[Red_Cyclops]

Looking for some input from people who are either diagnosed both ADD and Bipolar, or have symptoms of both. I feel that I have always been Bipolar since childhood - depression and hypomania and severe mood swings is all I can remember from early on. I was not diagnosed until age 36 (~5 years ago). As I started to talk with my pdoc a few years after my BP dx, we realized that I have also shown characteristics of ADD since childhood.

I know that some of the characteristics and symptoms can overlap, such as concentration and mood issues. After much discussion, I was diagnosed as ADD as well, but sometimes I wonder whether that is accurate or not, and if it is possibly just Bipolar, with recent concentration and focus issues getting stronger with taking BP meds over the last 5 years. Thanks for you input!

[faerie_moon_x]

My husband has ADD and I have bipolar. When he was diagnosed I took the ADD test for fun, :P I actually scored worse than he did, and he had a very bad score. I was surprised, I never considered that I might have ADD. But, in my research I discovered that a lot of ADD and bipolar symptoms are similar. (Lack of focus, difficulty making decisions, easily frustrated, jumping from topic to topic, etc.) I know you can have both, too.

That's really all I know about it.

[Victoria'smom]

I've also have been asked if I was dx. with adhd when I was younger both myself and my husband always score really, really high on the AD(h)D scale. My son has AD(h)D that we worry is possibly bipolar.Our son's AD(h)D specialist feels AD(h)D, Asperger's Syndrome, and bipolar are on the same scale. I'm not sure how I feel about this and the non stimulant medication has not worked so a second opinion we go. IRL I know of only 1 bipolar/adhd person and her son originally adhd quickly was changed to dx. bipolar. There are some pdoc's that believe you can have both others don't.

I hear it's very hard to find the right medication w/ both issues but specific anti-depressants treat both. I'm only Dx. with bipolar 1 however I have a 5 min. max focus time on anything. Sorry I couldn't help.

[BipolaRNurse]

I've taken a few of those ADD tests myself---oh look, a kitty!---and they always seem to skew me toward a dx of ADD, even though it's already been established that I have bipolar d/o and anxiety. Dunno if it's the way the tests are written---? It's hard to think of myself as having attention issues, but then, there are entire weeks and months when I can't stay on task any longer than a bird can stay in one tree.

I defiantly wonder about this as well. I have for sure signs of ADD, but I always thought it was the bipolar at play. Tho the ADD symptoms are clear as day even in the light of stable mood periods. Not sure if that means anything. I cannot concentrate on one thing for more than a few minutes at a time, I have a need to bounce back and forth around simple things even like house work if I actually want to accomplish anything. It's so hard to stay on track. I can't keep anything organized or flowing smoothly because of my attention problems. I have a hard time following conversations Because I feel so disttracted. I have a hard time sitting or standing in place. I honestly do not sit until about 11 or 12 pm. And even then I cannot just watch tv or do one task. I feel like I have a constant continuous need to move all the time.

I don't know if that's ADD or bipolar, or just my natural rythm. I never thought to look into it enough, I mean that's probably because of my already four diagnoses, don't want any more but it's a problem.

Edit:
I just went and took the quiz here on PC, scored 100, it said 70+ points towards adult ADHD, didn't think it would be so high. But a lot of the questions could be related to bipolar as well, I find this confusing. Although I have heard of the theory of ADD, Autism, Bipolar, Schizoaffective, and Schizophrenia being a spectrum. If I really think about it, I can see that it might be.

[cocoabeans]

Distinguishing is simple due to the episodic reality of bipolar. All the time or some of the time?

ADD/ADHD is an all the time thing. There are not periods where it is seemingly better or non-existant or much much worse. It is a continual issue.

Bipolar disorder? Off and on. The attention problems that come with mania or depression go away with mania and depression. There are periods of normalcy and during those times, no ADD/ADHD.

Those quizzes on this site are not helpful because symptoms overlap. If you have one disorder or even think you do, you'll find you "qualify" for a variety using multiple choice quizzes. The context of why you chose A doesn't matter. A is 5 points. Even with the human element, psychological diagnosis is just about recognizing a cluster of symptoms (often normal experiences and behaviors) and throwing a guess. So, they say you've got ADD now, no big deal. Swallow some Ritalin and see if that helps or makes things worse for you.

[Trippin2.0]

I don't have ADD. I only experience concentration difficulties during hypomania. I find it VERY difficult to monotask tho, not cos I get bored or anything but bcoz I'm happier, calmer when I'm challenged. I enjoy doing 5 different things and syncing them so I finish in succession, 1 almost immediately after the other. I'm actually quite OCD about timing tasks, I get UPSET if my task timing is off, it BUGS me ALOT. I get MISERABLE at jobs where I can't multitask, it's like I can feel my brain cells dying 1 by 1... But like I said, no, I'm not ADD.

[Red_Cyclops]

Thanks to all for your replies and thoughts. ((Cocoabeans)), I completely get what you are saying. I seem to have concentration and focus issues at all times, however, I know that some of the meds that I take for BP can make those issues worse, along with memory problems as well. I think I do show ADD symptoms that are probably separate to some degree from the bipolar ones, and the Vyvanse med seems to help. My pdoc thinks that my case is mild, but that I do have it. However, I have been told by a couple of docs that, in general, stimulants can work for many, many people, even those that really aren't ADD. So for now I plan to keep taking it as long as it helps.

[AniManiac]

I have both diagnoses as well. The dead giveaway is that the attention problems are present regardless of the mood state. Stimulants don't make me manic, so clearly they do something my brain needs.

The other major difference is that the ADD is disabling in itself. Regardless of how the bipolar is going, ADD makes it hard for me to function (even drive!) without meds. Everyone has issues with attention deficits, but it's not a functional impairment for everyone.

Red Cyclops, thanks for starting this thread, as this subject's been on my mind a fair bit recently. I have both diagnoses, and OCD as well. While the OCD stuff is clearly over the diagnosic thresholds (uhh, hence dx, lol), it is not severe (and my heart goes to out to those for whom it is). TG it's not, because BP is definitely the "ringleader" of the Brain Forces, and there's already enough duking it out up there as it is. Back to ADD (haha, just realized the unintentional but telling nature of that). Like you, I've been endeavoring to figure out where one ends and the other begins. I know the constant vs. episodic distinction of course. It's more like, "Which one of you is wreaking this havoc right now?". Probably a fruitless exercise.

Due to a couple of misconceptions I had about ADD (and yes, I know that abbreviation is not the current nomenclature, but think they made it much clumsier with not nearly enough net gain to warrant it), and not wanting to have any additional diagnoses, I tried dodging and "reason" making to explain it away. Also, I had come to have a number of coping strategies through the years to help mitigate its effects --also a help to denying it. Learning more though, I did concede. The meds have helped. Having lived for so long with it, I didn't really realize how many "stations" were playing till the meds quieted it down. Wow. It was quite a revelation.

(BipolaRNurse, the version I know is, "Oh look! A chicken!" Haha, that is SO hearing me talk. And even my writing -- realized an aspect one day, and dubbed it "parenthetical style". While I do make efforts to stay on topic better in writing (which is easier because it is not immediate, like speech is, and can be "tidied up"...then, "why,hello, OCD", I very often spend hours and hours on editing and re-editing over and over and over...), I find it very difficult to express my thinking w/o it.

[LadyShadow]

Hello everyone!

And thank you Red Cyclops for starting this thread. I have been wondering a lot about this myself. I think I will bring it up with my therapist next session because it seems to be getting worse.

1) I read a book and after a few sentences (would be lucky if I get through a page) I am bored with it and have to do something else.

2) The batteries in my tv remote are constantly going dead because of how much I flip channels. (I watch at least 3 or 4 different shows/movies at one time, watch my favorite parts and then flip to something else. I swear I am a tv flipping ninja!)

3) I start to play a game and I get bored and turn it off after a few minutes.

4) Sometimes I am on this site or in a chatroom and I turn it off after reading a few posts and comments.

I also took the test and it says I have a mild form of ADHD. I don't really know what that means. I have bipolar so I don't know if that is a factor. I often wonder if they are intertwined. They might be. This may be a better discussion for my pdoc though. I will have to see.

What kills me though about all of this, is even though I can't seem to focus on one thing, I am extremely bored. Meaning I want to do something, but I have no idea what. That is really starting to drive me bonkers. LOL.

Originally Posted by PlatinumHeart

...bored. Meaning I want to do something, but I have no idea what...

Oh yes, I often have that too. Very frustrating.

I forgot to mention before (wha? lol) that though the meds definitely help, I still have issues (thanks, BP!) and that is a frustrating thing. Wish they could sort it all...

[Red_Cyclops]

Thanks, Innerzone and PlatinumHeart for your thoughts! It's comforting to know that there are some others out there with similar symptoms. I think I've been bipolar and ADD since childhood, I just developed coping mechanisms to get by over the years. It's nice to finally have a diagnosis - everything finally makes sense now that I know what I'm dealing with.