Honestly, I did -- first time I was in the hospital. They were hung up on the PTSD and the depression. I kept mentioning the hypomanias, the family history, etc. They (staff, pdoc) knew me professionally so I think they were struggling with the dx more than I was. It took a big meeting, my kids, hubby and 4 of my close friends along with pdoc and 2 hospital staff to discuss past symptoms, behaviors, etc. before they concurred that hypomania had been real. They wanted to believe my hypomania had been just high energy, type A personality. Me too, but reality is.....

Second hospitalization -- Mixed state, no questions any more. Everyone was convinced!!! Bipolar AND PTSD

i self diagnosed first. i been treated with depression since i was 13, meds just didnt seem to work then when i was preg. for my son i hit rock bottom and had planned suicide (never attempted) even wrote out my letters. i knew something was seriousley wrong so i called a crises line and was putinto counceling at the county mental health. there after only 2 visits they agreed that i was bp. this was 2 yrs ago.

A friend who had recently been diagnosed suggested to me that I might be, too. I was having bad hypomanic spells as a result of Zoloft, but they were timed so that my pdoc never actually saw them. After my friend mentioned it to me, I took my list of symptoms to my pdoc at the time. He diagnosed mt Bipolar, Type II. I've since been diagnosed Type I, Mixed States, because I occasionally hear voices.

I've moved around a bit and have had four pdocs; they've all agreed on the bipolar diagnosis, just not all agreed on the type.

i hear voices all the time, well mostly at night when i try and relax my fam. doc told me it was in my head. well no duh. my last stay at the hosp i told the dr there that i thought i might be wrongly diagnosed and that i had scitso symptoms, he told me that some scitso symptoms are the same as bp symptoms and that i dont want to be labled scitso. act i dont wanna be labled anything.

At 19 or so I read SYBIL,I knew that I wasn't probably a multiple but I knew there was a weird rythem to my life. And off I went into hypomania for years of my life. At 45,my brother (who worked security in a state Phyc. hspital, said he saw in me ,my whole life episodes, that were probably BP, I laughed him off,as the jolly hypo manic will. 3 yr's later a complete collapse,couldn't get out of bed,no showers,some paranoia,sister and bro drug me to pdoc...so goes the sad story of a euphorichypomanic who hit the wall one afternoon in April.

what is pdocs;

a therapist thought I had a problem when I was 23. Then when I was first in hospital I was diagnosed as depressive at 23 a few weeks after I had seen the therapist. Then I was put on lithium a few years after that. A few years after that a psychartrist told my I had personality disorder but kept my meds the same. Then 4 years ago I was diagnosed as schizophrenic (I am 43 now) my primary psych doctor was still sticking with the diagnoses of bipolar. When my doctor of 12 years finally had to come up with a diganosis for my insurance claim he said I was bp with schizo-affective tendencies. That was 3 years ago. I don't think it is the diagnoses that is important because I went for years without one with my current doctor. He prescribed meds for my symptoms but he never labeled me until he had to for the insurance. He is an old guy and has seen a lot I think he is wise for not giving me a label and besides he said I was really hard to diagnose. It took him several weeks to go over my file because I have so much history with the illness.

pdocs=psychiatrists

my dog told me.

I sitting at home alone, wife is working, son is who knows where. I have been fighting depression then .......

I see Alwaysup message, "the dog told her/his/who cares... and all I could do was laugh."

A psychiatrist that was given my case when I ended up in ICU after a suicide attempt.
He saved my life.

Pdoc dianosed me, too. I was sent there for depression but decided to tell her everything, including the hallucinations, cia dreams, talking to pictures and solving the theory of perpetual motion.

She was also bipolar (the pdoc)and knew right away. (thank God)

my pdoc, but i've suspected for a long time...

My GP suspected it and a psychiatrist confirmed it. But i have my doubts.

My psychiatrist, but I wasn't diagnosed until my 19 year old daughter had a major episode and was diagnosed first. We go to the same Psych. I had myself had been struggling with anxiety and depression since my teens.