help me with this

[Boutit412]

I just got diagnose with this.
Bipolar 1 disorder, Most recent episode Manic. Severe with psychotic features, with rapid cycling
Panic disorder with agoraphobia
Not sure all what this means. I am 32 years old. I have never had any mental health problems at all till i fell at work in july of 07. First is this permanent. I do hear voices and see things. I hear the voices every day all the time, They do want me to hurt me or some one else. I can not get a straight answer from any of the dr i have seen. Please help me understand this.  

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I am not sure how to help you...I can't make a diagnosis with this information, but if you are hearing voices and having hallucinations, you definetly need medication, and if that works well, that should be controll the situation for you.  Many people have episodes like you describe and they recover totally, so there is no reason to believe this has to be permanent. But if this all came from a fall, and nothing before, then I hope that you have had a very good neurological workup to rule out brain damage.

[Jaquta]

I'm not sure about the significance of the fall.  Sometimes stressful events can trigger previously unseen mental health issues.  In other words, our mental health can deteriorate when we are under severe stress (or in some cases, any stress).

My understanding is that bipolar is life-long but can be managed with medication.  I think it is considered more biological than psychological.  It has a strong genetic basis.
Panic disorder is something that can be worked through and resolved.

I am not well versed in bipolar but I do have a basic understanding.

Bipolar (bi- meaning two and polar -poles) has two poles.  One pole is depression, the other is mania.  A person with bipolar can either be depressed or manic.
Mania is essentially a high.  You may have more energy, need less sleep, be reckless or impulsive, have racing thoughts, hallucinations, etc.

Psychotic features include seeing and hearing things.  Usually it refers to a loss of contact with reality.  (I.e., seeing or hearing things that aren't there and not being able to distinguish between whether they are or aren't).  I expect they seem very real to the people at the time.

Rapid means the cycles are very short.  I think that refers to the time between manic episodes.  I'm not sure, I can't remember.
Rapid cycles are generally shorter.  I'm not sure of figures but it could be weeks or months instead of months or years.  Some people may have only one episode a year.  You, I expect, would have a number.

Agoraphobia generally refers to a fear of leaving a house or place of safety.  If you leave you will typically feel stressed and anxious and panic.
Symptoms of panic include: a rapid heart rate, sweating, feeling faint, feeling like you are going to die, etc.  There are heaps of different symptoms.

I'm not sure how this is interpreted but you have panic disorder (panic that prevents you from functioning (doing the things you want to do) and that is far greater than what the average person experiences in the same situation) and I think the agoraphobia comes attached with that.  So the distress caused by the panic makes it difficult for you to leave your house.

I hope this helps a little.  The doctor knows much more about these than I do and I hope he is able to clarify and put your mind at rest.

I too have found doctors and other mental health professionals notorious at disclosing information.  I had to access my medical records to learn my diagnosis.

The doctor here generally doesn't offer up diagnoses, which is fine because our own doctors should be doing that, but I have an issue with this process.  I believe patients have a right to know and should be kept informed.  I think with-holding a diagnosis can adversely affect a patients treatment and recovery.  Just my thoughts.

J