Diagnosis help

[Orbiting]

Hi! I'm new to the board and I'm not even sure if this is the right place to post this. I was diagnosed with bipolar at age 20 but mostly I had depressive episodes. Some years later my episodes changed to light mood swings with hallucinations, delusions and "strange behavior" like wearing wigs and sunglasses to distract the people I thought was chasing me. In the current "episode" I have no mood alterations I just started to feel sure I was going to die soon. Like a hunch. Shortly after that I started seeing angels that visit me because I'm gonna die soon. I also hear a voice that tells me I'm about to die. I'm not depressed or manic I just feel my mind jumbled and confused. I was admitted in a psychiatric hospital but I checked out before they could diagnose (mostly because I needed my cigarrettes. I'm a chain smoker). I don't know if that's possible in America but here you can chek out of psychiatric hospitals pretty much whenever you want. Anyway, is this psychosis? Bipolar? Does my situation has a name? 

[melissaw72]

Welcome to CB!

Sounds like you are having a hard time.

We can't diagnose here on CB.  People could give you advice and/or ideas, but that is about it.

*I would highly recommend and encourage you to find a psychiatrist (pdoc) to get to the bottom of what you are going through.*

I think that would be a great place to start untangling everything.

I hope you start to feel better soon ... but to reiterate ... I would really encourage you to find a pdoc.

[Orbiting]

2 minutes ago, melissaw72 said:

Welcome to CB!

Sounds like you are having a hard time.

We can't diagnose here on CB.  People could give you advice and/or ideas, but that is about it.

*I would highly recommend and encourage you to find a psychiatrist (pdoc) to get to the bottom of what you are going through.*

I think that would be a great place to start untangling everything.

I hope you start to feel better soon ... but to reiterate ... I would really encourage you to find a pdoc.

Thanks for answering. I have a pdoc but he's focused on my meds and not on naming what I have because he thinks it's not important but it is for me! 

[melissaw72]

16 minutes ago, Orbiting said:

Thanks for answering. I have a pdoc but he's focused on my meds and not on naming what I have because he thinks it's not important but it is for me! 

I think in a way the diagnosis can be an important thing to know, as well as why not.

Personally I like having a diagnosis because when explaining things to someone all I have to say is one word, not a bunch of symptoms that don't all make sense to other.

OTOH, I think diagnoses don't matter much in terms of the treatment.  No matter what the diagnosis, the treatment will probably be the same.  (although my pdoc said that because I am SZA, I have to be on an anti-psychotic.  That is the only time that a diagnosis caused me to have to take a med specifically because of the diagnosis ... the treatment was not the same had I been diagnosed bipolar).

[Teh Gaben]

My diagnosis jumped from BP to SZA quite regularly over the course of a couple of years, just depended on who I was seeing at the time. I can tell you that my medication didn't change through that period though (other than increases) so the treatment, for me at least, tends to be the same no matter if you're bp or sza.

[Closure]

My dx is BP1, but considering my treatment (two mood stabilizers, an AAP, and Cogentin), I could very well be dxed as SZA - and I suspect that another pdoc would likely do just that - and take the very same meds.