ADHD / ADD Support Group

The one thing I KNOW (medically and personal) about adderall and Bipolar disorder is when you are bipolar and you take adderall, the majority of people will have severe and extreem mood swings that can and have lead to extreem, negative actions. I know every shrink and pdoc did not want me to try adderall for this exact reason until they decided which disorder I had. I hope this is somewhat helpfull

Before they diaginosed my daughter with bipolar they wanted to knock out everything else first so they tried her on adderall first and she went into a very severe manic state and tried to hang herself with a seatbelt at age 5 and she got very out of control it scared everyone around her they took her off of it ASAP and within 4 months they diaginosed her with bipolar 1.

I take wellbutrin and lamictal. I tried Strattera and found it horrible. Does concerta have the same chemical make up of Adderall? I have had a really good experience with Adderall. I feel so much calmer & safer when I drive or go to an event where I have to pay attention. I felt strange and shakey for the first couple weeks, but now my side effects are totally gone. I have a manic reaction to things like valium or vicodin. I think my husband loves me taking it more than I do!

thank you so much for your replies... my pdoc turned out to think it would be better to stay away from adderall now.... he started me on abilify instead for my mixed moods so if i can stabilize that then i may have better focus.. we'll see!

I've been on Adderall XR and Lithium for over two years. I have had mood swings and minor manias, possibly from the Adderall, but the benefits of concentration outweight the mood swings. It works for me.