Anyone with ADD/ADHD and Bipolar?

Hello. I'm new. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with Adderall and Bipolar treatment. My psychiatrist and I recently decided to start treating my ADD again and I have never taken anything except Ritalin, which I built up a tolerance to. He suggested Adderall as something different. I have been taking Welbutrin and Topamax for twelve years. I take Atenolol too, for anxiety along with Xanex when needed. Does anyone have any experience with ADD/ADHD treatment and how their meds worked together? Any side effects? I have no idea what to expect.

Hello indiegrix: Welcome to PsychCentral. PC is a great place to gain support, learn strategies for handling mental health concerns, & to make internet friends. There are many wonderfully supportive members here on PsychCentral. One forum, here on PC, that may be of interest to you would be:

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD) - Forums at Psych Central

All new members' first 5 posts are reviewed before they become available for viewing by the community. So there may be a delay between the time that you submit your first 5 posts & the point at which they become available for viewing. However, once these initial posts have been reviewed & approved, your posts will become available for viewing as soon as you click the submit button.

There are quite a few forums in which you will be able to post. If you have not already done so, be sure to look through the listing in the Forum Index:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/

Each forum is listed in the Index along with a brief description of it's purpose. You will also see listed a number of social groups. A few of these are open to anyone to join. Most, however, require that you apply & be accepted into the group.

Also, once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved, you will be able to participate in our chat rooms where you'll have the opportunity to correspond with other PC members in real time. These chat rooms are listed on the community calendar showing the dates & times they meet:

Forums at Psych Central - Calendar

Should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact any member of the Community Liaison Team. Best wishes...

I'm BP 1 and ADD/ADHD been on adderal (xr and ir) concerta ritalin and most recently vyvanse. The vyvanse is the only one ive been on that doesnt send me into blind uncontrollable rages or amphetamine induced psychosis. Just gotta watch out for them promoting a manic or hypomanic episode if you dont get the immediate issues ive experienced. Adderal is speed afterall

Ive been on Topamax for about 6yrs, was on Ritalin with it, then went to Adderall, just switched to vyvanse last week. Now I'm taking the Topamax, vyvanse, celexa, and Seroquel. Too soon to tell if any negative effects from the vyvanse, but didn't notice any with the Adderall, other than it stopped working after about a year.
Good luck!

Indiegrlx- I'm going to be completely honest with you about my experience with adderall XR 30mg (while on different combinations of antidepressants, mood stabilizers & anti-psychotic meds over a course of 4 years)
Adderall has absolutely destroyed my life and changed me forever. 4 years ago I got a prescription for Adderall to help me get through school while working full time and literally before I could even begin to worry about the possibility of addition or side effects it was too late and I was and still am 4 years later 100% physically dependent on this drug and now newly diagnosed with major depressive disorder, panic attack disorder, manic depression, bipolar depression & OCD. I was never diagnosed with any of these before Adderall, only mild depression & generalized anxiety. Now If I dont take my adderall in the morning I am literally on bed rest and incapable of accomplishing anything at all-even showering!!! And I just binge on junk food in bed all day-its disgusting! But when I do take it I have to force myself to eat, constantly cotton mouthed, wide awake wired till 3am every single night just reading endless articles about my mental health disorders. Adderall used to make me feel focused, peppy, motivated, productive, energetic, social, outgoing and really just overall "on top of the world." In order to achieve anything remotely close to that same "high" I now have to take 3X my prescribed dosage of 30mg so 90mg total which is above the "safe" prescribed amount so out of desperation I resort to wasting ridiculous amounts of money on more pills from friends and peers. I literally cant sit still without feeling "useless and unproductive" I panic about time going by too fast every day and not getting enough done because I lose track of time cleaning and organizing the tiniest details over and over that don't even matter! Adderall has consumed my being and ruined my life! My boyfriend hates how I am on adderall. I overthink EVERYTHING, he can't even stand to go grocery shopping with me because I'm so cracked out that I feel the need to check every single shelf of every single aisle and buy a million things I don't need and just blow off the actual neccessities. I pick my cuticles til they bleed-it keeps me up all night! I have these new random phobias like closing my eyes in the shower, going anywhere alone, driving anywhere. Im constantly paranoid im being followed. My pupils are constantly dilated and I am physically unable to keep my hands and fingers still. The dark circles under my eyes are impossible to cover. I honestly feel like a full blown tweaker!!! I HATE adderall! I hate what it does to me! And yet I can't stop taking it every morning!!! I feel so hopeless. I never thought I'd be an "addict" just the word freaks me out. Im also in denial because I honestly believe that there's no way I could ever function without this drug. I truly believe that I need it. I have an extremely addictive personality that runs in my family and it has gotten the best of me. Not only am I miserable now but Im terrified of what it's doing to my body longterm. I know what I have to do, I just can't do it. Understand this is just my personal experience with Adderall. I realize everyone's different, but I would never under any circumstance recommend this devastatingly damaging, ridiculously addictive and potentially life altering drug to anyone.

I am ADD and my doctor has not tried anything for it. I have heard the same about it making you manic.

I have ADD and BP. Actually, Adderall is what gave away that I have BP. My pdoc and I thought I only had ADD and she prescribed a small dose of Adderall for me; I think 10 mgs or so. Even at that small a dose, it threw me into the worst mania/mixed state I have ever lived through.

At first, I was so euphoric! I thought I had found my wonder drug! I was running around doing all kinds of stuff, laughing at everything, dancing like a maniac to music I don't even like. Every thing was so much more vibrant. Colors, smells, food (when I ate, which was not much because it completely took away my appetite). I just thought that this was what it was like to be happy for the first time in my life. How deceived I was.

Then came the psychosis. I thought I was possessed by a demon. I had some visual hallucinations. As you can imagine, things just got worse from there. I went into a mixed state, which is absolute non-stop torture. It lasted about 3 months. I had to quit my job. My pdoc tried to stabilize me with new meds, but nothing worked and eventually I ended up in the hospital. That's where they finally found the right combo for me.

But no more Adderall for me. Ever. My pdoc prescribed Strattera for my ADD, which is a non-stimulant. It works pretty well. I'm happy with it.

Please be careful. Adderall can be the devil in disguise. It makes you feel so good and then it tears your life apart. Best of luck to you.

I was diagnosed with adhd 7 years ago, and just a few weeks ago with bipolar. i have been on any stimulant you can think of for adhd, and only some improvements with adderall. I have been taking Lamictal (a mood stabilizer) now for 3 weeks ago for the bipolar, and do not have any interactions between my adderall (xr and ir) and lamictal. For me, adderall has never sent me into a manic phase, but rather made me focus and be less hyper I guess you could say. The hypomanic phase I experienced and the hyperactivity that I have always had with the adhd are two completely different levels of activity. I was diagnosed when my pdoc upped my wellbutrin dosage from 150 mg sr to 300 mg xl. The medication sent me into my hypomanic phase and also brought along some unpleasant ringing in my ears. He said this reaction also explains why ssri's have not worked in the past for me. He asked me not to take my adderall for one week to see if that is what caused the episode, but it was not. I believe that some people have had stimulant induced manic episodes from stimulants, however, so it may be determined by your brain chemistry! I hope all goes well

I've been diagnosed as ADHD/Bipolar but the new pdoc dropped the ADHD diagnosis which I totally agree with. My symptoms were that of bipolar not ADHD.

In saying that I am on dexamphetamine and it has helped tremendously with depression. Without it I am slowed down and tired and unable to focus (all symptoms of depression). I got clearance to go on it because of "treatment resistant depression".

I stupidly took myself off it over the summer, cos I was drinking and smoking a lot and I knew they didnt mix. I chose self medicating instead of prescribed medication and now I've been inpatient 5 weeks.

I have been diagnosed with ADHD & Bipolar I - I am on vyvanse for the ADHD and it seems to work and also helps the restlessness that comes with Abilify.

I have been diagnosed with Bipolar Depression and ADD and my doc put me on Latuda and Vyvanse.Works great...I have been on it for a little over a week.