misdiagnoses, reactions, etc

[hypocrisy86]

Anyone here ever been misdiagnosed for a mental disorder or physical disorder of any kind?

i was diagnosed with depression and bi-polar, but during the course of taking my medication it didn't do anything, except give me side effects.
i was on effexor XR, zoloft at one time, then geodon and abilify
and i went to my dr. and told him i wanted off my medication, i did so for my own high school graduation present. as of now i think what i have is aspergers syndrome, but im still contemplating, my mother has been telling me about it. but since 2006 i haven't been on any anti-psychotics or anti-depressants.

anyone else with similar problems?

[Dr Pangloss]

If your going to pros for help, more than likely there is something going on. Asperger's is completely different than bipolar illness. Asperger's is like autism. People have difficulty getting a proper read on other people's emotional state or conveyance of emotional meaning. It gives people with asperger's stress.

I was diagnosed with ocd and comorbid adhd. Is it correct? Maybe. I don't take any of that shit for ocd. Just methylphenidate for adhd. It works wonders.

[Sistersteel]

Misdiagnosis..happens all the time.
I hear Adult ADHD is the hardest to diagnose. Docs will put you on every med under the sun before they figure out what the hell is wrong.

[Dr Pangloss]

Misdiagnosis..happens all the time.
I hear Adult ADHD is the hardest to diagnose. Docs will put you on every med under the sun before they figure out what the hell is wrong.


I was diagnosed with adhd as a child but my parents would not treat it. I persisted into adulthood, where it was diagnoses again as comorbid with ocd.

I have introsive thoughts. Obsessive thoughts and ritual mental imagery. I used to wiggle insesantly as well, and would not sit down. As an adult, my error rate on writing manuscripts was sky-high, even though i tested very well at all levels. Also, i was habitually distracted and continually tried to overcome it by readressing recently passed thoughts. This makes writing a nightmare.

Here is a good example: i could not count the number of lines in a paragraph without losing track and i could not be made to calm down and simply count them sequentially, as in "one two three four..."

the first time i tried methamphetamine, my god, my attention span shot to minutes long. Unfortunately it doesnt continue to work. Smoking helps, but thank god i don't do that anymore.

methylphenidate works. Like a dream. Writing is comparatively easy with it. It also has been shown to inhibit bar-pressing for cocaine.

[Sistersteel]

I was diagnosed with adhd as a child but my parents would not treat it. I persisted into adulthood, where it was diagnoses again as comorbid with ocd.

I have introsive thoughts. Obsessive thoughts and ritual mental imagery. I used to wiggle insesantly as well, and would not sit down. As an adult, my error rate on writing manuscripts was sky-high, even though i tested very well at all levels. Also, i was habitually distracted and continually tried to overcome it by readressing recently passed thoughts. This makes writing a nightmare.

Here is a good example: i could not count the number of lines in a paragraph without losing track and i could not be made to calm down and simply count them sequentially, as in "one two three four..."

the first time i tried methamphetamine, my god, my attention span shot to minutes long. Unfortunately it doesnt continue to work. Smoking helps, but thank god i don't do that anymore.

methylphenidate works. Like a dream. Writing is comparatively easy with it. It also has been shown to inhibit bar-pressing for cocaine.

I use to buy Modafinil and use that to help with my concentration. Have you ever tried Adderall or Dex? I would think that would be a bad choice for someone who has a history of meth and cocaine use. I am on vyvanse for my ADHD. It works well. I am in a bad mood on it because I know its teasing me but the onset is sooooo subtle and it wears off very slowly, you hardly know you were on anything. But you know its working when you can get shit done.

[Dr Pangloss]

I use to buy Modafinil and use that to help with my concentration. Have you ever tried Adderall or Dex? I would think that would be a bad choice for someone who has a history of meth and cocaine use. I am on vyvanse for my ADHD. It works well. I am in a bad mood on it because I know its teasing me but the onset is sooooo subtle and it wears off very slowly, you hardly know you were on anything. But you know its working when you can get shit done.


I see no need for me to go to adderall or dex since ritalin works fine. I suggested before that studies in animals indicated ritalin reduces bar pressing for cocaine. IMO, ritalin has substantially reduced my craving for cocaine over the years. I have not used cocaine in more than 12 years.

Perhaps it is also the reason i dont' have much interest in upping the stakes to adderall.

these kinds of drugs are stigmatized by the recovery community in many cases.... What do you think about that?

[hypocrisy86]

blackbeard- i hear you, i know its a form of autism. and the thing about communication, verbally for me is really tough, the way i talk or ask questions people can't seem to understand me, except over the pc. typing etc. much easier.
i still flip out, still freak out in public, cant drive on the highway, cant drive in any traffic cus i sweat alot ,get nervous. cant go to mall.. concerts etc.

[gman]

my son was diagnosed aspergers as a child and it fit.

Just recently had suicidal ideations and lots of manic stuff going, and now he is diagnosed mood disorder-unspecified.

I heard that aspergers and bipolar are mutually exclusive.

Now I wonder which one he really is.

He just started on abilify and lamictal.

[hypocrisy86]

my son was diagnosed aspergers as a child and it fit.

Just recently had suicidal ideations and lots of manic stuff going, and now he is diagnosed mood disorder-unspecified.

I heard that aspergers and bipolar are mutually exclusive.

Now I wonder which one he really is.

He just started on abilify and lamictal.

how is he doing with the abilfy?,
when i was on that it didn't help, same tantrums, and episodes
with or without it, same as the geodon, when i was in juvy i was taking risperdal, i didnt want to put that on here but might as well. i think
prescribed medication for this isn't the key to be honest.

[gman]

it just happened out of the blue last week. He is only on meds for 5-6 days so far.

[Dr Pangloss]

blackbeard- i hear you, i know its a form of autism. and the thing about communication, verbally for me is really tough, the way i talk or ask questions people can't seem to understand me, except over the pc. typing etc. much easier.
i still flip out, still freak out in public, cant drive on the highway, cant drive in any traffic cus i sweat alot ,get nervous. cant go to mall.. concerts etc.


this has got to be painful to deal with. I don't know how they could misdiagnose this as bipolar illness.

[Sistersteel]

these kinds of drugs are stigmatized by the recovery community in many cases.... What do you think about that?

Psychostimulants that include Methylphenidate and all types of script amphetamines are certainly very stigmatized in the recovery community. So is having a glass of wine on christmas eve.

I personally never felt the need to abuse my psych meds. As a matter of fact, they take away a lot of the anxiety that years of drug use left me with. I will run out of my meds sometimes and am too busy to visit my doctor for a refill and I am perfectly fine when that happens. I've gone for months without my meds because I was trying to save money. My insurance does not cover my meds. I am not chasing that high anymore. Its a state of mind really. Now granted some meds trigger certain things, but with my old habits it will take an army's worth of psychostims to get me to feel a damn thing.

[Dr Pangloss]

Psychostimulants that include Methylphenidate and all types of script amphetamines are certainly very stigmatized in the recovery community. So is having a glass of wine on christmas eve.

I personally never felt the need to abuse my psych meds. As a matter of fact, they take away a lot of the anxiety that years of drug use left me with. I will run out of my meds sometimes and am too busy to visit my doctor for a refill and I am perfectly fine when that happens. I've gone for months without my meds because I was trying to save money. My insurance does not cover my meds. I am not chasing that high anymore. Its a state of mind really. Now granted some meds trigger certain things, but with my old habits it will take an army's worth of psychostims to get me to feel a damn thing.


same with me on the abuse part. I never take more than prescribed, and if i miss a day (when i'm not writing), it's not a problem.

ritalin has never been a gateway drug for me. i only started taking it AFTER the issues with cocaine. I consider my past issues with stimulants to be attempts at self-medicating.

I'm glad i dont' have to do that anymore.

cheers.:)

[HeavyDutyGuy]

this has got to be painful to deal with. I don't know how they could misdiagnose this as bipolar illness.

I've had to deal with some of that and got a dx of bipolar. Put me on meds for it. I'm off one of them now, titrating down another. (In my town getting psy treatment is hard unless you have great insurance, are rich or broke. None apply to me so I'm screwed and gave up) Some of the same symptoms of bipolar are shared by borderline personality disorder, which is often comorbid with bipolar and adult ADHD. Since my symptoms are about the same with less of the bipolar meds, I'm probably more of the second two. I am using mental training, meditation- when I remember and bodybuilding/cardio to help treat the anxiety/depression/self destructiveness. Results aren't any worse so far... something to look at. (PS I don't you're Asbergers, they don't tend to reach out and post on message boards- they tend to isolate, though not as much as full blown austitics do, I've worked with both as behavioral therapist in the past). Some things to think about anyway. Good luck and PEACE.

[HumanAnvil]

do any of you hae any experience using certain amino acids like tryptophan, 5-htp, l-tyrosine, and the like to treat these disorders? I am currently (with supervison) experimenting with 5-htp for my mood/anxiety issues (and hopefully eventually help me get off off effexor), and l-tyrosine for focus, without the use of excessive caffeine and other stims like I have used all my life. I seem to be responding really well.

[BananaHammock]

my son was diagnosed aspergers as a child and it fit.

Just recently had suicidal ideations and lots of manic stuff going, and now he is diagnosed mood disorder-unspecified.

I heard that aspergers and bipolar are mutually exclusive.

Now I wonder which one he really is.

He just started on abilify and lamictal.

Gman

My 11 year old son has aspersers. He also suffers from depression. The two often go hand in hand. He had thoughts of suicide by age 8. As a father, it was horrifying. We sought help and he now receives medication. Things are much better as far as suicidal thoughts go. Of course he still gets depressed. That's going to happen with a child who has extreme difficulty understanding the thoughts and feelings of others. But we are now able to talk about any problems he has and not have suicide as his first thought.

[BananaHammock]

Anyone here ever been misdiagnosed for a mental disorder or physical disorder of any kind?

i was diagnosed with depression and bi-polar, but during the course of taking my medication it didn't do anything, except give me side effects.
i was on effexor XR, zoloft at one time, then geodon and abilify
and i went to my dr. and told him i wanted off my medication, i did so for my own high school graduation present. as of now i think what i have is aspergers syndrome, but im still contemplating, my mother has been telling me about it. but since 2006 i haven't been on any anti-psychotics or anti-depressants.

anyone else with similar problems?

Hyprocrisy,

My son has aspergers. I have done a lot of research on it and have found that many aspies suffer from depression. If you do have aspergers, there is no "cure". They don't have meds to help understand neuro-typical people. You have to learn a "second language". But getting my son on the proper meds for his depression helps him deal the neuro-typical world. Hopes this helps some way.

[Kaspof]

Either your Psychiatrist doesn't know what he is doing, or you don't have bipolar disorder because bipolar disorder is not treated with antidepressants nor antipsychotics (except sometimes for acute phases) but with a mood stabilizer.
A good mood stabilizer, if taken early enough, is able to completely control this disease.