I have quite a history with ADHD, and other various diagnoses over the years....I was on ritalin from 7-13 when I developed palpitations (most likely anxiety)...then 1 year after cessation depression developed....Been diagnosed as Bipolar, Depressive, Major Depressive, GAD, and seen every medication from prozac to wellbutrin...All SSRI's for me have resulted in increased depression, and I lost 6 years of my life on those medications....Manic meds never had an effect, except for neurontin which made me delusional....finally I kicked off everything, and was good for quite awhile.......

Then my sister died, got hounded by the bosses at work...and wound up on lexapro....effexor....then finally wellbutrin ....worked quite well untill I developed headaches, jitters, anxiety, and irritability....went off, and proposed notion that it might be untreated ADHD to doctor.....it was a fight to convince them to try a different line of treatment (they hate being second guessed)..

Strattera made me so tired that I thought I would fall asleep while standing, and they added provigil (3 days later...severely jittery, anxious....dr stopped med)......added effexor....low dose, became depressed, and more so obsessive (symptom of high serotonin)......then I switched to a new doctor because this one was unwilling to try more conventional ADD medications....

I was put on tenex first, and it worked wonders...I started sleeping again like a normal person, my mood was more stable, but I was incredibly tired, and had a hard time focusing as well as thinking clearly....Then added Concerta(only 18mg)...all was well until 2 months in I started to get headaches, massive irritability, and anxiety.....switched to ritalin 5mg 3x/day ....within 1 week I was getting headaches, nightsweats, insomnia was increasing in severity, jittery, irritable, and increased sensitivity to light and sound(I had this slightly on concerta)...

I used to get similar problems with the concerta, and always around the same time.....3pm, dosing was 6:30 am......

with it I could read, do homework, remember what I read, and focus......

Now the headaches, irritability are so bad that I haven't been to work in one week....no changes can be made right now, and I will be going for a neuro-psychological battery.......I was given 1mg of Xanax XR and wound up in the hospital, and lost an entire day to a blackout....

I'm at a loss....These symptoms would confuse and make someone think bipolar...but the depression is more exhaustion (I can use thoughts to boost mental state...which would indicate an non-chemical depression)....The hyperactive state seems like a hypomania.....

Now I wonder if perhaps what I am experiencing is addiction/withdrawal induced problems.....I have never really been without stimulants.....from ritalin, I realized I started drinking coffee in my time off, as well as frequent use of pseudoephedrine for constant (what I thought) sinus headaches....back to drugs like wellbutrin, and ritalin which are the only meds that seem to boost my mood......Could I be suffering from an addiction rather than a True ADHD? or ADHD with the comorbidity of addiction to the treatment itself?

I don't know what to do.....I don't want drugs like seroquel when I know that I am non-violent, not psychotic, and that stimulation of serotonin receptors usually makes me depressive....

The only thoughts I have are that it might be best to ween off of ritalin, go through withdrawal...stay clean for awhile, and then re-thing treatment...while trying acupuncture, and other alternative treatments..

Thanks for reading, any and all advice welcome

Good lord man. I have no good advice, I have only tried Wellbutrin so far... although I notice headaches and occasional irritability from that too...

Welcome to the forums though. And whatever you do end up trying... keep hope up... I wish you best of luck... hopefully someone else here will have a good suggestion for you...

There has to be an alternative to all of this, because I can't take it anymore....Either I take ritalin, and suffer serious side effects. Or I don't, and I end up lethargic, depressed, unable to focus, unable to concentrate...and unable to live.....

I am trying acupuncture, but in all truth I don't forsee it having a positive effect at this point...

If I try anti-convulsants or anti-depressants I risk further depression, weight gain, hypothyroidism (side effect of lithium)....and back to square one, not able to live.

I am losing what little strength I have left to fight...

The only thing left is a neuro-psychological battery that I will be doing on monday....but in all truth I feel that it will not pinpoint the problem, and will only see the effects of what I have taken...

Now, I am not allowed back to work without a doctor's approval, I get dizzy, disorientated, and incredibly fatigued..........

WOW. you should check out www.crazymeds.org - the guy writing it is hilarious and has tried as much stuff as you have. I think you'd get a kick out of it and probably a lot of information... i learned a lot from it just about ADD, but a lot of his stuff has to do with depression, bipolar, etc.


I honestly don't know what else to say. You are a very tough case, but you are special, and don't give up!!! I'm sure you can get through it, and feel free to keep posting!!

I highly recommend any and all those diagnosed with ADD or ADD w/comorbid disorders to get a full Neuro-psych Battery....

I was shocked that this comprehensive test is not covered by health insurance, and that I wasn't given something like this to begin with....

I do not have bipolar, and I am not a major depressive...

The testing showed the following...in order of severity

1. General Anxiety Disorder
2. Mild processing speed, symbol recognition (mild ADD, countered by high IQ)
3. Dysthymia (most likely the result of GAD)
4. alexithymia (inability to convey what I am experiencing)

I am off ritalin and trying tofranil...it is not working..I am also out on disability from work until march 22, and that might be extended if I am still not well......

I lost 10 years of my life because I was piegonholed as a Major Depressive, and a Bipolar depressive.......the testing showed that I am not either....and that explains why the medications made me worse...


The testing also shows the best way for circumventing the learning disability....

The biggest news was that I don't need medications for the rest of my life.....I simply need to break the anxiety cycle I am internalizing and experiencing...I am using the tofranil short term, psychotherapy weekly (and for the long term...will be trying yoga, and maybe tai chi.....

The medication update- tofranil is not working, so that might change...but again, medications will be a temporary tool to recovery....

I am also waiting on data from a neurologist to make sure the disorders are not the result of something physical/chemical...I am 100% that they are the result of 24 years of a crazy life....

The testing is not cheap, but again....why spend your entire life taking a drug that you might not need....The only kind of doctor that can give these type of tests are Neuropsychologists (and they are not easy to find)...the test took my 1 full day (8 am - 6pm), and then I waited 3 weeks for results....

I hope my experience can help someone else