Searching For Bipolar Disorder

Diagnosing bipolar disorder is a very delicate and sensitive procedure. It is a condition that quite hard to diagnose that even some people go on living with it for years before being properly diagnosed. This is because the condition features multiple episodes. The manic phase is usually equated to a normal personality while the melancholic phase is considered a symptom of depression that is bipolar is misdiagnosed. The article will give you a description on how bipolar disorder is diagnosed.

Laboratory exams cannot detect bipolar disorder and therefore the most important tool in diagnosis of bipolar disorder is Mood Disorder Questionnaire or MDQ. The doctors can evaluate if tests should be continued by looking at the answers of the questionairre.

The doctor uses diagnostic exams to eliminate other conditions and highlight the current one. In the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, will take the person’s complete medical and psychiatric history. The doctor will use the medical history as reference by looking at the results of physical examination and inquiries about the symptoms the patient is currently experiencing. A reason for this is other illnesses and conditions produce similar symptoms of bipolar disorder. These include thyroid disorders, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, Lupus, diabetes, epilepsy, salt imbalance, brain tumor, and head injury.

When they are checking for psychiatric history of bipolar people, they would usually inquire about the symptoms of mental conditions. Family members are also asked if they experience the same symptoms because bipolar disorder is passed on genetically. The questionnaire asks about the frequency of mood swings since this is one of the characteristics of bipolar disorder.

By examining the symptoms, and doctors can conclude the it fits the condition, then they can diagnose it as bipolar disorder. Also the current symptoms must have been present for a considerable length already or is already affecting the everyday functioning of the patient. Another key factor in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder is the symptoms of mania or hypomania, since absence of either of those will imply that the person only has unipolar depression.

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