What symptoms did you have before you were diagnosed?
I am Classic Bipolar 1. Definitely. Obviously. haha
What events led to your being diagnosed bipolar?
I do. I was given lithium from the first, and it has been very effective for me. Of course, I have gone on and off of it through the years (hello - bipolar 1, here?), but fortunately Again, I have been able to re-start it and get the same results. It changes the way I am able to Think!
I am now consistent with the lithium (for 2 years and counting), and KNOW I should stay on it.
It's funny - I have been in and out of psych offices through the 24 years of my diagnosis - have seen doctors that know me, some that do not; doctors that have read my files, some that have not - and they All sit with me for 5 minutes and suggest a sedative (what's UP with that?). Never have I been offered an anti-depressant!
And I have learned to smile, act Pleased, and then take the sedative home and relegate it to my kitchen cabinet (have you seen the commercial where the woman opens her cabinet and all of the plastic containers fall out?)
(Serious Voice) KIDS: Don't try this at home! Take Your Meds!
Lessons Learned
- I would have been consistent with lithium the Entire time, to help stabilize my life.
- I would have Talked more, and made myself more Accountable to family/friends, to have saved myself from uncontrolled periods when either no one Knew what was going on, or no one knew what to Think.
- I would have read more, learned more, and asked more questions about my disorder - ignorance is Not bliss.
What Is Your Current Diagnosis?
As a small child, I hallucinated, but these went away. I was moody, intelligent, and lived in my head all through childhood. Became delusional, paranoid and crazed by junior high/high school, downright Manic and (ahem) sexually uninhibited in college. Lack of sleep, euphoria, etc, etc.
Do You Agree With the Diagnosis? Why or Why Not?
I divorced and became Depressed for the 1st time in 1986, and my folks sent me to a psychiatrist. (Depression, they Got.) The pdoc I saw just "happened" to be a diagnosed bipolar herself, and I felt comfortable, so I started Talking. She diagnosed me immediately as bipolar.
Additional Thoughts
I was probably one of the lucky ones to have received such an accurate diagnosis back in the 80's, and on the first visit. And though I have questioned it (what bipolar doesn't?), I know it is right.
