I'm particularly frustrated right now, and I'm trying to vent (although I'm not doing a great job at it).

So, background information: I've done a full neuropsychological evaluation in the past, and the outcome was "ADHD, bipolar, GAD, and OCD". Fairly simple and straightforward.

I've been trying for the past few months to get my pdoc to prescribe me stimulants to help me with my attention and concentration difficulties, but he won't budge no matter what I say.

Now, I brought up my attention/concentration issues again in my meeting today with my pdoc. I told him to review the neuropsych eval and talk to me about it (since he has been purposely ignoring it). Well, he said that because my FSIQ (full-scale IQ) is 132, I am "fully capable of compensating for attention difficulties", and therefore he will not prescribe me anything for my concentration.

First of all, FSIQ is a load of crap (in my opinion). I don't think it can accurately describe how you function on a daily basis, nor do I think it's an accurate representation of your intelligence. Second of all, how can you use a number to determine whether or not someone needs a specific psychiatric medication? Numbers are totally irrelevant (in my opinion).

My pdoc went on to argue that "Einstein had ADHD and he was able to fully compensate for it because he had a high IQ." I thought to myself, "Are you seriously using that as an argument?"

My pdoc gets dumber and dumber everyday. (How is that even humanly possible? But I can assure you, my pdoc does get dumber by the day.) Thankfully I'm going to switch pdocs soon because this is total BS. I'm just waiting for my pdoc to say that I can fully compensate for my bipolar disorder because my IQ (or something else) exceeds some made-up limit.

[Coconutzo]

He sounds like a really good listener.

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[st0psign]

Yeah ive had good experiences with vyvanse for the adhd part. Its the only stim i can take that doesn't literally fill me with blinding rage.

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[st0psign]

And it helps with perking me up from the other meds bringing me down and making me feel sluggish.

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[Woolly Bugger]

So how exactly does your ADHD affect you on a daily basis? What is it that you hope to accomplish through medication? Just curious...

[MusicLover82]

I can feel your frustration with ADHD issues. I haven't been officially diagnosed ADHD, but I had to take Ritalin to focus in order to finish grad school (prescribed by my GP) and I got off it after I graduated. I seriously would not have been able to graduate with my Master's without the Ritalin. It was a life-saver. My hubby complains constantly of my inability to focus/listen when he is telling me something and I often have to get him to repeat things. I also have difficulty paying attention to the plot and details of a movie at times because my mind is constantly elsewhere. I haven't complained to my pdoc about it though because it hasn't interfered with work. I never had attention deficit issues until my bipolar and OCD symptoms emerged, so it all seems connected to me. I'm babbling now, but I just wanted to say HUGS and best wishes for getting treatment for ALL areas of concern for you. I hope you get a better doctor who will actually listen and treat your conditions properly.

[MusicLover82]

P.S. You and I have a lot in common. I, too, have OCD and GAD on top of Bipolar (along with possible ADHD). I also take Latuda.

[BastetsMuse]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

Now, I brought up my attention/concentration issues again in my meeting today with my pdoc. I told him to review the neuropsych eval and talk to me about it (since he has been purposely ignoring it). Well, he said that because my FSIQ (full-scale IQ) is 132, I am "fully capable of compensating for attention difficulties", and therefore he will not prescribe me anything for my concentration..

Wow, really? My FSIQ is 145 and I never found it to be fully accessible UNTIL I was put on Adderall. Thank god my shrink sees things differently from yours. Besides, there are medications for ADD and ADHD that are not stimulant-based; why won't he try you on one of these?

I'm sorry you're having problems with your shrinky-poo. He sounds scared of stimulants for bipolars - I think you'd be wise to take that fine IQ of yours and make a change.

Originally Posted by Woolly Bugger

So how exactly does your ADHD affect you on a daily basis? What is it that you hope to accomplish through medication? Just curious...

I struggle a lot to get my work done. I just can't concentrate well and my attention tends to drift -- i.e., I can't sustain my attention. I know I'm capable of doing more than I'm currently doing, but my attention & concentration are holding me back (IMO).

I hope that medication will help me concentrate better so that I can get my work done. I'm just falling *too* far behind at work, and it's not pretty.

My boss had recognized that I'm capable of doing great things, but he is concerned that my work is taking too long to get done.

Originally Posted by BastetsMuse

Wow, really? My FSIQ is 145 and I never found it to be fully accessible UNTIL I was put on Adderall. Thank god my shrink sees things differently from yours. Besides, there are medications for ADD and ADHD that are not stimulant-based; why won't he try you on one of these?

I'm sorry you're having problems with your shrinky-poo. He sounds scared of stimulants for bipolars - I think you'd be wise to take that fine IQ of yours and make a change.

Yeah, I don't know why he cares so much about IQ. My VCI (verbal comprehension index) and PRI (perceptual reasoning index) were both around 150, while my working memory was around 100 and my processing speed was about 105. So, my working memory & processing speed brought down my FSIQ by a lot. I don't know why that isn't seen as a problem.

I also have proof that my attention & concentration are horrible. I took 3 different tests of sustained attention, and they all say my attention sucks. So, if anything, my IQ isn't helping me "fully compensate" for my attention difficulties.

Maybe my pdoc is afraid of stimulants, or maybe not. I have no idea, but he won't budge either way. He's just stupid, and that's why I hate him as a pdoc.

Some pdocs should not be allowed to be pdocs.

[pirilin]

You need Adderall and Vyvance. Both.
Adderall to start the day and the Vyvance after the effect of the Adderall has vanished. My cousin with ADHD is a new person with this combo.
I wish I could get this. But I'm a mere bipolar and they are afraid of both together.
I lost 25 lbs in two months in Adderall, but the stupid shrink didn't prescribed the Vyvance
and I couldn't take the comedowns.

When depressed, I think I need a stimulant. Also, I have pretty severe pain and I read that a stimulant helps. However, with bipolar, or at least my personal experience with stimulants (street) makes me wary. Even coffee while hypo is probably a bad idea. I stick with decaf. Is it possible your doc is just looking out for your best interests? I know this is hard to consider due to how you feel and the lack of concentration. It never hurts to get a second opinion. By the way, congrats on your genius, Einstein.

Originally Posted by pirilin

You need Adderall and Vyvance. Both.
Adderall to start the day and the Vyvance after the effect of the Adderall has vanished. My cousin with ADHD is a new person with this combo.
I wish I could get this. But I'm a mere bipolar and they are afraid of both together.
I lost 25 lbs in two months in Adderall, but the stupid shrink didn't prescribed the Vyvance
and I couldn't take the comedowns.

Sounds interesting. What does the Vyvanse do that Adderall doesn't? Like... why would you want to take both together? Is there a benefit, or is Vyvanse not strong enough?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

This makes no sense logically but I had to give up caffeine in 2007 because it made me manic and I was using it as a drug to do so. But when I was working I was on Provigil/Nuvigil without problems for years and we're going to try a small dose of Nuvigil to help with the Clozaril sedation now. So sometimes caffeine isn't a good predictor (I've also never abused provigil/nuvigil) even though it seems like it should be. I do think though that the "vigils" are probably less stimulating than adderrall but haven't tried it to know for sure.

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

When depressed, I think I need a stimulant. Also, I have pretty severe pain and I read that a stimulant helps. However, with bipolar, or at least my personal experience with stimulants (street) makes me wary. Even coffee while hypo is probably a bad idea. I stick with decaf. Is it possible your doc is just looking out for your best interests? I know this is hard to consider due to how you feel and the lack of concentration. It never hurts to get a second opinion. By the way, congrats on your genius, Einstein.