ADHD or BP or both

[adel_ezz]

I have a difficult question if someone can answer it. Starting from 2006 my 1st mania i have symptoms that are frequent, but i deny them because it will open a new hell for me which i am tired to investigate. It happened that i have less concentration, restlesness, boredom, attention is low. I read sometime ago that this typical ADHD. I know my father has this pretty well. But also my father is OCD but all this for him is mild. Today i went to buy a suit and i had no patience in sorting out something good. No patience and i want to end everything. Now as i returned home i googled and found out (i knew this from before but it was a reminder) that ADHD is confused with BP. The site gives the differential diagnosis. But i find them exactly the same. I posted a question in the ADHD forum asking whether an ADHD can become manic, so perhaps my previous OCD was transformed into ADHD and not BP. Seemingly ADHD and BP are interwinned. Because if ADHD CAN turn manic so why not many diagnosed BP are not so and are rather ADHD. I remember once my pdoc said psychic illness come in a group of diseases. Apparently nobody knows. I'm really fed up. Here in the middle of nowhere where i live i even doubt pdocs heard of the term ADHD.

I know this is perhaps an old question, but how can i tell if i am ADHD or BP or perhaps the 3 of them i.e. along with OCD. But If my meds are the same AP's then it's OK i don't need to investigate it further.
ezz

[monkeyc]

Diagnosis by google is a bad idea.  

And benzo's will calm a manic episode the same way they calm anything - they are at heart muscle relaxants and act to calm by that mechanism - they work primarily as anti anxiety medications and can to some extent control anxiety and panic - while they have "mood stabilisation properties" to a very minor extent (and I tend to think this is not a reason to use them EVER) the use of benzo's to control mania is the same as using any sedative - you would not be functional for much else at a meaningful dose - for example 30mg of valium might work on mania but it will also put you to sleep in 99% of cases within 15 mins where as 5mg might do nothing - these drugs are different for everyone and they are not designed for this purpose.

Diazepam for example has a calming effect as part of its pharmacology but that does not mean a sane person would see it as a mood stabiliser.

And your doctor is right - Mania wont be controlled by a benzo - as soon as the benzo wears off the mania will be back.  I suspect what you are describing is an anxiety or panic attack starting not mania.  Mania is not controllable by benzo's - this is not a class of drugs with that much mood stabilisation capability.

And lets not forget the addictive issue with benzo's which has to be considered

Comorbidity is common in mental illness and bipolar.  Again NOTHING morphs into Bipolar - its not something you get, contract, acquire or gain.  ADHD and BP can exist together and so can OCD as well as a raft of other things - they are seperate illnesses and I tend to strongly disagree with an ADHD and BP diagnosis together in a lot of cases when said diagnosis is made by a GP - manic and hypomanic behaviour is so often confused with ADHD that its not funny and considering Ritalin class drugs are just about the second most over prescribed drug in the western world behind Anti Depressants the tendency of doctors to label ADHD is far too common.

Be aware that ADHD medication is also bad for BP patients if no mood stabilisation is present - it causes mania (ADHD drugs are stimulants - amphetamine class drugs in effect) so its vital to get a REAL diagnosis from a psychiatrist if a doctor says you are ADHD and BP - There are some real cases of them existing but there are I suspect a lot of not remotely ADHD Bipolars out there taking drugs they do not need or which may be dangerous.

[ILADVOCATE]

As for the DSM-4 that is the manual psychiatrists use to diagnose people. Some people might find it complex but you might be able to grasp it. The criteria from it are in Wikipedia. But please don't try to line up what's going on with you in it. Its not good to self diagnose but good for general awareness purposes. One thing I can tell you since you asked clinical language is that "psychomoter agitation" is one sign of bipolar disorder (among many). As for benzodizepenes although they are not mood stabilizers, they have mood stabilization properties. So they would work to some extent on a manic episode.

[adel_ezz]

>>>It is quite possible for someone to mistake the hyperactive side of ADHD for a manic episode of BP.  However, a specialist in the field is not entitled to make such a mistake

ILADVOCATE & Aadel : would you care plz to ask me a few questions and work as my therapist in order to find out whether i have both  ADHD and BP or that my restlessness is a byproduct of BP only (it's important for me in order not to dwell into another med, your help is appreciated). To describe it: sometimes i become restless i walk and walk around inside the house like lions in their cage - i don't know if it's called motor activity - my father tells me it seems you are on the verge of a mania, but luckily after an extra benzo pill it fades away. Once i told my pdoc about it could this be the beginning of a manic phase, he said it can't be dissipated by a benzo pill, it should continue if it's mania. But i can't rely on this pdoc (i have 2) i don't trust egyptian doctors much, because they stopped reading the literature after graduating, and all their info comes from trial and error on their patients.

now i shall read your letters thoroughly  
thanks
PS: what is DSM-4 , I read it many times, where does it exist?
Ezz

[aadel]

BP is a complex phenomenon.  So are ADHD and, I assume, OCD.  I can really comment only on the first two since I have no personal experience with OCD.  If you mix two or three of these together, you are guaranteed to live "in interesting times," to borrow a phrase from an old Chinese curse.  ("May you live in interesting times.")

Along with ILADVOCATE, I doubt that ADHD can morph into BP.  It is true, however, that BP and ADHD are "comorbid," which is simply an ugly way of saying that they often occur together.  That's a statistical fact.  In that sense, you are quite correct when you state that "Seemingly ADHD and BP are interwinned."  They are, or at least they can be; however, intertwining does not make them the same.

It is quite possible for someone to mistake the hyperactive side of ADHD for a manic episode of BP.  However, a specialist in the field is not entitled to make such a mistake.

[ILADVOCATE]

I know someone who has all three diagnosis and they are seperate. One doesn't develop into the other. You could easily look up the DSM-4 on the web. Naturally, I nor anyone here has any clinical knowledge but as I represent people for benefits in a voluntary capacity I am familiar with the criteria. If you have racing thoughts, pressured speech and general episodes of mania that then turn into depression this only comes from bipolar not ocd or adhd. That doesn't mean you couldn't have either or both of those. Adhd is completely seperate from bipolar as is ocd. To put it simply if you've had episodes of mania and depression then if you were diagnosed with bipolar then that makes sense. I think any of the pages on the links section could explain the criteria for bipolar in consumer friendly terms you could understand.