Question:
What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder was once called Manic Depression, and the two terms are
still used interchangeably to some extent. The DSM-IV lists Six
Different Subtypes of Bipolar Disorder. All of these are part of a
larger group of disorders know as The Affective Spectrum.
FAQ's about Bipolar include explanations of Mania and Depression. It is
important to remember the Bipolars cycle between these two extremes.
They may be ready to rent a convention center and invite about a million
of their closest friends to a party in honor of an idea that just had,
and the next day they may be suicidal.
Why is this an issue for People who have ADD?
As pointed out above, a number of us live with ADD + Bipolar Disorders.
In fact, it has become such an issue that Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and
other noted ADD researchers are planning a Conference on ADHD and
Co-Occurring Conditions Throughout the Life Span This is the second
such conference to be held. Notes from a similiar conference sponsored
by NIMH show a strong genetic connection, not only among ADDers and
Bipolars, but among other disorders in the affective spectrum. Dr.
Joseph Horacek presents the same theories of comorbidity as part of a
larger syndrome in his book Brainstorms.
Answer:
ADD and ADHD ADD and bipolar disorder have been shown to be closely
linked in children, so proper diagnosis is critical. Any parent of a
child with ADD or bipolar disorder needs to be educated about the other
condition.
One such disorder is Bipolar Disorder. One study found that of 140
children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder studied over four
years, 23 percent also had bipolar disorder, compared with about 2
percent of a group of children without ADHD.
That's a lot of Bipolars, and that's a lot of poles. In fact, I don't
think you could find that many Poles anywhere outside of Warsaw, but I
digress... (insert rimshot here)
Other research indicates that about 50 percent of kids with ADHD have
ADHD simplex, and 50 percent have something else along with
ADHD.According to this report from NAMI, about 15 percent of children
who have ADHD may have bipolar disorder.
Regardless of which report you are reading, the numbers are still
alarming - between 15% to 23% of ADD people may be expected to develop
bipolar disorder.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder was once called Manic Depression, and the two terms are
still used interchangeably to some extent. The DSM-IV lists Six
Different Subtypes of Bipolar Disorder. All of these are part of a
larger group of disorders know as The Affective Spectrum.
FAQ's about Bipolar include explanations of Mania and Depression. It is
important to remember the Bipolars cycle between these two extremes.
They may be ready to rent a convention center and invite about a million
of their closest friends to a party in honor of an idea that just had,
and the next day they may be suicidal.
Why is this an issue for People who have ADD?
As pointed out above, a number of us live with ADD + Bipolar Disorders.
In fact, it has become such an issue that Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and
other noted ADD researchers are planning a Conference on ADHD and
Co-Occurring Conditions Throughout the Life Span This is the second
such conference to be held. Notes from a similiar conference sponsored
by NIMH show a strong genetic connection, not only among ADDers and
Bipolars, but among other disorders in the affective spectrum. Dr.
Joseph Horacek presents the same theories of comorbidity as part of a
larger syndrome in his book Brainstorms.
Forewarned is forearmed. If we know that our children may be at risk for
bipolar or other similiar disorders, we can better prepare then to deal
with those issues.
Diagnosis and Treatment
The early symptoms of childhood bipolar disorder may look like ADHD.
Because of this, some children with bipolar disorder (or a combination
of the two disorders) may be wrongly diagnosed as having only ADHD. For
this reason and others, clinicians may have difficulty identifying and
diagnosing this disorder in children and adolescents. Some suspect that
many bipolar children are either misdiagnosed or just missed.
Treatment includes medications and therapy. Medications should be
carefully monitored, as some medications for ADD may undermine those
used for bipolar disorder.
Undertreated and Untreated Bipolar Disorder, including cases that have
been misdiagnosed, create problems similiar to those of untreated ADD:
Untreated bipolar disorder is commonly associated with substance use,
abuse and dependence; school and work failure; interpersonal dysfunction
and relationship breakdown. In addition, the lifetime risk of suicide is
10-15%.
