Poll Have You Ever Been Misdiagnosed?

[Kb3]

Seven years ago I was misdiagnosed by a psychiatrist in NY with bipolar disorder. I was in a great deal of distress from post natal depression and swallowed the diagnosis hook, line and sinker despite never having had a manic or hypomanic episode. I dutifully told the next few shrinks I had the dx and allowed myself to be medicated up to my eyeballs.

I never told them that I had grown up in an alcoholic home and was subjected to physical and verbal abuse throughout my childhood and went on to suffer traumatic situations in adulthood, culminating in waking up paralyzed during surgery to remove a bone tumour thinking that they were amputating my leg and then suffering major abuse from the medical staff post surgically in which my hip was either partially or totally dislocated. For some reason it never occurred to me that these things mattered, and I figured that even if they did, that no one would believe me anyway.

I found out today that the psychiatrist that I am seeing, despite my telling him that I was misdiagnosed AND that I had woken up during surgery, is still under the impression that he is treating me for bipolar disorder. This is despite the fact that neither he nor the psychiatrist who I was seeing previously to him (who has since been struck off) has ever seen me in a manic or hypomanic state or anything even resembling one.

I had what was called a hypomanic episode AFTER my diagnosis and I attribute the fact that I did to the massive amounts of meds I was taking (two antidepressants, two mood stabilizers, an antipsychotic and benzodiazepines, all at very high doses). It is surprising to me that I managed any aspect of my life on that cocktail and I would call what happened to me drug induced.

This latest psychiatrist has accepted my self diagnosis of depression and anxiety under the umbrella of ptsd without argument in the past. It was only after putting him on the spot and saying that I was going to retrieve my medical records that forced him into saying that they would reflect a dx of bipolar disorder.

I am angry and if I'm being honest, devastated. I finally thought I was being treated properly by an honest shrink, but it seems that he has been stringing me along and "managing" me all this time after all. The only thing I can't complain about is that he hasn't overmedicated me, and the medication he prescribes actually does address my PTSD symptoms.

I will be reassessing my options and am considering striking out in search of yet a new shrink in the hopes that I will finally be properly diagnosed and treated for what I have, which I believe is PTSD. I am willing to undergo a brain scan if necessary, because I no longer want to live this lie.

Has anyone else been in this predicament, and if yes, what have you done about it?

 

[Gamereign555]

I wasn't misdiagnosed, it was more like general diagnosis of anxiety and panic disorder. No general doctor or nurse was willing to say I had ptsd or even post traumatic stress, when I suspected that I had it and told them, some were willing to say ''well that is probably true''. But that was the most I could get out of it. They knew my pain and issues were genuine and that benzos were helping so they knew it was anxiety, I had already had expensive tests to rule out my heart and lungs as the culprit.

It was the Psychologist who had diagnosed me later, the symptoms I was having could have been just post traumatic stress so she wasn't willing to tell me it was ptsd for 3 months, after which time if I was still experiencing the post traumatic stress she would be willing to say okay, this is definetly ptsd. By this time the therapy was really starting to heal me in a way that made things manageable, gives peace of mind.

I recommend if you haven't tried this already to get a psychologist instead of a psychiatrist, they tend to take a different approach to find out whats the deal. A clinical psychologist's word is highly regarded by law and in the medical community for their ability to diagnose mental disorders.

 

[Kb3]

Thank you game reign. I have had the diagnosis disputed by therapists who have worked with me over long periods of time and who have taken the time to learn about my history and take it into account. The problem that I have now is that this psychiatrists diagnosis is what appears on my GP's records and what will be seen by anyone who has access to my records. And it is wrong.

I am going to see where I can get a scan that will either confirm or deny PTSD. At least that way I can go forward with the correct diagnosis and set the record straight.

Thank you for your comment and I'm sorry that you have had difficulty with your DX too.

 

[freakofnurture]

Combined personality disorder with self-insecure, narcissistic and depressive aspects plus aspects of a Schizotypical disorder.

Minimisation of my own traumatic childhood was partly the reason for this misdiagnosis, as well as the unbelievable incompetency of the Ts who thought a child could actually not be hurt at all by their father treating them like sh*t for 99% of their lifetime.

 

[Srain]

I've had several diagnosis over the years mostly due to the limited amount of information I was able to give. I thought I was giving it all but in truth I was not. My main diagnosis through the years has been depression. Then as information began to come out and my symptoms caught up with me diagnosis changed to include PTSD.

 

[Deaf Global Nomad]

In my case it was not really the PTSD or at least my traumatic history that was contested. One psychiatrist did mention in my report that sexual abuse does not qualify for a PTSD diagnosis and should instead fall under borderline personality disorder, despite not exhibiting any symptoms from that diagnosis. Others who have simply not had experience with international Deaf people often question my profound hearing loss. As a linguist my research consists of studying languages, cultures, body language and communication which I naturally put to use when interacting with hearing people. Over time I have learned to carry a detailed audiological report as well as a statement from my primary care physician with me when I see a medical professional for the first time. It is hard to erase untrue statements (e.g. Factitious Disorder) from medical reports. So at this point I am relatively proactive and if questions persist I call on my general practice physician for help and if nothing works I change to a different health care provider for that issue.

 

[Kb3]

"Over time I have learned to carry a detailed audiological report as well as a statement from my primary care physician with me when I see a medical professional for the first time. It is hard to erase untrue statements (e.g. Factitious Disorder) from medical reports. So at this point I am relatively proactive and if questions persist I call on my general practice physician for help and if nothing works I change to a different health care provider for that issue."​

That does sound like a practical solution for when you see specialists. Do you mean to say that they don't believe that you are hearing impaired or that they question the PTSD dx? I just want to make sure that I understand what you are saying.​

I can also read body language fairly accurately and know when I am being silently dismissed, which I find to be both infuriating and depressing. I don't tell any doctors about what happened to me for that reason because I find it to be too painful to have my story disbelieved. My trauma was caused by a truly unacceptable series of errors BY doctors, which makes it very hard for their colleagues to want to A)believe my story and B)take my side.​

Until I can find a psychiatrist that is willing to believe what I say, I will have to stay with my bipolar dx in order to get the meds I need to sleep. The injustice of this really gets to me, but I don't have a huge choice in the matter. Life can be frustrating can't it?​

 

[CraftyCath]

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety for over 20 years before I found the truth. My GP also diagnosed me with depression and ME (CFS) which I also do not have but it did seem that way at the time. I was very relieved to find out I had PTSD, even if it is not nice, as I really thought I was going mad!

 

[Lucycat]

One psychiatrist did mention in my report that sexual abuse does not qualify for a PTSD diagnosis and should instead fall under borderline personality disorder, despite not exhibiting any symptoms from that diagnosis

My Therapist told me that, had I seen a different psychiatrist I could have diagnosed me with Borderline, rather than the CPTSD diagnosis I do have. The psychiatrist I saw 'does not believe in' personality disorders. As a trauma specialist he has always been able to unravel the diagnosis - when he has been referred people already labelled - and find a history of trauma.

The symptoms I had/have could absolutely tick all the boxes of Borderline, but that is not something I would like on my file to carry around all my life. CPTSD and Borderline are so close, I am surprised that you say you have none of the symptoms!

 

[Anna]

Me and my friend who both have PTSD were diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. It seems to happen quite often with women.....

 

[Kb3]

The psychiatrist I saw 'does not believe in' personality disorders. As a trauma specialist he has always been able to unravel the diagnosis - when he has been referred people already labelled - and find a history of trauma.!

Hi Lucycat, I am looking for a trauma specialist in London. How did you find yours?

 

[Lucycat]

I am afraid I found mine by a sheer stroke of good luck!

I can't believe I did it, but when I was at my lowest ebb - on valium, temazepam and seriously drunk - I sent a facebook message to a friend of my husband, who is a CPN - and said I needed help.

The next morning he responded, and agreed to take me on, even though he doesn't actually cover this locality. He works closely with and is supervised by a psychiatrist with a special interest in trauma. I had no idea at the time. I didn't even know 'trauma' was what the problem was!

So, I am sorry that is no help to you in London. However there must be many specialists there. Maybe contacting one of the large psychiatric hospitals could be a starting point?

I used to live and work in London many moons ago:)