Hypomania - Hey - Bring it on!

[Guest guest]

At 3:39 AM -0400 on 7/12/00 the esteemed caldbio wrote:

> RE: Hypomania - Hey - Bring it on:

>How do I get Hypomania?

Bipolar III

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipolar/bp980914a.html

Q. I read about Bipolar III (BPIII) disorder on your web site. In the

DSM-IV, there

are only categories for Bipolar I and II. I brought up this topic to

my colleagues, and

the general response was, " What is Bipolar III? There's only I and II. " My own

psychiatrist is unaware of it. My colleagues and I have never used a

diagnosis of

BP III, because we couldn't back it up using the DSM-IV. Since there

is no code for

BP III, I doubt that insurance companies and the federal government

would pay for

such a diagnosis. How do you handle such a situation and what is the

distinction that

creates a whole new category for BP III?

A. Bipolar III was a proposed way to distinguish bipolar symptoms that occurred

specifically from antidepressant use. Most experts think that when

antidepressants

trigger episodes, the significance is not different than if they occur without

antidepressant use. In other words, it has the same long-term implications and

warrants the same general treatment strategies. Singling it out with a separate

number, therefore, seems more misleading than helpful. Certainly

don't judge your

psychiatrist as lacking because he was unfamiliar with the term.