I think that I understand what you are saying. You have been through the mental health circus and received multiple diagnosis (ADD or ADHD and Bipolar Disorder)but you are not sure that these are accurate or if you are simply faking. Also that your family believes that the ADD or ADHD diagnosis is accurate.

I can sympathize having been through that circus myself. And also struggling with exactly WHAT my diagnosis me to me and about me, as well as the internal and external stigma that comes with mental disorders. And I too in the past have often wondered if my extremely changeable moods are psychosomatic. In my case, it turns out they are not.

Here is what I suggest, make a list of all the symptoms that you exhibit. Then take it on yourself to find the answers. Read others experiences with ADD & Bipolar and see if you can relate. For bipolar I would suggest an excellent book by Kay Redfeild Jamison - An unquiet mind. many people have found her book of her own experiences, to help them in recognizing their own disorder and also accepting it. For ADD/ADHD, you may have to search a bit. I personally have not read any books on it that were biographical. Though i have heard that "Think fast - the ADD experience" by Thom Hartmann, is very helpful. There are personal stories, as well as clinical info. If you have a hard time focusing on reading an entire book, skip around and read what is interesting in it to you.

As for is it psychosomatic, I assume that you mean are you faking a condition (subconsciously) that you do not really have. The actual definition of a Psychosomatic illness is an illness that originates with emotional stress or damaging thought patterns, but has physical symptoms that are real and can harm you as much as symptoms that originate from other means.
i would guess at no. But either way, you are experiencing symptoms that are having a major effect on your quality of life and you should treat them seriously. Remember that a diagnosis is just an information label used to help us and them (docs)understand what we are experiencing and guide us in the right direction to get help. You are not whatever diagnosis you have been given. You are Matt. You may have a disorder and if so it is just a part of who you are. It may greatly affect your life outwardly, but it is only a part of you. Learning what is accurate is vital if you want to learn to improve what you can and find more stability and happiness.

Also, you mention being diagnosed after just one visit with a doc. I suggest getting another opinion. Find a new doc - i suggest a psychologist as they are more inclined to actually listen to what you are saying because they focus on therapy. My fav way is by calling potential docs after hours and listening to their message first. Do they sound concerned? Caring? Helpful? - if not they are not the doc for you. Stay away from the robotic sounding ones, they have forgotten that they are dealing with REAL peoples lives who truly need help). Once you have found one, leave a message that you want to make an appointment. When you see them, tell them your concerns. Tell them that you have been given xyz diagnosis and you are not sure that its correct. Tell them that you are wondering if your symptoms are psychosomatic. Tell them that you really want to find out the truth about what you are experiencing so that you can begin working towards a better way of handling and coping with your life. And if it turns out that you need prescriptions, then they will refer you to a psychiatrist for that. I don't recommend starting out with a psychiatrist first as their primary job is to simply medicate you, not to really listen to your experiences and perceptions. And stick with your psychologist, it can take time working together to get the accurate answers.

And try to let the stigma go. We all fear what we don't understand and mental disorders are very complex and confusing. You can't control how others feel about it, but you can educate yourself and lessen your own sense of stigma. Acceptance of ones condition is a major step in finding some balance and happiness.

I wish you the best of luck.

Hello OXo,

Firstly I am not a doctor, nor am I a trained medical professional at all.

Thus what I say here is coming from a long life and experince.

Remember consult a professional.

Now that being said I really belive that you need another diagnosis, yes I now yet another one. It certainly need to be sorted out just what disorder you may have so that it can be treated correctly.

As I see it as a patient of a medical professional this is reasonable thing to expect.

You tell an interesting tale. And not an uncommon one. I too was first diagnosed as ADHD and then after a manic "turn" (hospitalised) I was sent by my then pdoc for another diagnosis and sure enough Bipolar Mixed States won out.

I am now stable on the correct meds and very lucky as it did not take too long to find the best combination that suit me in particular.

Life has taken on new meaning, and for about the first time in my long life, I am a peace, the savage beast called emotions is now well asleep. A very good way to be.

I am wondering if you have had adverse reactions to Ritalin, dexamphetamine and SSRI's?

This may nor may not be a clue. I had adverse reactions to all three. Ritalin and the SRRIs in paticular.

Thus is it so that a person diagnosed with ADHD oh combined in my case, has an adverse reaction to these three drugs really have Bipolar?

It is well known that Bipolar is a chemical imbalance and dificult to find the correct med combination. With ADHD it is not quite so clear cut.

To me the stimulants cause say Dopamine, Serotonin and Norpinephine (if the US - Noradrenaline is Australia) to be available. With Bipolar I notice that we seem to have too much of these neuotransmitters.

I may be incorrect, but it appears that way to me. Which is why my current interest.

Good luck,

JennyRobin

Matt,
I can relate. Wish I had answers but I'm in the world of questions myself. However, just hearing someone else voice the confusion is comforting in that "gosh, there are others out there struggling the same way" syndrome.

I had never had a diagnosis of anything - I just always thought I was unique - creative - different. A bright little spirit in a glum world. I've gone through adult life fairly uneventful in some ways but I lived in a somewhat sheltered environment. Way into the game, I changed that environment and it was no longer as safe a world as I had lived in and that seemed to bring many things to a head. In short, I pretty much upended my life and for the past 4,5,6 years, I've been trying to figure out what happened. In that time, I was diagnosed with clinical depression (put on Zoloft). I'm not completely sure but it appeared I went fairly manic while on that - but I sure beat the depression. I did go through talk therapy during that time which started the real exploration as to who am I and what exactly has been going on. The bi-polar word came up several times but I fought accepting that as a diagnosis. After two years, I weaned myself off of Zoloft because I was concerned I was a little too happy (walking through money, not working, etc) and needed to get on task. I suggested to a doctor that maybe I was ADD and just needed to focus better. So, now I'm on the amphet.salts thing, again with talk therapy. The bi-polar hints still come up at times. In reality, I don't honestly know what makes me different - I do seem to feel really good about things - terribly creative and full of ideas - and then feel totally crushed that I am never going to get anything done. The scariest part for me is that I am at a point in life that I don't feel like I have time to get this situation in line. Not that I'm dying or anything but because I now have a lifetime of traits that I don't know that I can repackage and that I am unsure of whether they are chemically-driven or just me.

So my response likely is not of great help except to say that my heart goes out to you -all of this is a somewhat scary thing - doctors and other people tend to hear certain words and "affix" a diagnosis - I have tried to tell doctors that if my behavior reflects mania, then i have been fairly manic all my life as i've always been a very busy person who goes from one major production to another. I've always been a talker - a prolific writer - a person with big ideas that get bigger and bigger but are often hard to pull off, particularly since i tend to approach them as the master of ceremonies. I can go in and wow an audience - but in the real world, I can't really do a job. I can finish graduate school and then sit in an office and feel like I am under the gun every day and just want to escape. I feel like i spend a great deal of time escaping from whatever i have undertaken and then feeling relief that i got out with my life.

So, I guess I'm just agreeing with the poster who said that you are you and not a diagnosis. A diagnosis makes everyone feel better as finally they can say and you can hear "wow, a solution" but that none of this is simplistic and we different drummers may well just hear a very different drummer than the rest of the crowd. I hope that you find contentment in who you are / i am trying to get beyond the "i want to be..." and just "be". When I get there, i always find a lot of peace.
literally, peace be with you.
tj