Introduction

My son was first diagnosed at 11.  I was sad and went through alot of grief but realized that it made sense.  Everyone thought he had ADHD but his symptoms went beyond that.  He was given a stimulant and Risperdol.  After about a year the doctor took him off of Risperdol and he still did fine.  So the doctor then changed the diagnosis to ADHD. 

When he was 15, he flipped out and tried to hurt himself.  The hospital diagnosed him with major depression.  The antidepressants caused mania.  The doctor didn't see it tho.  I saw it.  My son saw it.  He looked at me and said "mom I'm bipolar".  It was weird because he just pulled that out of the air and said it to me.  It took 2 weeks of talking to the nurses every day and him flipping out and breaking his own hand for the doctor to say he has a 75 percent chance of having bipolar disorder.  Then we go to yet another doctor and his diagnosis is unspecified mood disorder.

I guess the problem with diagnosis is the criteria is subjective.  One doctor may say you have bipolar and another may diagnose you with something else entirely.  We've had 3 opinions so far and all have been different.  What it comes down to is, the label doesn't matter.  It's relief of symptoms that counts.

Welcome, Janine! Thanks for your post.

Hearing my diagnosis (BPII, possibly BPI because of one mixed episode) was a punch in the gut - as in 'oh - this is serious.' More so, it was a relief. 

We have bipolar and suffer its negative effects long before we have a diagnosis. Pre-diagnosis, my moods were leading me by the nose; I was always thinking what a rotten person I was for my sudden irritability, strong depressions, and hundreds of ideas begun and left unfinished. I worked so hard to manage myself and it was exhausting.

Diagnosis means I have more information on what I'm managing. And my well-being still centers around self-awareness, not just being handed a doctor's prescription and being managed.

And yes, doesn't it feel good to think we can maybe settle on just a couple of those missions? That's actually starting to come together for me now, and it is a relief.

Best of luck to you on your journey.