Bipolar Disorder
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Solving the ADHD-Bipolar Puzzle

Dealing with ADHD is a challenge. Bipolar disorder? Even harder. And when the two of them occur together, it can be downright dangerous. Here's how to sort out symptoms and get adequate treatment now.

3 Comments: Solving the ADHD-Bipolar Puzzle

  2. Dear Dr. Olivardia,

    I am an editor, and I beg your forgiveness ahead of time for alerting you to a usage problem in this particular article. It seems to be happening everywhere in print. Toward the end of this article, you say that the problems of ADHD cannot be “overestimated,” but I believe the correct verb should be “underestimated.” I think the confusion is arising with everybody because the other way of stating this is saying the problem cannot be “overSTATED.” But if you think about it for a minute, it will become clear to you that in this case the word should be “underestimated,”–because if it’s underestimated, then you would not be estimating it at its full strength. Of course, further adding to the confusion is that the sentence structure in both instances uses a double negative.

    The article was extremely helpful to me. I am very concerned about my adult brother, who I think has been undiagnosed with ADHD his entire life. He is having terrible difficulties.

    Kind regards,

    Roxane Fletcher
    Tallahassee FL

  3. I get treatment through the VA. I was 1st diagnosed with PTSD and Major Chronic Depression. When, a decade later, I described incidences of “hypomania” where I would be just filled with rage – for about 15 minutes, then back to ‘normal”, they added a mood stabilizer. I felt good.
    But I still felt like I had trouble getting started with tasks, finishing tasks, was distracted, bored, or disinterested.
    I got a new VA doctor as part of budget cuts. The first thing she said was she thought I was hypermanic, so she was going to reduce my mood stabilizer. Wtf? You don’t even know me!
    Today, I asked her about the possiblity of adhd, as my executive disfunction was really problematic, and she maintained I have bipolar II, not adhd. With her, when I’m happy, I’m hypermanic. When I’m frustrated, I’m hypermanic. When I’m sad, I’m hypermanic. She would ask me what was going on, and if I told her more than one thing, she said I was “all over the place”. When I told her about how bad my seasonal allergies were, she said, ” there’s a bad flu going around”. I have lost faith in her as a dr and partner in my care.

    Thankfully, my Medicare dr sent in a referral to a psychiatrist, so I can be taken a bit more seriously, I hope.

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