Posted by Ritch on February 1, 2002, at 1:01:38
In reply to Re: Bipolar II and ADHD Differences?, posted by OldSchool on January 31, 2002, at 21:32:49
> > > Just stepping into your conversation, if you don't mind, with a question.
> > >
> > > Why is it so hard to differentiate between bipolar II & ADHD? I'm not disputing anyone's comment about it but truly don't understand why the difference can't be seen. Is it that some people have very clear-cut differences & others don't? For myself, it's as different as a horse from a zebra. Please educate me.
> >
> > Hi IsoM,
> >
> > The fuzziness with the diagnosis is that BP-II's do not experience psychotic mania. Also people with ADHD have mood swings, irritability, impulsiveness, restlessness, distractability as part of their symptom complex. When BP-II's are hypomanic or depressed they can have great trouble focusing and concentrating (distractability). Also, there are "inattentive" ADHD people that are depressed (couch-potatoes). There is just a lot of overlap with the symptoms. I was dx'ed as BP for about 20 years, then it got switched to ADHD. Then it got switched to social phobia/panic. Now, it is all three. I have a nephew who looks and acts a lot like me and he is ADHD and is on Ritalin and doing fine. The real test is to give someone who is BP-II a low dose of a stimulant and see what happens (IMO). Give it a week or so and see how they are doing. If they are quiet and focused and sleeping normally, you could consider ADHD in addition to or instead of BP-II. If they get hypomanic and develop chronic insomnia and their distractability gets *worse* one might rule out ADHD. I would like to get to the bottom of it for sure. I still think I have both.
> >
> > Mitch
>
> Wow, this is super confusing and complicated. Im skeptical any psychiatrist no matter how well trained could diagnose in this subjective manner and be correct the majority of the time. I think it would be much easier and better if you could just get a brain scan, ie; SPECT.
>
> Bring on the brain scans. I am waiting for it to hit clinical psychiatry.
>
> Old School
Hi O.S,I did have that BEAM comprehensive EEG "mapping" done a couple of years ago by a behavioural neurologist (it was very experimental at the time). At the time, it was so weird I thought it was a bunch of quackery. He told me that I had left frontal hypofunctionality, a "flat spot" that could be a head injury (I lost consciousness when I was a kid in a bike accident-hitting my head on concrete), but no obvious seizure activity he could pinpoint. He wanted to do a sleep-deprived 24-hr. and then an MRI. I was real skeptical and didn't go for it-he retired while I was seeing him. I wonder what those might have turned up now..
Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:92098
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020131/msgs/92479.html