Posted by JonW on July 2, 2002, at 12:34:41
In reply to Re: ADD, differential diagnosis help ???, posted by Fuscia on July 1, 2002, at 12:37:21
> Hi Jon the poet,
Hey, your nickname alone is far more poetic than I'll ever be! :-)
> It is good to see you question your diagnosis. It can take years to properly diagnose bi-polar
I understand it takes like an average of 8 years from the first report of symptoms and 2 to 3 pdocs to get a correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Sometimes I think my symptoms are the result of bipolar disorder and sometimes of ADD. It seems more like ADD, but I don't know a lot about differential diagnosis. I'm not sure how much it matters at this stage of the game.
>have a friend that is a rapid cylcer bi-polar - days start out very depressing, don't want to get out of bed, and then are pretty high by late afternoon. SSRI's worked pretty well the first
I'm dead in the morning (slow, depressed, low energy), and I'm a noticeably better by say 10:00am. I have trouble falling asleep (Nardil has made this worse) and trougle waking. I wouldn't describe anything I experience as "high". I feel like I suffer more from mood lability and less from mood cycling. Any so-called cycle certainly wasn't and isn't too profound in terms of "high" and "low" -- but I've definitely always had sleep problems, trouble getting to sleep, trouble waking. By the way, my mood is very sensitive to sunlight. Agitation and irritability have definitely been a *big* problem and are usually aggrevated by anti-depressants. Should I be called bipolar simply because of this reaction to anti-depressants? What do you think? Please ask any questions you want...
> Anyway, I was curious, are the above listed symptoms prior to the meds you are currently taking? Do you have any impulses? Shopping? Sex? Aversion to sex? Substance abuse? How does caffeine effect you? How about sugar or bready sugar foods, like doughnuts, waffles, and other simple carbs? How do you do when you're all by yourself? There's lots more questions I could ask, but I don't want to be too nosey ; )
Please, be as nosey as you want and ask as many questions as you like! I'm open to anything that could ultimately lead to insight. As for the questions you asked... Yes, the symptoms I described precede being on medication. If anything, I would describe myself as hyper-sexual -- but I have severe social phobia, so you do the math! ;) I *love* carbs! French toast is one of my favorites! When I was a kid I used to eat sugar from the packets at restaurants, my parents would have to stop me. I hate being alone and I hate being bored. If I'm alone or bored I'll often go out in my car for a drive.
Thanks for the reply! You've been very helpful.
Jon
poster:JonW
thread:111115
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111206.html