i'm not too goog about reading into things, but i can tell ya this..GO SEE ANOTHER DR, ask to take the test to see if you truely are BP. It's your mind & body, not theirs.
OMG, that pisses me off when some people are like that to others esp when we look to them for answers and help!
Good luck with that....pat

Real strong imagery. Unfortunately, I'm no expert in determining whether that makes you bipolar or not. Pat's right you have a right to a second opinion. I know I wasn't diagnosed until I was manic being depressed just didn't get me into the hospital. Anyways, I hope you find whatever it is that is troubling you.

If you really are conserned that you are BP and your doc won't consider it......Find your nearest "mental facility" and make your self an apt for a psyc evaluation. You do not need your regular dr.'s permission to be tested and maybe your dr. is not sensitive to your metal state. Remember if you are worried about your mental health maybe there is something to be worried about. You dont need your Dr. to tell you that. I am not saying that there is anything wrong but you can rule it out with a simple test.

All I can suggest is certainly get a second or even third opinion! :) Good Luck, Jess

Do you think you are engaging in risky behaviour? That is ONE symptom of mania. There are many others and I agree with the rest of the board you see a new pdoc as the one you have seems incompetent in coming up with some sort of diagnosis and a subsequent treatment plan.

full-blown mania is not always a requirement. check out this site for some clarification:

http://www.psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-two-types-of-bipolar-disorder/

and definitely seek out another doctor's opinion.

Yup, this is a psych doc, and I got him after two months of asking around b/c I didn't want to end up with a dud. I was ready to pay out of pocket (had no idea how much it cost then ha-ha), just to get a good evaluation, and know for once, and get treated properly. But he was recommended, and was in my plan, so I was like "yey!".
The time I wrote this was the only time I think I was really manic. I drove 1000 miles three times that year to be with that woman (nothing happened). That to me is risky behavior, cause I was very happily married at the time, so WTF? I would black out from fantasizing while driving, and almost had two car accidents. I flirted with this woman's boyfriend. I was very hypersexual, visited every porn store in Toronto. My productivity at work was at least double the average that year. My p-doc knows about all this, and is still not impressed. I just can't believe it, and he makes me feel like a total hypochondriac. I can't sit in his office and say "please, would you say that I'm sick, please, pretty please..." And he happens to be the head of our Psych department, who was recently brought in from the other good hospital in the city to 'clean things up'. Guess that would be a competent guy, but I was wrong.
It just drives me crazy that I cannot trust the Drs when they tell me that something is or is not a problem. I've already wasted a year with this guy, he just keeps throwing anti-depressants at me. This wouldn't be the first time a Dr. was seriously wrong. I've had two very serious doc mistakes in this same hospital (which is supposed to be one of the best in the country) earlier. The only reason I went with this guy is cause he was a recent transfer. I should have known better. If he were good, he wouldn't have come here. Urgh, am I cynical today.

Thank you all for your input. Obviously I need another opinion. I ordered some books, I need to get better educated myself.

I went to the web site, took the bipolar quiz (severe type I), took the mania quiz (moderate mania). OK, time to fire my p-doc and get a second opinion.

It is very important to me to sort this out, because right now I am contemplating moving to another city for a job I am totally not qualified, but I THINK I can do, even though my family situation does not really allow for that, but I think my current comfy job may disappear in the future. I don't know how much I can trust my own reasoning here.

For days I've felt the need to do something outrageous. Moving to another city would do. So would screaming at the top of my lungs, which I so need to do. (Instead I pace around my office and hop when noone's looking.) Or stripping my clothes and walking down the street naked. Yesterday I was cooking and got my shirt and pants greasy, so I stripped and tossed everything in the washer and continued to cook naked. My 18-month old daughter was very amused. :)
Why do I even listen to doctors?

Maybe this should all go to my journal really...

i can tell you from experience that this sounds like a manic episode..i lost my first marriage because of things that you are feeling (not towards another woman, but a man) i found myself absolutely infatuated with him-- i did the same, wrote poems, went out of my way to find just seconds i could see him....i don't think you are a hypochondriac...i would like everyone else say get another opinion--because this similar situation was the cause of a major mania and meltdown in my life.

Thanks ascend, I was hoping someone might relate and give me more courage to be assertive with my pdoc. I have an appointment today, and I'll try to bring this up again.

I'm BP I. For seven years I had doctors prescribe antidepressants for me which can increase your cycles especially mania. Only after I was taken off antidepressants, anxiety medication and was no longer self meditating with alcohol did I go into a full-blown manic phase where I was immediately diagnosed Bipolar. Keep looking and make someone listen. It is crucial. It is obvious that you are very good at taking an outside view of your current behaviors. Once you are on the right medication you will look back and see even more things than you recognize now.

to me yes u r bipolar so just keep at it sooner or later a doc is gonna listen and make ths diagnosis so keep up the good fight

Not sleeping for days does sound like u r manic. Creativity increases with mania...
relates to u writing the poem.
If your Dr is not buying it, get a second opinion!

schizophrenia