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Q: Can Stimulants be a Destabilizing Influence?
I was diagnosed with ADHD about a year before I was hospitalized for bipolar.
After trying Zyprexa, Depakote, Tegretol, now I am on Lithium. I
feel fully stabilized yet my ADHD symptoms are still present, this is cripling
my ability to work or be productive at college. Ideally I would like to go on
Adderall. I would like your opinion on the combination of Lithium and
Adderall. Thanks so much
-john
Dear John --
I have quite a few patients who've been through what you're describing who've
done quite well when a stimulant was added, without evidence of the stimulant
"destabilizing" things (i.e. counteracting what the lithium is
supposed to be doing). Whether stimulants can be a destabilizing influence
has not really been studied systematically, to my knowledge; there are mixed
opinions about how much risk they pose in your situation, and no research data I
know of to go on.
Dr. Phelps
Published June, 2003
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