[deanslist23]

sorry ahead of time for the length . 2003 my dr told me i suffered from anxiety and SAD. 2004 my dr told me i had ocd and i tried different meds over the course of a year. 2005 i was treated for depression again. 2006-2007 i struggled with ocd?, depression and anxiety. when i saw a therapist and described what was happening to me, she said she thought it was add, not ocd, but i never told my dr. 2008 i took a bunch of info from the internet to my dr and asked if i was bipolar (grandfather is), she said i was too old! 2009 i switched dr's and therapists. my new dr had me answer questions from a sheet of paper about bipolar and said i had it. she put me on symbyax. the combination of symbax and therapy helped my depression significantly. the problem is that while my depression is better, i still have add symptoms but my dr said she can't diagnose me with it because she doesn't know if i can take add meds with bipolar meds (i'm only on cymbalta) so she told me i had to see a psychologist. when i called to find one, they all said they couldn't diagnose me unless i stopped seeing my therapist and started seeing them. everything i've read suggests there's no problem with taking cymbalta and adderall together, i actually took one of my husband's xr's to see if it helped any and to decide if it was worth it to pursue answers and i saw a HUGE difference! for the first time in yrs i didn't jump from one task to the next without finishing any!! how can i make my dr see?

[perpetuallysad]

That's a pretty hard thing to figure out. I think its kind of odd that your psychiatrist cannot diagnose you with something that has to do with psychiatry. And I know its possible to be bipolar and adhd at the same time. I hope you can figure out what to do.

Also, I would not tell your doc you took your husband's adderall. As it is an illicit substance, it may appear that you are just trying to get a legal prescription for speed.

[Moreta]

I've been diagnosed with Bipolar/OCD/ADHD. You can take adderall with cymbalta, but if that's all you're taking, and your bipolar, you run the risk of going full blown manic. Which, I would like to add, is no fun. There has to be a mood stabilizer/anti-psychotic, in the mix, to prevent you from going manic. It might be a good idea to start on one of the ADD meds that is not a stimulant and see how that goes. Please don't take your husbands medication, without consent from a doctor. Adderall has the tendency to raise your blood pressure and can be addictive.

[kikki27]

Originally Posted by deanslist23

sorry ahead of time for the length . 2003 my dr told me i suffered from anxiety and SAD. 2004 my dr told me i had ocd and i tried different meds over the course of a year. 2005 i was treated for depression again. 2006-2007 i struggled with ocd?, depression and anxiety. when i saw a therapist and described what was happening to me, she said she thought it was add, not ocd, but i never told my dr. 2008 i took a bunch of info from the internet to my dr and asked if i was bipolar (grandfather is), she said i was too old! 2009 i switched dr's and therapists. my new dr had me answer questions from a sheet of paper about bipolar and said i had it. she put me on symbyax. the combination of symbax and therapy helped my depression significantly. the problem is that while my depression is better, i still have add symptoms but my dr said she can't diagnose me with it because she doesn't know if i can take add meds with bipolar meds (i'm only on cymbalta) so she told me i had to see a psychologist. when i called to find one, they all said they couldn't diagnose me unless i stopped seeing my therapist and started seeing them. everything i've read suggests there's no problem with taking cymbalta and adderall together, i actually took one of my husband's xr's to see if it helped any and to decide if it was worth it to pursue answers and i saw a HUGE difference! for the first time in yrs i didn't jump from one task to the next without finishing any!! how can i make my dr see?

Hey I feel your pain cause I suffer from adhd and ocd and panic attacks and mild depression.If your doctor want listen about the adhd then I would switch doctors and get a one who knows and treat adhd .It was hard for my old doctor to dx me as adhd and she was like maybe its more of ocd then adhd .And I told her no Its both cause I could not finsh things just kept on not finshing nothing so one day my nephew said I hate to see you suffering like this and he gave me some of his ritlin and thank God for him cause I could focus enough to finsh my tasks.And the next day I had an doctors appointment and I told my doctor just like this I said I do have adhd cause my nephew gave me sum of his pills and it work.But she got mad and said you dont supposed to take nobody else meds .And I just said I know Iam not but I was just proving a point to you that the ritlin worked and I do have adhd so I went to a new doctor and let them know I have adhd and she test me and gave me sum ritlin and now Iam to focus and understand what people was saying so my advice is if your doctor dont listen and try to avoid getting you tested then I would make a doctors appointment with someone who will listen huggs good luck keep posting.

[Skully]

It is possible to be all three. I know bipolar and ADHD go hand in hand. This is not true for everyone, but it is for most. My pdoc said there is an overlap between the two of them.

[onomonapetia]

I have both add/adhd. It thoroughly sucks ***, but you can take meds for both at the same time. Just be sure to address the swings first or you will get manic! Don't tell your Dr about taking other meds! It is addictive!