Am I bipolar or just clinical?
Q.I was diagnosed several years ago as clinical. Can that change? I think that I have signs of the bipolar 2 diagnosis. I do have the depression part of it, there is no question about that. However, my manic stages are there, but just not as extreme as I see on all of these web sites. I don't feel invincible, but I do feel stronger than usual. I do get awfully creative and start spitting out ideas and starting projects left and right, but I never finish them. I do have times when I am extremely happy, but they don't last very long. Do the depression and mania in bipolar depression happen in stages that last longer than a day or so, or can they switch back and forth between them from day to day, or even hour to hour?
A.Your diagnosis can change. I was first diagnosed with clinical depression, then Bipolar 2 and then Bipolar 1. My symptoms changed throughout time. If you have concerns about your mood swings, you should definitely be upfront and honest with your pdoc about them. I'd hate for you to withhold them and go through what I did before I was diagnosed. I think the important thing to remember is that there are several different types and presentations of bi-polar illness. The one that gets the most press attention (and fear) in the general public is Bi-Polar I, with symptoms of psychosis or schizophrenia (hallucinations, hearing voices). I think there are plenty more of us who are what they call hypomanic (lower level mania), or have mixed states, and may never be hospitalized during the "up" phases. We may spend much more time in depressed states, so not only is it harder to diagnose the disorder, but we ourselves wonder if our mania/hypomania isn't really just a (hopefully) normal mood state without depression. I really do but I will if it can possibly help someone out there. BiPolar can be separated into BiPolar 1 and BiPolar 2. BiPolar 2 you have stages of hypomania which is a good feeling, loss of sleep, energetic feeling of greatness. BiPolar 1, which is what I have isn't so fun, although I don't like to go there. BiPolar 1 is the illness that has mania. Full blown mania is much different than hypomania. It is considered by many as more dangerous than the depression can be. You have grandiouse thoughts, feelings of superiorty, loss of sleep, feelings of being related or closely attached to God or politicians, wreckless thinging and actions, promiscuity, all which lead to destructiveness. Examples would be like the following which lead to my diagnosis of BiPolar 1, mixed: Thought I was better than everyone went on $1,000. a day shopping sprees because "I Knew I was worth it". Didn't sleep for up to 7 days in a row. Obsessively cleaned the house and ran out of things to do, cleaned everyone else house and washed the garage floor and basement floor on my hands and knees. Went into paranoia and thought my husband hired the FBI to come and get me. Thought my friends and family joined the FBI and were out to get me. Changed the locks on all my doors, changed my phone number to unlisted number and didn't give it to anyone. Quit therapy and going to pdoc because I was great and they were crazy. Decided my friends and neighbors, family weren't good enough for me. Went on Prozac and saw dead people coming out of my fan. Thought someone was on my roof taking pictures of me Hid in the woods for 3 days.
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