was Bipolar now saying clinical depression [confused]

[ilovechristmas1]

hi,was diagnosed with Bipolar at Easter was put on Quetiapine 350mg daily

visit the mental health team every 2 months in general the Q has really helped

last week i had a appointment with a NEW psychiatrist it was a really bad week for me and spent an hr and a half crying to him,he asked me lots of questions and now thinks im not Bipolar as i dont really get
mania much more lows and thinks i have Clinical depression

i admit i was pretty pissed of with this as im still getting used to the original diagnosis and have told a few close friends

i said i would talk about it at the next appointment,he has prescribed 60mg daily of Duloxetine on top of the Quetiapine

how serious is clinical depression,is it better or worse than Bipolar,sorry that sounds odd but im totally confused how 2 people can diagnose differrent things

thanks for reading

Psychiatry is definitely an art not a science. You are still you. Diagnoses can change a lot over time. To be fair, patterns of symptoms can as well. DH has had diagnoses of bipolar disorder, bipolar II (atypical bipolar) and schizoaffective disorder. It should help you get better treatment - if it doesn't, question the treatment and the diagnosis if it would help.

Do you get copies of the psychiatrist's letters? It should allow you to see how he's thinking.

It's great that quetiapine helps you but such a bad depression does sound like you needed more help.

The Mind fact sheets can be good, but ultimately a diagnosis is really a description of symptoms, not a judgement or anything that changes the problem in itself.

thanks,can i ask for a report on the consultation,i did get a copy the first time but nothing since

who do i ask

My psychiatrist explained it to me like this: The thinking used to be that bipolar and clinical depression are two different disorders. This is changing. Now think of it as a spectrum of disorders with clinical depression on the one end, bipolar 2 around 2 thirds of the way along and bipolar 1 at the other end. In between clinical depression and bipolar 2 are people like me, who presents with mostly depressive symptoms but reacts better to the mood stabilising class of medication than to ad's alone. I have some symptoms of hypomania but very seldom. So in the end the label is not that important - what is important is that they get the right treatment for you.

thanks your description sound so like me lately,and the mood stabilising meds have helped now they have added a ad we shall have to see

explanation was really helpful