bi polar or not?

[3737]

I've been diagnosed with bi polar 2 disorder and I'm not sure if I have it. The medications,  first seroquel, then switched to abilify then back on seroquel, left me feeling really tired and more depressed. If I were bipolar, wouldn't one of these medications have worked for me?

[RubyShooz]

Jen is right -- it often takes a period of trial and error to find the right combination of meds for you.    Seroquel did not work for me, it made me feel like a zombie, so tired all the time and I gained a lot of weight.
BP often requires more than one medication.  In my case, I am now on Lamictal (mood stabilizer) and Lexapro (antidepressant).  Antidepressants can increase mania in bp, but there are some such as Lexapro that work well in controlling the depression part of it.

Trust your doctor's diagnosis.  Report any side effects or symptoms promptly -- and work with your doc until you find the right combination of meds that works best for you.  Tell your doc everything, no matter how insignificant it may seem or how embarassing or whatever.  I was misdiagnosed for 35 yrs as clinically depressed before finally being properly diagnosed last year as bipolar.  My life was a mess until then because I did not tell everything to my doctor and I was on a wild roller coaster ride but did not realize anything was wrong -- I thought it was all "normal" behavior.

Best of luck.
Linda

[jen21287]

Sometimes it takes people a long time to find the right combo of meds to help them. If you are unsure of the diagnosis, try getting a second opinion if possible. Also, be honest with your doctor and tell him that the meds are not working, you want to try something else. There are lots of other meds out there. You might suggest a mood stabilizer like Lamictal, lots of people have success with it, however, everyone does respond differently. If you are not already in it, talk therapy might also be beneficial in conjunction with meds. Good Luck!