Posted by Geezer on May 6, 2003, at 19:49:19
In reply to Re: Does anyone feel worse on Provigil ?, posted by SLS on May 6, 2003, at 9:35:22
> > May I ask if you have Bipolar Disorder. My major complaint is atypical depression but the "wiz kids" in psycho-pharm. (pdocs) have hinted at Bipolar, due to the lack of emperical scientific testing I will never know.....just have to treat the symptoms.
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> I was originally diagnosed as having atypical unipolar depression. When I developed severe mania in association with a combination of Parnate + desipramine and also upon discontinuation of Nardil, doctors at the NIMH decided that I was bipolar. Still, there are some doctors who would classify me as atypical unipolar with drug-induced mania. I never had a spontaneous manic episode. I think my condition does involve bipolarity because I was an ultra-rapid cycler for over two years. My cycling was pretty dramatic. I would be severely depressed for 8 days. Then, on day 8, my mood would lift and become normal over the space of an hour. This normal period only lasted 3 days - not 2 and not 4. On day 3, the switch to severe depression occurred, again, over the course of an hour. After recognizing my condition for what was, I was able to keep a social calendar around it.
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> Recently, a doctor described what I have as "deficit syndrome". In the past, this term has been reserved for describing symptomology involved with schizophrenia. However, some doctors are beginning to look at this cluster of negative symptoms in the absence of schizophrenia, melancholia or dysphoria to be a separate diagnostic description.
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> - ScottHi Scott,
First, let me thank you for your response. Your knowledge in these matters is far more indepth than my own. In your comments you have given me a great deal to think about. Although I have mostly given up trying to "label" myself, at least so far as a DX is concerned my mind won't let go of certain questions. For example the term "dysphoric hypomania".....I can't recognize any time in my life when I have had "any" kind of mania (unless it was earlier in life when I worked a 24/7 emergency medical job - I always felt driven to the point of exhaustion followed by acute depression....as one pdoc put it "you made a lot of money on hypomania then spent your vacations in the psyc. ward."). If hypomania was what I had it would last for many months and I defined it as normal. I was fully disabled in 1998 (first try - no lawyer needed).Another confusing point is the change in the etiology of the illness. Earlier in life ADs worked, at least for a time, now the depression is very atypical where it used to be very agitated with anxiety. One thing we do have in common is a rapid mood change with certain psyc. drugs. Any increase in my small Prozac dose or the use of Provigil brings a rapid switch from a moderate level of atypical depression to a sever dysphoric deep depression (still no mania recognized). I can usually come out of such spells with increased Klonopin and slight increase of Lamictal.
In any case thanks for your kind response - it really is helpfull. Pdocs will tell me nothing.
Geezer
poster:Geezer
thread:224285
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030505/msgs/224736.html