psychiatric disorder or med. problem??

  Hello and thank-you for taking the time to adress my question. Over the past few months I've been experiencing mood swings. For a week/ 10 days I'll be in a great mood and be very productive and getting mu work done and then suddenly I'll be mooddy and asocial for a week or so and do things like getting drunk and I'll take up smoking again. This pattern has happened about two (maybe three times) in the past few months. Could this be an indication that I'm developing some klind of bipolar diorder? Or could be normal for someone who is dealng with a lot of personal issues such as my parents divorcing and childhood issues. I've recently started taking neurontin for my partial seizure disorder... could this be causing my mood swings? Again, I know you are very busy and I thank-you for your time. -Anna

[HFHS.MD-AJ]

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Dear Anna,
You may just be having emotional reactions to your parents divorcing. You describe a number of symptoms including mood swings, elevated mood, "moodiness", being "asocial", and getting drunk. These symptoms could be due to a number of psychiatric disorders, especially Bipolar Disorders(Manic Depression), alcohol or drug abuse, or Major Depression, to name a few. A diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder is more likely if you have also been having symptoms such as irritability, inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, being more talkative than usual, racing thoughts, agitation, and excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g. shopping sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments).
Symptoms similar to those of Bipolar Disorders may be caused by medical conditions such as partial complex seizure (temporal lobe epilepsy). The good news is that Neurontin (Gabapentin) is unlikely to cause your symptoms, and can actually be helpful as a mood-stabilizer in the treatment of Bipolar Disorders.
I hope you find this information helpful. It is provided for educational purposes only, and should not replace consultation with your doctor. Henry Ford Behavioral Services provides confidential evaluation, available by calling [phone]
*Keywords: bipolar disorder, mania, depression, partial complex seizure, temporal lobe epilepsy, Neurontin, Gabapentin