[Tangerine87]

Long story short I have add and I'm seeing pdoc bc I can't concentrate and also bc I need some stimulants to replace my diet pills. My t is suggesting that pdoc might say that I have bipolar ii. If pdoc says I'm bipolar, what's the chance that I'll get stimulants as part of my treatment plan ? Please be honest if you can.

[Velouria]

I have seen some people around here with a dual dx of ADD and Bipolar who do take stimulants. But it all depends on what your pdoc thinks. If your pdoc thinks you are bipolar II, you may get more meds than just stims.

So, why do you need to replace your diet pills?

[Tangerine87]

Bc I need to lose weight and Stims do the same thing.

[Velouria]

To an extent they do. But you need to be working out and eating right, too. The appetite suppressing effects kind of go away after a while. I'll put it this way: I'll find myself hungrier if I don't take my Adderall, but can still overeat when I do take it. I've been on it for years. But there may be different stims that work better for weight control, but you build up a tolerance.

Make sure to tell your pdoc your concerns about meds that may cause weight gain if he does dx you with bipolar ii, because there are a lot of meds used for bipolar that can cause weight gain. For every single "other" med my pdoc has put me on, weight gain is the first side effect I ask about before I walk out of the office with the script. I started that after effortlessly gaining 10 pounds on Abilify.

[vans1974]

Yes, I'm bipolar II, and I take Provigil.

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[r010159]

How is that Provigil?

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[jesusplay]

bipolar I, bipolar II, it doesn't matter.

main difference in one manic episode.

I haven't had a manic episode in over a year and I'm bipolar I constantly depressed.

[nycboots]

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.