BPD & ADD

[sadeyes]

My h said something about some troubles he is having with a class at work that got me thinking. So, I went to the computer and did some research on add. One study I read said that 25 percent of BPD adults also have ADD. In addition, it seems that the symptoms of ADD/ADHD overlap quite a lot with BPD.

I still have a lot to read,  but I find this quite interesting. ADD, as many know, can often be treated well with meds. While I find it unlikely that my partner would do the work with a therapist, he might take the meds if called for.

Any experiences, knowledge? Some if the symptoms are so similar, I wonder what deciding factors would be used in a diag

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[bruceli]

The correlation between the two maybe even higher than 25%.  Meds can be helpful to certain degree but not a be all end all.

[briefcase]

I think you'll find this discussion helpful: https://bpdfamily.com/message_board/index.php?topic=147635.0

[Hydroman]

Sadeyes

My wife has BPD, Bipolar and ADD.  The psychiatrist told us the meds used to treat ADD can't be used in conjunction with the meds used for the bipolar/BPD so they couldn't not address the ADD until much later.   This makes things interesting as she can't remember things during a conversation.  You can ask a question and she sit there and then reply what did you ask?  Has difficulty remebering appts', med changes.  Doctors/therapist have learned to write everything down for her. Best of luck!

[talbed]

I was wondering the same thing.  My wife cannot stay on task to save her life... .unfinished tasks everywhere, late to everything, chaos.  Of course when things don't get done on her side, guess who gets the blame?

[sadeyes]

Briefcase: Thanks for the link. Lots of interesting info.

Hydroman: From what I have read online the statement from the doc regarding inability to treat ADd with BPD may not be true. I have read that an ADD med can be used in conjunction with an antipsychotic. The purpose of the antipsychotic is to keep the emotional part of the brain from getting ramped up by the ADD med. I think it is really complicated, though. The biggest problem I have is h has diabetes, and that is contraindicated for a lot of 'mental illness' meds.

[bruceli]

Sadeyes

My wife has BPD, Bipolar and ADD.  The psychiatrist told us the meds used to treat ADD can't be used in conjunction with the meds used for the bipolar/BPD so they couldn't not address the ADD until much later.   This makes things interesting as she can't remember things during a conversation.  You can ask a question and she sit there and then reply what did you ask?  Has difficulty remebering appts', med changes.  Doctors/therapist have learned to write everything down for her. Best of luck!

May want to get a second opinion on this.  Know MANY people on both.

[charred]

I suspect a connection between them, but only in their origin.

My mom lost her mother when she was 5 yrs old, and was left by her father with her grandparents till she was 13... .quite traumatic. When I was a kid she was not very warm/cuddly... far from it. She holds babies like they are diseased vermin, she is okay with older kids... but the younger ones kick off her trauma. I was diagnosed ADHD when I was 7, and have been on/off meds for it ever since. No question I was hyperactive, but was also nervous and stressed and worried and anything but securely attached.

Turns out that attachment theory explains the ADHD symptoms very well... the brain actually develops different based on how much love/attention and so forth a kid (or other mammal for that matter) gets. The pathways are set early, and people who have had animals know... .if you have a loved good pet, it is confident and happy and a good animal, if they are abused, skittish, scared... in a loving home they may do better, but the confidence they seem to have is not deep rooted, a loud noise and they cower for instance. Such is the nature of what I believe causes much of the ADD/ADHD. The less than ideal wiring from early on, with hyper-vigilance and a lot of nervousness drives a lot of people away. The impatience, and self soothing actions tend to drive even more people away, and the person with the symptoms is driven to distraction themselves.

BPD is also an attachment related disorder, more focused on fear of abandonment, with all kinds of other symptoms/issues we meet to discuss here. Been told that BPD is the diagnosis sometimes given to girls and NPD and/or ADD is the one for boys, but the roots tend to be much the same. Don't know for sure, but my r/s with a pwBPD was fireworks and explosive chemistry. Not good at all.

Mindfulness helped me to quit ruminating/worrying all the time, and to my amazement, most my ADHD symptoms ceased... .I think many of the BPD/ADD folks are people pleasers... .and that drifts over in to being codependent ... basically trying to make other people happy not themselves. BPD may not have a self in some senses... .ADD... .makes an infantile grab for happiness ... .big portion of the people in prison are ADD. Think it all comes from early FOO issues. Attachment theory explains a lot... we are making lots of new insecurely attached people every day... these problems won't be going away.