Posted by vms on July 25, 1999, at 22:21:17
In reply to bipolar and ADD?, posted by LAURA on July 25, 1999, at 19:04:06
It's real possible for a few reasons.
First of all, people who have a family history of unipolar depression have an increased risk of bipolar. (heck, they're both mood disorders).
Second, the reaction to Zoloft is a clue, but it depends what kind of reaction. If it was mania, it's possible. Another thought is that years ago, it was a hard drug to administer to kids without much research. Maybe the dosage was wrong, or moved up too fast.Thereis a high correlation between mood disorders and ADD. I'm married to one. It's also thought that some ADHD kids were really bipolar, since the two can look the same in terms of frustration tolerance, irritability and activity level. Plus kids don't have the hard and fast cycles that distinguish an adult bipolar 1.
Meds are frequently something like anticonvulsant (mood stabilizer) + stimulant or wellbutrin.
There's been some posting on this board about Lamactil, a newer anticonvulsant with antidepressant capabilities.I guess it depends how much this is messing up your friend's life. Find a good doc that understands adult ADD (they're few and far between) as well as mood disorders. Hope he's in therapy, this is a difficult load to carry.
A good friend of mine has a family history of depression, and suffers from some form of it, although it has never been diagnosed. When he was 10 he was prescribed zoloft, but had a severe reaction to it and had to be hospitalized. The negative effects that the zoloft had on him leads me to believe that he has bipolar disorder, not depression. He was also diagnosed with ADD as a child. Are these two illness closely related, and is it possible that while treating one the other could be taken care of? He also refuses to try medication again because of his bad experience, though he has been in therapy for several years.
poster:vms
thread:9203
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990628/msgs/9208.html