Posted by Racer on January 12, 2006, at 12:58:18
In reply to Is this dysphoric mania?, posted by vladimir on January 11, 2006, at 22:39:16
We can tell you a bit about our experiences, but that's about all. You really should ask your doctor about this, and if you don't feel comfortable asking your doctor, it's time to find a new one.
This did just come up for me, though, when I saw a new pdoc for the first time. She told me that the current thinking is that for many people with both anxiety disorders and major depression, they're really somewhere on the bipolar spectrum. That the agitation experienced with depression, for many people, is actually dysphoric mania. She didn't say how the differential diagnosis is made, though, so I can't help you there. I suspect, though, that next week she'll be talking about it again.
And if she doesn't bring it up, I will.
The bottom line, though, Vladimir, is that the diagnosis doesn't really matter if the treatment works. Have you talked to your doctor about how to treat these episodes? That's the first step. My guess is that it doesn't matter which it is, but that the differential will be in the treatment: "Well, he didn't improve on a mood stabilizer, but did on an anxiolytic, so..." That sort of thing.
What meds, if any, did you try?
(Oh, and schizoaffective is sometimes culture specific, if you ask me which no one did. Are you in America? Are you native born? Did you grow up in a mainstream family? I didn't grow up in a mainstream sort of environment, and I know that a lot of people think I'm pretty eccentric, but that's culture-syntonic for me. If your name is any indication, you may be experiencing something similar there. Unless you really do experience the sorts of delusions involved in schizoaffective disorder...)
poster:Racer
thread:598180
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060108/msgs/598357.html