Skip to main content
Crisis Support
Forums Home
Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Our stories

Mulgajane
Senior Contributor

Bipolar and ADHD - do they go hand in hand?

Hi folks,

I have introduced myself as Bipolar to these forums but I have recently learned that I may be ADHD. This comes as a complete surprise because my sister was a classic ADHD child and I thought I was much quieter and less active than she.

I do however, struggle with sitting still, reading and focusing for very long and my memory has always been very poor - even as a child.

What does this mean for me? 

It could be the reason that I cannot stay in employment for more than a year or two if I am lucky. The reason that even though I adore books I cannot consume them as I please.

The reason that as far as my memory is concerned I am definitely at a disability and I make endless notes and alarms and my circle of friends constantly remind me of appointments and social events.

Now I am trying out the classic ADHD medication - a risky business. I work so hard to keep myself mentally stable and now I am on the rocky road of psychiatric drugs.

I trust my psychiatrist and I am willing to try anything to help myself be a functional member of society but Holey Moley, Corr Blimey, Strewth and Bugger me Dead if testing out pharmaceuticals is not one of the hardest self inflicted journeys a human can go through. Do you hear me folks? No one out there can have any idea unless they've tried it themselves.

 

So without siding one way or another - I would just like to express my love and empathy for anybody out there doing the hard yards on a psychiatric drug. 

 

5 REPLIES 5

Re: Bipolar and ADHD - do they go hand in hand?

Hey there @Mulgajane thanks so much for sharing, and - no doubt! Trusting practitioner's is so important because you're spot on, changing and trialling medication requires a great deal of patience and resilience so well done you Heart How are you feeling now about everything? How are you feeling about the ADHD diagnosis in general? Heart

Re: Bipolar and ADHD - do they go hand in hand?

Hey there @Mulgajane, I was diagnosed as schizoaffective bipolar type, but I don't think (even in my manic phases) that I would fit the criteria for ADHD. I'm not sure they go hand in hand, I know they don't for me anyway.

I hear what your saying about trialling psychiatric drugs. For want of a better word, it's a trial. It took me 12 years and many different types of medications and therapies to discover the right combination for me. I hope you find the right types for you too soon.

Re: Bipolar and ADHD - do they go hand in hand?

Good post @Mulgajane. Can relate. Don't have anything to add but your post is definitely written in a language that I can understand. I've done the human guinea pig thing and only found one med that worked, but it gave me fluid retention in my legs and made me too forgetful. If I do go back to trying meds which I probably won't, the rollercoaster will start again. Sometimes it's hard to decide on which rollercoaster is worse, the meds or the in my case Bipolar 2. I'm about to be formally diagnosed and will be very surprised if it is anything else. I need to keep an open mind but it screams bpd to me.

Re: Bipolar and ADHD - do they go hand in hand?

Thank you so much for your reply @Upndownnupndown —sorry it so long to respond, I've not logged in until now.

Re: Bipolar and ADHD - do they go hand in hand?

@Sophie1  ..... 👋💕

Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

For urgent assistance