ADHD? Bipolar Disorder? Or both?
Here's how both disorders have affected one teenager's life in Texas
Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: News
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Staff Writer
CARROLLTON, Texas -- Christopher Martin, 14, sits at his kitchen table fidgeting with a jumbo paper clip that moves end over end, up to his mouth, around his teeth and back to the table again. Trying to appear relaxed, quietly but with great emotion, Christopher tells what it's like living with a Bipolar Disorder, BPD, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD. Around and around goes the paper clip.
He is not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 4.4 million children aged 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. At a national level it numbers 9.5 percent in boys who are more often afflicted with this disorder than girls at 5.9 percent. Texas' own rate is 7.97 percent.
Bipolar, previously known as manic-depressive disorder, is a disease of extreme mood swings. These swings include periods of depression or sadness and periods of high activity or extreme euphoria. It is often difficult to diagnose BPD as many of the symptoms coincide with ADHD. OrganizedWisdom, a medical internet site, cites BPD as a disturbance dealing with mood, while ADHD is typically associated with disruptions in attention.
Christopher was diagnosed with ADHD during kindergarten. Entering school Christopher recalls being just like any other child. "I was bouncing off the walls but that was pretty typical kid then. (I got older) but then it didn't stop." This time his eyes never stop to fix on any one thing and the paper clip scrapes across the table top.
"I would scream (in the store), 'I didn't do it!', when I didn't do it, even when nothing had happened at all," he said, an example of his condition, extreme activity.
Doctors had to experiment eight years with medications to find out what would work for Christopher. What works for ADHD can just stimulate an already euphoric high.
"At first I just didn't like the taste. It was liquid," Christopher said. When teased about the supposed flavor enhancements added, he sits up and squirms in his chair, then animatedly chuckles, "Cherry just makes it taste worse! It's like diarrhea in a bottle." Again, the restlessness sets in, his eyes darting, flickering. But it's early evening, which is a bad time in the day for Christopher.
Now that he takes tablets, it's not so bad. Of taking the medicine, Christopher remarks, "It helps me be me." In states of euphoria, he admits his meds "feel more like a placebo." He relaxes back in his chair.
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