balloon. When you first got on medicine for Bipolar II, you said,

“I've been like this (depression, irritability, impulsiveness, anxiety) before starting meds and during.”

So, the medicine has not affected your Bipolar 2, leading you to say, “I don't seem to have classic bi polar symptoms but am diagnosed with Bi polar 2.”

Then you ask, “My questions is, does anyone else here experiencing daily mood shifts like I do. If so is this typical for bi polar particularly bi polar 2. Could this just be my baseline mood?”

I don’t, and you doctor said that was unusual.

And, “The questions is are we dealing with bi polar or something else. For example life stressors that are contributing to my mood. Possibly ADHD. he didn't seem quite sure but seems more concerned with keeping my depression and hypomania level.”

nimh.hib.gov says, "Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is…marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.
• Inattention means a person wanders off task, lacks persistence, has difficulty sustaining focus, and is disorganized; and these problems are not due to defiance or lack of comprehension.
• Hyperactivity means a person seems to move about constantly, including in situations in which it is not appropriate; or excessively fidgets, taps, or talks. In adults, it may be extreme restlessness or wearing others out with constant activity.
• Impulsivity means a person makes hasty actions that occur in the moment without first thinking about them and that may have a high potential for harm, or a desire for immediate rewards or inability to delay gratification. An impulsive person may be socially intrusive and excessively interrupt others or make important decisions without considering the long-term consequences.

Bipolar II, webmd.com says, has moods cycling between high and low over time.
A person affected by bipolar II disorder has had at least one hypomanic episode in their life. Most people with bipolar II disorder suffer more often from episodes of depression.

In between episodes of hypomania and depression, many people with bipolar II disorder typically live normal lives.

Symptoms include during a hypomanic episode, elevated mood can manifest itself as either euphoria (feeling "high") or as irritability. And, flying suddenly from one idea to the next, having exaggerated self confidence, rapid, "pressured" (uninterruptible) and loud speech.

You said you were diagnosed as Bipolar 2 (net says no full mania).

Typing in on the search engine what you said were your symptoms (depression, irritability, impulsiveness, anxiety), one website that came up was mentalhealthmn.org, which discussed bipolar, and below that category had another website you could go to find out more.

The other website, verywellmind.com, said there was a division of bipolar called “not otherwise specific” (NOS).

It said, “Bipolar disorder NOS is usually diagnosed when a patient shows some symptoms of bipolar disorder but doesn't necessarily meet all the criteria….”

It said, “In general, NOS is most commonly ascribed when a mood disorder is characterized by depression alternating with short episodes of hypomania (a milder form of mania). Oftentimes, the mood swings are rapid, occurring within days of each other. By and large, children and adolescents are most frequently diagnosed with NOS as they will be least likely to have a previous history of mood dysfunction.”

It added: “From a psychiatric standpoint, bipolar disorder NOS is taken just as seriously as any other form of mood disorder. It presumes that there is a problem and that it will be likely more definitively diagnosed in the future.
By assigning the NOS diagnosis now, the person will be less likely to slip through the cracks should another mood episode occur."

However, you said "my mood tends to fluctuate daily. .... I don't seem to have classic bi polar symptoms but am diagnosed with Bi polar 2."

In my case, without medicine, my moods can change with daily events, good or bad. With medicine, I generally stay in the middle.

I haven't been depressed after I was put on Lithium (and Mirtazapine anti-depressant), and that's been over 25 years. I immediately noticed a vast change when put on Lithium, as if the air had been let out of an overtight balloon.

You said you noticed no change on bipolar medicine.

You feel like you have enough problems to go to a psychiatrist, but you aren't mentally ill and don't respond to medicine.

If this is not bipolar, what could it be? What is your chief emotional complaint?

Thank you for your replies.
I do believe it's bi polar to some degree.
I also know that I have some psychological issues I'm working thought that probably play a big role in my mood.
I'll keep working at it with my team.

Thank you again. much appreciated.