30 Essential Ideas you should know about ADHD, 10D Q&A, Question 4, ADHD and Bipolar Link?

damn, this scares the crap outta me, I was diagnosed with ADHD, my father was diagnosed with Bi-polar, he actually committed suicide around 5 years ago. I actually have hated him most my life because of all the emotional abuse he's put me through, he would often tell my sis and I "don't even f**ing try in life cuz you'll never get any where." he resented his own failures and perceived it as the world's fault. he would humiliate us constantly, like when a kid picked at us in elementary school, who's mother worked at BK... his idea of good parenting involved taking us with him down to her place of work, to "speak" with her, which really meant him going to front counter, and screaming profanities like a lunatic, while several people watched in utter horror, as the anxious manager frantically tryed to deal with him. hes even walked into our church (after my mom divorced him) with his head shaved and a symholic noose dangling from his neck, walking up to the front of the congregation and start yelling, "I am going to kill myself, and it's all you people's fault, cuz you and God don't give a s** about me" and more cursing and so on..... I swore I'd never end up like him, luckily, I've read manic depression usually manifests itself in ur early 20ies, and I'm 28 now and haven't see any major signs yet. hopefully it stays that way .

This scared the shit out of me. Great lectures until then. Wish i didnt see it.

Does this mean that childhood bipolar disorder causes ADHD? Does the ADHD often develop after the bipolar disorder in these cases?

I'm in the process of getting diagnosed with what I'm sure is ADHD. after one vistit my doctor wants to start with treating me for bipolar probably because my mother is bipolar. Im pretty sure i'm not bipolor I have had inateniveness since early childhood and its caused alot of problems with my life, but I have always been a reasonably happy person. no violence or anger. I consider myself a pacifist I hate fighting and whatnot. I wonder is there a link with my mom being bipolar and me just being ADHD without the bipolar? Opinions are welcome to me.

Diagnosing bipolar disorder in a child before they have gone through puberty is extremely questionable. My personal experience has been that bipolar can be a misdiagnosis of ADHD, particularly combined type, when the undiagnosed symptoms have persisted for so long that depression has become an inevitable secondary reaction to the underlying, unseen disorder.