If you are a MH professional could you possibly answer this question?

[ChurrahChurrah]

A diagnosis of Bipolar 17 years ago.
One 'episode' only at that time.
No further depressive episodes since then.
Tiny dose of an antipsychotic 50mcg taken for last ten or so years - at night to help with sleep (always been a bit of an insomniac since teens!). Without nightly dose struggle to sleep.

No MH problems/relapses at all since 2001.

My question is would you consider that person to still/always have this condition, regardless of current health, or are they recovered?

TIA

Bump.

It's impossible to say.

Always to have it, if you've been on no meds for many years you might say in remission but essentially at the moment it's treated bipolar. I'm a GP and for the avoidance of doubt this isn't individual medical advice.

Thank you Laptop.

It sounds like a subtherapeutic dose of quetiapine so hardly ‘treated’. I dunno (not a professional but diagnosed bipolar decades ago, recently came off lithium) but we do know from kraepelin’s work pre lithium and antipsychotics etc that people often just got better, that kind of recovery is nowadays attributed to meds.

I think you just have to be aware that with the right combination of things going wrong in life you’re always at greater risk of elation/depression than average.

I would ask for psychiatric review as that’s a long time to be symptom free on such a small dose of medication. What attracted the diagnosis in the beginning?
Mental health nurse with bipolar diagnosis

WhydidIeatthat yesit's Quetiapine.

I guess I'm asking whether I could be considered 'cured' if that's the correct word. The PP above (a GP) suggested probably not.

Wheretheresawill yes I have made an appointment to review the diagnosis. It was work stress and overload that triggered it.

I would get it reviewed if you can. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about diagnosis but if the current medication is necessary or helpful. A lot has changed in the last 17 years so it may be something else with less side effects can be used for sleep if still needed.
From a service point of view then I think would say still diagnosis but recovered/in recovery/no longer experiencing symptoms.

I'd query the diagnosis and request a review.

Get a full thyroid panel done. There are quite a lot of people who have been wrongly diagnosed as bipolar when they actually have a thyroid condition. Hashimotos an autoimmune thyroid condition often gets missed and with that condition it mimics bipolar by jumping from hyper to hypo. Back and forth into y remain hypo. Something to look into

Kohi yes I have hypothyroidism which can be a side effect of Lithium according to a discussion with health profs at the time. Had short course right at the start. So don't think I had it prior to the BP diagnosis.

I always thought the whole thing I went through was "stress" rather than BP...but one doesn't like to question professional opinions!

I wouldn't make a diagnosis on the basis of one episode.

Life insurance has been difficult to get in the past due to the BP diagnosis and travel insurance also very expensive. One of the reasons, but not entirely why, I posted.

Ask for a review of diagnosis and medication.