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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by hopwitch on January 8, 2006, at 18:47:19
After 30 years of being treated for depression, and most of the time still being totally bewildered by my inability to function properly, I've recently been tentatively diagnosed as cyclothymic. The psychiatrist seems uncertain as to how to treat me - I get the impression he hasn't come across many cases, so any advice, suggestions, case histories etc that you can come up with will be very gratefully received! Good luck all!
Posted by Phillipa on January 8, 2006, at 19:01:18
In reply to cyclothymia, posted by hopwitch on January 8, 2006, at 18:47:19
Is this a form of bipolar with rapid cycling. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Racer on January 8, 2006, at 21:22:27
In reply to cyclothymia, posted by hopwitch on January 8, 2006, at 18:47:19
Cyclothymia is to bipolar as dysthymia is to depression -- they're much milder, but generally a bit more chronic. Saying you're cyclothymic is basically saying that you get -- forgive me, this is the best I can describe it -- hypohypomanic, and then swap over to a bit depressed. I guess he's not convinced you're bipolar, but he's not sure you ever find a happy medium in your mood.
Here's a question for you, though: What do you think?
The first time I ever took antidepressants, my doctor dragged me back to the psychiatrist to be checked out for bipolar. Turned out, though, that *that* was my personality! No one had known, since I'd been so depressed for so long. Without the depression, I was friendly, bubbly, cheerful, and generally NOT what my doctor was used to. Could it be that your natural state, your natural personality, is just more cheerful than your psychiatrist is really prepared for? Personally, I think you probably know the answer to that better than your pdoc.
Treatment for cyclothymia would probably mirror that for bipolar, since the issues are the same.
I hope that helps.
Posted by hopwitch on January 9, 2006, at 8:46:58
In reply to Re: cyclothymia » hopwitch, posted by Phillipa on January 8, 2006, at 19:01:18
Thank you for your input Phillipa and Racer. Phillipa, I think you have it in a nut shell from my reading, but the condition doesn't seem to be widely recognized over here in Northern Ireland, so I'm not sure whether the psychiatrist is truely on board, or just humouring me! As far as your comments are concerned Racer, this is just the quandry I've been in for many years - I was told I had clinical depression, so I assumed all the other things, like the lack of staying power, the flitting from one relationship, one job, one place to the next with no real rhyme or reason, was just an inherent character weakness that should be firmly squashed! I was (am) permanently suicidal and have developed many techniques to distract myself from the notion, but it is more because I can't bear the thought of spending the next 30 years on this roller coaster the way I've spent the last 30, rather than the true depths of depression - mind you, I've been there too! I'm on the way up at the moment thank goodness - I spent all of the Christmas and New Year fortnight asleep, either literally, for 48 hours at a time, or figuratively, which annoyed the family no end, but was actually quite pleasant for me! However, I don't see a knight on the horizon coming to wake me with a kiss, so I can't forsee a practical future for this method of coping! I want to take advantage of this up time to find a better management strategy - there's so much I want to see and do that I need to be able to function in something approaching a normal fashion, even if that is slanted somewhat to the eccentric in my case - but hey, it's got to be better than being boring. Take care, Amanda.
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