I have been diagnosed bipolar in the past, but it is always after less than a hour of the doctor meeting me… more like 15 minutes. I do not feel that the bipolar diagnosis is a properly fitting diagnosis for my situation.
Isn’t there more involved when making a diagnosis, rather than 15 minutes?
“I have been diagnosed bipolar in the past, but it is always after less than a hour of the doctor meeting me… more like 15 minutes. I do not feel that the bipolar diagnosis is a properly fitting diagnosis for my situation.
Isn’t there more involved when making a diagnosis, rather than 15 minutes?”

I am adding some details – not sure if it was going to erase my original details. Sorry if this repeats itself….
I have seen one psychologists before that diagnosed me, after several weeks of talking to her, with long term mild depression.
The reason why I do not feel bipolar is a proper diagnosis is because my only “swings” are into a depressed state.

The psychiatrist says the person has Bipolar Disorder but the psychologist says this is a working diagnosis and nothing is set in stone. What does this mean?

Follow up to my prev. qstn: The drug use is in my health record and i was in a residential treatment center for 5 months. Also am on meds for bipolar but I personally believe all of the prior diagnosis was not because I have the disorder but because I was heavily into drugs. I have been clean and sober for the past year and have not exhibited any of the bipolar symptoms that I had before. Will the military summon all my health records? Also my step dad is a Marine Col. – will it help if I joined the Marines instead of the Army?

Living with a bipolar disorder diagnosis isn’t easy. However, knowing, as they say, is half the battle. Once a diagnosis is established, a person has two main choices right off. They are whether to let the disorder take control of one’s life, or to fight it with every weapon in the modern psychiatric and psychological arsenal.

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Currently, there is no laboratory or medical test that would give a straightforward conclusion that a person is suffering from bipolar disorder. This makes it difficult to determine if the symptoms (associated with bipolar disorder) that are present to him or her are indeed signs of this mental illness. Meanwhile, it is very important to detect whether or not this person really has bipolar disorder to provide the right treatment.

Furthermore, the symptoms that could be clear indications of bipolar disorder can be related to other identifiable physical or psychological illness. This makes it more difficult to give treatment since the focus is to give relief to the existing physical pain; rather than identifying if the patient is suffering from any psychological problem. And to complicate these things even further, a person who shows physical signs of bipolar disorder goes to medical doctors rather than a psychiatrist.

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It is difficult to detect Bipolar disorder. Some people are diagnosed after having the disorder for more than ten years. The dual nature of the disorder is the reason for this delay. When a person is feeling manic or hypo manic, he feels good and is energetic. Only when he falls into a major depression he seeks treatment.

So when he visits the doctor and describes his symptoms they are only the depressive symptoms. As a result, the doctor commonly diagnoses him with depression instead of bipolar disorder. This mistake occurs frequently, also because bipolar disorder shares common symptoms with psychiatric illnesses like anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. This leads to a complication in the diagnosis.

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I think i may have bipolar 2, the less severe one. Doctors seem hesitant to give people an official diagnosis. Feeling a little paranoid, wondering if having that on my record could cause me problems. I did notice that the disability plan at work has an exclusion for bipolar dementia. Wondering if that means they exclude bipolar in general. Not that i’m planning to go on disability, just intermittent fmla. Should i stick with my current diagnosis of GAD and Depression?
how do i go about getting meds for the mood swings without diagnosis though. right now i am only on lexapro and xanax. i would like to try something like seroquel. thanks everybody for your input.

Everyone experiences mood highs and lows. It is just a normal part of life. For those suffering bipolar disorder disease these highs and lows can vary from one extreme to another. The very high and low mood swings can interupt a normal daily life and can become very dangerous. If the person feels depressed, no work gets done. The next day they have so much energy that they go into overdrive mode. Other people see this hyper energy as being reckless or uncontrolled.

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There is no absolute and permanent cure for bipolar disorder just yet. Bipolar medications that are made available in your nearest drugstore are meant to suppress manic depression symptoms. There are some good and some bad things to know about these medications. This article will discuss these, together with tips and and cautions about side effects.

Bipolar medications are not ordinary drugs. They are strong and can be addictive. So if you are not diagnosed as a bipolar disorder patient, never even think of taking them. These medications are always taken with the doctor’s prescription.

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