Overlapping Symptoms with ADHD (Fibromyalgia/Autoimmune Disorders)

[humble-rasberry]

Hey y’all hope everyone is doing okay,

I’ve recently been talking to a rheumontologist doctor about potentially having an autoimmune disorder, I’m still running tests but he thinks I have fibromyalgia which totally makes sense. I thought I’d happier with a diagnosis but now the thought of having to take more drugs just exhausts me and all the recommended “lifestyle changes” that I never have the motivation to do.

Anyways, a lot of the symptoms of this disoder relate to ADHD, which I was diagnosed with 2 years ago- stuff like fatigue, brain fog, trouble concentrating, memory, anxiety/depression, sensitivity to temperatures, etc and now I’m second guessing if I even have ADHD.

There are other ADHD symptoms like RSD and hyperactivity/impulsiveness that I still relate to, but now I think I’m just confused how to manage treatments with both and figure out what is causing what.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? All doctors specialize in different things but idk who to go to for a more holistic plan.

Any advice or just hearing from others would be so helpful! Thanks guys

[BlessedLady]

After you start the medication for fibro. You could try not taking your ADHD medication and see how things go. Of course you need to talk to the doctor that prescribes your ADHD medication first.

[humble-rasberry in reply to BlessedLady]

Thank you thats a good tip… i’m starting an snri but ive had bad experiences with ssris before so hoping this time will be different

[sharkticon]

Have you considered that you might have both.

I saw some recent studies that said people with Fibromyalgia are more likely to have ADHD. I am in no way qualified to diagnose, but the first question I would ask is how long have you had ADHD symptoms? ADHD would go all the way back to your childhood.

Also Fibromyalgia is often triggered by stressful events including physical, emotional, and psycological stress. So when you say ADHD people are more likely to get it, it's kind of like "no duh".

[humble-rasberry in reply to sharkticon]

I did not know about the connection until I read up on it! I had never heard of Fibro until now so all this is very new to me, but that helps a lot with the imposter syndrome feeling. I find my body is a lot more sensitive to the fibro symptoms on adderall. I guess now I’ll be able to see if the SNRIs for fibro help with adhd too so I can skip taking both. Thanks for the comment 😊

[Jozlynn]

Hello humble-rasberry! I have both ADHD and fibro. I was diagnosed with fibro about 10 years ago and have been taking Gralise for the physical aspects. It's helped me tremendously. It's gabapentin - but it's time-released, which most are not. I used to have joint pain so badly that I couldn't open jars, sometimes had problems with doorknobs, and things of that nature. The Gralise has made that entirely manageable - I function normally now. I am also on Pristiq (SNRI), which helps. I was diagnosed ADHD a little less than a year ago, as the meds for my fibro didn't deal with the brain fog, the procrastination, the inability to focus, RSD, etc. I definitely wouldn't rule one out due to the other. BlessedLady's advice is good - but I would wait until you've been on your fibro meds for a little while (however long your Dr. recommends it will take for them to be fully effective) to ensure they're fully in your system and functioning completely. That way you will know for sure, when you stop taking your ADHD meds, that the other is at full capacity - and that will allow for a genuine comparison. While some of the symptoms can overlap between ADHD and fibro (brain fog, for instance), having one doesn't necessarily mean you don't have the other. I lived with fibro, symptoms mostly managed, for 9 years before receiving my ADHD diagnosis and quite frankly it was life-changing for me. I thought I was just going to have to deal with some of the "lighter" symptoms of the fibro for the rest of my life and it turned out those specific symptoms weren't related at all as they lifted almost immediately once beginning my ADHD meds. Obviously, everyone's experience is different - I just wanted to let you know there are others out here who live with both. I don't love having to take yet one more medication, but now that I've been treated for both conditions I am doing SO much better. I wish you all the best!!!

[humble-rasberry in reply to Jozlynn]

Thank you for such an insightful reply! I'm on day 3 of the snri and I'm already noticing my wrist pain is practically gone- the sleepiness side effects are kicking my butt though... it's definitely helping me fall asleep and stay asleep which is helpful for my insomnia but the downside is that it makes my already existing fatigue even worse. I almost slept through my alarm all 3 days... took a nap... and still feel like I could keep sleeping 😂

I tried 5mg IR of adderall to see if it would offset because it felt impossible getting any of my work done, and it definitely helped! Still didn't feel it enough to get some actual energy. Hopefully the drowsiness will go away soon 😅

Side note- have you had any problems with histamine intolerance? I am unsure if this new fibromyalgia diagnosis has any correlation to it or if it's just another thing on my list of problems. I've read snri's act as an anti-histamine which hopefully means I can stop taking anti-histamines now. So at least there's one medication gone!

[Jozlynn in reply to humble-rasberry]

My pleasure! This group is really wonderful about helping each other through things.

I'm SO glad to hear your wrist pain is almost gone! It was ridiculously wonderful being able to do simple things like open a jar after years of it being almost impossible, so I genuinely celebrate that win with you!

I do think there's a good possibility that they need to either adjust your SNRI dose or change the particular med you're on, because you shouldn't have to fight through so much sleepiness. In fact, I take mine in the morning - and don't experience any sleepiness from it at all. I do take the gabapentin at night because that definitely makes me sleepy and does wonders for helping me sleep through the night. I just wonder if perhaps a different SNRI might be better for you, or perhaps a lower dose? To be fair, it took several medications to find the right combo for me - so it can be a bit of trial and error. Did your doctor happen to mention that you might experience this and that you would eventually adjust? If so, ignore this advice. If not, I personally would let them know that it's what you're experiencing and see if they think you should just give it time or if they'd prefer to make some adjustments.

Is the 5 mg of IR Adderall the only ADHD med you're taking right now? If you've historically taken more and have stopped due to the SNRI, I would suggest not going off your regular dose until the SNRI has had plenty of time to get into your system. I have a 30 mg time-release Adderall that I take first thing in the morning and 5 mg IR in the afternoon (that I only take if I feel I need). Honestly, I would live in what feels like an energy-deplete state without it. Not tired or sleepy though, mind you. It all goes back to my mental energy. Without my ADHD meds, my entire day consists of feeling kind of mentally blah, no motivation (feels like no energy...but seems to be reserved just for the things I NEED to do), and an inability to truly focus or buckle down and accomplish those things that I just flat out would prefer not to do. If I don't take my Adderall, I generally wind up doing next to nothing productive with my day. The feeling of mental fatigue frequently winds up feeling like I don't have the physical energy - but then if I have something I really WANT to do, suddenly the physical energy is there. This is what has led me to determine that the lack of mental energy can translate into a feeling of no physical energy. However, it isn't sleepiness or drowsiness - so it isn't the same as what you're living with right now. I am by no stretch of the imagination a medical expert, I just know what my own experiences have been and know that some meds just aren't a good fit or need an adjustment before they find what works best for the individual. Just a thought!

Regarding histamine intolerance, I have definitely noticed a problem! Honestly never connected it to any of my other diagnoses though. I live in Texas where our histamine issues can be HUGE (the number of allergy-related "illnesses" is rather staggering around here), but I haven't had to take an anti-histamine in several months - so you might be on to something with this! On occasion I'll need to take something fast-acting (I always resort to Alka Seltzer Cold...works wonders for me) - like when I want to scratch the skin right off my body - but I don't seem to have the internal effects lately. I'd never read that bit about SNRIs, so this was rather exciting to learn - thanks for sharing! I'd love to hear how you continue to do.

[humble-rasberry in reply to Jozlynn]

Thank you again for your response, I have been going back and forth trying to figure out if fibromyalgia is really the right diagnosis for me (seeing how many of my symptoms arent exactly correlated and my wrist pain has sadly come back- which now i am thinking might be related to carpal tunnel syndrome...) and I figured out I think I have POTS! I think they can be co-diagnosed together… but both of them can affect joints/decrease pain tolerance. For me, my knees are the worst which would make more sense with circulation issues rather than fibro. But i also read to avoid antidepressants with POTS which would make so much sense why I’ve had bad experiences with them in the past (and also that adderall actually helps it which confirms why i dont want to give it up😂)

That totally makes sense what you’re saying with the fatigue. I feel like us neurodivergents are putting so much brain power to just listen to our bodies and figure all this out!!! I truly wish adhd medications worked on a 24 hour basis so we didn’t have to go through the sleep problems and dreadful mornings..

Going to talk to my doctor about it more next week, and hopefully get a better conclusion. I’ve read online that POTS is commonly misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia or anxiety, and is less known in the medical community/generally seen mostly with women. I did a heart rate test to see the difference between laying down and standing up and my bpm increased by 40! Not sure if this relates to you at all, but it blew my mind to learn about it.

I also want to sympathize with what you’ve gone through as well, I know the journey to get a diagnosis is long and frustrating so I am trying to be patient. I don’t know your age, but I’m 23 so I also feel grateful to be able to start figuring this stuff out young. Thank you again for your response, it sounds silly but you have really motivated me to keep learning and figure it out instead of accepting and giving up. I hope you are able to get to a point of living without the pain and fatigue as well 🙂

[cat511]

I am so glad i joined this group! At the very least I now know Im not crazy. I am following/reading replies because I can't believe I am in the SAME boat. I have my 2nd appt with a rheumatologist to get med for fibromyalgia but Im bummed about taking more medication because I don't know which is the main problem- the fibro or the ADHD.

Also, I take vyvanse and if I skip a day, I can barely get out of bed. I'm just beginning this journey of self help (literally this evening) so thank you for asking this question! Hopefully, I'll take the advice as well and actually do something.

I wish you all the best

[humble-rasberry in reply to cat511]

I’m happy you found this group as well!! Honestly it’s been the best resource as far as validating everything I think I’m crazy or totally alone about… Not sure if you saw my other reply but I ended up finding out I had POTS (commonly misdiagnosed as Fibro) & Sjogrens Syndrome, helped me with a lot more specific treatment options. So if you havent already, make sure you really feel that the diagnosis is correct and fight for your body! My rhemontologist sucked and I read online reviews about him later- apparently he diagnosed EVERYONE with Fibro and totally gaslighted me when I tried to question him. But now I’m finally getting better help. Best of luck to you, I know its a hard journey with ADHD + other things that make our lives so unnecessarily difficult. I trust the universe has a way of making it all work out and that you will find the answers you need!

[JazzElvis1]

Hi I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 20 years ago. , after 2 years of Hell , I’ve had a lot of chiropractic care and do Pilates, massage etc, the snri was cymbalta, gosh what a difficult drug to get onto , but ok once on , but caused a lot of RLS , I now take citalopram for the depression , anxiety side , I’ve just been diagnosed with ADHD ? Which now makes me realised probably led to the fibro but was undiagnosed, I’m on 20 mg , elvanse , had to take down to 15 mg for a few days to stop side effects, body still getting used to it, i now find out that at least 50 % of Fibro patients have ADHD and becoming more noticed ! SNRI s are hard to get through the first 4 weeks , just have to get through to get benefits not easy , x