Can Ritalin Cause Bipolar? Help!!

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Can Ritalin Cause Bipolar? Help!!

Posted by T. Mayflower on April 29, 2001 at 22:36:46:
I am writing for your help in a case I have going before an Air Force medical board in one week (May 7th). I have been researching the Web for a while to find the side effects of Ritalin / Cylert, and I hope you folks can help me, especially on such short notice.
I’m a 31-year-old male, and I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (Type 1 w/ excessive manic phases). I was diagnosed with the condition in 1996 after a very serious manic phase. Prior to that (since 1990) several other manic episodes occurred, as well as a few depressed phases. However, the diagnosis for Bipolar did not come until July 1996. I believe Ritalin and / or Cylert to be the cause.
A few months after joining the Air Force in 1990 (I was 20 y.o.) I began to have a significant problem staying awake despite an average of 13-16 hours of sleep per night. I was stationed at the Presidio of Monterey (Defense Language Institute) at the time, studying Arabic. The Air Force (and Army) physicians noticed (through my records) my father is Narcoleptic and ran me through many tests (over several months), even going so far as to send me to the Sleep Study Research Facility at Stanford University. All tests came back “idiopathic”. The doctors decided to treat it like Narcolepsy, and I was put on Ritalin.
I remained on Ritalin for several months, and my need for sleep significantly decreased (4 hours or less per night), and I no longer had trouble staying awake. I switched to Cylert after awhile, as the tremor Ritalin caused in my hand was severe, and the doctor felt switching drugs might help. I remained on Cylert for some time, but eventually went back to Ritalin despite the tremor as I began sleep excessively again.
During 1992, I tried going off medication completely as I had been nonsystematic for several months. I had my first manic episode (undocumented) soon after.
While stationed in Korea (1993), I began to have sleeping issues again, and suffered numerous (and lengthy) memory losses. I still have not recovered most of that time. The doctors once more prescribed Ritalin.
These episodes continued on and off for the next three years. Finally, in July 1996, I went to a doctor after a period of rapid-cycling (several times in 24 hours) who diagnosed me as bipolar. He suggested that it was likely caused by the Ritalin / Cylert treatments I had undergone, but had no way to prove it.
It took them nine years of the military treating me to decide I was not fit to serve; in Nov. 1999, the Air Force placed me on Temporary Retirement pending a final decision by an informal medical board. . That decision came back a month ago, the Air Force has suggested to permanently release me from active duty with a one time cash settlement (they call it severance pay – Aprox. $40,000), and no benefits. I am convinced I am not only entitled to more (plus full benefits), but that they need to claim responsibility.
The more I have researched this issue, the more I am convinced I would not be Bipolar were it not for the incompetence displayed by the Air Force and Army medical personnel. While they latched on to the idea that I had a family history of Narcolepsy, they neglected the fact I also have a family history of emotional disorders. No less than five (perhaps more) of my aunts and uncles have undergone treatment for depression. Based on that, clearly the sleep episodes I was having could have been attributed to minor depression and treated as such. Instead I was given a drug that has been shown to enhance emotional disorders. In this case, it clearly has.
I know it is very short notice, but I fly to Texas on May 6th to meet the Formal Medical Board and argue my case. If there is any information, data, or advice you can give or recommend, I would be very thankful.
Email responses would be great! Please write to tunt@yahoo.com
Very truly yours,
T. Mayflower
T.M.

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Re: Can Ritalin Cause Bipolar? Help!! Ruby 02:40 4/30/01 (0)

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Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.