How did you know it was bipolar?

I've been diagnosed with depression but I was wonderig when y knew it was bipolar. It runs in my family and I'm only 19 where my cousins first major manic episodes were in their 20s. I've been on lamictal which has been the only med that's worked without side effects which has been sleepig too much as opposed to induced mania. I was just wonderig when you knew...I know I have depression but I'm wondering if bipolar meds will help me more.

[lindahand]

Lamictal is a bipolar medication. It is classified as a mood stabilizer. It is usually used to treat bipolar depression and as maintenance treatment to prevent future episodes or minimize them. If it is helping your depression I'd say keep using it. If it isn't helping or not helping enough, than I would ask about something else.

[blondie918]

When you start hating the world and lashing out at people with sarcastic remarks then that's when you know you're bipolar. Same as feeling promiscuous and risky; basically you just get a high off of anger and knowing that you're doing something wrong. Lamital is the same as Lamotrigine which I take for bipolar disorder because I too got bad side effects from anti depressants. It is an anti seizure/epilepsy med. Basically it balances out your brain waves which acts as a mood stabilizer. It has worked great for me in treating the mania along with another med I take called Abilify, but I'm still having problems with the depression. If you were really bipolar your doctor would have put you on atypical psychotics right away which get pretty expensive.

[Amy4891]

My mother is bipolar, and I was also diagnosed with major depresive disorder. I am also on limictal and has been the only medication that has worked for my depression. I just went through what they said was a manic episode. They have not diagnosed me with bipolar but  instead diagnosed me as mood disorder nos. I am still not completely sure what that diagnosis means, but I am on additional medications now to treat the mania. I am 27. If you ever go manic I think that is when you will know.

[Anneinside]

You, and we, can not diagnose you. You need to consult with a pdoc to get a diagnosis. You can go on sites like ************.com to look up the symptoms of bipolar. By the way, anger /rage is not one of the diagnostic symptoms although irritability can be.