Research on Comorbids? | ADHD Information

What is the research that shows that adverse reactions to stimulants points to alternative or comorbid diagnoses?  I know of some research on SSRI's activating or uncovering bipolar disorder, but I don't know what the science is on stimulants and ADHD comorbids.  Any pointers?

I'm currently pursuing our doctor's recommendation to have our DS further evaluated for comorbid disorders because he has had strong mood reactions to some stimulant medications.  I am not convinced that adverse reactions to stimulants are evidence of anything in particular (except maybe too high a dose) but there seems to be consensus that this is true & I'm wondering what the research is behind that idea.

Thanks for any ideas!
Til
Our son is moody also. The depakote helps him with this. We are also on a very good supplement which I hope helps also.

TillyT,

Me again!  I posted on the parents' board.  I think the general thinking is that if you have pure ADHD, stimulants will make things better.  But ADHD frequently does not occur alone so if you use stimulants and things get worse, the thinking is that there may be another condition in conjunction with the ADHD.  Certainly, the research is clear that if kids with BP take stimulants (without the protection of a mood stabilizer and sometimes even with a mood stabilizer), their symptoms get much, much worse.  (Check out the book The Bipolar Child or the website www.bpkids.org for more info on stimulant use in BP kids.)

 

Depakote is a good mood stabilizer used for both seizure disorder and bipolar, as a first line med. It is a fact that a very bad reaction to stims points to early onset bipolar, however my son had bad reactions to stims and is on the austism spectrum. We since learned that Autistic Spectrum Disorder kids also tend to be sensitive to medications. But I'd want to check out the mood disorder if the child can't tolerate any stim. Better to be safe than sorry. I'd contact a Neuropsych.