Does anyone else question their diagnosis/meds you are on???

[wildnwonderful]

Sometimes I wonder if I am bipolar because I am so tired and unmotivated. I cant get out of bed for years. I have my moments of clarity, energy, and regained faith in life and in myself, but it soon passes, and I am back to letting life pass me by. Anyone else question their diagnosis or exactly what or who you are really?

[jjswartz_1]

I know that wellbutrin is good for adrenergic depressions. It is an anti-depressant that works on dopamine.  It really helps with motivation and energy levels and is one of the anti-depressants that have a low chance of putting Bipolars into mania.  However you should still use it with a mood stabilizer or something like seroquel.  I use wellbutrin when I am in a really deep bipolar depression, only 150 mg and with a month it pops me out of it, but then I have to wean off gradually or else I end up to manic.

Obviously this is how it works for me....not saying this is the way to go for everyone...

[jjswartz_1]

I know for me.....anti-depressants sent me into a mixed episode of severe depression, and mania at the same time.  This can happen when a Bipolar patient is given an anti-depressant especially without a mood stabilizer. It can even happen with a mood stabilizer.  

At the time I never needed meds and was completely functional with slights shifts from mild depressions and exitability.  I had tightness in my chest which ended up being asthma but the doctor thought it was anxiety because i had no wheezing when he listened to my lungs.  So he gave me cipralex for anxiety and i have never been stable without meds since.

Some people has a genetic predisposition to developing Bipolar disorder, and anti-depressants trigger it.  Go figure

[jjswartz_1]

I think it is normal to go through denial.  However as the years go by and the episodes occurs one after another you come to terms with it.  I am sure there are alot of people that do not realize it and remain untreated.  I am also sure that some people get misdiagnosed as bipolar when they are not.

Maybe you should google Cyclothymia....its is a milder form of Bipolar that has fluctuations in mood but less severe.  Or maybe you are depressed period, which spaces of remission.  I would read up on these disorders to see if you recognize yourself in the descriptions.  Then go see a doctor and get a physical make should it is not something like hypothyroid or other medical conditions.  Then talk to the doctor about how you feel and your energy levels/emotions ect.  A family doctor should be able to screen you for depression or bipolar disorder.  The doctor may then follow you until you are better or refer you to a pyschiatrist.

You should not tolerate feeling depressed.

[JMNS]

No, I don't question it.  I have no doubt that I have Bipolar Disorder.  I trust my Dr. completely in her diagnosis, in the drugs that she prescribes.

[rogelio63]

Every time I get stable on my meds, I wonder if somehow they made a mistake.  Totally forgetting that I'm taking a handful of meds everyday to make me feel halfway normal, whatever normal is.

[Bubulous]

All of us are different.  Some type ones like me stay elevated most of the time.  Don't get me wrong I have depression too and although it is severe enough that just a few days of it can make me suicidal it usually doesn't last long.  My mood is helped by the meds but the only reason I stay out of depression so long is because I work on it every day.  I have logged over 160 days in treatment over the last 2 years and I have gained a lot of knowledge about fighting depression.  You don't have to do what I did and most people can't because of insurance issues but I promise you can do it.
Generally type twos have more depression than hypomanic states but it is easier to treat them then type ones.
As far as the meds..
Yeah you may need to adjust them a little but you will have to talk to your dr about that.  You can come out of this depression but it takes work and I understand that may seem hard but when the fear of change is less than the pain of staying the same you will find the motivation to do start taking the steps necessary to fight it and live the life you deserve.  Look into cognitive behavioral therapy and the benefits of taking control of your thoughts.  I benefited greatly from it.
I can't say if you are bipolar or not but the symptoms you describe sounds like you are either type 2 bipolar or at least have chronic depression.  Whatever your mood disorder all of them can be treated (not cured) with some cognitive knowledge and the right medicine.

[wildnwonderful]

Wow. Yes. Feel the same way  but I isolate myself so much that I never have that "evidence" I am the life of the party, whether I am at work or out. But, get me at home, and unless necessary, I make any excuse to stay that way, in my bed. No matter how much I mourne the loss of connection with my son and daughter  this kills me the most  the loss of the experience of freinds, my mother, the beach, sunsets and rises, everything I love in life but just cant seem to bare at the same time. What is this?!?!?! It hurts. But when its good, its oh so good. And confusing. And sad. And wonderful. Debilitating and liberating wtf?!?

[nomeglyttyr]

I sometimes wonder if I'm really bipolar and not just depressed. I know it's not true though, based on a few key evidences: firstly, my friends tell me that what I experience is hypomania. I'm quick to excuse it as excitability or just having a lot of energy, but it's more than that. I also know that anti-depressants alone have caused me a lot of issues. I'm currently feeling it hardcore because I'm depressed and when I'm depressed, I can't remember what hypomania feels like. I think I imagined it. But in times in these, I rely on the evidence rather than go with the thoughts in my head that aren't good at all.