Warning: Misdiagnosis

[mrb3000]

I would like to put this out there as it may help or apply to someone else. I was misdiagnosed with ADHD. I do fit all the signs and symptoms like a textbook, but I have more problems than just the ADHD specifics. I have come to find out that Borderline Personality Disorder in men has a lot of overlap with ADHD and is a common misdiagnosis. I wish I would have known that years ago, but maybe I can save someone a bit of time with this post. If you are struggling, do yourself a favor and read the 9 traits of BPD, and see if the shoe fits.

[Gettingittogether]

Thanks for sharing. Yes ADHD symptoms can be caused by a number of conditions. I've had depression and anxiety--and those are terrible for ADHD symptoms. It's also true that people with ADHD quite often have multiple conditions and diagnoses.

Thanks for the reminder.

[romearrow]

I am 35F and have been diagnosed with GAD and OCD, plus I struggle with depression. Medications for OCD/depression have been helping, but I am also struggling with some ADHD symptoms now, which made me start to wonder, and then today my therapist asked me if I had ever been diagnosed with ADHD. I have been trying to research to educate myself before worrying about getting treatment for it, but I see that the line can be very vague between OCD and ADD. The comorbidity rates are very high, one can often exacerbate the other, or cause the other to be written off as something else. Or, in OP's case, the opposite can also happen, where it's not ADHD but something else.

I don't want to add to my medications for various reasons; I think any symptoms that I identify as potentially caused by ADHD are reactions to stress, circumstances, and my OCD. The OCD definitely manifests more strongly so that's what my treatment and management will continue to focus on. But I'm learning a lot from these forums and know more and more friends (women especially) who are just now, well into adulthood, getting diagnoses and medication for ADHD and feeling that it explains so much about their lives and mental health so far. I am working with my therapist to identify and implement solutions to the attention and focus problems I am currently dealing with, in addition to addressing the OCD behaviors that may be exacerbating them.