I agree that type 1 or 2 wouldn't seem to be an issue here, or if it factored in one might think that a lesser tendency for manic episodes/greater tendency for depressive episodes might lean one toward being pro-stimulants.

In my case, my pdoc told me on day one when he diagnosed me with bipolar that he also believed I was adhd (I had never previously had that diagnosis and didn't really think of myself that way).

Several months down the road when my bipolar was stabilized he suggested adding a stimulant in for the adhd, but I resisted because frankly the idea scared me. When my bipolar was undiagnosed I used to self-medicate with benzos, alcohol, and opiods (all downers). Taking anything that could potentially "speed" me up was a very frightening prospect. I didn't quite believe that I really had adhd.

But the more under control my bipolar became, the more I was noticing symptoms of distractibility/inability to maintain focus on uninteresting tasks. I finally was willing to give it I try, so we started treating it then. In therapy, we also work on strategies.

Pdoc also said that it had been necessary to focus on the BIG ISSUE, bipolar, first. My impression was that although he could/would have played with the drug cocktail from the beginning that it was a more efficient process to address one thing at a time and that adhd was just not something critical. He was right, we had bigger fish to fry.

Hope sharing is helpful. Good luck with everything.