bipolar diagnosis before aspergers suggested

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Hello

I've had a bipolar diagnosis for a few years and recently my doctor said I more than likely have aspergers aswell. I thought this was a very unusual thing to bring up after so long. (I was 19 when diagnosed with bipolar and 24 now). I was wondering if this has happened to anyone? especially the other way round since it seems more common to have asperger suggested first.

I used to react negatively to loud noises and certain social situations but people didn't figure that out right away so they thought it was just random and that I might be Bipolar. I was officially diagnosed with PDD-NOS (high functioning Autism) when I was 7. Long after that, I went to a psychiatrist and she asked me when I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. I told her I don't have that diagnosis. I guess it seemed like it to her for whatever reason. Not sure how common this is, just sharing my experiences.

I have been diagnosed with both aspergers and bipolar disorder. It took me ten years of being heavily involved with numerous mental health professionals before I was diagnosed with either. Prior to that I'd had many other labels, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, OCD. Apparantly it is not uncommon for there to be a delay in recognising both conditions partly I assume because as spectrum conditions they can present very differently in different people and at different times (in the case of bipolar at least). Also I think aspergers in adults that dont have a stereotypical presentation is sometimes missed by mental health professionals who havent had the appropriate training to recognise more subtle presentations and perhaps do not immediately think of autism as a possibility. I still question my diagnosis at times. I almost feel like a fraud even though both conditions were diagnosed by specialists in their field after in depth assessment. I think sometimes labels can be helpful in order to guide treatment, give a sense of not being alone or issues having a specific name but other times they can be unhelpful. Especially if you dont personally identify with them or they keep changing.
Also I have heard that autism is more common in children of bipolar parents and that there may be some sort of genetic similarities in autism, bipolar and schizophrenia (but I'm not sure on the details of that!) I've read of quite a few other people who have been diagnosed with both aspergers and bipolar, it doesn't seem to be as uncommon as one might expect.

Bipolar and AS often go together. Researchers have found they share some risk genes.