Posted by Sabina on October 13, 2003, at 15:13:37
In reply to Re: Am I Bi-Polar ... or is Lexapro causing symptoms, posted by linkadge on October 13, 2003, at 11:13:52
more often than not, i fall under the category of "agitated hypomanic" rather than "productive hypomanic". this is one of the reasons that most of my hypomanic episodes had gone undiagnosed in over thirty years. SSRI's *greatly* exacerbated my symptoms for many years before i was correctly dx'd bipolar II. i felt even more tortured by my racing thoughts and insomnia when on that class of drugs. i haven't experienced a "productive hypomania" in years and would greatly prefer it to what i experience now. i do think your "litmus test" is a great suggestion for people to use as a starting point, but i will hope they remember, just as i was educated about my own illness, that hypomania/mania does not necessarily equal productivity and the sterotypical image of a person up all night, feverishly cleaning, planning, or building something fantastical, isn't necessary in order for a person to be dx'd bipolar.
i mean this to be helpful and i'm not trying to contradict you. i just don't want anyone to fall through the cracks of being misdiagnosed for years like i was. :)
poster:Sabina
thread:268695
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031010/msgs/269001.html