Misdiagnosed Bipolar Disorder Reveals Itself to be Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with Comorbid Pseudotumor Cerebri: A Case Report.

We present the case of a patient with a reported history of bipolar II and borderline personality disorders who presented to our inpatient psychiatry department following a suicidal gesture. We determined that she was not suffering from bipolar disorder at all, and we diagnosed her with posttraumatic stress disorder and pseudotumor cerebri. This paper describes the overlap of symptoms of bipolar disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, which may lead to an incorrect diagnosis. Additionally, the patient had the complicating factor of comorbid pseudotumor cerebri, which we feel contributed to her psychiatric symptoms. Once the patient was properly diagnosed and placed on appropriate treatment, she responded well.