medicine for bipolar

If you think you have depression, you might want to rethink it before you consider getting on medication. If you are mostly depressed, but also have outbursts of nervousness, anxiety, fear, paranoia, or anger, you could be bipolar instead. Contrary to what many people (even some psychiatrists) think, bipolar does not nessesarily mean happy/sad. It means high energy/low energy. I found out that going from sadness to nervousness is a type of Bipolar II. I used to be on anti-depressants (seritonin-based) that just made me feel suicidal, and my new psychiatrist says that it didn't work because I have that certain kind of bipolar instead of depression. I think this could be what is behind those stories in the news about kids killing themselves because of anti-depressants. Please be careful what psychiatrists you go to, because many people get misdiagnosed.

Other things to look for before accepting a diagnosis of unipolar depression:
Rapid cycling. My own nightmare. If you cycle very rapidly, the depression may be easier for a doctor to see than the mania, especially since most people only see a doctor because of the depression.
Mixed state bipolar. If you are sometimes very depressed but at the same time are nervous, agitated or irritable, you may be having mixed mania, not depression.
Cyclothymia. Not quite hypomania, but moderate depressions and mild highs. The upswing is so small it can be missed, making a diagnosis of depression more likely.
Uncomplicated bereavement. Usually occurs when a spouse has died, but you could also be depressed for other major life traumas.
Hypo/hyperthyroidism. Low levels of thyroid hormone can made you listless, tired, crave carbs and uninterested in life.
Atypical symptoms. Something else I have experience with. My first 5 doctors missed the mania, because I have always been poor and have little interest in sex--thus eliminating two diagnostic markers. Having unusual forms of mania or depression can get you a bad diagnosis.

good advice you guys:)