Bipolar and ADD

[Lizz67]

I have BPl and have been diagnosed and treated since my mid-20s. I'm 41 now.  Recently a new psychiatrist has diagnosed me with ADD as well. She has prescribed Ritilan which I have been taking for a week now at (I think) a very low dose of 10 mg in the morning..
If anyone out there has also been diagnosed with ADD as well as BP  It'd be helpful to hear some of your experiences. There is a ton of information on the web, of course, but I'm a member here and would like to hear some personal comments.  Thanks a lot.

[LetaB]

   Be sure to tell the psychiatrist that you are nervous and aren't normally like that. You complain of some mania so it shouldn't change so much idea of what the doctor thinks of your condition. I was taught to be polite and not be "self pitying" but at your waited for appt. let them know just how bad it really is! I have wasted too many appts. by presenting the wrong case for myself and then getting thewrong drugs. Educate yourself (like you're doing here) as to what drugs are available and ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT - by name if wise. I am rarely manic and even then I'm more in control - no wild spending, no sleeping around, no hysteria. My pdoc. couldn't see what my family knows to be true - I'm ENORMOUSLY depressed - and if I hadn't pretty much DEMANDED a change to Lamactil he would not have thought about it. Good luck on the 23th! I'll be rooting for you.
And, buddy, when you speak of your feeling you might take an escape route you are preaching to the choir.

[jimgreg]

thats what im worried about also..im pretty sure from my felings and moods and manic that im bp...ive been looking fo a pdoc for 3 yrs since i was put on disability..they just said that i had a nervous condition..so i went to mu gpdoc when i couldnt find a pdoc..so my doc put ME\e on meds that didnt agree with me..but it lased 2 yrs..my last med was lithiem..with in 4 monthes i went toxic 7...icu 4 days..so im thinking when i go to the pdoc appt that i have on mach 23rd if i can even waite that long..that im going to not be what i want to be when i see him..i get very nervous around docs blood p goes up and everything..so im afraid hes not going ton diagnose me right...now people on here been telling me that the pdoc wont diagnose me til a later time..this is got me all messed up.making my deppreshion really basd were sometimes i just dont think im going to make it out alive  thanks james

[elwoodsf]

I too was diagnosed with BP 30 years ago and four years ago ADD. I was put on Adderal. I didn't experience any effect on the BP because the Adderal shot my blood pressure up to 200/180 range. I took my bp daily and then my doc took me off of it.

I never did take another med for it because I figured that I've had it my entire life and learned to accomodate for it on my own so why start ANOTHER med now. At least now being more aware of it, I can identify more clearly an ADD moment.

I don't suggest this for anybody. I'm just sharing my experience as you asked in your post. :)

~El

[LetaB]

  You are only taking a 10 mg dose. This (in my experience) is comperable to a large cup of coffee. Ritilin is an amphetamine so no one is unaffected by it - a placebo effect is unlikely. Many doctors are more wary of prescribing these drugs after the HUGE outpouring of public criticism these last 10 years (which you will encounter here). When you're diagnosed with BP it becomes even more difficult to get treated for the ADD as stimulants are known to trigger manic phases. The last time I went to see my my Pdoc I asked for a new prescription for Adderall (20 mg XR) and he looked up and said, "Adderall? Who's been prescribing you THAT?" You have been for the last five years I told him.
  I take it there's no other clinic you could tranfer to? Psychiatrists are hard to find - there's only two for two counties here. Educate yourself. Be ready to relate evidence to support your need for a drug like this. Keep records you can show to verify how much it effects you and for how long. See if you can get an XR form that would wear off more slowly. You only have a few minutes of time with this doctor - if the system is the same there - so be ready to make the most of it. I found that my time with my Pdoc was so hard to get and therefore so precious and anticipated that he often thought I was manic when I came in! He's an intimidating guy and I was just scared and anxious. Just a few tips to consider. Best of luck.

[Lizz67]

Thanks for your comments. I am feeling a little calmer in the mornings, but the after-work time is still rough.  My doctor said that the Ritalin would wear off in the afternoons.  I hope I'm not having plaebo experience. I'd like to try an afternoon does as well, but my pdoc has just left the agency where I go.  A new doctor is starting and and I've heard he won't prescribe for ADD.  I'm worried about  this even though it hasn't happened yet. Things are starting to be ridiculous.  I would enjoy perky so much, I've been so low and hardly getting up when I don't have to be at work.  I hope my new doctor will be willing to up my dose or my dosing schedule.
I'm so glad to hear a couple of positive comments.

[LeftCoastChick]

Yeps, it's a fine line isn't it? I do think I get a bit of hypo, but not enough to impact me, I don't anything like shopping or have rapidly thinking, I'm just a bit more perky, like Leta. I'd rather have that then being in a serious funk.

[LetaB]

I was diagnosed with ADD 13 years ago, severe depression 5 years ago which finally was diagnosed as depressive B.P two years ago. My experience is quite different with Adderall (which I've taken for 7 yrs.) than LCC. Although I keep trying new BP meds to get me out of this heavy funk I've been in, the only thing that really gets me somewhat motivated to leave my bed is Adderall. I'll admit that it probably does make me slightly hypomanic, but because I come from such a depressed place it's closer to normal for most folks. The only problem is in the evenings when it wears off then I feel very let down but that's an improvement over not getting up in the first place!

[LeftCoastChick]

I have both, they just figured out I do really have ADD as well. It's a fine line with meds though. Some stimulants can trigger the BP manic swing as well.  I was put on Adderall while ago(before I was diagnosed with BP) and flipped me into a hypomanic episode for 2 weeks, in hindsight, I was higher then a kite.

. Each person is different though,. I  have had  my anti-manic drug dosage tweaked instead, I take 100mgs of SeroquelXR in the day and 300mgs of the same at night. It's calmed my brain down. I have to say my ADD isn't as bad as many. I have a coffee each day that helps, but if I have more then one, poof there goes my hypomania. It's a really tricky balancing act. You are on really small dose which is good, just make sure you watch your coffee intake. Many compensate for the ADD with caffeine.