bipolar type 2 with ADHD/excessive daytime sleepiness

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I think there is a link in me between these two disorders, or at least the symptoms, at least in me. I have such low energy levels some times that I push myself in an "unnatural" way - or at least the energy levels don't seem to be there naturally without Adderall.

When I "push" to get energy, anxiety rises, and a bipolar type 2 mood swing can come in to play.

Make sense?

I have that as well. Only thing that seems to help is ADHD meds. At times coffee helps though that could just as easily push me over to an unpleasant high energy state.

Yes I am. Though my current psychiatrists thinks its not as simple or clear cut as having these two disorders. I guess these are just disorders that are very approximate in their symtom set to what we have. Do you find that anything else helps?

Count me in on that situation as well.

I strongly resent having "bipolar affective disorder" on my medical records at the doctor's office, especially because I disagree with the diagnosis and feel it was mostly a side-effect of depression meds I didn't need.

But, the symptoms do present in certain circumstances. They're more like side-effects though, I feel. The last time I measured my mood ongoingly it was stable for a long time, which suggests to me that I was given a bad opinion.

The daytime sleepiness is a b***h. I have tried so many strategies in my life, even to the point of taking three caffeine pills the first time I stir in the morning to force myself awake (don't do this).

My routine at the moment is: go to sleep for 10-12 hours, then sort of wake up for five minutes in a daze, lightly sleep / daydream / talk to myself for another 2-4 hours, then finally wake up.

Once I'm awake, I'm fully awake, so it's not just a matter of being lazy and wanting to sleep in all the time. It just takes a really long time, and in the meantime I'm conscious enough to give myself a hard time if I'm not careful.

I'm about to try light therapy to see if that helps (being this way means I hardly get any light exposure), hopefully it will make some kind of a difference.

I tried stimulant treatment for ADHD but it made me into some kind of rambling monster!! !! ! (Thanks doctors! No liability, as usual).

I'm finding that although Strattera is helping me a lot in some ways, it doesn't really do anything to make my sleepiness less noticeable and at times I risk falling into all habits of assigning myself anxiety-producing tasks as a false way of becoming motivated.

A better diet helps.

I just mean I was overstimulated and sort of crazed a lot of the time and obsessed/stressed about a lot of issues and ideas that I wouldn't normally have and can no longer relate to now that I'm not taking it.

Initially it wasn't like that, because at first I was also taking Cymbalta which is quite tranquillising, but since they're not a recommended combination I weaned off of that and then the trouble started.

I generally wonder about this too sometimes. its like years ago, when i was a student, i used to push -push myself to the absolute limit to get things sorted out but of course, prioritising simply wasn't easy, more like a mammoth task of fitting everything in with' normal' if not highly overated studies. the only thing i could do to zone out sometimes was to read, watch telly or listen to music. what i found annoying if not surprising is that whenever the opportunity arose to do work experience teachers would turn back on the year and tell us we're not doing any of that this year due to high levels of exposure within the company- whatever the f''k that meant. its like, so what- now im exposure or being exposed,-more like contradited and extradited to the north pole. another thing was, if the writiting and typing up of homework wasn't bad enough of course in my last year when i wanted to do some vocational studies me and my mum were actually told that i was too good to do it. more like we need to think of the schools ofsted report and sample our own feedback. Now today i cant even find work in specific areas of study that i might of excelled in because i simply was too good for the practical side of things, something which id like to iron out now without much difficulty that if someone in a position was to lecture me on doing a mixed chore say serving food to a few concessionary guests or the like id have no trouble at that at all because the will is in the strength to perform and the need to succeed in daily rota, not a chip around the old block and back.
fix me up a buffet and i'll re-open ramseys soup kitchen before chowder goes off the menu once more.
hey alan sugar, i dont need to be your apprentice, i'll just feed the troops back home.