Sufferer I Am Here Because I Need Help.. After 3 Years Of Ptsd Dx Told No Ptsd Instead Bi Polar ??

[Sleepless]

I was so glad to get some feed back from all of you. I have an appointment coming on Friday and will find out if it will be my last.
I am very limited financially so it has made me feel abandoned to have the Dr. drop me and my therapist as well. I feel
like I can't really wrap my head around any of it.

I think I made them mad.

I have thought about things and I am not so sure I am not Bipolar any more. I guess it just came as a shock . I think I have lows and lower lows , I don't know.

At any rate I am going to try the medication and work with them if they agree to not drop me. I will find out Friday. And, I am going to ask why they think I am Bipolar. And why they think I am not PTSD. I would prefer to be in psychotherapy with a therapist and spend some time sorting things. That would be so great, but I am not able to afford it.

Thanks again, all of you were awesome, it really helped a lot.

 

[macca]

Hope your appointment goes well. Sounds like a good strategy, and you have the right to know how they arrived at the diagnosis. Helps to clarify things in your own mind, and at least you'll have a better idea. I hope they make sense, and that you can continue to access help, because whichever one it is it is better to be receiving treatment - as long as it's the correct treatment!

 

[Abstract]

Gosh it sounds like you have been put through a lot. I think asking for clarification is a wise idea.

She told me she does not think I have PTSD at all but that I am bi polar ....

If you are bi-polar it would be very important to know it and have it treated. Many people have both and many people with PTSD are misdiagnosed as having BP.

Dr. one single time-- and for exactly 15 minutes.

Hmmm.... Don't like that at all. No doubt he will have had input from your T and is influenced by that as well but still. Has be any specific training in trauma and is he a psychiatrist or general GP?

The thing that occurs to me is if you are bringing the PTSD related stuff to her in therapy or not. I have not done that in the past as I think I was avoiding it so strongly. If you are not familiar with them I would read the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and related articles on here and think whether you actually don't have these symptoms or are possibly just not discussing or showing them to her.

Do you have intrusive symptoms for example? Ones related to your trauma. Either regular nightmares, vivid visual intrusions or sudden emotionally intense fallouts when triggered. The last is different to a bipolar mood swing. If you have less of these at present but have had a lot more in the past then it would be important to mention that too.

What about hypervigilence and being easily startled?

Keep in mind that PTSD symptoms can dwindle for a while and be sub clinical and that officially if they asses you then they will put you down as having an adjustment disorder rather than PTSD. Symptoms have to be happening a certain amount per week to qualify.

There is an article link at the top of the page that you can look through. I am assuming paying to be assessed by a psychiatrist specialised in trauma would be difficult financially for you at present.

Consider charities if you haven't done so already. That way you should be able to get BP first as untreated BP will really mess you up.

Good luck and let us know what happens.