link for article compares adhd and BiPolar (BP)
- Thread starter jannie
- Start date
jamrobmic
New Member
I don't know if this is the one you're looking for, but this one helped us:
http://www.adhdnews.com/bipolar.htm
http://www.adhdnews.com/bipolar.htm
TerryJ2
Well-Known Member
What a great article!
My son seems to be both, with-only one major difference--he is clearly showing improvement over the years. That supposedly rules out bipolar.
Also, some of the explanations can be misleading. For eg, it says kids with-biopolar tend to be sluggish in the a.m., vs kids with-ADHD hop out of bed. But what if, like my son, they're on Adderal and they are keyed up until almost midnight, the drug wears off, and they can't get up when you want them to?
Lists like this take a careful reading.
The scary part is, what if the kid is both? Sigh.
My son seems to be both, with-only one major difference--he is clearly showing improvement over the years. That supposedly rules out bipolar.
Also, some of the explanations can be misleading. For eg, it says kids with-biopolar tend to be sluggish in the a.m., vs kids with-ADHD hop out of bed. But what if, like my son, they're on Adderal and they are keyed up until almost midnight, the drug wears off, and they can't get up when you want them to?
Lists like this take a careful reading.
The scary part is, what if the kid is both? Sigh.
jamrobmic
New Member
You're welcome.
Terry-I've been told my son is both. He was originally diagnosis with ADD at 15 by a psychiatrist, then it was ruled out thru psychiatric testing (that's when the psychiatrist changed his diagnosis to bipolar and he was put on Lamictal), but then he was evaluated for Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and then by the school psychiatric for learning disabilities, and both of those said he probably does have ADD to some degree (his therapist thought so as well). The bipolar, however, causes much worse problems for him, but I do wonder if his impulsivity wouldn't be so bad if he were only bipolar. That's what gets him into the most trouble, in my opinion.
Terry-I've been told my son is both. He was originally diagnosis with ADD at 15 by a psychiatrist, then it was ruled out thru psychiatric testing (that's when the psychiatrist changed his diagnosis to bipolar and he was put on Lamictal), but then he was evaluated for Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and then by the school psychiatric for learning disabilities, and both of those said he probably does have ADD to some degree (his therapist thought so as well). The bipolar, however, causes much worse problems for him, but I do wonder if his impulsivity wouldn't be so bad if he were only bipolar. That's what gets him into the most trouble, in my opinion.
BusynMember
Well-Known Member
I've been repeatedly dxd. with bipolar, and, if it's true that I have it, I can tell you that some of the distinctions aren't always the case. I was always up early and down early to bed (except when anxiety was so bad it kept me up). I could never concentrate or keep my mind in one place due to racing thoughts, which probably looked like ADHD inattention, which I also may have. I can tell you that if I have co-morbid ADHD, I don't really care--it's the horrible moodswings that were debilitating, not the hyperness. The only way to rule in or out what a person has, if there are no blood tests, are medication trials and, later on, seeing moodswings for yourselves. If mood stabilizers work and stims make the child worse, it's a good guess that you aren't seeing ADHD. Kids with both bipolar and ADHD may have trouble sleeping because both taking stimulants and childhood mania can cause insomnia. Unfortunately, until there are blood tests, there is no way to know for sure why our kids are upset. It's trial and error. If something works, keep doing it, no matter what the diagnosis. is and if something doesn't work, keep looking. Bipolar is often misdiagnosed as ADHD, but the kids don't improve with ADHD interventions and medications.
Andrea Danielle
New Member
I love this article, this is the one that convinced me about a year ago that the doctors were wrong. I highlighted all of the areas of the document where my difficult child was way more BiPolar (BP) than ADHD and used this as a basis of my discussions with the new docters.
I finally got somewhere!
Andrea
I finally got somewhere!
Andrea
This is another good one.
The Popper article is referenced in The Bipolar Child and Dr. Papolos who wrote The Bipolar Child is referenced in the article I linked. Just one big circle.
The Popper article is referenced in The Bipolar Child and Dr. Papolos who wrote The Bipolar Child is referenced in the article I linked. Just one big circle.
