Posted by CareBear04 on January 18, 2005, at 19:20:07
In reply to Re: Bipolar ll or ADHD with impulsivity, posted by Michelle123 on January 18, 2005, at 17:43:52
michelle-- you definitely aren't alone! maybe you do have both ADHD and Bipolar II. the impulsivity stuff, especially impulse buying, sound like hypomania or mania. irritality can be either, but i have that more with bipolar, especially during agitated depression states or sometimes when i'm more manic and speeding through thoughts and ideas and people can't keep up with me. have you ever tried stimulants? there has been a lot of controversy among drs about whether or not i should ever have been prescribed them, but all i can say is that they have really helped with my concentration and alertness-- they have really improved my attentiveness. i don't know much about the impulsive side of ADHD. my parents are actually in denial. i think two things, maybe three actually, kept me from being medicated as a child: (1) i was really high-functioning, skipping grades and such; (2) i was always really small, and stimulants can prevent weight gain or growth in children; and (3) my parents were very against it and denied that there was anything wrong with me. this is the same approach they have with my depression/bipolar diagnosis. it took hospitalizations and doctors telling them that i came this close to dying and would die without proper treatment for them to support me financially and, as much as they can, in my treatment. i'm glad to hear that your mom seems to believe you have a problem that needs treating, though i wasn't sure from your tone whether she supports you positively or gives you a hard time.
i don't think it really matters what your diagnosis is. two years ago, i begged my pdoc for a diagnosis, and he told me that dx are good only for drug trials and insurance companies. for two years, i searched for an answer and went from pdoc to pdoc, only to recently recognize that he was actually right. the labels, i believe, are meant to guide and simplify treatment, not to prevent patients from getting help-- even experimental help-- that they need. my starting on stimulants was based on symptoms more than a diagnosis. the ultimate question wasn't, "is she inattentive or more attentive than we can recognize and than she lets on?" it wasn't, "is she hyper b/c of ADHD, does she skip classes all the time because she has this problem or because she's just bored and classes don't suit her learning style?" these questions have always been there, but the ultimate question was, "this girl looks really tired and can't focus and that really shouldn't be the case. what can we do to help her?" if that's the case with you-- if your symptoms suggest that stimulants would help-- i think you should seek them out. they have helped me a lot by calming me down, waking me up, and helping me focus. whereas i had a very hard time before sitting still or focusing on reading or single tasks, now i'm able to do these things and without a lot of anxiety that some people have from stimulants.if you feel like your current treatment isn't addressing your problems, i would definitely encourage you to seek out other treatments, whether or not you seek out a definitive answers.
if you have other stuff you want to discuss, i'd love to hear from you. good luck!
poster:CareBear04
thread:441883
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050113/msgs/443897.html