Are you SURE you have ADHD?

[TheMarvelousH]

Are you sure that you have ADHD? If you're not responding well to meds, you might be bipolar.

The similarities between adhd and bipolar symptoms are so strong, that it's really hard for someone who isn't trained in psychology to tell the difference. The impulsiveness, inattentiveness, and difficulty sitting still all scream adhd to anyone who's familiar with the diagnosis. The difference is that while I, an adhd diagnose-ee, will say, rear end the car in front of me or overdraft my bank account because I simply wasn't paying attention, a manic bipolar will do these exact same things ON PURPOSE.

My boyfriend and I are a perfect example of the difference. He and I were both diagnosed with adhd. We were both prescribed adderall. I responded so positively to the medication that you wouldn't know I had adhd. I am calm, rational, attentive, patient, and can sleep, eat and function completely normally on adderall XR 15mg. He took a slightly higher dosage and had rapid weightloss, chronic insomnia, rapid heart beat and his condition got much much worse, i.e. gambling away entire paychecks, trouble with the law, inability to control his actions, and an addiction to the medication that wound up being hard to kick. We switched his doctors and he saw mine, and he was diagnosed bipolar in the first session.

Don't see a primary care physician for mental issues. If you can't focus or have signs of adhd, see a psychologist to be sure. Manic bipolars should not take speed! The reason I say psychologist and not psychiatrist is because a psychologist will give you insight and in depth treatments that will educate you about your mental ailment as well as teaching you how to change things once you're medicated. I think psychiatrists should only be working in conjunction with your psychologist's treatment. It's a team effort that gets expensive, but it's for the best.

[NinePointThree]

I'd say this probably goes the opposite way as well. I know a man who was DXed as Bi-Polar who has a daughter that's disorganized, has difficulty holding down a job, and is taking several years extra getting her degree in spite of the fact that she's very bright. She likely has ADHD, and I'd say that there's probably a good chance her father has it instead of being Bi-Polar.

There's so much overlap with a lot of these problems I'm sure it's difficult for even the pros to know what the actual diagnosis is.

[TheMarvelousH]

Touche! I never even though of that, but that's brilliant! I guess good advice would be to get a second opinion if you're diagnosed bipolar but aren't responding well to meds, as well!

[ginniebean]

My guess is it goes the other way more often, Dr's are much more comfortable giving out anti-psychotics than the much safer schedule II's.

[sarey]

manic bipolars don't do anything "on purpose".

[lovin cayden]

I thought i had ADHD but responded very poorly to an increase in wellbutrin. Dr is putting me on meds for bipolar. Don't recall the name.
I feel like i have ADHD but the similarities of the two are so similar.

[Ganjin]

Hmmm. I'm certainly not an expert, but the bipolars I've known were really a different kettle of fish than I'm dealing with in ADHD. But maybe the bipolars that I've been aware of were more severe cases or something.

Although ADHD can definitely have moving between two moods that are polar opposites, my shifts between the two are very rapid and frequent. Bipolars I've known would hit the "down side" for weeks, maybe months at a time before flipping over to a manic phase. According to Wikipedia (THE authority on everything), even rapid-cycling bipolars are defined as having 4 or more episodes per year.

[formychildren]

Yes, my daughter for years didn't do well with adhd meds, by age 11 she was dx bipolar with adhd and her new med combo has work wonders in so many ways! Great post for those that might want to know.

[daveddd]

Originally Posted by ginniebean

My guess is it goes the other way more often, Dr's are much more comfortable giving out anti-psychotics than the much safer schedule II's.

see why you could think this, but believe me its very easy to take the simple adhd test on the internet hand it to a doc nowadays and get adderall(i was told about it by my doc at 28, didnt even know what it was until then other then hearing people mention it)



depression (with motorestlessness and ruminating thoughts with distractable behavior) is almost exact(found that out recently i was diagnosed with it it was called something else but forgot already , adhd didnt go away

bipolar, maybe a mild case

[daveddd]

whatever she called it , it also included poverty of speech and blunted affect which i had previously assumed where a part a life for me
also highly comormid with adhd which supplies the thoughts to dwell on

dont mean to take up thread , but ive seen alot of people on here that only got focus helped by meds and not hyperactivity so i thought id give them something to think about or hyperfocus on

[ginniebean]

Originally Posted by daveddd

see why you could think this, but believe me its very easy to take the simple adhd test on the internet hand it to a doc nowadays and get adderall(i was told about it by my doc at 28, didnt even know what it was until then other then hearing people mention it)



depression (with motorestlessness and ruminating thoughts with distractable behavior) is almost exact(found that out recently i was diagnosed with it it was called something else but forgot already , adhd didnt go away

bipolar, maybe a mild case

I'm looking at this from the perspective of older adults, what were people with adhd diagnosed with prior to Adult ADHD being recognised only a little over a decade ago? Even now Dr's are reluctant to consider it as a diagnosis. I don't think this issue is about online tests or getting adderall but rather a large contingent of adults in psychiatric care who have been misdiagnosed.

Any idea how many people there may be in thier 60's who have been on anti-psychotics for years because they were diagnosed bi-polar the default for adhd symptoms?

I actually do see quite a difference between ADHD and Bi-Polar.

[ginniebean]

Originally Posted by lovin cayden

I thought i had ADHD but responded very poorly to an increase in wellbutrin. Dr is putting me on meds for bipolar. Don't recall the name.
I feel like i have ADHD but the similarities of the two are so similar.

Wellbutrin more often than not doesn't work for adhd so that's not a litmus test.

[KMiller]

Originally Posted by sarey

manic bipolars don't do anything "on purpose".

I don't understand what you mean? They are very purpose driven. That's one of the symptoms, actually. Criteria B6, "increase in goal-directed activity."

[trishcan]

Originally Posted by KMiller

I don't understand what you mean? They are very purpose driven. That's one of the symptoms, actually. Criteria B6, "increase in goal-directed activity."

my understanding of that was that she was responding to the statement from the OP that people with ad/hd forget things, while people with bipolar go on spending sprees or behave irrationally "on purpose."

i agree with sarey that a person with bipolar who is in a manic state is not necessarily cognizant of his/her actions, and certainly isn't intentionally behaving in a risky, dangerous, or harmful way due to the mania.

[trishcan]

Originally Posted by ginniebean

I'm looking at this from the perspective of older adults, what were people with adhd diagnosed with prior to Adult ADHD being recognised only a little over a decade ago? Even now Dr's are reluctant to consider it as a diagnosis. I don't think this issue is about online tests or getting adderall but rather a large contingent of adults in psychiatric care who have been misdiagnosed.

Any idea how many people there may be in thier 60's who have been on anti-psychotics for years because they were diagnosed bi-polar the default for adhd symptoms?

I actually do see quite a difference between ADHD and Bi-Polar.

I also see drastic differences between add and bi-polar, and i'm not sure why the professional community doesn't always make such a distinction. i see many more similarities between ad/hd and depression.