Bi polar?

[Isabella5991]

hello ladies,

How many of you have received a bi polar diagnosis following your episode of pp? What constitutes some pp sufferers getting that diagnosis and others not? Is it having more than one episode?

I have had one severe episode of mania when I had psychosis 3 years ago, a few moderate and a handful mild episodes of mania. Plus, many many other mental health conditions. Although I am generally well and happy on medication. One being pmdd/ pme and I can can experience mild mania, pscyhosis symptoms, anxiety or ocd. Or sometimes nothing. Sometimes quite intense. The last few days I have experienced two bouts of mild mania, but still quite scary and worrying. I just had to ride the waves and mask until it calmed down. I’m ok though. It only lasts a few hours so I’d say that these days I have more cyclothimia symptoms rather than full swing mania like when I was ill a few years ago. But because I have had severe would I still fit bi polar 1 spectrum even though I currently experience milder symptoms?

Im hoping for another assessment because they have definitely missed a diagnosis. I’ll call on Monday.

Thanks xx

[Essex1982]

Hi. My understanding is “To be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a person must have experienced at least one episode of mania or hypomania”

I only ever had depressive episodes and emotional instability before PP however I had severe mania after the psychosis eased therefore diagnosed as bipolar. Looking back I can see episodes of hypo mania since a teenager.

This website is useful rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health...

take care

[Isabella5991 in reply to Essex1982]

Thank you!

Well I fit the criteria of bi polar. I’ve had lots of episodes of mild mania while on meds, hypo mania and one severe. Will deff ask for another assessment. Something deff been missed xx

[Essex1982 in reply to Isabella5991]

What meds are you on? Def worth asking them to review if you’re still symptomatic on current regimen x

[Isabella5991 in reply to Essex1982]

I’m on risperidone, but quite a low dose. Psychiatrist said to increase the sertraline I’m on, but not sure that works with mania? Thought it was more antipsychotics. He was really nice but think he didn’t quite get the full picture.

[Essex1982 in reply to Isabella5991]

The NHS website has treatment options. nhs.uk/mental-health/condit....

I’m also on sertraline and was worried about the mania however if you’re covered with lithium and/or an antipsychotic then it can be an option.

Good luck with your review

[Pikorua Volunteer in reply to Essex1982]

Yes, I agree...since I started my period! Interesting and so pleased I can relate to many of us x

[Alpav]

I already had a bipolar 1 diagnosis when I had PP. I had had two full blown manic episodes before then. Bipolar is massively under-diagnosed so it’s great you’re getting a second opinion. It should also help them fine tune the medication

The charity Bipolar UK might also be helpful - they have a peer support line and lots of online resources. I know for me it took a while to come to terms with my diagnosis.

[Isabella5991 in reply to Alpav]

Bless you, that must have been so hard to go through so many episodes 😞

Thank you for your advice x

[Alpav in reply to Isabella5991]

Thanks for your kind reply. I do want to say though that it’s possible to stay quite well once you find the right meditation and receive the correct diagnosis. My first episode was before I had a diagnosis and my second when I came off all medication as I’d been well. I’ve been on meds permanently since 2017 and apart from my PP, I’ve been well. Good luck with your next steps.

[Isabella5991 in reply to Alpav]

That’s great to hear!

I have also been mostly well since my pp episode 3 years ago. Meds have been amazing. But I am very hormone sensitive and suffered a mild but scary episode when I stopped breastfeeding a year ago and also some issues on my period most months. But generally I feel good. Very thankful. Meds probs do need adjusting around my period xx

[SammySeal]

Morning all

Am following this with interest. I've not had a bipolar diagnosis following my PP episode many years ago, but it has been mentioned by docs as a possibility given that I'm prone to hallucinations/strange beliefs if I try to reduce my depression/anxiety meds, or if I'm under a lot of stress/low mood. I don't however have full-on mania episodes where I lose touch with reality. Schizoaffective disorder has also been mentioned.

I'm kind of reluctant to explore a diagnosis as I'm not sure how helpful it will be. As long as I am on a decent dose of my depression/anxiety meds, any mood problems are fairly mild and so any hallucination issues are also fairly mild and short lived, so not as though it's affecting my life too badly. I feel like I'm doing well at the moment.

Myself, I worry about the side affects of other medicines and the knock-on affects of a diagnosis, and that I might feel worse. Maybe silly I know.

Thanks

Sammy

[Maria_at_APP Moderator in reply to SammySeal]

Hi SammySeal and Isabella5991, thanks for sharing your thoughts about this. I have also been following this thread, it is interesting to see some links and commonality between our experiences, but also how unique our presentations can be, it really feels like an spectrum.I was diagnosed with bp last year and I believe it was thanks to being under the same mental health team for my 2 births that they felt confident to give me a diagnosis, knowing me for so long.

It was a bit of a shock at first, to hear my own suspicion confirmed out loud by a professional, it felt official. At the same time I told myself that I did not feel any more unwell the day I received my diagnosis compared to the day before, so very little changed because of that. If anything I now have a shorthand to refer to my symptoms, which is much easier to talk to professionals about. I discussed medication with my team and at the time I was only on antidepressants, and as long as I remained stable on them, they saw no need to start a new treatment. Almost a year after I had another mixed episode and started taking antipsychotic medication at a low dose and that's how I am keeping well at the moment. I manage it as it comes with the help of my GP, it is always useful to look ahead, but in my experience it has paid off to be flexible and to be very aware of the early warning signs and not ignore them. You both sound extremely self aware and know yourselves really well and can communicate it when you need additional support, and that's really the best position to be in. I would suggest to ask for a diagnosis when you feel is the right time.

Take very good care,

Maria

[Kat_at_APP Volunteer]

Hello Isabella5991 and all the other posters on this interesting thread!

Like many women who experience PP, I was given a bipolar diagnosis while being treated for that. I think it was mainly due to some of my mental health history, which the perinatal psychiatrist explored with me in some detail. I had never been treated for any mania or hypomania prior to that, but some things I mentioned to her probably bore some hallmarks of possible bipolar. For example: excessive spending, leaving jobs abruptly after ups and downs of very high performance followed by struggling to keep up with commitments and feeling undervalued. Difficulties maintaining some friendships.

Of course I had not thought these things were indicative of a diagnosable mental illness. Rather they were personality traits that I thought were just “me”. What I had been treated for from time to time was some quite severe depressive episodes. But of course it’s much easier at the time to recognise these as problematic: not being able to get out of bed, care for myself, etc etc.

Hope this is helpful! Best wishes

Kat x

[resilient_mama1982 Volunteer]

Hello Isabella I was diagnosed in 2005 as having bipolar, when I was in my early 20's. I found it very difficult to accept I had bipolar. I went on to have four children and for the first three I didn't slip into mania. For me this was further evidence I was misdiagnosed. I had 12 years of not having mania. However looking back I suffered really bad symptoms of anxiety, panic and deep depression especially after I had two miscarriages between my third and fourth child. In 2016 that was when I had my first and last episode of post partum psychosis. I was never told that post partum psychosis was a possibility. Recovery from pp is so hard as you know. On top of that you have a new diagnosis. So my advice is take it slow in learning and accepting bipolar. I have Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder too. Having multiple diagnosis can make it hard to see what we need to do too feel ourselves again 💓 I am very open about my mental health now. I learnt so much from trauma therapy to learning all I can about bipolar and how I can manage the symptoms when they flare up. I am a big advocate for the charity bipolar uk and would encourage you to look at there website as an extension of APP. Hope this helps 💖