When I was first diagnosed in April 2007...my initial diagnosis was PTSD vs Bipolar 2

My Pdoc told me that PTSD looks A LOT like Bipolar...and reading about it...it truly does mimic a lot of the same signs and symptoms...and thus PTSD is treated with a lot of Bipolar Meds too.

I knew I didn't have Bipolar...just a gut feeling...and I had asked my previous Pdoc and Family Doc if I was Bipolar...all with a big NO...and failed to look any further. I didn't think about PTSD...had no clue this would come to haunt me in my adult years.

I had Neuro-Psych testing which showed I am NOT Bipolar...and my Pdoc said through therapy, it would be figured out if I was bipolar or just plain PTSD.

For me...Just PTSD.

But, I actually got a Bipolar Book to read, and boy...I could relate to a lot of that...mood variability is present in both PTSD and Bipolar.

With PTSD...you treat the symptoms you have, so if your moods are variable...you treat with a mood stabilizer...I'm on Lamictal..and it helped with my depression too.

I was diagnosed with PTSD some 20 years ago. Bi-polar seems to be one of the "in" diagnoses now. I have never had a manic episode in my life, but I had a pdoc who didn't know much about PTSD try to convince me I was bi-polar. I did some research and read that some PTSD symptoms can appear to be bi-polar.

LOTS! You'll find that as a diagnosis on half the pages. Even if they don't realize, I bet it's wrong.

My pdoc KNOWS BETTER. He won't put it on there, although I said "Just do it! Make me sound extra crazy! I don't care anymore! Social Security is so damn stupid! As long as I don't get drugs that make things worse, I don't care anymore!" Obviously, pissy about the SSA (Social Security Administration), but he wouldn't budge while the psychologist in the ER at the local hospital labeled me as bipolar. [rolling eyes]

I'll take it. I just want my money. Then I'll go get REAL treatment at a REAL inpatient place that Medicare will cover!

well, i see people saying that bipolar is the "in" diagnosis...

i am definitely bipolar. true manic episodes, true depressive episodes.

and i also do have ptsd. flashbacks, nightmares, the whole shebang.

it is possible to have both. i do.

I am dx as both and I believe it.

I have noticed alot lately bipolar is being talked about alot. One lady on Dr. Phil said she had it. A model tried to kill herself. She ended up killing 3 men. She says she is bipolar. My brother randomly told me his friend was bipolar and even a lady at church brought it up. It seems people are either really learning about this illness or they are jumping on the bandwagon.

JeweI...

glad to know i am not the only one.

They say I have both diagnosis. But I really struggle with the bipolar diagnosis. I can accept the PTSD because of my severe abuse. With bipolar it's hard to tell what goes where. I rarely go manic, unless I'm off meds. But again, I still think it has alot to do with the PTSD. I've had many therapists agree with me that I have PTSD and not bipolar. But the pdoc says I have both. I don't let the diagnosis get to me. I just focus on living my life the best I can.

My PTSD symptoms manifested first. The trauma for me was childhood abuse that spanned from ages 2 to 12. I began having panic attacks, severe depression, flashbacks, anxiety & paranoia as a child. Bipolar runs in my family, my abuser was also bipolar. My bipolar symptoms did not show up until my 20's which include manic episodes, my sister was the same. Both of us have been diagnosed by 3 separate pdocs as having both PTSD & bipolar disorder. It IS possible to have & treat both. For me personally, the bipolar responds to medication & the PTSD responds to EMDR & psychotherapy. I need both in order to function & be productive.

the idea of bp being the "in" diagnosis and people "jumping on the bandwagon" really bugs me a lot.

like i said above, and like basketcase, i do have both. they are totally separate. i was diagnosed bp at age 15. i never ever had ptsd until i was 21. my symptoms are very different... i actually just wrote a really long journal entry about how the 2 disorders are totally different to me.

because people who aren't bipolar are being diagnosed as such, it really makes my illness seem illegitimate. i know what true bipolar disorder type I looks and feels like. i know the madness of mania and the pain of the long, deep depressions.

i don't like it that people are being misdiagnosed, because then others assume that i too have "jumped on the bandwagon."

bipolar is a serious illness, and those of us who do have it suffer and fight daily... just like those of us who have ptsd.

snowcanwait,
So true...although the order of manifestation of my 2 separate conditions is opposite of yours, I too experienced one with unique symptoms well before the other. To me, there is no mistaking the two. Bipolar mania is unlike anything else I have ever experienced as a symptom of PTSD, it is challenging to deal with both, but I don't feel confused about which symptoms are which. The only time I think that the two work together is during a mixed episode. The fear, hyper vigilance & panic compound with mania & depression for me all at the same time & it is most unsettling when this happens. It's like heavy mental turbulence!

basketcase, i know what you mean re: the mixed episodes. sometimes during a mixed episode ... well, i know the bipolar is fuelling it, but i also get the panic & fear & my hypervigilance goes way up...

then the two disorders mush up together in a big crazy mess.

Snowcanwait...

Your journal on your bipolar was an intriguing example of bipolar mania.

That is far higher than the mood variability I had.

It CAN happen both in one person. Bipolar as a chemical imbalance, and can have some genetic roots...and the mood swings are usually very identifiable.

Then if one has a traumatic history...PTSD can entagle itself in one also.

I think the big web maybe with diagnosing PTSD, is the possibility of the lesser form of Bipolar...Bipolar 2...which I had actually never heard of until April. I didn't know there was a lesser form of Bipolar out there. But, Bipolar I should be readily recognizable from PTSD...esp after reading your journal about mania.