Overcoming bipolar diagnosis following more recent Aspergers

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Reading, United Kingdom

Has anyone any experience of overcoming the prejudice that I have witnessed first hand in the English NHS aka complete lack of understanding of ASD?

I am looking for specific help - your experiences or advice to get previous diagnosis of bipolar 'reversed' - and now have this new evidence (Asperger, Asperger-PDA).

I am lined up with a second opinion now to overturn previous incorrect diagnosis of bipolar (that I have always contested) but do not place much faith in that.

PS I can warn anyone in UK that is trying to get a label of bipolar applied that that is a very serious condition to be labelled with

Just out of curiosity, why don't you want to be labelled bipolar (aside of the fact that you don't have it), do you find there's a lot of stigma in the health profession? Does it restrict what you can do?

Wish you the best of luck in getting the diagnosis overturned.

Thanks for the questions and for the good wishes.

This is overcoming prejudice's partner now. OP was not diagnosed asd until very recently, and has had huge meltdowns at various stages since uni, because no-one including OP knew that he was aspie each time he was pushed into psych services, at first, he was given no diagnosis, then he was told it was ocd, then it changed to bipolar. I know it would be hard for you to imagine what it must be like, for people; mental health professionals, social workers and the police, to swoop down on you, while in meltdown,or in post meltdown phase
, removed from where you feel safe, and taken to a "place of safety" a psych ward full of people with serious psych illness, from which you cannot even take a walk when you want to, and communication, with your close friends and family is cut to a payphone. No electronic communications eg internet.

Other issues with being tagged bipolar, it will affect your job prospects, it will affect your freedom to travel, it will affect mortgage applications. If they section you as being manic, then you wont be able to drive for 3months.

Thanks for the reply. I was also in mental health services in the UK before getting my asd diagnosis (and still am). All that sounds very intrusive and I think it's terrible people could be treated that way just because of a label! I don't even think with that label people should be treated that way anyway, it should all be based on individual need. I mean everyone with bipolar is different and there are different types and varying degrees so there shouldn't be blanket treatment even if you do have it.