I might be Bipolar II?

[orangetea]

Hello,

I was just wondering if anyone knowledgeable could possibly hear me out. I am in my early 20s and have had anxiety and depression for years, and it only seems to get worse, even though I'm on SSRIs. I've tried SSRIs for 2 years, with no results, and have tried 3 different kinds at the recommendation of my Dr.

I had a really severe attack of agoraphobia yesterday, when I was out walking; I have extreme fatigue and yet at the same time am so fidgety and my thoughts are racing. I recently went up to a 50mg dose of Zoloft (again, per my Dr's advice) and am worried that it's having a bad effect on me if I could go bipolar. I feel like I'm going crazy.

The episodes of depression are definitely periodic for me, and I have a family member who has symptoms of Bipolar I.

Most importantly I would like to know, if it is Bipolar, would my panic and agoraphobia actually go away if I were to go on the medications? because right now I'm afraid of the medications even, but I want my life back.

thanks so much

[Ladyhansen]

There are theories out there that antidepressants can actually cause mania symptoms. These usually come from personal experiences of those who have chosen to deny psychiatric medications. There is some middle ground there in my opinion where it is probably just an individual's sensitivity to certain ones that can cause mania. If you've never had the symptoms before I would start to ask if this is what it could be. I am certainly not saying to stop your medication, no one should without help from a psychiatrist. It might be a question to pose though to your doctor. It is also possible that you are developing bipolar II and that it has nothing to do with the AD. The only way to make a diagnosis is if you have had more than 1 experience of mania. I hope that the symptoms subside soon.

[Kallie]

I was one of the people put on SSRI's for anxiety, and it turns out I am bipolar. The SSRI's sort of made my symptoms more prevalent (they didn't cause it, they just let it come out and shine lol)

However, after a couple years of getting my mental self sorted out I have learned that often the manic symptoms SSRI's can produce aren't actually bipolar symptoms, they really are just side effects of the SSRI's that do go away. SSRI's do a lot of stuff within your body, it takes your brain time to adjust to all these changes, hence why you get the side effects.

The only thing you can do if follow your doctors advice. Do not stop the pills on your own, this can cause problems too. Tell your doctor what has been happening. It is important to talk to your psychiatrist.

[orangetea]

thanks very much to both of you. I definitely won't stop the pills on my own. <3
I don't know if I am bipolar, but I think I just desperately want the agoraphobia and panic to go away on its own, and I guess that just can't happen. it takes so much work 
 

[Mr.Facepalm]

My wife is Bipolar 2 with Panic/Anxiety. She's on Prozac for the anxiety issues and on Lamictal for her Bipolar.

When my wife was being treated with Zoloft alone ( a few years ago) she would go through spells of extreme irritability, marked increase in a desire to do things (she's usually pretty slow moving and more wanting to hang out than do things) and some other stuff that I can't rememer.

My wife's bipolar 2 keeps her depressed and slow most of the time, but sicne she's been in treatment she's neutral more often.