Q. I don't believe I am bipolar but wonder sometimes.... When I was on only Manerix for bpd I think it made me manic/hypomanic. I got really "high" and words would come out of my mouth as fast as my brain could think them. It was like I had no filter on what I said. I was full of energy and I was always going, doing, talking and nothing stopped me.

I have very impulsive behaviors sometimes (I know this is also part of bpd) and I find that sometimes I have symptoms of bipolar. I have read the DSM iv criteria for bipolar and I think that the bipolar 2 description somewhat fits me. My psychiatrist doesn't think I am bipolar though. The one part of the criteria which never seems to fit me is that I never have periods of time when I don't need sleep. I go thru periods of time when it is hard for me to fall asleep but never times when I don't need sleep.

The most memorable incident I have of a "manic episode" was when I was in hospital at one time and for about 10 hours I was extremely hyper/manic. I could not stop moving around, couldn't concentrate on anything that was said to me cuz my mind was continually racing so much, and I absolutely could not quit talking and moving around. I decided that I needed to buy rollerblades cuz I figured I had enough energy to rollerblade for hours. I had never even tried rollerblading previous to this. So on a day pass from the hospital I went and bought rollerblades. I took them back to the hospital and proceeded to rollerblade all around the nurses station in the psych ward. The nurses kept telling me to quit but I didn't care. It was all like some silly game but I was the only one playing or something. So then I went blading outside and went all over the town for hours.....I had energy to burn like never before. When I got back to the hospital they gave me Ativan and this brought me down. This "manic" episode had nothing to do with being on only Manerix as at that time I was also on a mood stabilizer.

Can an episode like that be considered manic/bipolar? Can someone have a manic episode induced by an antidepressant? I wonder these things often.

A. I do not have a good answer. The episode could be manic-like or it could jut be a short period of impulsivity. Treatments might differ depending on the context of the behavior. Your doctor knows you best and I would follow his or her advice.