Bipolar Disorder - Exams and Tests
There are no lab tests for bipolar disorder. Instead, your doctor will ask detailed questions about your symptoms, including how long they last and how often you have them. He or she will discuss your family history and may do a mental health assessment.
A mental health assessment tests your emotional functioning and your ability to think, reason, and remember. It includes an interview with a health professional, a physical exam, and written or verbal tests. During the interview, the health professional assesses your appearance, mood, behavior, thinking, reasoning, memory, ability to express yourself, and ability to maintain personal relationships.
Karen Renken was just 14, but she knew something was terribly wrong. "I was a straight-A student, and suddenly I started failing in school," says Renken, now 45, of Long Island, N.Y. At high school, she would go from enjoying a seemingly normal mood to throwing a tantrum in the hallway. Her teenage response to normal requests, such as her mother's plea to pick up after herself, was dramatic. She would, she says, "shriek like a maniac." Renken was sent to a psychiatrist, who prescribed an antidepressant,...
Read the Balancing Bipolar Disorder article > >
Blood and urine tests, such as a test of your thyroid, may be done to make sure another problem is not causing your symptoms. A toxicology screen examines blood, urine, or hair for the presence of drugs.
Early Detection
The earlier bipolar disorder is diagnosed and treated, the better your chances of getting the illness under control and improving the quality of your life. Early detection and treatment can help reduce your risk of complications, such as alcohol and drug abuse or suicide.9
About 10% to 15% of people with bipolar disorder will die from suicide.3 Up to 60% of those with bipolar disorder develop drug and alcohol abuse problems, which interfere with successful treatment of the disorder.9
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