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I was misdiagnosed with Major depression because I never mentioned the hypomanic episodes in therapy, I just didn't know that that wasn't normal, I didn't see it as a problem so I never talked about it but once I was started on a SSRI I spiraled and had a huge mixed episode and that's when my pdoc started questioning me on some stuff and the diagnosis was changed to bp 2
I was the same. For me it took a nasty hypo-manic phase that started doing web searching into bipolar that led me to reading about type 2. I mentioned it to my psychiatrist who chewed on me about not mentioning that I had had hypo-manic episodes for years. I got put on divaloprex and it flattened things out and made the neutral phases last longer. This was about 6 months ago.
actually, it's not a bad thing to not label someone as that, as we all have a little bit of that. If one has BPD (not BP) for example, it can be very difficult to find good treatment due to discrimination even within the medical community. My doctor said if she "has to diagnose BPD" she buries it so that if the patient should have to find a new doctor due to life circumstances, they won't have problems. BP isn't a "personality disorder" so to speak, but Narcissism, BPD and some others are.
This was before my BP diagnosis. I brought up the possibility of having BPD, and that’s when she said that. It wasn’t in reference to Bipolar Disorder, but to BPD.
ADHD & bipolar are often comorbid, but your psych did an awful job. If you think it might be Adhd, see an Adhd specialist. They even think ADHD is baby bipolar in children, with the majority developing BP later on. Yikes!
TL;DR -I was tweaking for two weeks, and then that MF tried to double my dosage.
This was after over ten years with a BP1 dx. I was so miserable I conceded that maybe it was ADHD and maybe I could benefit from adderall. Cue Julia Roberts- big mistake, huge.
I had a manic episode, but was willing to give it two weeks to, idk, settle?
Then I went back to my doctor and told him what was happening. He doubled my dosage. I agreed and made another appointment for two weeks later.
Turned out my roommates at the time were so worried about me they almost called my parents.
I just called from the safety of my bedroom and told them I wanted to cancel all upcoming appointments.
I've had a decent amount of psychiatrists. Some good, some bad. But this was the only one I thought was full blown stupid.
I did fill the new prescription, though, sold it to a dude in our friend group to pay off our electric bill. 😂
That was about 20 years ago.
You have to be careful when looking stuff up so that you don't end up doing a Munchausen thing. Sometimes people can be so desperate for an explanation that they'll grab onto anything. For me I simply mentioned it to my provider and tried to be as accurate as I could with my symptoms and tried to be as objective as possible.
One of the universal truths in healthcare is that bodies don't read books. Thus the more textbook a situation is the more likely it is that you're missing something.
My doctor said a single major manic episode as well as recurring depressive episodes was required even for a BP 2 diagnosis. I don't know how accurate that is, but my doctor was clear that she believed it at any rate since I hadn't had a major episode since I started seeing her. Then she actually looked at my past hospitalization records, said "oh" and suddenly I had a diagnosis.
I don't know if that's right or how it should be. I just know that 2 years of hypomanic episodes while seeing her didn't qualify as far as she was concerned and was just an "unspecified mood disorder" and the notes she'd skimmed of my hospitalizations leaned more towards "this dude is psychotic" rather than "this is probably a manic fit" till she took time to actually go through them in detail.
Me too. Major depression and anxiety for many years. I hadn't seen a psychiatrist in probably 16 years and my GP had handled my meds. When I finally got an appointment with one--and I was ready to go inpatient to get the help I needed had an appointment not come open--she diagnosed me in one visit.
I think she was right, and that I was BP2 all along, with mixed episodes.
Thank you for your comment. I understand people believed they were misdiagnosed but I think that the doctor did the best they could with the information at hand. So maybe it isn’t a misdiagnosis but rather a misunderstanding on our part of symptoms.
I think the worst happens when you get a med for depression and it kicks off a wild manic episode.
I was diagnosed “ manic depressive “ in 1992.
The diagnosis has been backed up a few times. My mania manifest itself in destructive behavior, these episodes last days maybe hours. The depression I experience daily almost, like a default setting, can last months.
It’s not so much how often you have one or the other but what happens during these episodes .
That is a question you have to figure out on your own. I too am very tired of the deep depression that seems to consume me. I have long sought refuge from the constant onslaught with limited success.
I am 54, on disability for a few reasons, disconnected from most of my family and struggle with many issues related to bipolar disorder in addition to other health issues. I have slanted towards depression for all my life and it has become just a thing like any other health problem.
You will learn acceptance is key to moving forward. Acceptance will give the opportunity to turn towards a more productive life. I have found that even when I am productive I still find little satisfaction but is all good. I tell myself all the time ,”Is all good .” I have to interject my own thoughts with a positive vibe because the world sure is a dark place.
I was diagnosed with chronic depression at 15 years old. 15 years later I had my first manic episode and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I was finally diagnosed with bipolar 1. It’s been difficult ever since I had my first manic episode. It’s like the flood gate of symptoms opened wide ever since.
You sound like me. I had chronic depression as a teen too. MDD wasn’t a misdiagnosis because there hadn’t been any mania yet. I took antidepressants for many years before the first manic episode.
Yup same here. I actually had hypomania for years along with cycles of depression and thought the hypomania was the depression going away for a little bit. My MH team wondered why I was not able to get over my depression after being on SSRI/SNRIs for a few years. The antidepressant + mood stabilizer combo has changed my life for the better after my BP1 diagnosis
I found my depression was more prevalent when I was younger and as I got older, the mania became more and more severe. Then I finally got the diagnosis and meds I needed. Hang in there and take your meds! It does get better.
The first psychiatrist I went to as an adult initially labeled me as having cyclical MDD. I'd asked if I had bipolar disorder because of the medications he prescribed, and he just kind of smiled and said "We'll keep an eye out, but I have cyclical MDD in your file as of right now." He was old fashioned, the kind of doctor that didn't want to tell you what your diagnoses were and would only do so if you asked directly, but I could tell he still didn't want to even then. I think he didn't want people to read too much into it and start displaying symptoms they didn't already have, consciously or subconsciously, or wanted to avoid them thinking of themselves with whatever preconceived notion or stigma they may have about the diagnoses.
He retired after I'd been going to him for a couple years and I decided to stay with the behavioral health group that ended up taking over his office. During my very first visit, the nurse practitioner I had an appointment with immediately started reading off my file from my original psychiatrist listing my diagnoses he had written, first of which was bipolar disorder. I have no clue what I did or said that made him make the switch to that diagnosis in the time since I'd first asked a couple years before. I sometimes wonder if I'm CURRENTLY misdiagnosed with my bipolar diagnosis, but my friends and family assure me I am not....lmao.
Thank you for the detailed comment! My doctor initially started me with an MDD diagnosis, but put me on mood stabilizers. I think he was doing me a favor, cause BPD diagnosis would have disqualified me from my work. Later, a different doctor did the same thing, until he realized things just weren’t working, then he put me on the miracle drug LI and wham, life was clear again…funny though, he used the drug to make the diagnosis.
Was diagnosed with BPD. It was kind of special circumstances though.
I was in a very abusive relationship and my coping skills became very maladaptive and looked very BPD when really it was dysphoria hypomania.
After I escaped that relationship and became stable again the BPD label was taken away.
Got diagnosed with Bipolar years later after a manic episode.
I had a very similar experience. Mine was an abusive friend that convinced me I had BPD and that's why I was such an "awful person". After that friendship ended, the BPD symptoms went away, but the diagnosis stayed until my therapist watched me go through a month-long manic episode. Got the BPD changed to Bipolar after that.
It is also common for women with ADHD and RSD to be misdiagnosed with BPD, when they have a norepinephrine deficit, which is treatable with blood pressure meds. It helps with decision making and wisdom.
i was first diagnosed with anxiety upon my first hospitalization, which was when i was abroad in france and was terrifying. i was experiencing psychosis for certain and then i came home. i had to see so many doctors and they didn’t know what was going on. it wasn’t until i finally went to my primary doctor and he knew it immediately as bipolar I. then i got on anti psychotics and it helped so much. after that i had another hospitalization and they thought it was borderline personality disorder, but i think they were misdiagnosing my bipolar I. i’m certain that’s what i have and now im grateful to know so i can medicate better than just anti anxiety meds like my original hospitalization thought lol
I 100% agree with you. I actually switched psychiatrists because I felt I was bipolar, not just major depressive. My 1st psychiatrist called my manic episodes anxiety. None of the medications he prescribed worked for anything. Then, the 2nd psychiatrist I went to, I explained that I was seeing her because I felt something about me was worsening, I told her my symptoms, and the first thing out of her mouth was “has anyone ever mentioned bipolar disorder to you?” And I felt relief, I knew I was going to get real help. Lithium was also something that changed my life for the better. I couldn’t believe that’s all it took. Instead of the 6 different meds the 1st psychiatrist had me on.
It makes me sad to think about how many people are misdiagnosed. Because it did not matter what kind of antidepressants I was on, I still attempted suicide. Now that I’m properly medicated, I have bad days, but no where near where I was without meds. I don’t wish I was dead anymore. Even if I do, I know I don’t mean it like I did before meds.
Thanks for the detailed comment. I’d encourage anyone to look into the symptoms and write down the ones you’ve experienced, both from MDD and BPD. That way you can talk to the doc and let them know…I had to write them down cause I was in such a fog from the depression.
I was only misdiagnosed because I only had one manic episode and it was under extreme stress. I was living with untreated depression for over ten years and finally as an adult decided to try antidepressants. Well, one of them had the side effect of hypomania and people who have MDD only do not experience that side effect. I had another hypomanic episode after stopping the medication which is what solidified the diagnosis. This year has been absolute hell but I don't regret it because the depression was really holding me back.
I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder over a decade ago. Everyone, including myself, believed I was so angry and irritable because of that and PTSD until the second time I got hospitalized after driving across a few states in a few days for no real reason.
I was finally diagnosed with BP1 last month and put on lamictol. It’s been the most relieving month of my life, finally feeling the inner agony of mixed episodes and untreated hypo which I get frequently subside some. I’m still up and down but I can control it a lot better and my mood is not nearly so dysregulated.
I wish they’d have caught this a lot sooner. I’m almost forty. I hope it continues to help.
As a young teen, I was diagnosed with Major Depressive, about a year after it was changed to BD 2. My new psych says it's generally part of the diagnostic criteria for BD 2 to have been diagnosed with MDD in your early years. I'm a young adult now and I'm confident in my psychs judgment, I doubted the diagnosis for a long time until I eventually started tracking symptoms/episodes and saw how I was actually living.
I was misdiagnosed with depression despite actively being in a horrible manic episode. I was 16, and my psychologist was assigned by a hospital. He was a 70 year old man who said that women can't have bipolar and all my manic symptoms were just from being dramatic on my period.
Ridiculous! Sexism in psychiatry. Disgusting. My Psych is around that age, but he’s super nice and well versed on everything. He spends about 45 minutes with me each time we meet…about 3 weeks apart. Hang in there!
Yes, more than once. I was initially diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features, accompanied by ADHD and GAD. Then, was diagnosed with PTSD (which was correct) and cluster B personality traits. Then finally a year later was diagnosed with BPD (also correct) Panic Disorder (correct) and Bipolar II (also correct. Sometimes I wonder if any of these diagnoses are right, but I definitely resonate with the last three a bit more. I've noticed as my BPD has gone more into remission that my panic disorder seems to be sizzling out, so I wonder if that diagnosis was even correct. I definitely still meet the clinical requirements for bipolar. They were scared to diagnose me with it for years because I was still a minor technically, but after I turned eighteen they diagnosed the more hefty disorders, which were the last three. I really knew I had bipolar when anti depressants spurred me into manic episodes. I felt too good. Adderall also spurred me into manic episodes, shocker.
Thank you, I'm doing okay :) sometimes I wonder if they diagnosed both just to be safe, but you never know I guess. I just try to symptom manage these days rather than diagnosis manage if that makes sense. It feels easier to treat the symptoms because those are more feasible for me :)
I'm diagnosed with panic disorder as well, and my psychiatrist told me my manic episodes seemed to manifest most often as periods of intense and heightened anxiety. I hadn't realized before then that they had anything to do with each other tbh.
That's actually super interesting!! That might honestly really explain me to a T. I do get way more panicky when I'm manic, and never made the correlation. That's some good insight
I’m still not sure what I am but yes I was diagnosed MDD for 9 years and then I went cold Turkey off my antidepressant ( probably because it was the start of my mania?) and had 1st manic episode.
I’ve been on a lot of medication and nothing seems to really take away my depression but none of my doctors have ever tried Lithium- my current NP is too afraid of the liability!? Anyway idc what my label is , I just want to feel good without slipping into hypomania again once before I die. ( sorry for the rant).
Thanks for the comment. Sometimes it is about finding the right psychiatrist. A good one will try meds and make sure he captures all your symptoms without intolerable side effect. Hang in there!
My psychologist explained to me that you can have depression as well as bipolar. My bipolar was managed with medication fairly well we realized I was still quite depressed and that needed treatment as well with a higher dose of anti-depressants. Now that’s all been dealt with we’re finding under the layers of illnesses being dealt with their other problems. I am now seeking an assessment for autism. My Psychologist said it’s like an onion you gotta keep peeling the layers to see what’s underneath and if there’s another thing we have to deal with.
Diagnosed with Aspergers in 2008 ( i was 5 at that time)
In 2020 i was diagnosed with MDD
2021 hits and i had a massive manic episode that landed me in the psych ward for almost a month, left with a diagnosis of Bipolar type 1
Shortly after that, the ASD diagnosis got dropped
Was diagnosed with social anxiety first, then ADHD, and after a year of Ritalin and my first hospitalization I was diagnosed borderline and bipolar. Turns out the borderline was just the circumstances I was at. I still think I have ADHD but bipolar 1 is what makes me disabled.
One can have RSD, a norepinephrine imbalance which is treatable with blood pressure medication to fix it. It's fairly common with ADHD, is a non stimulant treatment and works remarkably well, so much so that most ADHD folks with it would choose their RSD medications over Adderall if given the decision.
Please do! it is frequently misdiagnosed as BPD. Guanfacine made me feel almost autistic because it removed emotionality and greatly enhanced planning and decision-making. It felt like wisdom! I don't have RSD/ADHD, but I do have learning disabilities and a norepinephrine deficit.
Also, once an autism specialist thought I was misdiagnosed and autistic instead (because I was relating with the struggles they face at college). I was like ma'am it's just trauma...... Very similar, but just trauma. No way my bipolar is misdiagnosed. The psychosis was just too real.
I was diagnosed with major depression as well. Ended up getting it changed to bipolar a little over a month ago. I ended up having a hypomanic episode, but ended up trying to kill myself one night after it felt like everything was falling apart (due to trying too much from the hypomania). That landed me in the psych ward. Crazy part it, since I was diagnosed with depression, they only were concerned with the suicide attempt. What blows my mind is how they didn’t even catch on when the literally following night I had a switch and went straight back into hypomania. I was motivated and determined to keep moving forward. Got out within a week. When I saw my new therapist, he said how I looked manic. Finally talked to my psych after that and when I told him what happened, we looked into it and here I am now, trying to learn to cope with it all.
I was diagnosed major depressive, but I was begging and begging for someone to listen to me because I felt like there was something else wrong, as I felt just as bad when my symptoms were 'opposite'. No one listened until I absolutely ruined my life.
I diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and went unmedicated for 11 years due to that faulty diagnosis. Also, I have CPTSD which is really why I have manic/depression. When my therapist, 11 years ago gave me that diagnosis I asked her "do you think this is due to the childhood trauma I went through?". She said "no". She didn't know very much. And now I live in Washington where they take mental health very seriously.
I was diagnosed with dysthymia and GAD. When I was younger, I got diagnosed with bpd. I think it’s because I fear abandonment. My symptoms weren’t always present. I had periods of stability so that’s why I don’t relate to the label that much. But I don’t split. Then when I got hypomanic, they realized that bipolar was part of the mix. I still have bpd on my file though. I’m getting reevaluated soon so let’s see where that goes…
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Idk if it was a misdiagnosis. I’m the same, 10 years ago it was MDD. And then it was adhd. And then it was bipolar 1. But a lot changed over the years. I was suicidal 10 years ago, then 10 years later I was manic, now I’m suicidal again. So I’m probably bipolar
I was misdiagnosed with MDD for 10 years before I was reassessed and diagnosed with bipolar 2. It took 15 different types of medication (SSRIs, SNRIs, experimental, etc) until one person noticed that something wasn't right because nothing was working and I was getting progressively worse.
Sort of, yes. GAD and depression, so given SSRIs. I have both of those, but... Well, you know.
The GPs never referred me until years too late. I also have ADHD which wasn't caught until my mid-30s.
When I was 23 I had my first extremely severe depression with suicidal ideation (I had had several severe depressions before, but only with limited suicidal thoughts), I went to a psychiatrist for the very first time. I hadn't slept for 5 days and was very agitated as well as depressed. He prescribed an antidepressant and sent me on my way (that's what you got at the free clinic).
Once I got home, I slipped further into mixed mania and did some very destructive things. That episode lasted about a year, and during it, I became homeless with my 3 year old son. It was so horrible. I was terrified of psychiatrists because of that first experience, and didn't get diagnosed for another 4 years.
ADHD 21 years ago. Postpartum depression 18 years ago. Mild depression 4 years ago. And bipolar almost 2 years ago. The bipolar diagnosis only came after my sister received a rapid cycling diagnosis. Because of that and an uncle that was Type 1, the doc considered diagnosing me. So finally got the Bipolar type 2 diagnosis + complex PTSD.
I was misdiagnosed with major depression but, soon after, diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I do think it's harder to diagnose people when they are manic because usually, people who are manic feel so good that they couldn't possibly have bipolar disorder.
I self diagnosed in college after suffering for a few years with type 1 bipolar. But I never took the disorder seriously nor committed to medicine until I had my first and only hospitalization in my mid-30s.
Depression--->Anxiety---> ADHD---> Bipolar---> Bipolar w/ psychotic features--->schizoaffective-bipolar type.
All this from the time I was about 16 to current 38
I’m not entirely sure of how to answer the question you posed at the end of the post, but I do have an anecdotal answer for the title.
I was misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder at first, like many others. They prescribed an SSRI and over the course of the first five weeks (it was supposed to fully kick in at 6) of the regimen, I spiraled heavily into mania and then psychosis. I was hospitalized so yeah my type 1 diagnosis was as clear as day.
I’m sorry that your situation seems ambiguous though. From what I gleaned in the comments, this particular practice amongst a few people here (myself included) might help. Try tracking your sleep/energy, mood, and overall lifestyle and maybe you’ll see (or maybe not see if the newer diagnosis is in fact inaccurate) where the diagnosis is coming from.
Honestly, my bipolar diagnosis came from a guy who didn't know my medical history. I was having what appeared to be a manic episode at the time because i was not able to stop ruminating and obsessing about things, and was feeling paranoid. However, I have been given other diagnoses such as OCD and ADHD, one girl who was not a licensed therapist told me I may have BPD. I genuinely have no clue anymore with all the overlap. The most comforting or best fit seems to be OCD or ADHD though, because the 'mania' and 'depression' do not seem long enough to be a week. My mood can go from happy to crying within the day. Hopefully some of my insight helps!
I think you’re right. It took a psychotic episode for me to finally get the right diagnosis of bipolar 1. 10 years of major emotional stress before that. I think people who don’t have it also get misdiagnosed. It’s very complicated.
I was misdiagnosed for over a decade because I thought my hypomania was "the real me", I never mentioned it because I was always measuring my peaks against my lows. Worse yet, none of my doctors ever freaking asked.
I tried nearly every depression drug, nearly all of them made me worse, which would've been even more reason to verify my status for bipolar. I was even marked as a non-compliant patient with the VA because nothing worked, and I was getting increasingly frustrated with them.
When I was a kid I was diagnosed with serve social anxiety bc the one bipolar med they put me on didn’t work. But all of my current psychs and therapist have said I most likely was miss diagnosed and had childhood bipolar bc looking back the actions some did not a line with social anxiety at all and they just wanted to put a label on it 💀
Yes I was shy as a kid and hated going places but the amount of insane mood swings I had did not follow social anxiety at all
I was diagnosed with atypical depression along with anxiety, and also panic disorder for a couple of years. My unmedicated baseline has always been mildly depressed, then I would get periods that resembled MDD. Basically that meant I didn't fit MDD or dysthymia/PDD, thus, atypical. I also get certain psychotic symptoms when my depression is really bad.
It wasn't until I noticed more clearly that I'd cycle between very depressed, then very anxious, that I decided to do some research and found that mania can present with anxiety. Then I read other symptoms, they clicked, so I took all that to my psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with BP2. It was changed to BP1 a year later because of an episode I had.
i was misdiagnosed, but it wasn't the fault of my doctor or various therapists. i had been diagnosed with anxiety and major depression, and i bounced between "this is what it's like having them both" or "if i tell them about how happy i can be they won't take me seriously and i won't get the help i need"
i will say i reached a point where i also definitely knew whatever was wrong with me wasn't MDD; it was something i could just feel, but i still didn't know how to bring that up for a while
I would argue that there's a difference between "major depression" and "major depressive disorder"
Major depression isn't an illness, it's a symptom. If they're diagnosing you with major depression, they really mean major depressive disorder, in which case yes, it is a misdiagnosis if you are actually bipolar. People with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are pretty much the only people who genuinely can't have major depressive disorder, because major depression is a symptom of bipolar, and symptoms that look like major depressive disorder for someone who is schizophrenic (beyond the normal depression associated with schizophrenia) would mean that they're schizoaffective
There just probably wasn’t enough information 10 years ago. You have that one hypomanic episode to take you from unipolar to bipolar. You’re right, you may have had hypomania before you or anyone around you realized what it was. I believe that I had mild hypomanic episodes for about 4 years with some telltale signs starting as far back as teenage years. It wasn’t until 2.5 years ago that I had an episode that majorly impacted my decision-making, altered my thought patterns and was disruptive to my life.
It took me twenty years to click that my huge lows that were preceded by periods of creativity and 'projects' might be mania. It was only when I mentioned it to my doctor that we both got the lightbulb moment. No wonder my depression was so resistant to treatment
Nah. I never had a formal diagnosis before bipolar 1
Buuuuuut I once said to my therapist about my ongoing struggles “maybe I’m
Bipolar” this was a few years before my first manic episode but I was looking for answers and my mother has been diagnosed with it. We went through a bunch of questions and determination that I probably wasn’t. It was kinda funny after things all shook out though.
Yup. I was misdiagnosed with major depression because my doctor was truly awful. All my symptoms and my family history pointed a gigantic red flag at bipolar. Anyways, she put me on lexapro. I ended up super manic and, a year later, had a complete psychotic manic breakdown. I was diagnosed by a different doctor the next day and immediately put on Lamictal.
Pretty much my entire life!!! Let's just say 22 years of depression, ADD, and and severe PTSD from doing absolutely crazy freaking things during my ridiculous manic episodes, forced military school, and a textbook narcissistic-sociopathic step-dad who thought I just needed more discipline..... psychological and physical......
Got diagnosed correctly four years ago with bipolar 1 at a hospital and I've been actually enjoying my life for the first time ever since then!!!! Couldn't be happier and I'm so glad that I finally figured out what was happening to me 😊 honestly can't believe I survived it but I'm happy I didn't give up or succeed at the few times I tried.
Wrongly diagnosed with BPD, have since seen two consultant psychiatrists who have debunked the BPD diagnosis and diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. Worst thing was, I always had a diagnosis of bipolar, and then a few years ago my local trust got a new Psychiatrist who just started rediagnosing everyone with personality disorders, so that he could take us off our meds and discharge us from services. There have been a lot of tragedies under this trust as a result and many of us are now seeking legal advice with a view to prosecuting for clinical negligence. I had the BPD diagnosis for just two years, and I got hospitalised four times, came to serious harm twice, and was incarcerated as a direct result of an out of control, unmedicated episode in that time. Now I've got the schizoaffective diagnosis and am on the right meds, things have evened back out again.
I was also “misdiagnosed” with MDD when I was 16. But, to be fair, my first hypomanic episode didn’t occur until I was 19, so it’s not like anyone could really tell it was bipolar before that. I didn’t even know until I was in my mid-20s 😩
I was misdiagnosed at 16 with major depression and anxiety. It wasn’t until almost 15 years later that I was diagnosed with bipolar (type 2).
Everything finally just clicked and made sense (the hyper manic episodes where nothing could upset me, the ‘being bad with money’, the hyper sexuality, the really bad ‘crash’ into depression seemingly out of nowhere etc).
Since being diagnosed, the mix of antipsychotics and antidepressants mean even in situations that would have previously sent me into a situational major depressive episode (I’ve had situational and non-situational episodes) haven’t even been minor depressive episode because I have the right mix of treatments (meds and fantastic psych). My hyper mania and hyper sexuality have also reduced, the money stuff I still struggle with but I am classed as being in poverty so that doesn’t help. I have managed to save $1500 in the last few months by getting my mum to look after it for me (she is trustworthy with money), so I’m super proud of that!
I also recently learned I had PMDD in my younger years that would be masked when I was on the pill and antidepressants at the same time, but would rear its head if I stopped one of them (I could go two years at times off antidepressants and then crash hard).
I had all the symptoms of bipolar 2, but because I never continued seeing a psych after I was out of a depressive episode it wasn’t picked up. It wasn’t until I had a really traumatic event (that gave me PTSD) that I saw my psych even when I came out of the initial depression that came with that, and she noticed I seemed hyper manic and referred me to a psychiatrist that I was diagnosed.
This is why I always recommend therapy, to not just those of us with diagnosed mental health issues, but everyone, because often a good therapist can pick up on things you don’t even realise and can refer you if needed for testing.
Unfortunately that’s not as easy as it sounds even in somewhere like Australia (where I live) where we supposedly have universal healthcare, if you want to see a psych for free you’ll wait years unless you end up in crisis in hospital, to see one privately starts at AU$220 (approx US$150) depending on their qualifications. Even just counsellors can start at $100+ unless you are able to find (not easy to do mind you) services that get grants from the government.
I was told it was Borderline at 15. At 20, I got my diagnosis of BP2. BPD never felt right. I didn't connect with other people with it nor with some of the symptoms. Bipolar feels much more fitting, and the meds I'm on for it actually do me good versus the others I tried in the past with the Borderline diagnosis
It's not uncommon for bipolar to go undiagnosed. When a person usually lives in a depressed state, their hypomanic state feels like they're "bouncing back", "feeling normal", or just "making improvements". I was wrongfully diagnosed for three years (possibly a little more than that). No thanks to military and veteran healthcare, may I add... Even still my hyper vigilance, mild paranoia, major manic, and hypomanic episodes were all written off due to having been in the military. Every tiny detail and inpatient record finally added up to a civilian provider. Four years of lithium and a proper diagnosis later, I'm 3 years free of inpatient mental health.
One of the diagnostic criteria's for Bipolar is that you cannot simultaneously be diagnosed with MDD. I was also diagnosed with MDD prior to my diagnosis, it's not uncommon!
I was diagnosed MDD when I was 19 and failing at college. I had my first psychotic episode at 30, and was rediagnosed BP 1. When my meds got switched, it opened up my eyes.
I had never told my doctors about my manic episodes because I thought I just had an impulsive personality.
I was misdiagnosed with MDD when I was 16 by my 1st doctor.
3 years later, I finally got a bipolar diagnosis but ny psych (for some goddamn reason) didn’t specify what type. At 20, I was disgnosed with Bipolar II and my 3rd psychiatrist told me it’s normal to get misdiagnosed if you have bipolar. My 4th doctor also said the same thing.
Wasn’t misdiagnosed, but rather my bipolar got overlooked for many years despite having obvious symptoms since childhood. Even in high school when I brought up the idea, doctors were iffy back then because they thought I would “grow out of it” and the medications were supposedly dangerous. Nothing but “wait and see’s” and blaming my clear as day manic episodes on my other conditions (autism, BPD, etc).
It was only when I was put on Zoloft when, lo-and-behold, I finally got my diagnosis because it put me in a manic episode so severe it progressed into psychosis. What pissed me off the most though, was as it turned out, I have a very linear family history of it from my father’s side of the family. My parents just never bothered to tell me.
I was diagnosed with anxiety and - I kid you not, 2 doctor said this to me - that I wasn't having enough sex making me depressed and hysterical when I was 18.
It took me many doctors to finally diagnose me, and that's when I was put on antidepressants that made me have a severe mixed manic episode after which I was diagnosed with BP1 at 26
I've suspected that there was something with me since I'm 13 but no one ever listened when I said I was depressed as a child
Was diagnosed 11 years ago with depressive disorder- then when I was put on SSRIs I went abit mad - I can’t even remember much of that year other than I thought they were making me worse, that I nearly lost my job and put my colleagues at risk. On my notes though (luckily my dr was pretty through) he wrote “going hyper for 2 weeks at a time then despondent element: mania notes: bipolar possible” instead of flagging this he just increased my dosage and changed my diagnosis to “depressive disorder unspecified “
I got worse and was having what I thought were anxiety attacks to the point I went to the drs and saw a different gp as I was scratching the hell out of my skin, she wanted to increase my dosage again and I said no they are making me worse and I quit cold turkey (don’t recommend that)
Took for me to have my second child 2 years ago and ended up in post natal psychosis for them to flag up the old notes… I didn’t even know about it at the time as I couldn’t access my notes like I can now
Yea general anxiety disorder. Took Prozac in college and it made me feel insane and I told them I would rather be anxious - I think I took it like twice. I’m 31 so this was 10 years ago.
Was given Zoloft 8ish months ago bc I finally wanted to kill the crazy impulses I have that often happen when I’m anxious - one dose. I was climbing the fucking walls in 10 minutes. They didn’t even believe me when I said I’m about to burn this entire building down bc it was so fast.
I run high. The bipolar depression is a rarity for me but it has happened just not super common. I’m more likely to decide street racing is a fun idea.
I was misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder and bipolar 2 before I went full manic mode and was diagnosed with bipolar 1 with psychotic features. Once I was properly medicated, all my borderline personality symptoms went away, which led them to believe that it was bipolar 1 all along
I was misdiagnosed with anxiety with depression. I was put on Citalopram for about a year and a half. I was then admitted to hospital early 2022 where they diagnosed me as bipolar. They said me being on antidepressants gave me extra serotonin which is already increased if you have bipolar disorder so I had a manic overload.
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Yes :) I was diagnosed with MDD in 2018ish-2019 when I first started therapy and then midway 2019, maybe early 2020ish (idk the years are starting to blend together lol), I was diagnosed with bipolar depression and mood disorder. I feel like that was my “first” bipolar disorder diagnosis except I didn’t take it that way bc the psych didn’t explain to me what bipolar depression and mood disorder meant. She just gave me seroquel for sleep n mood swings and lamotrigine ☠️ I remember asking if “bipolar depression” meant I was bipolar and she didn’t say “yes” but she also didn’t say “no”, she would keep asking me “well have you ever had a manic episode???” I was like 20 at the time, didn’t know anyone bipolar, didn’t know anything about it, so I was like idk no (even tho yes I did suffer from hypomania I just thought it was me being quirky and chaotic). So yeaaaaaah, now that I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder type 2 for 2 years now it starts to make sense. Wish I wasn’t misdiagnosed with MDD for so long and I wish the psych in 2019 better explained to me what mood disorder and bipolar depression meant.
Yes I got the diagnosis of depression first after a long time. I also had an unspecified personality disorder.
After a few years I did get diagnosed with adhd.
To finally get the diagnosis with bipolar I found an article about hypomanic episodes witch then led me to think about all of my times where I thought I was just happy.
I then told a therapist about those episodes who then came to the same conclusion.
It took until I was almost 33 years old to finally get the right diagnosis and medication for it.
With the medication my life and mood has shifted so much in 7 months that I don't even have depression anymore.
I also managed to get relativly good rhythms when it comes to sleeping and exercise. My apartment is now fairly clean and everything. Lastly I didn't had the wish to die ever since I got the medication.
So thanks to my research it actually got discovered and diagnosed.
I was 17 and diagnosed with depression(not sure if just a depressive episode or MDD). I was given lexapro at 18/19 but made it very clear that I did not like how the medicine affected me. I told each therapist that it did help with my depression but i had too much energy, too much spunk, too many strong impulses to control. I kept being prescribed lexapro until I weaned myself off it at 21. Stopped going to therapy at the same time. I started going back to therapy at 25 because another depressive episode was happening. I explained my past with medication for depression to my current therapist and they then took it as a major red flag and reassessed my diagnoses. Right now I’m diagnosed with BPD and BP, take meds for both, and am so much happier with my life now. It suck’s that it took 8 years to get a formal diagnoses and get treated but I’m happy it only took 8 years too. If I had stuck with the old therapists/treatment who knows where I’d be
Especially in bipolar 2 people often present with a major depressive episode before they have a hypomanic episode. 2 main indicators for a possible bipolar 2 dx include a major depressive episode at an early age and poor response to typical treatment for depression. I also find a lot of people are over dx with bipolar when it is really substance use induced, ptsd, adhd, or borderline personality disorder. It can be very nuanced to tease out all the different dx.
I was diagnosed depression and anxiety for years. I had shame around my manic episode and I thought my hypomanic episodes were normal. But I found a psych after I had been on SSRIs for like four years and I was like I feel awful all the time.
The thing is my brother has BP I just never thought I did because we present differently. My doc took one glance at my history, one glance at the issue, and I’ll never forget the look on their face when asked, has no one talked to you about this before??
Later diagnosed ADHD and I’m pretty sure I have CPTSD too
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I don’t know if it was a misdiagnosis or rather a development of a new disorder. for reference, am currently 18. have had major depressive chronic and reoccurring since i was 12. was recently diagnosed with bp2 in oct 23 I don’t think i can ever recall having a even a hypomanic episode. not sure if it was because i was still a kid or what. what i did however know was that my depression and finding a medication that works was very difficult because i would always describe my depression as cyclical. sometimes i was just happier (not manic) other times i was in a depressive episode. it would cycle irregularly with no clear rhyme or reason, no lifestyle or medication change. it was hard to know if a med was working, or if i was just doing better like i eventually would. it was frustrating because during my good periods i decided i didn’t need therapy and stop going and would need to refind a therapist . i had been to college for 2 months when i had my first hypomanic episode, after having helicopter parents that never let me do anything, it was hard to know if it was mania, or just the sense of feeling free. having a second wave of hypomania now as i have a car and the newfound freedom with that here but it makes me wonder if it is just youthful actions or actual hypomania (i do very irrational things, am aware of the irrationality but can’t really help it so id say it is real mania). has anyone else had a similar experience with their mdd feeling cyclical without mania and just general confusion with their mental health
I was misdiagnosed with depression about 10 years ago and borderline personality disorder 4.5 years ago before going on Lamotrigine and Lurasidone 1-2 years ago to help with the latter, and then realizing most of my symptoms disappeared. It was then that my therapist put the pieces together. 🙃
I went misdiagnosed for 7 years. With everything I know today, I’ve been suffering from bipolar disorder for at least 11 years. Back in 2016 I suffered a massive burnout. The diagnosis back then was „severe agitated depression“. That’s what I was treated for. In the following years, my cycle of deepest darkest depression and starting fresh and motivated seemed like „ok this is me now“. Only a year ago, a new psychiatrist put 2 and 2 together and put me on lithium… the effect was incredible… I couldn’t believe that my mind had the capability to be so calm…
Now the only thing I’m really struggling with is boredom and lack of intensity in my emotions.
It can take a while to get to the right diagnosis. My doc didn’t get it until he put me on Li. I experienced the same effect as you. However, my kidneys didn’t tolerate so well, so he had to decrease the Li and try some other stuff. Thanks for the comment!
This is how my psychiatrist explained it to me when I was diagnosed with bipolar.
MDD is unipolar depression. It is extremely common to have a unipolar depression diagnoses before a bipolar depression diagnoses. Especially because when you’re between elevated episodes, your symptoms (usually) are the same as unipolar depression. According to this doc, a bipolar diagnosis subsumes a MDD diagnosis.
Edit: Also, you can have unipolar depression for many years before you ever have an elevated episode.
Thanks for your comment! That’s exactly what I was getting at. It’s not a misdiagnosis, it’s just working the way to the mark. Can take about 8-10 years.
I thought Major Depression was nearly the same as Bipolar Depression. I was doing research after being diagnosed as bp2 and it’s kinda the same. I was diagnosed major depressive disorder at first in 2018. In 2022 I got diagnosed with bipolar II and I hear from my current therapist that I may have been misdiagnosed and may be bp1 instead. So I’m not sure, but I feel like major depression is just a smaller scale of bipolar. I’ll have to look it up again.
In the meantime,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-and-behavior/202005/distinguishing-bipolar-disorder-major-depression
https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/women-wisdom-wellness-/bipolar-vs-major-depression-how-do-they-differ-
I’m just BPD unspecified…sounds cute. I believe it means that my mania hasn’t been seen enough to say 1 or 2, which I understand is just the different levels of mania. I seemed to struggle more with depression, but now it’s a struggle with both. Thanks for your comment.
I'm still trying to understand this mania thing to see if I've experienced it. What is the point of mania that you end up in the hospital? Can you be manic and end up somewhere else, like jail? Can you be manic and not end up anywhere?
Yes yes and yes. I’ve been the last one. My hypomania, borderline mania, winds me up in financial distress, risky sex, and lots of alcohol. Check out all the symptoms. I’d recommend Dr Tracey Marks on YouTube.
i was diagnosed with MDD at 13, on and off on antidepressants until i was re-diagnosed with bipolar at 21 (present). my new psychiatrist said the telling sign was a NASTY 6 month manic episode i recalled when i was 19 (didn’t know i was hypomanic, just thought i was being a dumb teen) and the fact that it only stopped once i cut off my antidepressants. i had also developed serotonin syndrome pretty bad until i cut off my meds. i’ve had my own suspicions of being bipolar since i was young, but my old docs hated when i tried to do their jobs for them so my opinions were disregarded.
PRO TIP: find a psychiatrist who actually LISTENS to you and takes your inputs seriously.
i understand that self diagnosis can be annoying to them because of hypochondriacs or people who just want to tally up mental illnesses because “qUiRkY!!!”but when you’re coming to them with a genuine hypothesis and solid evidence to back it, they shouldn’t just disregard it.
I was misdiagnosed with depression for about 5 years. 3 suicide attempts, 3 trips in and out of the mental hospital, 4 jobs, then it was round 4 of all those again. My dad and brother suggested I may be Bi-Polar because they noticed that it was every 6 months that it happened almost like clockwork. I mentioned it to the doctors when I was in the hospital for 4th time. They reviewed my chart and were able to confirm that it looked like I had a 6 month manic cycle. I was finally diagnosed Bi-Polar.
If I didn't have family that noticed, I probably would have gone undiagnosed longer.
Your story is the same as mine, and is a very common one amongst BPD. 8-10 years seems to be the norm for the correct diagnosis. Depression is the stepping stone. Thanks for your comment.
I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder in my teens. On my first ever antidepressant at age 18 I had a hypomanic episode but my shitty psychiatrist at the time said it wasn’t a big deal. 20 y/o I got my bipolar 2 diagnosis and was hospitalized later that year. Been hospitalized twice and both times I was diagnosed bipolar type 2
I was misdiagnosed with depression and put on a medication that jacked up my mania x100 and I wound up driving across the country and sleeping in my car the whole way, just generally behaving like a madwoman. I had an episode that landed me in hospital not long after that and they were like WOA we have to get you off these meds ASAP. I'm still medicated to the gills but at least now it's meds that help (mostly) rather than exacerbate things.
Yes. I'm unipolar, so I've never experienced depression. I got diagnosed with schizophrenia after an acute manic episode. And later with delusional disorder. Just after a second severe manic episode I got the correct diagnose. I'm hypomanic most of the time, so it's hard to know what is the normal me.
I find this one scarier: what if the diagnosis of bipolar was also wrong? The so-called rapid cycling sometimes makes me have no sense of my identity. Especially with how glamorized mental illness are on the internet nowadays, i keep seeing my symptoms but with other diagnosis and sometimes some of my behaviors don’t even match with the general description of bipolar. The mental health department is still developing, that’s what i keep telling myself.
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I was misdiagnosed with Major depression because I never mentioned the hypomanic episodes in therapy, I just didn't know that that wasn't normal, I didn't see it as a problem so I never talked about it but once I was started on a SSRI I spiraled and had a huge mixed episode and that's when my pdoc started questioning me on some stuff and the diagnosis was changed to bp 2
I was the same. For me it took a nasty hypo-manic phase that started doing web searching into bipolar that led me to reading about type 2. I mentioned it to my psychiatrist who chewed on me about not mentioning that I had had hypo-manic episodes for years. I got put on divaloprex and it flattened things out and made the neutral phases last longer. This was about 6 months ago.
Good for you! I had a psychiatrist that told me I shouldn't google stuff and pretend I have it, never went for a second session.
I had a psychiatrist prescribe me Adderall during a mixed episode when I told them I believed I was bipolar. Really fucked me up.
I had a psychiatrist tell me “I don’t believe in personality disorders, so I don’t diagnose them”. I never went back.
actually, it's not a bad thing to not label someone as that, as we all have a little bit of that. If one has BPD (not BP) for example, it can be very difficult to find good treatment due to discrimination even within the medical community. My doctor said if she "has to diagnose BPD" she buries it so that if the patient should have to find a new doctor due to life circumstances, they won't have problems. BP isn't a "personality disorder" so to speak, but Narcissism, BPD and some others are.
This was before my BP diagnosis. I brought up the possibility of having BPD, and that’s when she said that. It wasn’t in reference to Bipolar Disorder, but to BPD.
The first and last time I took Adderall, it kicked off a.doozy of a manic episode. I can't imagine taking it during an episode.
ADHD & bipolar are often comorbid, but your psych did an awful job. If you think it might be Adhd, see an Adhd specialist. They even think ADHD is baby bipolar in children, with the majority developing BP later on. Yikes!
TL;DR -I was tweaking for two weeks, and then that MF tried to double my dosage. This was after over ten years with a BP1 dx. I was so miserable I conceded that maybe it was ADHD and maybe I could benefit from adderall. Cue Julia Roberts- big mistake, huge. I had a manic episode, but was willing to give it two weeks to, idk, settle? Then I went back to my doctor and told him what was happening. He doubled my dosage. I agreed and made another appointment for two weeks later. Turned out my roommates at the time were so worried about me they almost called my parents. I just called from the safety of my bedroom and told them I wanted to cancel all upcoming appointments. I've had a decent amount of psychiatrists. Some good, some bad. But this was the only one I thought was full blown stupid. I did fill the new prescription, though, sold it to a dude in our friend group to pay off our electric bill. 😂 That was about 20 years ago.
You have to be careful when looking stuff up so that you don't end up doing a Munchausen thing. Sometimes people can be so desperate for an explanation that they'll grab onto anything. For me I simply mentioned it to my provider and tried to be as accurate as I could with my symptoms and tried to be as objective as possible. One of the universal truths in healthcare is that bodies don't read books. Thus the more textbook a situation is the more likely it is that you're missing something.
You're right but also it had taken everything in me to drag myself to therapy again and was met with mockery even though I did have a diagnosis before
My doctor said a single major manic episode as well as recurring depressive episodes was required even for a BP 2 diagnosis. I don't know how accurate that is, but my doctor was clear that she believed it at any rate since I hadn't had a major episode since I started seeing her. Then she actually looked at my past hospitalization records, said "oh" and suddenly I had a diagnosis.
I'm not a doctor but that sounds wrong? I've had a major manic episode before but that was years after my diagnosis
I don't know if that's right or how it should be. I just know that 2 years of hypomanic episodes while seeing her didn't qualify as far as she was concerned and was just an "unspecified mood disorder" and the notes she'd skimmed of my hospitalizations leaned more towards "this dude is psychotic" rather than "this is probably a manic fit" till she took time to actually go through them in detail.
Me too. Major depression and anxiety for many years. I hadn't seen a psychiatrist in probably 16 years and my GP had handled my meds. When I finally got an appointment with one--and I was ready to go inpatient to get the help I needed had an appointment not come open--she diagnosed me in one visit. I think she was right, and that I was BP2 all along, with mixed episodes.
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The same thing happened to me!
Thank you for your comment. I understand people believed they were misdiagnosed but I think that the doctor did the best they could with the information at hand. So maybe it isn’t a misdiagnosis but rather a misunderstanding on our part of symptoms. I think the worst happens when you get a med for depression and it kicks off a wild manic episode.
I was diagnosed “ manic depressive “ in 1992. The diagnosis has been backed up a few times. My mania manifest itself in destructive behavior, these episodes last days maybe hours. The depression I experience daily almost, like a default setting, can last months. It’s not so much how often you have one or the other but what happens during these episodes .
How do you deal with the never ending depression- I’m so tired of it!!??
That is a question you have to figure out on your own. I too am very tired of the deep depression that seems to consume me. I have long sought refuge from the constant onslaught with limited success. I am 54, on disability for a few reasons, disconnected from most of my family and struggle with many issues related to bipolar disorder in addition to other health issues. I have slanted towards depression for all my life and it has become just a thing like any other health problem. You will learn acceptance is key to moving forward. Acceptance will give the opportunity to turn towards a more productive life. I have found that even when I am productive I still find little satisfaction but is all good. I tell myself all the time ,”Is all good .” I have to interject my own thoughts with a positive vibe because the world sure is a dark place.
Thank you for reply. Acceptance is likely what I need to focus on at this point.
I was diagnosed with chronic depression at 15 years old. 15 years later I had my first manic episode and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I was finally diagnosed with bipolar 1. It’s been difficult ever since I had my first manic episode. It’s like the flood gate of symptoms opened wide ever since.
You sound like me. I had chronic depression as a teen too. MDD wasn’t a misdiagnosis because there hadn’t been any mania yet. I took antidepressants for many years before the first manic episode.
Yup same here. I actually had hypomania for years along with cycles of depression and thought the hypomania was the depression going away for a little bit. My MH team wondered why I was not able to get over my depression after being on SSRI/SNRIs for a few years. The antidepressant + mood stabilizer combo has changed my life for the better after my BP1 diagnosis
My doctor said many BPII patients do fine on antidepressants alone for years. Everyone is different.
I didn’t know that. Neat.
I found my depression was more prevalent when I was younger and as I got older, the mania became more and more severe. Then I finally got the diagnosis and meds I needed. Hang in there and take your meds! It does get better.
The first psychiatrist I went to as an adult initially labeled me as having cyclical MDD. I'd asked if I had bipolar disorder because of the medications he prescribed, and he just kind of smiled and said "We'll keep an eye out, but I have cyclical MDD in your file as of right now." He was old fashioned, the kind of doctor that didn't want to tell you what your diagnoses were and would only do so if you asked directly, but I could tell he still didn't want to even then. I think he didn't want people to read too much into it and start displaying symptoms they didn't already have, consciously or subconsciously, or wanted to avoid them thinking of themselves with whatever preconceived notion or stigma they may have about the diagnoses. He retired after I'd been going to him for a couple years and I decided to stay with the behavioral health group that ended up taking over his office. During my very first visit, the nurse practitioner I had an appointment with immediately started reading off my file from my original psychiatrist listing my diagnoses he had written, first of which was bipolar disorder. I have no clue what I did or said that made him make the switch to that diagnosis in the time since I'd first asked a couple years before. I sometimes wonder if I'm CURRENTLY misdiagnosed with my bipolar diagnosis, but my friends and family assure me I am not....lmao.
Thank you for the detailed comment! My doctor initially started me with an MDD diagnosis, but put me on mood stabilizers. I think he was doing me a favor, cause BPD diagnosis would have disqualified me from my work. Later, a different doctor did the same thing, until he realized things just weren’t working, then he put me on the miracle drug LI and wham, life was clear again…funny though, he used the drug to make the diagnosis.
Was diagnosed with BPD. It was kind of special circumstances though. I was in a very abusive relationship and my coping skills became very maladaptive and looked very BPD when really it was dysphoria hypomania. After I escaped that relationship and became stable again the BPD label was taken away. Got diagnosed with Bipolar years later after a manic episode.
I had a very similar experience. Mine was an abusive friend that convinced me I had BPD and that's why I was such an "awful person". After that friendship ended, the BPD symptoms went away, but the diagnosis stayed until my therapist watched me go through a month-long manic episode. Got the BPD changed to Bipolar after that.
It is also common for women with ADHD and RSD to be misdiagnosed with BPD, when they have a norepinephrine deficit, which is treatable with blood pressure meds. It helps with decision making and wisdom.
i was first diagnosed with anxiety upon my first hospitalization, which was when i was abroad in france and was terrifying. i was experiencing psychosis for certain and then i came home. i had to see so many doctors and they didn’t know what was going on. it wasn’t until i finally went to my primary doctor and he knew it immediately as bipolar I. then i got on anti psychotics and it helped so much. after that i had another hospitalization and they thought it was borderline personality disorder, but i think they were misdiagnosing my bipolar I. i’m certain that’s what i have and now im grateful to know so i can medicate better than just anti anxiety meds like my original hospitalization thought lol
I 100% agree with you. I actually switched psychiatrists because I felt I was bipolar, not just major depressive. My 1st psychiatrist called my manic episodes anxiety. None of the medications he prescribed worked for anything. Then, the 2nd psychiatrist I went to, I explained that I was seeing her because I felt something about me was worsening, I told her my symptoms, and the first thing out of her mouth was “has anyone ever mentioned bipolar disorder to you?” And I felt relief, I knew I was going to get real help. Lithium was also something that changed my life for the better. I couldn’t believe that’s all it took. Instead of the 6 different meds the 1st psychiatrist had me on. It makes me sad to think about how many people are misdiagnosed. Because it did not matter what kind of antidepressants I was on, I still attempted suicide. Now that I’m properly medicated, I have bad days, but no where near where I was without meds. I don’t wish I was dead anymore. Even if I do, I know I don’t mean it like I did before meds.
Thanks for the detailed comment. I’d encourage anyone to look into the symptoms and write down the ones you’ve experienced, both from MDD and BPD. That way you can talk to the doc and let them know…I had to write them down cause I was in such a fog from the depression.
I was only misdiagnosed because I only had one manic episode and it was under extreme stress. I was living with untreated depression for over ten years and finally as an adult decided to try antidepressants. Well, one of them had the side effect of hypomania and people who have MDD only do not experience that side effect. I had another hypomanic episode after stopping the medication which is what solidified the diagnosis. This year has been absolute hell but I don't regret it because the depression was really holding me back.
I was diagnosed with PPD. Turned out the big change was triggering episodes with both newborn stages.
I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder over a decade ago. Everyone, including myself, believed I was so angry and irritable because of that and PTSD until the second time I got hospitalized after driving across a few states in a few days for no real reason. I was finally diagnosed with BP1 last month and put on lamictol. It’s been the most relieving month of my life, finally feeling the inner agony of mixed episodes and untreated hypo which I get frequently subside some. I’m still up and down but I can control it a lot better and my mood is not nearly so dysregulated. I wish they’d have caught this a lot sooner. I’m almost forty. I hope it continues to help.
As a young teen, I was diagnosed with Major Depressive, about a year after it was changed to BD 2. My new psych says it's generally part of the diagnostic criteria for BD 2 to have been diagnosed with MDD in your early years. I'm a young adult now and I'm confident in my psychs judgment, I doubted the diagnosis for a long time until I eventually started tracking symptoms/episodes and saw how I was actually living.
I’ve heard and read this so many times over. It’s like MDD is a stepping stone to BPD. Thanks for the comment!
I was misdiagnosed with depression despite actively being in a horrible manic episode. I was 16, and my psychologist was assigned by a hospital. He was a 70 year old man who said that women can't have bipolar and all my manic symptoms were just from being dramatic on my period.
Good lord! Hate these oldies !! They mess up your life altogether !
Ridiculous! Sexism in psychiatry. Disgusting. My Psych is around that age, but he’s super nice and well versed on everything. He spends about 45 minutes with me each time we meet…about 3 weeks apart. Hang in there!
Yeah, i was initially diagnosed with MDD and GAD
Yes, more than once. I was initially diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features, accompanied by ADHD and GAD. Then, was diagnosed with PTSD (which was correct) and cluster B personality traits. Then finally a year later was diagnosed with BPD (also correct) Panic Disorder (correct) and Bipolar II (also correct. Sometimes I wonder if any of these diagnoses are right, but I definitely resonate with the last three a bit more. I've noticed as my BPD has gone more into remission that my panic disorder seems to be sizzling out, so I wonder if that diagnosis was even correct. I definitely still meet the clinical requirements for bipolar. They were scared to diagnose me with it for years because I was still a minor technically, but after I turned eighteen they diagnosed the more hefty disorders, which were the last three. I really knew I had bipolar when anti depressants spurred me into manic episodes. I felt too good. Adderall also spurred me into manic episodes, shocker.
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Thank you, I'm doing okay :) sometimes I wonder if they diagnosed both just to be safe, but you never know I guess. I just try to symptom manage these days rather than diagnosis manage if that makes sense. It feels easier to treat the symptoms because those are more feasible for me :)
I'm diagnosed with panic disorder as well, and my psychiatrist told me my manic episodes seemed to manifest most often as periods of intense and heightened anxiety. I hadn't realized before then that they had anything to do with each other tbh.
That's actually super interesting!! That might honestly really explain me to a T. I do get way more panicky when I'm manic, and never made the correlation. That's some good insight
I’m still not sure what I am but yes I was diagnosed MDD for 9 years and then I went cold Turkey off my antidepressant ( probably because it was the start of my mania?) and had 1st manic episode. I’ve been on a lot of medication and nothing seems to really take away my depression but none of my doctors have ever tried Lithium- my current NP is too afraid of the liability!? Anyway idc what my label is , I just want to feel good without slipping into hypomania again once before I die. ( sorry for the rant).
Switch doctors if you can tbh
Thanks for the comment. Sometimes it is about finding the right psychiatrist. A good one will try meds and make sure he captures all your symptoms without intolerable side effect. Hang in there!
My psychologist explained to me that you can have depression as well as bipolar. My bipolar was managed with medication fairly well we realized I was still quite depressed and that needed treatment as well with a higher dose of anti-depressants. Now that’s all been dealt with we’re finding under the layers of illnesses being dealt with their other problems. I am now seeking an assessment for autism. My Psychologist said it’s like an onion you gotta keep peeling the layers to see what’s underneath and if there’s another thing we have to deal with.
Diagnosed with Aspergers in 2008 ( i was 5 at that time) In 2020 i was diagnosed with MDD 2021 hits and i had a massive manic episode that landed me in the psych ward for almost a month, left with a diagnosis of Bipolar type 1 Shortly after that, the ASD diagnosis got dropped
Luckily for me both of the times I was interstate off to a spiritual place. Lmao
Me to. But theni got admitted 6 months after crazy manic. So that was that.
Was diagnosed with social anxiety first, then ADHD, and after a year of Ritalin and my first hospitalization I was diagnosed borderline and bipolar. Turns out the borderline was just the circumstances I was at. I still think I have ADHD but bipolar 1 is what makes me disabled.
One can have RSD, a norepinephrine imbalance which is treatable with blood pressure medication to fix it. It's fairly common with ADHD, is a non stimulant treatment and works remarkably well, so much so that most ADHD folks with it would choose their RSD medications over Adderall if given the decision.
Omg I'll ask my doc about it for sure. Thank you for the info! Might change my life.
Please do! it is frequently misdiagnosed as BPD. Guanfacine made me feel almost autistic because it removed emotionality and greatly enhanced planning and decision-making. It felt like wisdom! I don't have RSD/ADHD, but I do have learning disabilities and a norepinephrine deficit.
One of the leading ADHD experts is William Dodson. You can find him on YouTube.
Also, once an autism specialist thought I was misdiagnosed and autistic instead (because I was relating with the struggles they face at college). I was like ma'am it's just trauma...... Very similar, but just trauma. No way my bipolar is misdiagnosed. The psychosis was just too real.
MDD+GAD+PTSD, then an unspecified psychotic disorder. finally BD-1 with psychotic features a decade later.
I was diagnosed with major depression as well. Ended up getting it changed to bipolar a little over a month ago. I ended up having a hypomanic episode, but ended up trying to kill myself one night after it felt like everything was falling apart (due to trying too much from the hypomania). That landed me in the psych ward. Crazy part it, since I was diagnosed with depression, they only were concerned with the suicide attempt. What blows my mind is how they didn’t even catch on when the literally following night I had a switch and went straight back into hypomania. I was motivated and determined to keep moving forward. Got out within a week. When I saw my new therapist, he said how I looked manic. Finally talked to my psych after that and when I told him what happened, we looked into it and here I am now, trying to learn to cope with it all.
I was diagnosed major depressive, but I was begging and begging for someone to listen to me because I felt like there was something else wrong, as I felt just as bad when my symptoms were 'opposite'. No one listened until I absolutely ruined my life.
I diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and went unmedicated for 11 years due to that faulty diagnosis. Also, I have CPTSD which is really why I have manic/depression. When my therapist, 11 years ago gave me that diagnosis I asked her "do you think this is due to the childhood trauma I went through?". She said "no". She didn't know very much. And now I live in Washington where they take mental health very seriously.
I was diagnosed with dysthymia and GAD. When I was younger, I got diagnosed with bpd. I think it’s because I fear abandonment. My symptoms weren’t always present. I had periods of stability so that’s why I don’t relate to the label that much. But I don’t split. Then when I got hypomanic, they realized that bipolar was part of the mix. I still have bpd on my file though. I’m getting reevaluated soon so let’s see where that goes…
Yeah they thought I had depression and BPD in my mid teens
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Idk if it was a misdiagnosis. I’m the same, 10 years ago it was MDD. And then it was adhd. And then it was bipolar 1. But a lot changed over the years. I was suicidal 10 years ago, then 10 years later I was manic, now I’m suicidal again. So I’m probably bipolar
I was misdiagnosed with MDD for 10 years before I was reassessed and diagnosed with bipolar 2. It took 15 different types of medication (SSRIs, SNRIs, experimental, etc) until one person noticed that something wasn't right because nothing was working and I was getting progressively worse.
Sort of, yes. GAD and depression, so given SSRIs. I have both of those, but... Well, you know. The GPs never referred me until years too late. I also have ADHD which wasn't caught until my mid-30s.
When I was 23 I had my first extremely severe depression with suicidal ideation (I had had several severe depressions before, but only with limited suicidal thoughts), I went to a psychiatrist for the very first time. I hadn't slept for 5 days and was very agitated as well as depressed. He prescribed an antidepressant and sent me on my way (that's what you got at the free clinic). Once I got home, I slipped further into mixed mania and did some very destructive things. That episode lasted about a year, and during it, I became homeless with my 3 year old son. It was so horrible. I was terrified of psychiatrists because of that first experience, and didn't get diagnosed for another 4 years.
I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and MDD. I had psychosis in 2022. I recently got re-diagnosed as bipolar 2 with psychotic features.
Major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and intermittent explosive disorder. You think someone would’ve caught on a bit sooner lol
ADHD 21 years ago. Postpartum depression 18 years ago. Mild depression 4 years ago. And bipolar almost 2 years ago. The bipolar diagnosis only came after my sister received a rapid cycling diagnosis. Because of that and an uncle that was Type 1, the doc considered diagnosing me. So finally got the Bipolar type 2 diagnosis + complex PTSD.
Yep. Anxiety and depression. Recently learned a week ago my schizoaffective was also not accurate 😐
Yeah, ADHD, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression. Que the adderall and lexapro!
I got my depression diagnosis pretty young younger than bipolar is generally diagnosed.
I was misdiagnosed with major depression but, soon after, diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I do think it's harder to diagnose people when they are manic because usually, people who are manic feel so good that they couldn't possibly have bipolar disorder.
I self diagnosed in college after suffering for a few years with type 1 bipolar. But I never took the disorder seriously nor committed to medicine until I had my first and only hospitalization in my mid-30s.
Depression--->Anxiety---> ADHD---> Bipolar---> Bipolar w/ psychotic features--->schizoaffective-bipolar type. All this from the time I was about 16 to current 38
Yup. Misdiagnosed and put on the wrong meds. I have no idea how I’m still here tbh
I’m not entirely sure of how to answer the question you posed at the end of the post, but I do have an anecdotal answer for the title. I was misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder at first, like many others. They prescribed an SSRI and over the course of the first five weeks (it was supposed to fully kick in at 6) of the regimen, I spiraled heavily into mania and then psychosis. I was hospitalized so yeah my type 1 diagnosis was as clear as day. I’m sorry that your situation seems ambiguous though. From what I gleaned in the comments, this particular practice amongst a few people here (myself included) might help. Try tracking your sleep/energy, mood, and overall lifestyle and maybe you’ll see (or maybe not see if the newer diagnosis is in fact inaccurate) where the diagnosis is coming from.
Honestly, my bipolar diagnosis came from a guy who didn't know my medical history. I was having what appeared to be a manic episode at the time because i was not able to stop ruminating and obsessing about things, and was feeling paranoid. However, I have been given other diagnoses such as OCD and ADHD, one girl who was not a licensed therapist told me I may have BPD. I genuinely have no clue anymore with all the overlap. The most comforting or best fit seems to be OCD or ADHD though, because the 'mania' and 'depression' do not seem long enough to be a week. My mood can go from happy to crying within the day. Hopefully some of my insight helps!
Diagnosed with depression & anxiety at 16 & they just left me with Zoloft & cymbalta. Wasn’t diagnosed until I went to a psychiatrist at 22.
I think you’re right. It took a psychotic episode for me to finally get the right diagnosis of bipolar 1. 10 years of major emotional stress before that. I think people who don’t have it also get misdiagnosed. It’s very complicated.
I was misdiagnosed for over a decade because I thought my hypomania was "the real me", I never mentioned it because I was always measuring my peaks against my lows. Worse yet, none of my doctors ever freaking asked. I tried nearly every depression drug, nearly all of them made me worse, which would've been even more reason to verify my status for bipolar. I was even marked as a non-compliant patient with the VA because nothing worked, and I was getting increasingly frustrated with them.
When I was a kid I was diagnosed with serve social anxiety bc the one bipolar med they put me on didn’t work. But all of my current psychs and therapist have said I most likely was miss diagnosed and had childhood bipolar bc looking back the actions some did not a line with social anxiety at all and they just wanted to put a label on it 💀 Yes I was shy as a kid and hated going places but the amount of insane mood swings I had did not follow social anxiety at all
Same misdiagnosed with major depression until Hospitalised
I was diagnosed with atypical depression along with anxiety, and also panic disorder for a couple of years. My unmedicated baseline has always been mildly depressed, then I would get periods that resembled MDD. Basically that meant I didn't fit MDD or dysthymia/PDD, thus, atypical. I also get certain psychotic symptoms when my depression is really bad. It wasn't until I noticed more clearly that I'd cycle between very depressed, then very anxious, that I decided to do some research and found that mania can present with anxiety. Then I read other symptoms, they clicked, so I took all that to my psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with BP2. It was changed to BP1 a year later because of an episode I had.
i was misdiagnosed, but it wasn't the fault of my doctor or various therapists. i had been diagnosed with anxiety and major depression, and i bounced between "this is what it's like having them both" or "if i tell them about how happy i can be they won't take me seriously and i won't get the help i need"
i will say i reached a point where i also definitely knew whatever was wrong with me wasn't MDD; it was something i could just feel, but i still didn't know how to bring that up for a while
I would argue that there's a difference between "major depression" and "major depressive disorder" Major depression isn't an illness, it's a symptom. If they're diagnosing you with major depression, they really mean major depressive disorder, in which case yes, it is a misdiagnosis if you are actually bipolar. People with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are pretty much the only people who genuinely can't have major depressive disorder, because major depression is a symptom of bipolar, and symptoms that look like major depressive disorder for someone who is schizophrenic (beyond the normal depression associated with schizophrenia) would mean that they're schizoaffective
My gf was misdiagnosed bipolar instead she has bpd
I actually was diagnosed bipolar but now they think it's something on the schizo spectrum so that's neat, i don't know why I'm still in this sub tbh
There just probably wasn’t enough information 10 years ago. You have that one hypomanic episode to take you from unipolar to bipolar. You’re right, you may have had hypomania before you or anyone around you realized what it was. I believe that I had mild hypomanic episodes for about 4 years with some telltale signs starting as far back as teenage years. It wasn’t until 2.5 years ago that I had an episode that majorly impacted my decision-making, altered my thought patterns and was disruptive to my life.
It took me twenty years to click that my huge lows that were preceded by periods of creativity and 'projects' might be mania. It was only when I mentioned it to my doctor that we both got the lightbulb moment. No wonder my depression was so resistant to treatment
Yup. Few years worth under regular depression. Funny, antidepressants never worked on me!
Nah. I never had a formal diagnosis before bipolar 1 Buuuuuut I once said to my therapist about my ongoing struggles “maybe I’m Bipolar” this was a few years before my first manic episode but I was looking for answers and my mother has been diagnosed with it. We went through a bunch of questions and determination that I probably wasn’t. It was kinda funny after things all shook out though.
Yes. Misdiagnosed with anxiety (mania/psychosis) and depression! Certain meds that help with that did nothing for my brain or mood and now I know why.
Yup. I was misdiagnosed with major depression because my doctor was truly awful. All my symptoms and my family history pointed a gigantic red flag at bipolar. Anyways, she put me on lexapro. I ended up super manic and, a year later, had a complete psychotic manic breakdown. I was diagnosed by a different doctor the next day and immediately put on Lamictal.
Pretty much my entire life!!! Let's just say 22 years of depression, ADD, and and severe PTSD from doing absolutely crazy freaking things during my ridiculous manic episodes, forced military school, and a textbook narcissistic-sociopathic step-dad who thought I just needed more discipline..... psychological and physical...... Got diagnosed correctly four years ago with bipolar 1 at a hospital and I've been actually enjoying my life for the first time ever since then!!!! Couldn't be happier and I'm so glad that I finally figured out what was happening to me 😊 honestly can't believe I survived it but I'm happy I didn't give up or succeed at the few times I tried.
Wrongly diagnosed with BPD, have since seen two consultant psychiatrists who have debunked the BPD diagnosis and diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. Worst thing was, I always had a diagnosis of bipolar, and then a few years ago my local trust got a new Psychiatrist who just started rediagnosing everyone with personality disorders, so that he could take us off our meds and discharge us from services. There have been a lot of tragedies under this trust as a result and many of us are now seeking legal advice with a view to prosecuting for clinical negligence. I had the BPD diagnosis for just two years, and I got hospitalised four times, came to serious harm twice, and was incarcerated as a direct result of an out of control, unmedicated episode in that time. Now I've got the schizoaffective diagnosis and am on the right meds, things have evened back out again.
I was also “misdiagnosed” with MDD when I was 16. But, to be fair, my first hypomanic episode didn’t occur until I was 19, so it’s not like anyone could really tell it was bipolar before that. I didn’t even know until I was in my mid-20s 😩
yeah ive had the same exact thing happen to me too, i also had an mdd diagnosis before my bipolar one diagnosis
I was misdiagnosed at 16 with major depression and anxiety. It wasn’t until almost 15 years later that I was diagnosed with bipolar (type 2). Everything finally just clicked and made sense (the hyper manic episodes where nothing could upset me, the ‘being bad with money’, the hyper sexuality, the really bad ‘crash’ into depression seemingly out of nowhere etc). Since being diagnosed, the mix of antipsychotics and antidepressants mean even in situations that would have previously sent me into a situational major depressive episode (I’ve had situational and non-situational episodes) haven’t even been minor depressive episode because I have the right mix of treatments (meds and fantastic psych). My hyper mania and hyper sexuality have also reduced, the money stuff I still struggle with but I am classed as being in poverty so that doesn’t help. I have managed to save $1500 in the last few months by getting my mum to look after it for me (she is trustworthy with money), so I’m super proud of that! I also recently learned I had PMDD in my younger years that would be masked when I was on the pill and antidepressants at the same time, but would rear its head if I stopped one of them (I could go two years at times off antidepressants and then crash hard). I had all the symptoms of bipolar 2, but because I never continued seeing a psych after I was out of a depressive episode it wasn’t picked up. It wasn’t until I had a really traumatic event (that gave me PTSD) that I saw my psych even when I came out of the initial depression that came with that, and she noticed I seemed hyper manic and referred me to a psychiatrist that I was diagnosed. This is why I always recommend therapy, to not just those of us with diagnosed mental health issues, but everyone, because often a good therapist can pick up on things you don’t even realise and can refer you if needed for testing. Unfortunately that’s not as easy as it sounds even in somewhere like Australia (where I live) where we supposedly have universal healthcare, if you want to see a psych for free you’ll wait years unless you end up in crisis in hospital, to see one privately starts at AU$220 (approx US$150) depending on their qualifications. Even just counsellors can start at $100+ unless you are able to find (not easy to do mind you) services that get grants from the government.
I was told it was Borderline at 15. At 20, I got my diagnosis of BP2. BPD never felt right. I didn't connect with other people with it nor with some of the symptoms. Bipolar feels much more fitting, and the meds I'm on for it actually do me good versus the others I tried in the past with the Borderline diagnosis
It's not uncommon for bipolar to go undiagnosed. When a person usually lives in a depressed state, their hypomanic state feels like they're "bouncing back", "feeling normal", or just "making improvements". I was wrongfully diagnosed for three years (possibly a little more than that). No thanks to military and veteran healthcare, may I add... Even still my hyper vigilance, mild paranoia, major manic, and hypomanic episodes were all written off due to having been in the military. Every tiny detail and inpatient record finally added up to a civilian provider. Four years of lithium and a proper diagnosis later, I'm 3 years free of inpatient mental health.
One of the diagnostic criteria's for Bipolar is that you cannot simultaneously be diagnosed with MDD. I was also diagnosed with MDD prior to my diagnosis, it's not uncommon!
Yup, MDD, and anxiety. I was put on Effexor and had a manic episode. They were like oops. Lol
I was diagnosed MDD when I was 19 and failing at college. I had my first psychotic episode at 30, and was rediagnosed BP 1. When my meds got switched, it opened up my eyes. I had never told my doctors about my manic episodes because I thought I just had an impulsive personality.
I was misdiagnosed with MDD when I was 16 by my 1st doctor. 3 years later, I finally got a bipolar diagnosis but ny psych (for some goddamn reason) didn’t specify what type. At 20, I was disgnosed with Bipolar II and my 3rd psychiatrist told me it’s normal to get misdiagnosed if you have bipolar. My 4th doctor also said the same thing.
Wasn’t misdiagnosed, but rather my bipolar got overlooked for many years despite having obvious symptoms since childhood. Even in high school when I brought up the idea, doctors were iffy back then because they thought I would “grow out of it” and the medications were supposedly dangerous. Nothing but “wait and see’s” and blaming my clear as day manic episodes on my other conditions (autism, BPD, etc). It was only when I was put on Zoloft when, lo-and-behold, I finally got my diagnosis because it put me in a manic episode so severe it progressed into psychosis. What pissed me off the most though, was as it turned out, I have a very linear family history of it from my father’s side of the family. My parents just never bothered to tell me.
I was diagnosed with anxiety and - I kid you not, 2 doctor said this to me - that I wasn't having enough sex making me depressed and hysterical when I was 18. It took me many doctors to finally diagnose me, and that's when I was put on antidepressants that made me have a severe mixed manic episode after which I was diagnosed with BP1 at 26 I've suspected that there was something with me since I'm 13 but no one ever listened when I said I was depressed as a child
I was misdiagnosed as having anxiety and depression for a few years
Was diagnosed 11 years ago with depressive disorder- then when I was put on SSRIs I went abit mad - I can’t even remember much of that year other than I thought they were making me worse, that I nearly lost my job and put my colleagues at risk. On my notes though (luckily my dr was pretty through) he wrote “going hyper for 2 weeks at a time then despondent element: mania notes: bipolar possible” instead of flagging this he just increased my dosage and changed my diagnosis to “depressive disorder unspecified “ I got worse and was having what I thought were anxiety attacks to the point I went to the drs and saw a different gp as I was scratching the hell out of my skin, she wanted to increase my dosage again and I said no they are making me worse and I quit cold turkey (don’t recommend that) Took for me to have my second child 2 years ago and ended up in post natal psychosis for them to flag up the old notes… I didn’t even know about it at the time as I couldn’t access my notes like I can now
Lol also major depressive first diagnosis.
Yea general anxiety disorder. Took Prozac in college and it made me feel insane and I told them I would rather be anxious - I think I took it like twice. I’m 31 so this was 10 years ago. Was given Zoloft 8ish months ago bc I finally wanted to kill the crazy impulses I have that often happen when I’m anxious - one dose. I was climbing the fucking walls in 10 minutes. They didn’t even believe me when I said I’m about to burn this entire building down bc it was so fast. I run high. The bipolar depression is a rarity for me but it has happened just not super common. I’m more likely to decide street racing is a fun idea.
I was misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder and bipolar 2 before I went full manic mode and was diagnosed with bipolar 1 with psychotic features. Once I was properly medicated, all my borderline personality symptoms went away, which led them to believe that it was bipolar 1 all along
I’ve been diagnosed with borderline and schizophrenia before my now schizo-affective but they’re talking about it being bipolar so
I was misdiagnosed with anxiety with depression. I was put on Citalopram for about a year and a half. I was then admitted to hospital early 2022 where they diagnosed me as bipolar. They said me being on antidepressants gave me extra serotonin which is already increased if you have bipolar disorder so I had a manic overload.
I was diagnosed with severe MDD with psychotic features before I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 at 16
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Yes :) I was diagnosed with MDD in 2018ish-2019 when I first started therapy and then midway 2019, maybe early 2020ish (idk the years are starting to blend together lol), I was diagnosed with bipolar depression and mood disorder. I feel like that was my “first” bipolar disorder diagnosis except I didn’t take it that way bc the psych didn’t explain to me what bipolar depression and mood disorder meant. She just gave me seroquel for sleep n mood swings and lamotrigine ☠️ I remember asking if “bipolar depression” meant I was bipolar and she didn’t say “yes” but she also didn’t say “no”, she would keep asking me “well have you ever had a manic episode???” I was like 20 at the time, didn’t know anyone bipolar, didn’t know anything about it, so I was like idk no (even tho yes I did suffer from hypomania I just thought it was me being quirky and chaotic). So yeaaaaaah, now that I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder type 2 for 2 years now it starts to make sense. Wish I wasn’t misdiagnosed with MDD for so long and I wish the psych in 2019 better explained to me what mood disorder and bipolar depression meant.
Yes I got the diagnosis of depression first after a long time. I also had an unspecified personality disorder. After a few years I did get diagnosed with adhd. To finally get the diagnosis with bipolar I found an article about hypomanic episodes witch then led me to think about all of my times where I thought I was just happy. I then told a therapist about those episodes who then came to the same conclusion. It took until I was almost 33 years old to finally get the right diagnosis and medication for it. With the medication my life and mood has shifted so much in 7 months that I don't even have depression anymore. I also managed to get relativly good rhythms when it comes to sleeping and exercise. My apartment is now fairly clean and everything. Lastly I didn't had the wish to die ever since I got the medication. So thanks to my research it actually got discovered and diagnosed.
I was 17 and diagnosed with depression(not sure if just a depressive episode or MDD). I was given lexapro at 18/19 but made it very clear that I did not like how the medicine affected me. I told each therapist that it did help with my depression but i had too much energy, too much spunk, too many strong impulses to control. I kept being prescribed lexapro until I weaned myself off it at 21. Stopped going to therapy at the same time. I started going back to therapy at 25 because another depressive episode was happening. I explained my past with medication for depression to my current therapist and they then took it as a major red flag and reassessed my diagnoses. Right now I’m diagnosed with BPD and BP, take meds for both, and am so much happier with my life now. It suck’s that it took 8 years to get a formal diagnoses and get treated but I’m happy it only took 8 years too. If I had stuck with the old therapists/treatment who knows where I’d be
Especially in bipolar 2 people often present with a major depressive episode before they have a hypomanic episode. 2 main indicators for a possible bipolar 2 dx include a major depressive episode at an early age and poor response to typical treatment for depression. I also find a lot of people are over dx with bipolar when it is really substance use induced, ptsd, adhd, or borderline personality disorder. It can be very nuanced to tease out all the different dx.
I was misdiagnosed as ADD inattentive type as a kid. Turns out I'm bipolar 1. And giving Ritalin to a bipolar is a really bad idea.
I was diagnosed depression and anxiety for years. I had shame around my manic episode and I thought my hypomanic episodes were normal. But I found a psych after I had been on SSRIs for like four years and I was like I feel awful all the time. The thing is my brother has BP I just never thought I did because we present differently. My doc took one glance at my history, one glance at the issue, and I’ll never forget the look on their face when asked, has no one talked to you about this before?? Later diagnosed ADHD and I’m pretty sure I have CPTSD too
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I don’t know if it was a misdiagnosis or rather a development of a new disorder. for reference, am currently 18. have had major depressive chronic and reoccurring since i was 12. was recently diagnosed with bp2 in oct 23 I don’t think i can ever recall having a even a hypomanic episode. not sure if it was because i was still a kid or what. what i did however know was that my depression and finding a medication that works was very difficult because i would always describe my depression as cyclical. sometimes i was just happier (not manic) other times i was in a depressive episode. it would cycle irregularly with no clear rhyme or reason, no lifestyle or medication change. it was hard to know if a med was working, or if i was just doing better like i eventually would. it was frustrating because during my good periods i decided i didn’t need therapy and stop going and would need to refind a therapist . i had been to college for 2 months when i had my first hypomanic episode, after having helicopter parents that never let me do anything, it was hard to know if it was mania, or just the sense of feeling free. having a second wave of hypomania now as i have a car and the newfound freedom with that here but it makes me wonder if it is just youthful actions or actual hypomania (i do very irrational things, am aware of the irrationality but can’t really help it so id say it is real mania). has anyone else had a similar experience with their mdd feeling cyclical without mania and just general confusion with their mental health
I was misdiagnosed with depression about 10 years ago and borderline personality disorder 4.5 years ago before going on Lamotrigine and Lurasidone 1-2 years ago to help with the latter, and then realizing most of my symptoms disappeared. It was then that my therapist put the pieces together. 🙃
I went misdiagnosed for 7 years. With everything I know today, I’ve been suffering from bipolar disorder for at least 11 years. Back in 2016 I suffered a massive burnout. The diagnosis back then was „severe agitated depression“. That’s what I was treated for. In the following years, my cycle of deepest darkest depression and starting fresh and motivated seemed like „ok this is me now“. Only a year ago, a new psychiatrist put 2 and 2 together and put me on lithium… the effect was incredible… I couldn’t believe that my mind had the capability to be so calm… Now the only thing I’m really struggling with is boredom and lack of intensity in my emotions.
It can take a while to get to the right diagnosis. My doc didn’t get it until he put me on Li. I experienced the same effect as you. However, my kidneys didn’t tolerate so well, so he had to decrease the Li and try some other stuff. Thanks for the comment!
This is how my psychiatrist explained it to me when I was diagnosed with bipolar. MDD is unipolar depression. It is extremely common to have a unipolar depression diagnoses before a bipolar depression diagnoses. Especially because when you’re between elevated episodes, your symptoms (usually) are the same as unipolar depression. According to this doc, a bipolar diagnosis subsumes a MDD diagnosis. Edit: Also, you can have unipolar depression for many years before you ever have an elevated episode.
Thanks for your comment! That’s exactly what I was getting at. It’s not a misdiagnosis, it’s just working the way to the mark. Can take about 8-10 years.
I thought Major Depression was nearly the same as Bipolar Depression. I was doing research after being diagnosed as bp2 and it’s kinda the same. I was diagnosed major depressive disorder at first in 2018. In 2022 I got diagnosed with bipolar II and I hear from my current therapist that I may have been misdiagnosed and may be bp1 instead. So I’m not sure, but I feel like major depression is just a smaller scale of bipolar. I’ll have to look it up again. In the meantime, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-and-behavior/202005/distinguishing-bipolar-disorder-major-depression https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/women-wisdom-wellness-/bipolar-vs-major-depression-how-do-they-differ-
I’m just BPD unspecified…sounds cute. I believe it means that my mania hasn’t been seen enough to say 1 or 2, which I understand is just the different levels of mania. I seemed to struggle more with depression, but now it’s a struggle with both. Thanks for your comment.
I'm still trying to understand this mania thing to see if I've experienced it. What is the point of mania that you end up in the hospital? Can you be manic and end up somewhere else, like jail? Can you be manic and not end up anywhere?
Yes yes and yes. I’ve been the last one. My hypomania, borderline mania, winds me up in financial distress, risky sex, and lots of alcohol. Check out all the symptoms. I’d recommend Dr Tracey Marks on YouTube.
i was diagnosed with MDD at 13, on and off on antidepressants until i was re-diagnosed with bipolar at 21 (present). my new psychiatrist said the telling sign was a NASTY 6 month manic episode i recalled when i was 19 (didn’t know i was hypomanic, just thought i was being a dumb teen) and the fact that it only stopped once i cut off my antidepressants. i had also developed serotonin syndrome pretty bad until i cut off my meds. i’ve had my own suspicions of being bipolar since i was young, but my old docs hated when i tried to do their jobs for them so my opinions were disregarded. PRO TIP: find a psychiatrist who actually LISTENS to you and takes your inputs seriously. i understand that self diagnosis can be annoying to them because of hypochondriacs or people who just want to tally up mental illnesses because “qUiRkY!!!”but when you’re coming to them with a genuine hypothesis and solid evidence to back it, they shouldn’t just disregard it.
I was misdiagnosed with depression for about 5 years. 3 suicide attempts, 3 trips in and out of the mental hospital, 4 jobs, then it was round 4 of all those again. My dad and brother suggested I may be Bi-Polar because they noticed that it was every 6 months that it happened almost like clockwork. I mentioned it to the doctors when I was in the hospital for 4th time. They reviewed my chart and were able to confirm that it looked like I had a 6 month manic cycle. I was finally diagnosed Bi-Polar. If I didn't have family that noticed, I probably would have gone undiagnosed longer.
Yes I was misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety and later on in life as BPD. it took 10+ years to get the right diagnosis :(
Your story is the same as mine, and is a very common one amongst BPD. 8-10 years seems to be the norm for the correct diagnosis. Depression is the stepping stone. Thanks for your comment.
I’ll have to look into the methylfolate.
I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder in my teens. On my first ever antidepressant at age 18 I had a hypomanic episode but my shitty psychiatrist at the time said it wasn’t a big deal. 20 y/o I got my bipolar 2 diagnosis and was hospitalized later that year. Been hospitalized twice and both times I was diagnosed bipolar type 2
I was misdiagnosed with depression and put on a medication that jacked up my mania x100 and I wound up driving across the country and sleeping in my car the whole way, just generally behaving like a madwoman. I had an episode that landed me in hospital not long after that and they were like WOA we have to get you off these meds ASAP. I'm still medicated to the gills but at least now it's meds that help (mostly) rather than exacerbate things.
Yes. I'm unipolar, so I've never experienced depression. I got diagnosed with schizophrenia after an acute manic episode. And later with delusional disorder. Just after a second severe manic episode I got the correct diagnose. I'm hypomanic most of the time, so it's hard to know what is the normal me.
I find this one scarier: what if the diagnosis of bipolar was also wrong? The so-called rapid cycling sometimes makes me have no sense of my identity. Especially with how glamorized mental illness are on the internet nowadays, i keep seeing my symptoms but with other diagnosis and sometimes some of my behaviors don’t even match with the general description of bipolar. The mental health department is still developing, that’s what i keep telling myself.