I was diagnosed 10 years ago as being bi-polar. Even though most of what I read fit, the meds that typically work for it (e.g., Lithium) haven't done diddly for me. This week I read some research on ADD and bingo--I'm classic for all the symptoms other than the two most associated with men but not women (aversion to physical touch and figgetiness).
I'm wondering other than differences in which medications work and alleviate symptoms, what the differences are between the two.
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness. You must have at least one manic episode to be bipolar. A typical manic episode includes not sleeping for 5-7 days but feeling full of energy, thinking you have a solution to a world problem, being hypersexual, being more religious. Typically this type of episode lands you in a psychiatric ward real quick. Although to a layman bipolar and ADHD may look similiar, they are completely different disorders and are managed with completely different meds.Thanks for replying, however that sounds like the definition of bi-polar I, not bi-polar II that is characterized by hypomanias. Other than different meds, might you know of any other key differences?Check out this site:
http://www.projecthope2.homestead.com/adhd.html
It has a good outline for the differences, although it talks more about kids. I think it will give you a little insight. It is very important to have the right diagnosis because the meds for each are so different. Stimulants can actually make bipolar worse. There are some great threads on the Parents of ADHDers page. You should check out some of them.
stepmom2maddy38502.8750925926[QUOTE=dhart]My pdoc thinks bp and adhd are often mixed to together (lucky us!) I've been treated for bp for the past 3 years and finally found the right med cocktail. I've recently begun attempting to treat my adhd. No luck thus far with Adderall and Stratterra. They both sent me back into hypomania and crankiness. [/QUOTE]
You said "hypomania." Can I assume you've been diagnosed as bi-polar II rather than I? I wonder if that's a more frequent combo? When I look at it, I don't see anything in the AD(H)D descriptions about mood but I know I do have mood problems. (Just read a fascinating article relating mood to cognition. One surprising finding was the better the mood, the higher tendency to be "rude" and vice versa. Thus, being hypomanic and happy can really get you in trouble w/ "normal" people much more than than being depressed!) Since I frequently get into trouble at work, I'm really hoping one of the AD(H)D drugs will help regulate my "executive" brain functions because they sure need it!
My pdoc thinks bp and adhd are often mixed to together (lucky us!) I've been treated for bp for the past 3 years and finally found the right med cocktail. I've recently begun attempting to treat my adhd. No luck thus far with Adderall and Stratterra. They both sent me back into hypomania and crankiness. Going to try Ritalin next. Not hopeful but we'll see. Took me experimenting with many different drugs and combos of drugs before I found relief from my pb. Drug choices seem to be much smaller for adhd.My husband had his first visit to a psychiatrist today and was diagnosed with bipolar II. He does display symptoms of ADHD as well. My husband does not have any kind of mania whatsoever. But his brain thinks very rapidly and he described himself as having a good day at work when he is tired because he functions more slowly that way.
I was surprised by the diagnosis because I have not seen mania in my husband, or even times when he does not need sleep. I don't know enough yet about bipolar, but is it possible that the bipolar II means that there is evidence of a mood swing in one direction but not the other? My husband has depressive episodes.
The doctor was adamant about the fact that a diagnosis is needed to prescribe medication, but that labels are dangerous. We are treating symptoms, and he doesn't want to see us dwell on the label that was just given him. That is reassuring.
I am emotionally exhausted bt looking forward to seeing what the meds will do.
[QUOTE=emmabean]My husband had his first visit to a psychiatrist today and was diagnosed with bipolar II. He does display symptoms of ADHD as well. My husband does not have any kind of mania whatsoever. But his brain thinks very rapidly and he described himself as having a good day at work when he is tired because he functions more slowly that way.
I was surprised by the diagnosis because I have not seen mania in my husband, or even times when he does not need sleep. I don't know enough yet about bipolar, but is it possible that the bipolar II means that there is evidence of a mood swing in one direction but not the other? My husband has depressive episodes.
The doctor was adamant about the fact that a diagnosis is needed to prescribe medication, but that labels are dangerous. We are treating symptoms, and he doesn't want to see us dwell on the label that was just given him. That is reassuring.
I am emotionally exhausted bt looking forward to seeing what the meds will do.
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The way I understand it, bi-polar IIs have what's called "hypomanias" and far more trouble with depression. Lack of sleep and typical manic symptoms are generally those that accompany bi-polar I. So, you wouldn't necessarily think of his manias as manias, but I bet he sure knows the difference. It he's more of an introvert than extrovert, you probably would see even less of it.
Since being diagnosed, I've been able to figure out how to manage my depressions and rarely get depressed anymore. When I do, they don't last long at all--a day or two, tops (knock on wood). Nor am I on any meds, although they're helpful at the beginning when you're still learning how to reorient yourself so that you can manage your moods better. Although my depressions were the first priority, I would like to get better at managing the manias better since they often tend to scare people--the intensity. Plus, at work I'm very prolific compared to others and that often threatens and intimidates people. Manias are actually very similar to a lot of the AD(H)D symptoms. In fact, there's so much overlap in the two conditions I'd need a good psych to come along and explain the nuances of the differences, I think. The DSM-IV is totally inadequate, IMO.
Tell your husband it is definitely possible to manage the depressions. Nor is doing so anywhere near as hard as training for the Olympics probably is. Now that he knows what's going on, things should probably start falling into place a bit easier.
There are as many different "kinds" of bipolar and ADHD as there are snowflakes. Everyone experiences these disorders differently. The label of bipolar and/or ADHD are ways of grouping general symptoms together so we can begin to understand and converse about these disorders. And as they say, your mileage may vary. If you have problems with moods I suggest you speak with your pdoc about mood stablizers. I would not attempt to control my bipolar moods with ADHD drugs alone. We all speak in different languages when it comes to these disorders. You say "rude" I say "crankiness". No matter, we all have problems getting alone in the "real" world. I wouldn't get too hung up about whether you have bipolar, ADHD or a mixture of the two. You need to concentrate on symptoms and get the best medical treatment for your symptoms.[QUOTE=ADHDMD]Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness. You must have at least one manic episode to be bipolar. A typical manic episode includes not sleeping for 5-7 days but feeling full of energy, thinking you have a solution to a world problem, being hypersexual, being more religious. Typically this type of episode lands you in a psychiatric ward real quick. Although to a layman bipolar and ADHD may look similiar, they are completely different disorders and are managed with completely different meds.[/QUOTE]
Amen. No offense to anyone, but it gets old hearing people refer to bi polar and ADD as so similar that they are almost "one in the same". Example: sick people, sleepy people, drunk people, schizophrenic people ALL may lose things for example, but this does not mean that they are all have Dx of ADD. This was obviously an exaggerated example, but the "logic" is similar.
[QUOTE=dhart]There are as many different "kinds" of bipolar and ADHD as there are snowflakes. Everyone experiences these disorders differently. The label of bipolar and/or ADHD are ways of grouping general symptoms together so we can begin to understand and converse about these disorders. And as they say, your mileage may vary. If you have problems with moods I suggest you speak with your pdoc about mood stablizers. I would not attempt to control my bipolar moods with ADHD drugs alone. We all speak in different languages when it comes to these disorders. You say "rude" I say "crankiness". No matter, we all have problems getting alone in the "real" world. I wouldn't get too hung up about whether you have bipolar, ADHD or a mixture of the two. You need to concentrate on symptoms and get the best medical treatment for your symptoms.
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Just for some context, I'm not just a sufferer I'm also in the process of doing a lot of related research (doctoral program) and am interested from that perspective, as well. I'm especially interested in neurological differences between the two disorders. I would expect, because of the mood element to see bi-polar having a greater impact on the mid-brain (amygdala, hippocampus, etc.) than the neorcortex (n terms of gross neuroanatomy). Wanted to check to see what others considered to be some of the key differences--at least until I got my self-ADD diagnoses confirmed by a shrink and was able to do more research on it.
Not that it particularly matters, but I used the word "rude" because that's the term the researcher used in his study. While his research is fascinating (I read more of his studies since posting that), my one complaint is that he doesn't explicitely define many of his emotion-related terms compared to cognitive processes, but his definitions of "rude" and "polite" are fairly clear in context.
Just wanted to mention this research in case anyone was interested. Personally, I thought it pretty relevant to AD(H)D and pretty revealing, but then I'm also into this stuff because of my school work.