Posted by CareBear04 on January 18, 2005, at 13:30:43
In reply to Bipolar ll or ADHD with impulsivity, posted by Michelle123 on January 13, 2005, at 20:45:23
hi michelle,
i too have been somewhere in the diagnosis spectrum between bipolar II and ADHD. mostly, i'm thought to be BPII with some drs adding ADD, inattentive-type. when i was in the hospital last year after a really serious OD, they told me i was impulsive, and they said depakote would help with that. they put me on 250mg twice a day and said that since i'm small, that should be enough. a doctor i had later said that the dose i was on isn't really therapeutic; it's what they like to put "borderlines" on b/c it's sedating and much less toxic than lithium. one problem is that i'm actually not an impulsive person. i planned the OD very deliberately and turned to it as a measure of last resort and not as a temporary way to ease pain. anyway, i guess depakote is a possibility if you haven't tried it.
as for the question of BPII or ADHD with impulsivity, i can't really lend much insight. i think it really depends on the dr diagnosing you and that DSM diagnoses are so subjective in that way and so black and white, all or nothing, when the DSM labels that kind of thinking as pathological and sticks usually an Axis II label on it. i'm pleasantly surprised that you haven't run into drs or therapists trying to label you as borderline if you are impulsive. another thing maybe to think about is your age. if you've made it, say, to middle age without being really debilitated by other symptoms of ADHD (eg, hyperactivity or inattentiveness), i would probably guess a mood disorder over ADHD. if you're young or you've always had ADHD-type problems that have been untreated, then maybe you should see a dr. who specializes in diagnosis and treatment of it.
i don't know if this helps, but good luck!
poster:CareBear04
thread:441883
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050113/msgs/443735.html