cyclothymia and major depression - please help v confused!!!

hi i could really do with some opinions please bcoz i am so confused.

i have been diagnosed with a major depressive disorder for many years and have been on a variety of anti depressants some of which have worked for a while but then pooped out after varying degrees of time.

i recently saw a pdoc for the 1st time. i was concerned that i was displaying some hypomanic symptoms (im a nurse so i know the signs and i was told years ago that i show signs of it but i didnt really listen and because i know i dont get full blown mania sort of dismissed it). when i saw him he diagnosed agitated depression which is a major depressive disorder. after i left i went to my gp to get my px and found the pdoc had changed his mind on the meds he was going to start me on and decided to try me on quetiapine.

i managed to get hold of him and he informed me that after reading through all my notes he believes i have major depression and also cyclothymia. i am really confused now. my understanding of cyclothymia is that the depressions are not 'severe' and that if u have hypomanic symptoms AND a major depression u are automatically diagnosed with bipolar 2. i dont have an appt with the pdoc now until january and i am just so confused. the hypomanic stuff i can cope with really it is the depression i cant deal with.

is this possible to be diagnosed with both? i am so confused, any replies i will be really grateful. thanks

Hi. I'm sorry, I can't answer your question but I felt I needed to post a reply because I can relate to what you are saying and wanted to let you know you're not alone in feeling this way.

I have suffered from major bouts of clinical depression for many years but I have recently admitted to myself that I suffer from manic phases. Not full blown I don't think but my life is a rollercoaster of mood swings. I've never told the doctor about my manic phases because whenever I've been to see her I've been in deep depression and forgot all about the mania. Nobody ever asked me if I have manic phases otherwise I think I would have been diagnosed years ago.

I have an appointment booked for next month and I plan to come clean to my doctor. However, I'm unsure what they will say because I've had major bouts of depression and what I think are mild bouts of mania. Therefore I don't know what category I fit into.

This past year has been really difficult. I spent years withdrawing from social interaction until last year I took my kids and left my husband to move back to my home town that I left 8 yrs ago (2 and half hour drive away from my hubby).

I went crazy for a while. Leaving the kids with my mum to go out and get drunk every weekend. Falling out with people. Even physical confrontations. Stuff I haven't done since I was ill in my teens.

My hubby has been great. We've both come to the conclusion that there's more to it than just straight forward depression and he's trying so hard to help me. He's so understanding.

I suffer from terrible paranoia and it's exagerated extremely by drink so the most sensible thing for me to do is avoid going out to pubs because that's the only time I drink. It's hard because now, even if I'm in a good mood and I get invited out, I am finding myself saying no because I don't want to deal with the negative consequences of alcohol. Even if I only have a couple of drinks I get more depressed than ever the next day. Suicidal thoughts every time!

I can get manic without alcohol but it something I know sparks it off every time.

Sorry if I'm going off on a tangent and stealing your thread to moan about myself. Hope you get it sorted soon. A sound diagnosis can help so much. x

Sorry I only just realised how old this thread is. Hope you got it sorted.