Am I actually Bipolar? Or is this Anxiety? or possibly ADD?

[callmebreezy]

Around April of 2014, I was diagnosed with Biopolar Disorder by a psychologist. I went to him because I was having a lot of problems with college and at first I only went to him to talk about stuff that was bothering me but he then diagnosed me with BMD. I was confronted by two professors, One confronted me and told me I had a patience problem because I was blurting out the answers. The other professor confronted me and told me I couldn't sit still, seemed disinterested, and was constantly leaving a lecture at least three times. My professors confronted me because I was doing really good and trying my hardest at first in their classes but as the class got tougher. I just couldn't stand to pay attention anymore. When I would sit down to do the readings or study I honestly would walk away 20mins later not remembering anything I just read. I was having really bad insomnia and felt like my body just couldn't keep up with my mind and that my mind was racing. This is where my psych asked if anyone in my family was diagnosed with bipolar and my father was and he cut me off from talking and told me that all of my symptoms were related to bipolar disorder which I inherited from my father.

So I went on the max of Effexor xr (i was on like 225mg? i just know it was the max) and I was on latuda 80mg and a sleeping pill. I soon became a 'zombie' and couldn't function while I was on these meds. No matter how much I protested my psych about how I didn't like these meds he insisted i'd give it "another month" and I'd see results. Soon my gpa slipped down again by another 0.25 and when I confronted him told him this and my concerns that I wasn't getting any better, he told me that bipolar disorder takes awhile to treat and it's not going to miraculously go away in a couple of months.

Three Months on these meds and I started hallucinating (if that makes sense) I would always see a cat in the corner of my eye and from the start of taking these meds in April I was always hearing sounds only I could hear. I then began having horrible outbreaks where I would start crying for no reason. Literally I'd be watching the office or singing in the car and just start crying (I NEVER had that happen before. EVER). Also if I ever was a couple hours late taking my pills, I COULD NOT function!

My uncle is a pharmacist and he said to talk to my doctor about my side effects. My psych and my mom disagreed on stopping all usage and in the end my mom and I agreed that I should stop and seek help from a different professional. It took until the end of July to get off these meds because of the horrible withdraw effects I experienced.

About a week ago, I talked to my family doctor and agreed with me about stopping the meds, but she wants me to see another psych. Her and I re-discussed my family's history and When I told her my father was diagnosed with bipolar disorder she was reluctant to saying I have anxiety, (the reason I say anxiety is a possibility is because I refused to go to my first day of classes at a university because I was really scared and nervous. also because I can't drive without getting really nervous. I guess I just have really bad nerves because I can't even talk to people without the fear of being socially unaccepted or rejected) but when I told her everything I told my psych about my concentrating problems and so forth ( i really went into detail with her) she said it's possible I have ADD, but she then said if my father was bipolar I am probably bipolar, not ADD.

What does it sound like I have? I'm scared to go to a new psych because I don't want to be diagnosed as Bipolar just because my father had it. I would like a complete evaluation before, but whenever they ask about my family's mental history they automatically assume you've inherited what a family member had. I don't know what I have. I don't get angry easily or upset easily. My family doctor is currently treating me for bipolar until I see a new psych. I'm no where near depressed either. I just need to understand what I have so I can take control of it and get my life back on track because whatever I have is affecting my relationships and college.

[buprenex]

My mother had Bipolar. Was not diagnosed until late in life. My Mom would get suddenly anxious, like over the fact her car keys seemed to be not in her purse, as we checked while driving. End of the world. I never understood how she suffered. Why she reacted that way.

My Mom when she got a job, when we where about 14, she could only take the back roads and never the highway. So I can say anxiety appears to be Bipolar related, but you could have a separate issue. It seems reasonable to consider Bipolar.

What I do know is racing thoughts and not staying on point where things the Doctor would point out to my Mom, per my Mom.

Anyway I saw a documentary, arpi revo on Bipolar. Inter view with about six treated patients who where such good people. Find it, it is worth watching. On you tube."Up/Down" Bipolar Disorder Documentary FULL MOVIE (2011)

It really showed how Bipolar can look very different from patient to patient.

If you have Bipolar, and find treatment that works, it can stop your life from running out of control. Save you misery etc.
Sincerely Bart

[thatquietgirl]

Leave your father out of the equation in the next evaluation.  Don't talk about what he has as that's irrelevant.  Mental illness runs in families, but that does not mean YOU have bipolar disorder.  Honestly, the symptoms you have by themselves sound more like a mix of anxiety and something else rather than bipolar.  Now, if you were mentioning psychosis and racing thoughts and a bunch of other symptoms that occurred with this disinterest/fidgeting/whatever else?  Sure, I'd say that you might have bipolar, but I'd say give your symptoms and talk about you but when they ask if anyone else in your family has mental illness, state that you feel that has mislead your treatment in the past and would rather be judged by your symptoms and reaction to treatment.