Long post, but please help! I was on 70mg Vyvanse and 20mg Adderall IR daily for four months and had totally begun to turn my life around. I was getting straight A's in my college courses almost effortlessly, was comfortable and fun in social settings, and could actually sit through an entire meeting or play or movie without wanting to explode.

Then a month ago I had a (low-gradeish) manic episode, crashed into a suicidally-depressed mixed episode, and was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My new psychiatrist (not the one who originally prescribed the ADD meds) immediately took me off all my medications but refused to prescribe me a mood stabilizer. These episodes have happened to me before, but since I'm basically "normal" between them, he says it's premature to put me on a long-term stabilizer.

I'm desperate to be back on the ADD meds, even if only at a very low dose. I've only been off them for a month but I already see myself slipping back into my old self -- the person who's been told for 10+ years by teachers that she's wasting her intellectual potential because she's scatterbrained, absentminded, and unable to focus in class.

I'm doing everything "right" (exercising every day, sleeping 8 hours a night, eating normal meals, training myself out of my bad ADD habits, etc.) to try and control my ADD on my own. But now that I've seen the other side of things, it actually makes me feel sick to know how much happier, saner, smarter, and more productive I could be with just a few pills a day. The negative "chatter"/fogginess in my brain seems to be something I really can't solve on my own.

I know my psychiatrist knows what he's talking about -- obviously stimulants can be really dangerous for people with bipolar. But he flatly refuses to even listen to me when I try and tell him how frustrated I am. So what do I do? How can I convince him? Or should I try and find a different doctor, one who is maybe a bit more sympathetic to my concerns? I don't want to go behind his back or be sneaky or anything, but he seems to believe that I should be perfectly willing to backslide without complaint.

(cross-posted to the Vyvanse forum)

Long post, but please help! I was on 70mg Vyvanse and 20mg Adderall IR daily for four months and had totally begun to turn my life around. I was getting straight A's in my college courses almost effortlessly, was comfortable and fun in social settings, and could actually sit through an entire meeting or play or movie without wanting to explode.

Then a month ago I had a (low-gradeish) manic episode, crashed into a suicidally-depressed mixed episode, and was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My new psychiatrist (not the one who originally prescribed the ADD meds) immediately took me off all my medications but refused to prescribe me a mood stabilizer. These episodes have happened to me before, but since I'm basically "normal" between them, he says it's premature to put me on a long-term stabilizer.

I'm desperate to be back on the ADD meds, even if only at a very low dose. I've only been off them for a month but I already see myself slipping back into my old self -- the person who's been told for 10+ years by teachers that she's wasting her intellectual potential because she's scatterbrained, absentminded, and unable to focus in class.

I'm doing everything "right" (exercising every day, sleeping 8 hours a night, eating normal meals, training myself out of my bad ADD habits, etc.) to try and control my ADD on my own. But now that I've seen the other side of things, it actually makes me feel sick to know how much happier, saner, smarter, and more productive I could be with just a few pills a day. The negative "chatter"/fogginess in my brain seems to be something I really can't solve on my own.

I know my psychiatrist knows what he's talking about -- obviously stimulants can be really dangerous for people with bipolar. But he flatly refuses to even listen to me when I try and tell him how frustrated I am. So what do I do? How can I convince him? Or should I try and find a different doctor, one who is maybe a bit more sympathetic to my concerns? I don't want to go behind his back or be sneaky or anything, but he seems to believe that I should be perfectly willing to backslide without complaint.

(cross-posted to the Vyvanse forum)

Sounds like you know what should be done already. A different doctor might be your best option, or at the very least a second opinion.

What was his reason for taking you off stimulants? Did he feel it contributed to the manic/suicidal episode? There seems to be a lot of people here with coexisting conditions and take stimulants and mood stabilizers without issues (other than typical side effects). Not sure why your doctor felt you shouldn't be on either.

Is it possible to go back to your old doctor? Seems like he might have known you best.

One month of a healthy routine is great. Congratulations for that. Sounds like you are now clear headed to sift through reason(s) that you began treatment for ADHD in the first place.

Ask your doctor if he is open to treating your ADHD in the future. Start there...

Best of luck, kara59

I'm doing everything "right" (exercising every day, sleeping 8 hours a night, eating normal meals, training myself out of my bad ADD habits, etc.) to try and control my ADD on my own. But now that I've seen the other side of things, it actually makes me feel sick to know how much happier, saner, smarter, and more productive I could be with just a few pills a day. The negative "chatter"/fogginess in my brain seems to be something I really can't solve on my own.


When I was younger I was obsessed with being able to 'defeat' my ADD. It was not until graduate school that I realized it's an absurd notion that I could simply wish my ADD symptoms away by trying to do the "right" things. You have ADD and you need it to be treated. The treatment might not involve Adderall, but perhaps another, non-stimulant, drug might work for you.

Talk to your doctor and tell him you are sinking because you are not being treated for your ADD. It is irresponsible of your doctor to simply refuse to hear your concerns. If this continues, find a new doctor.