Bipolar Diagnosis
Bipolar diagnosis is usually difficult at early stage, as the patients with bipolar disorder show symptoms of other similar disorders also. Hence, at the time of diagnosis the almost ten years would have been past with bipolar. People with bipolar who are experiencing the hypomanic situation can be full of energy or healthy. It is also possible that the patients may describe only the symptoms of depression, therefore most of the time the diagnosis can be incorrect or can give wrong results. Bipolar disorder has many symptoms that are similar to the other psychiatric illness like schizophrenia and anxiety disorder that make the diagnosis more complicated.
However, there are no particular lab tests that can detect the bipolar disorder, but the doctors can follow a questionnaire that will help them to determine the symptoms of bipolar disorder and can identify the causes of disorders. Following are the factors that come under the bipolar diagnosis:
- Medical History and Physical Examination
The complete medical history of the patient will be studied to check whether the patient had any physical illness which can result the bipolar symptoms. Some patients that may have AIDS, diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, brain tumor or salt imbalance that may cause some bipolar symptoms.
- Psychiatric History
The psychiatrist mat examine whether the patient is having any other psychological disorder in past to determine the cause of bipolar disorders. Some patients may belong to the family that has the members with bipolar disorders. Many cases have shoed that bipolar disorder has the strong genetical inheritance in the other me members of the family. Hence, the chances of bipolar disorder are at high risk in the families with he patients with the psychological disorders.
If the medical history or psychological history do not provide any information about the bipolar symptoms, it's important to study the current symptoms that patient experiencing.
Diagnosing the bipolar disorder also includes the psychiatric evaluation. Doctors may need to discuss the feelings of the patient. They may ask the questions regarding sleeping problems, dysfunctions. This will help the doctors to prescribe the best methods of treatments for bipolar symptoms.
Bipolar disorder is a serious problem that can affect the whole life of a person. A person may loose the skills driving, relation management, and loss of memory. The genetical factors, psychological factors, environmental factors and medical history all these aspects should be considered while determining the bipolar disorders.
