My name is Christine and I'm 28 years old. When I was a teenager I was first tested and told that I was diagnosed with ADHD. But I had side effects of 2 different medications for it, so I was taken off of it and have been off of them for the last 10 years and instead have been taking antidepressants. And I've always had pretty bad obsessiveness/obsessions that has controlled me so I thought I just had really bad OCD. So, I went to my doctors today to talk about how I've been having a hard time focusing, starting one task and not finishing it then starting another, feeling like my mind is going a million miles an hour, then being really happy one day and really depressed the next day. So, my doctor than gave me the mood disorder questionnaire and had me answer the questions on there and then we talked about them. And told her I've been dealing with these symptoms since at least high school and I just turned 28 last month as well as the obsessiveness. Since I go to a counselor every Friday I'm going to talk to her about it and see what she says, because my doctor put me on 25 mg of lamotrigine 1xday for the first week then I get it upped to 2xday for the second week. as well as 15 mg of Lexapro for the depression. Has anyone dealt with obsessiveness while dealing with bipolar disorder.
Hi, When reading your post I was struck by your effort to understand your mental health issues and your search for the kind of help you might need, well done. I note you mention ADHD as the initial diagnosis and then your mood swings which you think of as bi-polar and also the obsessive compulsive type behaviours that result in your not completing things and jumping from one thing to another. You also mention medications as having been the primary way in which medics have tried to treat your symptoms though you do not say whether you think your symptoms are the result of an illness resulting in medication or whether you see them as being connected with experiences in your early life? I would prefer not to think of you as bi-polar or obsessive but rather as someone who is struggling with thoughts and feelings that threaten to become overwhelming. It sounds to me as if you make mental effort to control those feelings, when successful you feel happy, perhaps even elated, and when the feelings are too strong for you to control you become depressed. By being obsessive I think you are attempting to feel you can maintain some control over your feelings. You do not write at all about your pre-teen years but since you were diagnosed as a teenager with ADHD I imagine you might have struggled in earlier life too, and I wonder how your parents managed your behaviours and how you felt as a child? Often the way we feel in adolescence and adulthood is the result of thoughts and feelings we bring with us from childhood and have never managed to understand and manage, perhaps that applies to you? I think exploring your early experienced with the counsellor might be helpful to you if you feel able to do that.
Well I talked to my doctor about my mind going a million miles an hour, only being able to sit still for a minute, having the depression, then being okay. So she asked if I wanted to be tested for bipolar disorder and I said okay cause I was thinking maybe they could just rule it out. But, she said I meet the criteria for being bipolar after they gave me the mood disorder questionnaire to see about my moods. So, my doctor put me on 25 mg once a day for the mood stabilizer for the first week and 25 mg twice a day for the second week. And then go back on the 26th which is 2 weeks from the day I went to the doctors on the 12th to see how the meds are working.
Well i'm going to talk to a psychiatrist about it because my therapist believes that I have autism and wants me to get evaluated for that. So whenever I can get an appointment with a psychiatrist that'll take me i'll talk to them about it because it seems like I might have bipolar II
Some (perhaps much) of what you are saying could just fit fine with the initial diagnosis of ADHD.
Racing thoughts are a known thing for ADHD in adulthood, (although I think it can also happen at times with bipolar and other mental health conditions).
I think there is some crossover between autism spectrum and ADHD symptoms, so it would be possible to confuse them. (Also possible to have both.)
Consider the possibility that you may just be unmedicated for ADHD.
And I would feel okay/ good for a few days and then be quite depressed for quite a few days even though I was on antidepressants. And when I'm feeling okay I like to shop and buy stuff I usually don't need because it makes me feel happy/ good. Then when i'm in the depression phase I have usually done stupid stuff like talking to guys online, drinking more, etc. And usually I wouldn't be able to sleep as much when i'm feeling okay for those few days even though I was still tired.
Shopping too much could apparently be associated with either ADHD or Bipolar. Sleep problems are associated with both also, although I haven't heard of ADHD resulting in worse sleep problems when in a better mood.
If you have Bipolar, then it seems like fast switching of mood for that condition. Although it's said to exist in some people with much faster mood changes.
I think that there are many overlapping symptoms between different disorders. Although a label can be liberating and bring relief, there is a danger of type casting.
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