Hello,

My name is Caroline and I went to my daoctor to talk to him about how to find out if you are Bi Polar . He told me to go online and find a test. Not sure where to find that. Can anyone help me. Please.

I am also ADHD ... Which is probably the reason I cant find what I am looking for. LoL ....

Does anyone know where I can go to get what I am looking for ?

wait... your doctor told you that in order to determine if you're bipolar, he directed you to the internet and said to take an online "quiz"??

Is he a medically licensed doctor and/or was he possibly drunk or otherwise inebriated?

I would be far more concerned that your doctor sent you to the internet for medical evaluation as opposed to actually talking to you.

you need a new doctor.

He told me that there wasnt an test that he could do and that it would be easier to do one online....

http://www.pimsresearch.org/no.html

this is one of the tests I took. You can goolge bipolar quizes and see what comes up.

I agree with DeloresMelon, see if you can find another doctor. A second opinion could be a great idea

I have to confess I do not like your doctor and I recommend that you go see another one; perhaps one with more qualifications for dealing with psychological conditions perhaps.

In the meantime, www.beyondblue.org.au (http://www.beyondblue.org.au) is a good site for depression, anxiety and bipolar.

Well the test I took saids that I might be Bipolar.

Well the test I took saids that I might be Bipolar.

Take it with a grain of salt: the problem with self questionnaires is, if you think you're bipolar then you're more than likely to pick answers that conclude that.

What I did with a couple of the self tests, was call a close friend of mine and went though each question with her. "Have you ever seen me do this? or act this way"

I am no where near the best observer of my behaviors. It seems I am discovering new ways of being all the time that I just wasn't aware of.

Having someone you trust to go through this with you can help. Plus the added bonus of their support.

Good luck

Definitely find a new doctor. If we can all just go diagnose ourselves on-line, then why even bother to go to doctors anyway? WTF??

I underwent neuropsychological testing this summer for ADHD, didn't get my official bipolar diagnosis till then. Funny thing is, I never mentioned my mood problems, etc. to the neuropsychologist. However, she could tell by my "erratic way of interacting" and my test results that I was bipolar. I suppose I'd received the diagnosis before, I was on Depakote in college, but I was so crazy at the time, that I don't remember anything about the psych appointments. I only remember that I took Depakote. It didn't work so well, because I got manic/delusional, went off of it and lived unmedicated for 7 years or so. I have psychotic episodes also, but I am paranoid and secretive about them so people just think I'm acting a little off-- they have no idea that I think that I've gone blind in one eye and there's a hole in my face where the eye used to be!! Close friends and all of my exes told me they think I'm bipolar, but I never beleived it until this past year. Insight is a difficult thing.

Yes insight is a difficult thing. Here is another question. Is there a mild Bipolar ?
I know that I am ADHD so I always thought this stuff I am going through was and is ADHD related. But as I read more and more about Bipolar I am thinking that I might be both. It was my Mom who told me to look into the Bipolar thing. Here is another thought. One of my friends who lived with someone who is Bipolar for many years was mentioning that he was thinking that ADHD might be a symptom and or Doorway in to the Bipolar world..

Now I am babbling. Sorry....

Like others have mentioned, since your doctor doesn't seem to want or have the ability to diagnose you, it would be wise to seek a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner. These folks have the knowledge and expertise to figure it out. It might take awhile though....
In the meantime, you might check out Dr. Phelp's site- just Google it. You can find a lot of info there, although Dr. Phelp's views are somewhat controversial. I would include a link, but it seems to me that it's a commercial site... and my ADHD brain can't remember if it is or isn't, or remember if it's OK to post a link to a commercial site here or not... Lol... Just too ADHD to figure it out.

Check out cyclothemia. It is on the mild end of the bipolar spectrum. Furthermore, ADHD and Bipolar are often co-morbid disorders and most people with Bipolar (I forget the statistic), have attentional difficulties. A good psychiatrist should be able to differentiate between the two (it might take a little time, but someone good will be able to figure it out eventually).

Cool, Thank you ... I have been doing alot of thinking lately and I am beginning to believe that there might be a Bipolar issue. I wonder if may be it wasnt affecting me as much because of the Depression and ADHD meds...

So how does one treat Bipolar ? Do you think that my ADHD and Depression Med where hiding some of my Bipolar symtoms or could it have been my abuse of drugs a year and half ago that might have triggered it more ? I am also wondering if I have always had it and just thought it was part of my ADHD.

Babbling again....

So how does one treat Bipolar ? Do you think that my ADHD and Depression Med where hiding some of my Bipolar symtoms or could it have been my abuse of drugs a year and half ago that might have triggered it more ? I am also wondering if I have always had it and just thought it was part of my ADHD.

Babbling again....

With medication and therapy.

Yes that makes sence. LoL. I guess my question is what meds are used for treatment ???

bipolar is usually treated with a combination of a mood stabilizer like lithium, depakote or lamictal,(and others) and an antipsychotic such as risperdal, abilify, geodon (and others).

Yes, according to research drug abuse can make bipolar worse.
Some medications , paricularly stimulants and antidepressants can cause some people with bipolar diorder to have major depressive or major manic episodes.

Superficially , bipolar disorder and adhd can be difficult to distringuish, but cycles of depressive/manic phases eventually expose bipolar disorder.

Maybe you always had it, but very often people start out life without having any indication of bipolar disorder and then as a young adult they experience the onset of bipolar disorder.

A lot of people report the onset of bipolar in their teens or in their 30's.

It hit my mom in her 30's and my daughter was in her 30's when she had her first manic episode. My aunt was bipolar too. It hit her when she was 16. My son might be. Myself, I'm not bipolar, but I've become very familiar with it because I've lived with it in the family all of my life.

Me :D

Well I am 36 and think that I might have had it and thought is was my ADHD and also it was triggered an year and a half ago ...

Well I am 36 and think that I might have had it and thought is was my ADHD and also it was triggered an year and a half ago ...

That's what happened to me as well. It's not uncommon during a manic stage for a pdoc to misdiagnose for ADHD.

I believe a lifestyle change is also very important with treating BP II. There are certain things in life which will hit those BP buttoms hard and they need to be removed as much as possible.

Yes that is true.. I just need to find the right Doctor to help me. But before I do that I am hoping that anyone, everyone, could help me. I just need to know what I am suppose to do, what the treatment is, what the meds are, and stuff like that. It is all alittle overwhelming to come to the conculsion that it wasnt always the ADHD that it is probably Bipolar too. I know I am babbling but I cant seem to stop..

Check out this site: http://www.crazymeds.us/

Scroll down the left hand side until you come to mood stabilizers. You will be able to read about some of the meds there.

Thank you...
It is a very strange feeling. Thinking that all this time it was ADHD but I think knowing in my heart of Hearts that there was something else. I just want to hide and figure it all out. But I cant. I am a single Mom with kids. So hiding is not an option...

I wish you luck in all of this. For me doing research and talking with the people on here has helped me understand more about BP and how to continue to function and live a healthy life. Keep us posted on your search for a decent doc and treatment that works for you.

Thankyou. I was wondering if there was anyone on here that is from Vancouver, BC, Canada. And if they know of any good doctors...

To compare and contrast ADD & bipolar disorder see:

http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Bip...r-and-ADD.html (http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Bipolar-disorder-and-ADD.html)

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/2511.html


The following is also conceptually and visually interesting even though it covers bipolar but not ADD:

http://www.a-silver-lining.org/BPNDepth/dsmiv.html