QUESTION:
Dr. Heller,
I’m 19 years old & have been in & out of therapy since I was 6. I was diagnosed bipolar last year. I don’t know if my diagnoses was correct or not…the meds made me worse…so far I’ve tried Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, lithium, Depakote, Luvox, and Zyprexa…I had an especially bad reaction to Wellbutrin, I became very angry and even threatened my brother with a steak knife…some of the other meds I was taking in combination, so I don’t know what did it, but they forced me into a manic episode..so I went off all the meds, now I have no health insurance so I don’t even go to therapy. I also think I have obsessive compulsive disorder or obsessive compulsive personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder after reading the guideline. I’ve also been told I have an eating disorder, and I scored very high on a test for ADHD. AHHHHH so anyway, can I really have all these things at once? And what kind of non meds treatment is available? IM tired of all this, but all the pills made me worse, so I’m trying to find ways to get better without pills. I would really appreciate it if you could e-mail me back with any info you could give me, thanks.
ANSWER:
The first thing I’d recommend is to look at the screening test I use for my patients, and then review the diagnostic criteria. The first FAQ answer should help you as well. It’s found in the ask the doctor section.