Doctors often find it hard to diagnose bipolar disorder. And you need the right diagnosis to get the right treatment. One study found that people went eight years, on average, between their first mood problems and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
Bipolar disorder: the management of bipolar disorder in adults, children and adolescents, in primary and secondary care.
November 2006. Clinical guideline 38. Available at http://www.nice.org.uk/cg38 (accessed 6 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

This is partly because people are more likely to visit their doctor when they have depression (a very low mood) than when they have mania (a very high mood).

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder. Second edition.
April 2002. Available at http://www.psychiatryonline.com/pracGuide/pracGuideTopic_8.aspx (accessed on 6 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

² If your doctor doesn't know that you also get mania, he or she might think you have ordinary depression.

But the treatments for ordinary depression are different from the ones for bipolar disorder. So be sure to tell your doctor about all of your mood problems, not just the times when you feel depressed.

If your doctor thinks that you might have bipolar disorder, he or she will probably send you to a hospital or clinic. There, you will most likely see a professional who specializes in mental health conditions. That person may be a psychiatrist, a psychiatric nurse or a psychologist. You probably won't need to stay in the hospital.

One of these professionals may fill out a form or a questionnaire to get some information about what has been happening to you.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder. Second edition.
April 2002. Available at http://www.psychiatryonline.com/pracGuide/pracGuideTopic_8.aspx (accessed on 6 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

² This can help tell if you have bipolar disorder.

There aren't any blood tests or scans for bipolar disorder. But you may have tests or scans to check for other medical conditions that can cause mood problems. For example, you might have blood tests to see if your

 

 

 

 

 

thyroid gland
Your thyroid gland is a small organ that sits in your neck, just in front of your windpipe. It sends out a hormone called thyroxine. This acts on receptors within cells. By acting on the receptors it gives the cells a message to speed up their metabolism and work harder.

 

 

 

 

 

thyroid gland is too active or too sluggish.

Your doctor may also test your blood or urine for illegal drugs. This isn't to get you into trouble. It's because lots of people with bipolar disorder have problems with illegal drugs. If you are using them, it may affect your condition and your treatment. So your doctor needs to know about it.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Belmaker RH.
Bipolar disorder.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 351: 476.

 

 

 

 

 

³

The most reliable way of diagnosing bipolar disorder is to have a psychiatric exam by a psychiatrist.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder. Second edition.
April 2002. Available at http://www.psychiatryonline.com/pracGuide/pracGuideTopic_8.aspx (accessed on 6 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

² Normally, your psychiatrist makes the diagnosis after talking to you.

He or she will do an exam called a mental state examination. This is to check if you have mania or depression. During this exam, he or she will:

Your psychiatrist will also want to hear about the course of your problems. He or she may ask:

Your psychiatrist will ask about any other problems with mental or physical health you have had. He or she will also ask if anybody else in your family has had mental health problems.

If a friend or relative has come with you to the hospital or the clinic, your doctor may ask them what they have noticed about your condition.

When your psychiatrist has gathered all the information about your symptoms, he or she will see if they fit with bipolar disorder.

There are two basic types of bipolar disorder. They are called bipolar type 1 disorder and bipolar type 2 disorder.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
4th edition. American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC, USA; 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ Type 1 is more serious.

Doctors use a checklist of symptoms for bouts of mania and bouts of depression. For more, see What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder?

Usually, you won't need to stay in the hospital when doctors are working out your diagnosis. But you may have to in some cases. For example, you may need to stay if you are having a bad bout of mania.

You may need to be taken to hospital for examination against your wishes, but this is rare. This will happen only if you are so sick that you are behaving in a way that is dangerous for you or for other people. The government has strict rules about this.

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