Is it bipolar or addiction?

[izzi4106]

Is it possible to distinguish if it's a bipolar disorder or addiction to adderall? I know for sure that a friend of mine is self medicating with adderall. Now she is admitted to a psychiatric ward with a bad psychotic episode and doctors telling us that she has bipolar disorder. She had something similar about six month ago. She stopped taking adderall and didn't take any antipsychotic medications or mood stabilizers. She was most normal I seen her in years. Than she went to see a psychiatrist and was prescribed adderall again and the downward spiral started till she ended up in the hospital where she is know.

[Katt14]

I am bipolar and an addict. Here last year I was perscribed adderrall and it eventually caused  my addiction and illness to spin out of control. Being bipolar I even have to monitor my caffeine intake because when mania hits anger and depression isn't far behind. The caffeine or amphetimines speed up our thought process and increase our emotions. Other words mad turns into rage, sad; depression, and happy; extremely manic

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

If your friend was taking much too much adderall,it's possible that she created a temporary medication psychoses, but of course that is only one possibility, and your observations ought to be shared with her doctor.