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Something’s not right

Newby
Contributor

How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

I wrote my first post recently about going to a private hospital soon to try and sort out my mental health.

 

i was a very anxious girl growing up always worrying my mum would die. Every time I went to dads house I would have a horrible feeling in my stomach always worried. I always complained of stomach aches and went to doctors and specialists who then determined it was from nerves and worries. I recall seeing a psychologist when I was younger. This would all have been around the age of 6-9yo.

 

My mums side had a history of mental illness. My grandmother and her siblings all have been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

 

I’m in my mid 30’s now and I’ve had diagnosed depression and anxiety for approx 8 years and on medication. Worthless, hopeless, down, sad, lonely. In a hole. Then things seemed to look up with medication and time but it got terrible after the birth of my first child 3 years ago. I was in a very, very dark place. This is when I first saw my perinatal psychiatrist as I was having terrible instrusive thoughts and just hated myself. I was put on a low doseage of antipsychotics.

 

Ive since had my second child 18 months ago and The experience was extremely different. 

 

My moods are SO extreme. I’m outgoing, hyper, fun and dancing around singing one minute and then angry, aggressive and hopeless the next. 

I feel like it’s not just depression and anxiety. My moods are everywhere. I feel ‘crazy’ because I’m not just sad. I’m everywhere!! I’ve mentioned possibility of bipolar but psychiatrist seems to think it’s just depression. Im

not saying she’s not good at her job but I only see her once a month or fortnivhtly when I’m really bad and some times I’m in a good mood so I sort of just brush things off. Then the next day I’ll be crying looking up accommodation to leave my husband and kids and move on.

 

My question is- did you get a diagnosis easily enough or did you have to keep asking? Obviously I’m going to the hospital soon and can let them know my concerns but I feel like because I present well perhaps I’m not taken seriously enough? 

11 REPLIES 11

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

hi @Newby 

I have no diagnosis. I've suffered terrible & crippling MH for years, left me with no job, no friends, no family, no sanity, no sleep & debilitating physical ill-health. I finally got better with the right meds from the right psychiatrist. That's what worked for me, not saying it works for anyone else. I have no diagnosis - it doesn't bother me because I have symptom relief. I'm on 3 meds and that's all I know.

 

I remember being obsessed with a diagnosis - am I BPD or rapid cycling bipolar or schizophrenic? But that was before I got symptom relief. Now that I feel better I don't care about a diagnosis, I don't ever think about it. What I'm concentrating on now is how to manage my irritability/social skills. I'm trying to get back into work & I find certain people very irritating at my volunteer job so I'm trying to figure out how to work well there without getting a reputation for being irritable & short tempered.

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

@Newby  a very long time i am 21 and started seeing people since around 1-2 and only got diagnosed "properly" recently so roughly 20 years. still i did care greatly about the name before i thought having it would actually make things better but it doesnt really do much the only thing it does is validates that you have a reason to be struggling to the rest of the world and possibly yourself. still it can take a very long time and is a super frustrating process but at the end of the day it only really matters what is causing you to have issues not so much the over arching issue. idk if i am expalining myself well probably not sorry. anyway the bipolar thing is hard though i had been having issues with that as long as i can remember and no one really took it seriously until it got a bit out of hand. i would also say though that if you are good at presenting as normal then it makes things harder i am very good at appearing normal from a distance and often people think i am lying because they never see me talking back to voices and stuff but like why the heck would i do that infront of other people anyway honestly. but hopefully hospital is helpful and you can sort out something that helps you. 

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

Hey @Newby  it took some time for me to reach my current diagnosis. At first it was depression then query bpd then bipolar then schizophrenia then finally schizoaffective disorder. I’ve been seeing mental health professionals for most of my life and it still took them over fifteen years.

Don’t despair though, diagnosis isn’t everything. Emphasis should be more geared towards your recovery.

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

@Queenie thanks so much

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

@Eden1919 thank you for sharing! You’ve explained yourself perfectly. X

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

@BryanaCamp I completely understand where you’re coming from in regards to chasing a diagnosis. I’m so so pleased you have found a wonderful Psych and medication which works for you. I feel so sad that your mental health has effected your family and friends. I can see how though as I’m really starting to notice how my relationships are breaking down around me and I keep people at a distance. The two people closest to me hubby and my mum I have been so aggressive and awful to at times.

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

Hi there.  Much the same story here.  Treated for depression for years before it was considered as anything else.

 

I was an anxious child who turned into an anxious teenager who was depressed and suicidal half the time and like a frieght train the next.  It was (non medically) treated as depression from 14.  At 18 I partied 7 nights a week till dawn and held down 2 jobs, which I maintained for about 8 months I think before crashing.  At 20 my first pregnancy brought some pretty bizarre thoughts about the baby being a demon - that everyone laughed off as first time mother anxiety then post natal depression that was written off as first time mum exhaustion for 6 months. Got pregnant again before anything got any better, had a traumatic birth and spent the next year considering the best way to take the kids with me when I checked out of life. 

Now just so I can say something positive about the early years of my children's lives, I have to say that the doctor I literally stumbled across when I became pregnant the 3rd time was totally awesome.  He took on board everything I told him about the previous 2 and he went out of his way to make sure I was supported through the pregnancy, birth and months after that.  

 

So fast forward a fair way I was bullied at work and after seeing a GP for anxiety I took her advice and went on stress leave.  A mental health plan saw me seeing a counsellor who after 3 sessions asked me if there was an opposite to my depression which opened the conversation that led to being assessed and diagnosed with bipolar 1. 

 

So that makes it almost 30 years before I was diagnosed properly.  The 25 years in the middle were a rollercoaster of what are easy to retrospectively call manic and depressive episodes but I was only ever treated for depression.  Naturally every time I was manic I would believe I didn't need to the anti depressants, I was unpredictable, unreliable and not entirely sure how my kids have ended up as level headed adults really given their hectic childhoods.  

 

But to give you an actual answer before I ramble in the wrong direction - put it down on paper and give it to anyone you see for assessment.  Write your 'life story' down briefly outlining the ups and the downs in dot point so it's easy to read.  Insist that they read it first and if they don't refer back to anything you've said in it when they talk to you, ask them when they might start to investigate the part no one's looked at yet.  Do a bipolar self test and take that to them.  Even if they're right and it's not bipolar, it's not right to spend life cycling back and forth the mood spectrum so good luck.

 

The response I gave to the counsellor btw was "what you mean like is there an up to the down?  I painted a house once.  I missed a few bits doing it at night because of the way the lights shine but it only took 3 days.  No I was renting.  He wasn't impressed with my colour choices but the red feature wall was awesome."

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

@greenpea I saw your response initially but then it disappeared and now I can’t see it?! I didn’t want you think that I was ignoring you. Thanks for that info about medications for depression and bipolar 1. That’s interesting to know and very helpful. Thanks

Re: How long did it take to get your diagnosis?

@Newby  Hi Newby 🙂 .... yes I must have upset the mods with what I wrote ... I hope it was helpful though because I really wanted to know my diagnosis so I could inform myself about it and take preventative measures against it. I know with my son2 his and mine diagnosis of mi was very important with gaining support from the NDIS for example. greenpea xxx

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