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TicTacGo
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Default Sep 19, 2019 at 02:03 PM
  #1
I got great replies from my previous question, coupled with good advice.

My other question does regard BPD, but also bipolar disorder.

I am aware that the disorders can coexist, and may be difficult to differentiate.
The thing is that I have had clear episodes that qualify for bipolar disorder (which I have been diagnosed with), but also periods of mood swings that can change very quickly (as in within a day).

Some professionals do believe in the specifier of "ultradian-rapid cycling bipolar disorder", while others do not agree with this, as they feel that the mood changes too rapidly to fit the required number of days for either a depressive or manic/hypomanic episode.

Apart from this, there are patterns regarding relationships that correlate with BPD, such as distrusting people, swinging between absolutely loving and disliking people, keeping a distance in romantic relationships (unless I feel extremely intimate, in which case it becomes adoration of the person) and using means to emotionally detach myself from people, which my therapist has suggested may be a way to avoid getting hurt.

So the question is whether bipolar disorder can be misdiagnosed as BPD, or in my case, can the symptoms/diagnosis of bipolar overshadow BPD?

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Default Sep 19, 2019 at 10:31 PM
  #2
I'm inclined to say yes. I was diagnosed as bipolar, so long ago, it was still called manic depression. (Almost 40 years ago.) I was diagnosed BPD about 2 months ago. As it was explained to me way back then, it (bipolar) seemed to fit my symptoms. No treatment or med for it ever seemed to help.

My current therapist, when discussing my previous diagnoses, doesn't believe I even have bipolar disorder. So in my case, it's kind of the opposite. She says my BPD is what gives the "appearance" of bipolar. I'm not sure I believe her....all I do know is, I haven't had any more of "those" types of episodes since going on the citalopram. Which, by the way, my primary doc put me on, and when she did, she said "if you ARE bipolar, this could cause an exacerbation at first"....and it did.

That being said, I am seeing my current therapist now, because despite the citalopram helping in a major way with depression, and stopping the bipolar episodes....I still ended up with serious "issues" that were affecting me...so to the therapist I went, and PTSD / BPD was added to my list of diagnoses.

Does any of this help? For me, I don't overly focus on what diagnosis this or that doc gives. I focus on what is causing me a problem, and what do I need to do to fix it. So I don't really care whether or not my therapist believes I have bipolar. My meds help me deal with those symptoms, and the depression. Her therapy is for helping me deal with other issues. Are you concerned about being diagnosed as BPD? Or confused about the differing diagnoses?

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Default Sep 28, 2019 at 04:02 AM
  #3
I have both actually.

I get the intense bpd mood swings but also the deep depressions and high mania.

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Default Sep 30, 2019 at 12:49 PM
  #4
Yeah, I get you on that. That's exactly why I'm not as dismissive about my having bipolar as my therapist is. I have both, and they are very different feelings for me.

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