[carlmcqueen]

I'm not a doctor, but as a family member and extended family member, I know that many bipolar children appear with ADHD in their early years and are treated with ADHD medication.

They are treated with stimulants that have no effect on bipolar disorder.

[adastra22]

This sounds scarier than it actually is, I think. ADHD is vastly more prevalent than bipolar disorder, and although we have various observational surveys to see if a patient ought to be diagnosed ADHD, the real gold-standard test according to the docs I've talked to is to administer medication. If you take stimulants and the symptoms go away, it was ADHD. If it doesn't work, try a few other types of stimulants. If none of those work then it probably wasn't ADHD and it's time to consider if there's something else going on.

Given that stimulants work nearly 100% of the time for ADHD cases, and don't pose a great risk to patients for whom ADHD is not the root cause, this is a sensible approach to take. As long as the psychiatrist follows up and makes sure the medication is working, and investigates if it is not.

[kayodelycaon]

This happened to me. Symptoms were noticeable when I was 5. First major depressive episode when I was 9. Was on stimulants from age 6 to 19. Didn't get properly diagnosed until I was 35.

Bipolar is often comorbid with ADHD. Stimulants can help, but can they also cause mania if used alone.

[falcolas]

Back when I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder (I actually had ADHD and a touch of autism, but whatever), they put me on Lithium.

I'd rather be on a small methamphetamine dose than Lithium if I got to choose my misdiagnosis.

[IntrepidWorm]

Can you clarify the aversion to lithium? I was under the impression from multiple friends and family on it that out of many of the other drug cocktails prescribed to manage bipolar disorder, lithium was one of the tamer and more effective medications.

[falcolas]

It's an effective mood regulator, because it's a mood dampener. You lose the lows, but you also lose the highs. Evanescence has a song about its effects, and they're much more eloquent about it than I could ever be.

Especially as someone who wasn't bi-polar - it was creepy af... kind of like disassociation. It wasn't me.

[minsc_and_boo]

I'm not them, but Lithium can have an acquired resistance develop over time, which is unfortunate given how stable it is. It will be used as a first step for determining bi-polarism, or when a stable med is immediately needed, from what I've seen.