Aspergers and Bipolar disorder

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I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the past, because I have suffered since I was 15 with recurrent depressions and then also occasionally perhaps what you would call mania, when I became very outgoing, talkative (talking really fast), cracking a lot of jokes and making a lot of plays on words, ect. However, I also have a lot of the traits of Aspergers, as I mentioned on another thread. I was wondering is it at all likely for people to actually have both Aspergers and bipolar disorder? If so, isnt it then kind of like a double whammy sort of thing?

My personal alphabet soup is AS, OCD and BPD. Others might have ADD/ADHD, social anxiety, dyslexia, or some other extra goodie along with their Asperger Syndrome. Some of these conditions improve with medication and/or talk therapy. I've heard testimonials for diet and lifestyle changes. But Asperger Syndrome, per se, is hard-wired into your neural architecture, and thus cannot be medicated away.

I am officially diagnoses with Cyclothymia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I am not officially diagnosed with AS but the more I learn the more it sounds like me.

I have AS and ADD, my mum has BiPolar Disorder, however my up-and-down moods are generally accepted as being learned behaviour from growing up with my mum who was as then undiagnosed!

Loving the NHS right now

I am dx'd with AS and I have struggled with depression for a long time. I have PTSD, and on rare occasions I haave had anxietyattacks and hypomanic episides, but not anything regular enough to warrent a dx beyond depression and PTSD.

AS, ADHD, Anxiety, and quite possibly BPD. Don't know for sure on the last one, but with the way my moods tend to swing several times a day...makes you wonder.

I think it's possible and likely that both occur; autistic people are misdiagnosed with BPD because they can't control their emotional expressions enough. Temple Grandin says she has a similar "on/off" switch like a dog. She'll be happy at one thing, but can easily switch to mad/sad/scared in a second. This isn't Bipolar, which is dominated by an actual mood swing. But NTs will misdiagnose because the expression is so much more different and extreme.
Then there are autistic people that do have bipolar or cyclothymia (soft bipolar). I have heard that bipolar people can go for years as functional and undiagnosed by living with intense structure.

I suspect I have cyclothymia. Through CBT and exercise, I have been able to shorten the mood swings to a day at a time. but they are still really upsetting. I have like a memory glitch where each mood feels like a new event. It's terribly confusing.

Yeah, my official is BiPolar. It just doesn't cover the bases correctly and I won't bother trying to get it changed. I'm just more careful about what meds are suggested. Very good chance I'm AS and BP and maybe have another little friend or two along for the ride. It's just hard at this age to try and unravel it, so I won't, not that I could. Doesn't mean I'm not curious about it, I am. AS is the breath of fresh air, it just fits so well and explains so much.

Just because mania is considered the opposite of the depressive, don't mistake a manic for feeling good. It can come out in rage. Just understanding all the variations of BP is pretty complex, everyone is different and you can have long cycles with short cycles in between and then you can get into the kind that don't cycle and lions and tigers and bears...OH MY!! ! I treat the life disturbing symptoms as best I can and let it slide.

I've gotten to know 2 bipolars lately and while there are commonalities, like "intensity", some degree of "obliviousness" to other people and to conventions and a general quirkiness, the big difference I notice is that they're what I would call 'hypersocial' they have to have people around them all the time, real social butterflies, ugh.

The urge to shop (spend) or drive (vehicles) is strong in bipolar too.

You may see some commonalities in the two examples you know, but...... depends. Look, I wouldn't even describe myself on the net for a long long time, we vary so much. I did not, did not!!, want to create some kind of "mold", stereotype guide to early detection of Bipolars so people could run the other direction. Bipolar has had a name for itself much longer then AS and to try and describe the prejideaces that come along with this, well it's another you have to live it. What you might be observing is just two and even then there may be meds involved. You may not have been around them all that long. You may not have seen the other side of the coin, the months and months of depression, if they even have that little trait. There is a wide number of types of this and I just can't stress enough, it is so much like AS and what you see here, it comes in all flavors.

I hate going out, I'm a freakin recluse. Get me in a store? Yeah with a shoehorn and anxiety meds and that depends on the weather and the number of people in the store. I'm a blurr in a store, I move fast. I wasn't always this way and I do meds and I have had coping skills that have failed me and some that still work, once in a while. What you describe is not me, not even close to me, but see, I already said I think I have a misDX, but here is the kicker, just like AS, BP has a whole slew of comorbids that like to come for the ride.

Bottom line generalizations are not a good thing and labels can be hurtful, especially when the label they give you had had a rich history of not being well understood, the craze of the day mental illness label, extreme examples being run through the press on a national scale. Now having said all this negative stuff, it too can have an upside for some, get on a good manic and put it into a good obsession and hang on to your hat, you are going for one hell of a ride and it feels so good you don't know what you're missing. Wish you were here, see ya later type thing, but all so very very rare in me, now that is the sad part. The rest is just me and I've learned over time to like me, faults and all. It had to be that or eat myself alive on a slow ride to suicide. You see that here as well. BP has a huge suicide rate and I suspect if they really had a clue about AS and especially among us olders, the rate would be on the high side as well. Add together the two in one person, I don't have a clue sometimes how I made it, I am a f*****g survivor.

Intensity and obliviousness? (sound like anything else you know?) Give em a minute, they just might change right in front of your eyes. Or they might not change for months or might not even change at all. You stated very clearly why I for so long would not even try to get some of my story out there. I still won't do it on most areas of the net. I'm not really a good poster boy for BP anyway, I have a feeling that the AS and the possible complex PTSD has had a big say in how I relate and act and feel.

Now excuse me, I feel the strange need to go drive (vehicles) and shop (spend). Good god you just described half the freakin people on the planet with that little generalization.

thanks for patronising me in that condescending way, that's very bipolar of you! I forgot to mention the 'everyone is stupid except me' control freak thing. Thanks again oh almighty one!

oooh well, I don't know then!

Rough day watching the national news TV stations yesterday and it will be again today.

It seems the rumor mill has a famous singer DXed with Bipolar, she's acting a bit strange.
Young pregnant missing Marine with more drama going on in her life then any one person needs, Bipolar.
Young woman, been in the news before, had sex as a teacher with a young student, back in court, Bipolar.

The national news circus just never seems to end. We're all different and we all aren't as extreme. But again the brand has been cast.
Let's hope AS never gets this kind of attention.

Eventually some footy star had to go and blame bipolar disorder for his bad behaviour. Sure enough, last September Australian rugby-league great Andrew Johns lost his luggage, failed to take his meds for six days, and went on a headline-grabbing drink-and-drug binge.

Asperger? You wouldn't think it especially prevalent among elite athletes. But the way things are going, it's only a matter of time.