Posted by dove on September 27, 1999, at 9:36:19
In reply to Manic Depression and ADD. , posted by Janice on September 19, 1999, at 16:48:16
Hi Janice,
I am bipolar and adhd. I can say from my experience that these two disorders seem to feed each other. It is quite difficult to distinguish between what is the ADD and what is the mania from the manic-depression. When the Doc diagnosed me, one of the things he said was although my symptoms pointed strongly to attention problems the bipolar has a tendancy to show itself with agitation and attention-deficit problems on the mania end of the illness. I am on Adderall, which seems to prohibit my mania, which is characterized by super-sensitive senses, agitation, disorganization and antagonism. When the Adderall wears off I can feel those symptoms returning. Which is why my doc wants to increase the Adderall and add a mood-stabilizer after the next increase.I guess the short of it is, you may still be cycling in mania, though it is now different from before. Mania can be similar, if not the same, as ADD. Maybe the mood-stabilizer is prohibiting the high end of the mania and you're experiencing a different feature of medicated break-thru rapid-cycling mania.
Logically, you may have to up the anty with another mood-stabilizer. I read your other post about the dexedrine and I can relate to the night/day difference in daily life. You are taking a small dosage and maybe that needs to be acknowledged. You need to tell the dr. about these feelings and even your fears of tolerance and/or addiction. I think they could relieve your fears and possibly help get you leveled-out.
Take care.
dove
poster:dove
thread:11780
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991001/msgs/12120.html