[sideblinded]

I am on the fence on whether I have more than depression and anxiety. Actually my pdoc is not much help so far. All I know is that I have felt better on anticonvulsants like gabapentin. I get AD induced hypomanias. I have a moderate chance of having ADHD (impulsive-hyperactive) type.

My pdoc has changed my meds about 10 times in six months. I am so confused as to whether I have bipolar II and or ADHD. I do know that I have mood swings. They are not the highs like mania when I am not on ane AD and they are not hormonal. I just know that I have a mood disorder. I am generally in a bad mood when not taking an AD.

What this leaves me, I don't know. My pdoc just switched me from 2700 mg of gabapentin/day to 150 mg trileptal twice a day. This makes no sense to me as far as dosage.

What is he doing? How will this help him decide? I usually have theories but I am just lost with this guy.

Any theories?

[Travelinglady]

Beats me, but I do know that bipolar and ADD can be hard to separate, because my son was first diagnosed as bipolar and then that was changed to ADD.

Maybe you can get your doc to do a bit of his thinking out loud.

[sideblinded]

Originally Posted by Travelinglady

Beats me, but I do know that bipolar and ADD can be hard to separate, because my son was first diagnosed as bipolar and then that was changed to ADD.

Maybe you can get your doc to do a bit of his thinking out loud.

Thanks TL for responding. That is a great idea. This doctor never says what he is thinking. I think this is really great for him and not so much for his patients. I believe he is just clueless so he throws out medication like a chemistry experiment while the dollar signs go cha-ching in his head. In the meantime, I am not mentally well and as soon as I can get rid of him, I am. I am going to ask my next pdoc to do some testing for the ADHD. I guess what is most confusing is the fact that I have a mood problem but what it is, I don't know.

[Hopeinnyc]

I have the same question right now. Have you had a racing mind, obsessed and over-thought everything? Have you had major anxiety? It's like my brain is so overactive that I can't just be. Doc yanked me off of Zoloft and now on Lamictal. Not sure if it will help!

[sideblinded]

Originally Posted by Hopeinnyc

I have the same question right now. Have you had a racing mind, obsessed and over-thought everything? Have you had major anxiety? It's like my brain is so overactive that I can't just be. Doc yanked me off of Zoloft and now on Lamictal. Not sure if it will help!

These are good questions. I only get a racing mind when I am put on antidepressants. I do obsess over things. ( ie: this!) I do have major anxiety as well.

Your doc may be onto something with you. Maybe he or she thinks that you have a mood disorder but can't tell like me if the AD is causing the racing thoughts. Antidepressants can have that effect on some people. If the lamictal (anti-epileptic) works for you better than the Zoloft, then either AD's are inducing your racing thoughts or you may have a mood disorder. It sounds like your doc is trying to figure this out.

best of luck!

[Hopeinnyc]

Thanks for the encouraging reply. Whats confusing is that Ive always had racing thoughts. Zoloft helped slow them until recently. Not sure if it stopped working and started having adverse affect. Praying for a miracle soon.

Are you only on an anticonvulsant?

[sideblinded]

Originally Posted by Hopeinnyc

Thanks for the encouraging reply. Whats confusing is that Ive always had racing thoughts. Zoloft helped slow them until recently. Not sure if it stopped working and started having adverse affect. Praying for a miracle soon.

Are you only on an anticonvulsant?

I will pray for a miracle for both of us!

My current Dx's are:

MDD
GAD
ADHD (no meds are currently prescribed)
Insomnia

My current meds are:

Remeron 15 mg HS (at night)
Clonazepam 1 mg BID (2 x a day)
Trileptal 150 mg BID

Ambien 10 mg HS (I lucked out on the 10mg for women)
FDA warns against using 10 mg for women.

I was on 2700 mg of gabapentin but doc changed it to trileptal

Since we are on the ADHD forum.....why don't docs or pdocs care to treat older adults with ADD or ADHD??

[SeekerOfLife]

I was diagnosed with ADHD over 5 years ago by a previous therapist. My current therapist agrees with this. I became convinced after doing a lot of personal research/reading/pondering. I would not wish ADHD on anyone. Many children seem to do ok IF diagnosed AS children. Do your own research. Eventually, you will figure out if you have it.

[sideblinded]

Originally Posted by SeekerOfLife

I was diagnosed with ADHD over 5 years ago by a previous therapist. My current therapist agrees with this. I became convinced after doing a lot of personal research/reading/pondering. I would not wish ADHD on anyone. Many children seem to do ok IF diagnosed AS children. Do your own research. Eventually, you will figure out if you have it.

Hey Seeker...

I have a strong history for ADHD from my school records. I seem to have more problems with impulsivity and hyperactivity than attention. I don't know if I grew out of the poor attention span by hyper-focusing as I can do that very well. I seemed to not grow out of the other much at all. I need testing but I am skeptical of written or computer tests to make the dx. I really need a therapist who is experienced with adults who may have ADHD.

Thanks for commenting!



~sb~

[Hopeinnyc]

Yes, the hyperfocusing is my prob too. I can never relax besuse my mind is on go!

[SeekerOfLife]

I am very inattentive. My mind is constantly flitting from one thing to another. I do not hyperfocus well or often. Just try to imagine what it is like to get ready for work when my mind constantly shifts from one thing to another. Pdoc will not give me a med (another story).

I am very restless. It is hard for me to stay on task for long.

Mood swings...well, I am still learning about myself and how to cope. I totally hate the mood swings. Today I am doing ok. Quickly, or later today, I may be very depressed (which I also hate). From what I have read about bipolar, I would go into modes of high activity or ideas. Like I would decide to bake cookies for everyone I know before the sun comes up. Or decide I am going to clean house from top to bottom even if I have to stay up all night.
So I am pretty sure I am not bipolar. It is hard for me to get to bed on time because I keep thinking of little things I need to do before I go to bed. However I will not stay up to do something that can wait or take on a big project and thus loose sleep.

[sideblinded]

Originally Posted by SeekerOfLife

I am very inattentive. My mind is constantly flitting from one thing to another. I do not hyperfocus well or often. Just try to imagine what it is like to get ready for work when my mind constantly shifts from one thing to another. Pdoc will not give me a med (another story).

I am very restless. It is hard for me to stay on task for long.

Mood swings...well, I am still learning about myself and how to cope. I totally hate the mood swings. Today I am doing ok. Quickly, or later today, I may be very depressed (which I also hate). From what I have read about bipolar, I would go into modes of high activity or ideas. Like I would decide to bake cookies for everyone I know before the sun comes up. Or decide I am going to clean house from top to bottom even if I have to stay up all night.
So I am pretty sure I am not bipolar. It is hard for me to get to bed on time because I keep thinking of little things I need to do before I go to bed. However I will not stay up to do something that can wait or take on a big project and thus loose sleep.

Hey Seeker

I hope you are rested up. You sound so much like me. I seem to have the kind of mood swings that are totally on the down side like sometimes anger as well. I ruminate quite a bit and I get plain frustrated with real life stuff. There are reasons I get these mood shifts. I don't just cycle into a mood swing so it doesn't appear that I have bipolar either but I just am not positive that I don't yet. It appears that I don't, since my moods don't cycle by themselves. I really feel that I have good reasons to feel the way I do. My pdoc has my neurotransmitters so confused that it is no wonder I am so strung out. ADHD does seem like the culprit along with depression and anxiety. New pdoc soon I hope.

Take care

sb

[HolisticGal]

The racing thoughts are symptoms of both GAD and Bipolar. I too have had conflicting diagnosis like Traveling. Turns out I have ADHD and GAD for sure (since it's been confirmed by more then 2 professionals), with the new doctor trying to decide on Bipolar. The other day I induced hypomania on the way to a store in a shady area that by the time I arrived, I had NO anxiety at all and felt really goooood, whereas normally I would have been hyperventilating, fidgeting, looking about, etc.

Are you only hyperactive and anxious? I can also be extremely hyperactive and goal oriented, going on just 4 hours sleep a night for a few days, but not usually an entire week. (You don't have to meet all the criteria to be bipolar).

I'd suggest that you track/journalize perhaps for a while med free or with just a few meds (as opposed to the 10 various they've had you on) - you may discover you have comorbidity of bipolar and ADHD.

[Blitter2014]

Originally Posted by SeekerOfLife

I am very inattentive. My mind is constantly flitting from one thing to another. I do not hyperfocus well or often. Just try to imagine what it is like to get ready for work when my mind constantly shifts from one thing to another. Pdoc will not give me a med (another story).

Hi Seeker, sounds like your having a hard time, especially at the moment. While it may take some time to get an actual diagnosis, its more important for now that you get a Pdoc who is going to treat the symptoms you are experiencing. You said that your Pdoc not giving you medications was another story, so I don't know the details, but if you are not getting the results you desire its time to change Pdocs. Racing thoughts are something that can be medicated and your Pdoc should be doing something about it.

Have you tried discussing specifically the symptoms you are experiencing? While I find mood charting difficult (I start and then get bored with it after a while) I do find that by keeping a diary next to the bed I can jot down the symptoms or issues I want to discuss with my Pdoc on the next visit. So if I have had racing thoughts, I will write it down. If I have displayed compulsive behaviour it will get written down. Then before the next Pdoc visit, I will compile all my notes. I might end up with "15 days of racing thoughts where I could not control it, 7 days where I was overwhelmed, 4 days where I slept less than 4 hours". I have found in the past that I tend to put on a brave facade when I see the Pdoc, or if I am having a good day of the appointment I will dismiss what I have been feeling beause on the day I "feel ok". Having the list helps me have and discuss all the facts when he askes "How are you feeling? or how have you been?". Might sound crazy but it works for me anyways

Life is too short and you and your mental health too important to put up with a bad Pdoc. If you need to change then don't hold back.

Hope your feeling better soon

[HolisticGal]

My first and second docs diagnosed me with conflicting disorders (and meds).

Now on to a third opinion and I think the wisest: he has said let's not jump to a diagnosis.

[sideblinded]

Thanks for all of your comments here....

If there were DX's for these:

impatience
strong opinions
some moodiness (mild - that does have subject matter)
anger - where I feel I have a good point
inflexible - at times
hyperactive
impulsive

It would be settled.....

My Only Known DX's
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER - ( I think it is mild )
GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER - High
Insomnia

This is why I am frustrated with psychiatry.....