Misdiagnosed? Bi-polar?!
Question: My husband was diagnosed with Bi-Polar. I am not in the mental health field, but have done research about various mental health issues. Also I work for a disability organization.
My opinion, I feel he may have been misdiagnosed. He has anxieties, depression and ADHD. He has a congenital heart condition and scoliosis. Now they say he has Bi-polar. As his wife, I have never noticed any symptoms of bi-polar.
He gets frustrated when I ask him to get a second opinion. He tends to be gullible and takes other people's word on things that don't always make sense, even after I prove it to him.
Every week they change his medications, doses and add new ones and they never check with his cardiologist. That can't be healthy.
What can I do to help convince him to get a second opinion, just to be on the safe side?
Answers: My husband was diagnosed with Bi-Polar. I am not in the mental health field, but have done research about various mental health issues. Also I work for a disability organization.
My opinion, I feel he may have been misdiagnosed. He has anxieties, depression and ADHD. He has a congenital heart condition and scoliosis. Now they say he has Bi-polar. As his wife, I have never noticed any symptoms of bi-polar.
He gets frustrated when I ask him to get a second opinion. He tends to be gullible and takes other people's word on things that don't always make sense, even after I prove it to him.
Every week they change his medications, doses and add new ones and they never check with his cardiologist. That can't be healthy.
What can I do to help convince him to get a second opinion, just to be on the safe side?
well...bipolar disorder happens to have highs and lows.
lows=depression and axniety
highs=very irritable, frustrated easily, gullable to most people
and a whole bunch of other things.
ADHD and bipolar disorder are seperate things.
i'd say research more about bipolar disorder.
he should not be changing medications every week
because it takes 1-4 weeks for medication for biolar disorder to work.does he say a regular doctor? if so, take him to a psychiatrist. i take Lamictal (and Adderall for my ADHD) and they both help me a lot. i've been taking both for a eyar now.
take him to a psych (or even a different one if he already see ones) immediately. but yeah, it seems like he is bipolar....and i suffer from the same things you say he does.
All psych med changes should be passed by his cardiologist. Psych meds are generally pretty safe but some are not (lithium can cause kidney problems for example).
Bi-polarity can show itself in a variety of ways. Mania can exhibit itself as reckless spending, gambling, drug use, sleeplessness, hyper sexuality, and rages (the rages and spending are what I'm susceptible to). As for changing medications frequently, this does go on, as it is harder to fit certain people to a med than it is others (this has to do with which liver enzymes are most active among other things).
I'd say his congential heart condition and scoliosis are enough to get anyone depressed, but he can get relief.
You've answered your first question. Maybe you need to explain, in a question to us, why he won't go.
I recommend go slow and get acquainted with mental health diagnoses. Go to a reliable site like McMan's Bipolar and read up and form all conclusions slowly.
Have you told him about the dangers with his heart? It is NOT good to be changing meds every week, partly because of his heart, but also, anti-depressants take much longer than that to take effect, so there shouldn't be any switching for at least a month.
The psychiatrist should know that he has a congenital heart problem and prescribe meds accordingly. If you are concerned about meds affecting his heart adversely, check on a reputable site on the net for adverse reactions and side effects. If you find something that is troubling, show your husband on the computer what you found, or email it to him (he might be more open to reading it in email that your approaching him verbally about it)
Changin meds every week makes no sense. You have to be on these kinds of meds for at least a month to see if it is working. If they are changin meds every week the med picture is very blurred. However, the dosage changing may be because some meds you have to increase to a therapeutic level very slowly to avoid adverse reactions.
If he is seeing a family doctor, he should get a referral to a psychiatrist (ask around and make sure it is a good one). Bipolar disorder is something that should be handled by a psychiatrist, in my opinion, especially when the picture is further complicated by anxiety disorder, clinical depression and ADHD. I feel that only a psychiatrist can sort all this out and truly give him the help he needs. Also, he may have been misdiagnosed and a good psychiatrist has tools he can use to make a correct diagnosis.
I am an RN and BSN and have Type 2 Bipolar Disorder as well as mood disorder and clinical depression. So I know the above from my field of study as well as personal experience.
I urge you to see a psychiatrist.