What's the difference between cyclothymia and bipolar II?

My p-doc diagnosed me with bipolar II (bipolar lite?). And while I trust him and he seems competent, he's not the most talkative. And I have lots and lots and lots of questions. He's an HMO doc.

So does anybody know the difference between cyclothymia and bipolar II? They seem virtually indestinguishable to me. Is one more destructive than the other? Can a person have one disorder than have it turn into the other disorder later in life?

Waiting with baited breath...(whatever that means)

There are three major forms of the disorder - bipolar I, bipolar II and cyclothymia. Bipolar I covers the most extreme range of mood swings from severe depression to mania or mixed mania. Bipolar II covers from severe depression to hypomania (a tighter band of the mood swings because the "highs" are not as high as the bipolar I). Cyclothymia covers from moderate depression to hypomania.

I think it is really important that the doctor be sufficiently communicative so you feel comfortable that you understand the nature of your condition and what the recommended treatment protocol is. The most strongly sponsored treatments combine drugs, individual therapy, family therapy and lifestyle changes. The family therapy is critical so that those who are closest to you understand the underlying nature of the disorder and how it alters your interaction with them and vice versa.

I have hypomania with no depression whatsoever, what does that make me?

(Although I do have downswings where I feel absolutely terrified (not depressed) )

Li'l Dragonfly

P.S. They put me on Topamax (hated it!) and Depakote because of it

mia,

Why did you feel the need to go on meds? Just curious because my tdoc said she thought I needed to be on meds.

But the only time I feel like I need them is when I'm moderately/ severely depressed or am so aggitated that I feel like I'm going to explode.

I like being hypo - although I do risky things(as tdoc pointed out).

Just curious if you don't expereince the depressions. By terrified, do you mean you have panic attacks?

I seem to bounce between hypo and mild to moderate depression most of the time. Once in awhile, I go down into more severe depression - but not as often. Often, anxiety accompanies my depression (and, occasionally, my hypomanias).

Why did you feel the need to go on meds?

With the Topamax, I didn't feel any need to go on it; it was forced on me, and that was that. (My psychiatrist is evil! She has this "drug-them-up-as-much-as-possible" philosophy! Not to mention the ECT treatments she inflicts on some of her other patients ) Fortunately, I am coming down off of it now, and am feeling so much better .

As for the Depakote, I told the psychiatrist at my last placement about the episodes where I am completely and totally terrified, and he prescribed it. It worked.

I like being hypo

I love being hypo!!! It's the best!

By terrified, do you mean you have panic attacks?

Before my doctor put me on Celexa, I used to have panic attacks. The terrified feeling is nothing like that whatsoever. I pick at my skin uncontrollably, I stop talking, my face turns deathly pale, and I experience feelings of my mind "wasting away" (for lack of a better term).

Just out of curiosity, are your bouts of depression triggered by certain events, or do they just happen out of the blue?

Li'l Dragonfly

My bouts of depression are sometimes triggered by events, but can happen out of the blue as well.

I get this awful empty, dissappointed, what does anything matter, state of mind in me

Sometimes, I think when I wake up and the hypomania/mania is gone - it triggers that empty, dissappointed, gloomy feeling. Because the magic is gone and I'm left with the emptiness and nothingness that is my life.

Sometimes, something said to me can push me into darkness and despair.

Sometimes, I wake up and it is just there. Or, it just appears for no reason out of the blue.


Best wishes to you, and thanks for answering my post.

I feel lonely without my hypomania and I do enjoy it even though sometimes the consequences can be bad, I got thrown out of a concert a few weeks ago because of my wild behaviour. The depression is terrible though and I feel hopeless, so i take the meds but often feel like ditching them. I feel alive when I'm high but I can't do a thing when I'm down. I think the UK has a different way of reacting to mental illness, still a stigma to it. I sometimes feel like I have everything sorted out and then it all goes crazy again.

Mia, if you feel your pshychiatrist is evi, you should get a different one.