Missinglemon

Also bipolar, I would not have made it much longer if I hadn’t started taking mood stabilizers. I have gone off and on antidepressants, evaluating when I feel I need them & when I don’t. No amount of therapy or positive thoughts or anything will change my brain chemistry, and some things require medication.

This! They seem to have no clue. And diagnosis is basically a checklist you could find online in 10 seconds. I have been to six different psychiatrists and they ask the exact same questions. Do you X, Y, Z? Oh must be bipolar, here are some pills. Doc I feel good but not 100% more like 90%. Oh, here are some pills to push you to 100%. Don’t mind the side effects.

Hi, thanks for doing this. I have two questions:

1. What is the biological indicator of bipolar disorder? I have been to many psychiatrists and diagnosed as bipolar and ADHD based on how I answered a few questions and some stories I told, but I have never had a physical brain scan or blood test of any kind. Is there a scientific, biological way to demonstrate the presence of bipolar disorder? Can we see an expression of irregular brain chemistry, or something? Or is the definition more flexible than that? Sorry I don't know the best way to phrase that question.
2. I have heard that bipolar disorder & schizophrenia can be brought on (but not caused) by recreational/street drug use. Do you know of any link to "synthetic cannabinoids"? I ask because I smoked a brand called "space" (not Spice or K2) a few times and tripped out of my mind, and I think that was a huge factor in my mental decline, some 11 years ago.

Happily, mostly, managed with 250mg of Lamictal for 4 years now :-)

-thanks!

Also, if you could share any resources about the above questions I would be grateful. So much of what is online about bipolar disorder is subjective.