Adult ADD

[eddieruckus]

after talking to a friend of mine and doing some research, im pretty convinced that I have it, I wont go into details , but basically I feel like this is something ive struggled with my whole life

for years I didnt believe that ADD was such a thing and it was just to get kids jacked on ritalin and adderall and what not

does anyone here have it? does the medication help??

its really expensive to go see a doctor about this and I dont have insurance, but it migh be worth it if I can better my life because of it

[rockstar71888]

i went to a doctor, he gave me some sample meds, and they made me sick to my stomach. he said the only other option was to take stimulants, like ritalin, or anti-depressants.

i'll take my chances with a short attention span

[djones0930]

after talking to a friend of mine and doing some research, im pretty convinced that I have it, I wont go into details , but basically I feel like this is something ive struggled with my whole life

for years I didnt believe that ADD was such a thing and it was just to get kids jacked on ritalin and adderall and what not

does anyone here have it? does the medication help??

its really expensive to go see a doctor about this and I dont have insurance, but it migh be worth it if I can better my life because of it

I have a couple friends that have been on adderall for a couple years and even though it allows them to "focus", I personally think that like any pill, it works for a long time but it damages other sections of the body (in this case it would be the brain), causing more pills needed to be taken to combat that issue, on top of the initial reason for taking medication.

I say you can mind-over-matter this (since you can't afford a doc) and check out this site which has some decent ideas.

I always enjoyed exercising the brain by using the opposite hand/leg/gesture as I would normally during whatever activity -- for example, I'll brush my teeth with my right hand rather than the left.

Try activities that cause more solid blood flow to your brain; something non-repetitive; something different that allows you to focus.

[lonesomexloveus]

i have it and i take adderall XR (which is slowly released all day as opposed to all at once).

no offense to the 'mind-over-matter' stance, but that's really not possible if you truly are ADD. it has nothing to do with blood flow to your brain; it has everything to do with your neurons being understimulated by chemicals that are present in amounts that are too low. people think it seems counter intuitive to give someone who's already hyper or unable to concentrate a stimulant. however, kids with ADD act out or are constantly doing 982374 things at once because they're unconsciously seeking external stimuli to make up for their lack of chemical stimuli in their brain.

i've dealt with it my entire life, and through high school, my intelligence made up for my lack of ability to concentrate. however, when i got to college, where there were no parents and distractions were numerous, my intelligence couldn't compensate due to the sheer amounts of work. i balked at taking medication until i was 19 because i hate taking drugs for things like this.

having ADD and not being medicated is the worst feeling ever. i would sit down to study and be determined to do so for several hours. ten minutes later, i'd find myself back at my computer surfing the internet and be so angry with myself, because i had no reason why i was doing it other than i literally couldn't sit there and read for longer than 5 minutes at a time. i almost didn't get rehired for my summer retail job because i was so distracted all the time. however, after i started taking adderall, they wanted me to work fulltime as a manager. my grades went from Cs to As because i could finally concentrate.

being medicated has made a WORLD of difference for me. it's not a cure-all (i still need to be doing 2344 things at once a lot of the time, but it helps sooooo much with my concentration), but i would definitely recommend talking to your doctor about it.

** sorry if this was all over the place, but it's late and i'm ridiculously tired. PM me with any questions you might have, because i'd be more than happy to answer them!

[djones0930]

i have it and i take adderall XR (which is slowly released all day as opposed to all at once).

no offense to the 'mind-over-matter' stance, but that's really not possible if you truly are ADD. it has nothing to do with blood flow to your brain; it has everything to do with your neurons being understimulated by chemicals that are present in amounts that are too low. people think it seems counter intuitive to give someone who's already hyper or unable to concentrate a stimulant.

No offense at all! I'm glad I got it wrong because I am myself curious about it, and that was just my attempt at it without thoroughly researching that information. I could have just gone to wikipedia, but no way jose.

Everything you said in that short novel is interesting as hell to me. I'm sure it's definitely going to help eddieruckus, and even yourself. ..Gooood luck

[eddieruckus]

i have it and i take adderall XR (which is slowly released all day as opposed to all at once).

no offense to the 'mind-over-matter' stance, but that's really not possible if you truly are ADD. it has nothing to do with blood flow to your brain; it has everything to do with your neurons being understimulated by chemicals that are present in amounts that are too low. people think it seems counter intuitive to give someone who's already hyper or unable to concentrate a stimulant. however, kids with ADD act out or are constantly doing 982374 things at once because they're unconsciously seeking external stimuli to make up for their lack of chemical stimuli in their brain.

i've dealt with it my entire life, and through high school, my intelligence made up for my lack of ability to concentrate. however, when i got to college, where there were no parents and distractions were numerous, my intelligence couldn't compensate due to the sheer amounts of work. i balked at taking medication until i was 19 because i hate taking drugs for things like this.

having ADD and not being medicated is the worst feeling ever. i would sit down to study and be determined to do so for several hours. ten minutes later, i'd find myself back at my computer surfing the internet and be so angry with myself, because i had no reason why i was doing it other than i literally couldn't sit there and read for longer than 5 minutes at a time. i almost didn't get rehired for my summer retail job because i was so distracted all the time. however, after i started taking adderall, they wanted me to work fulltime as a manager. my grades went from Cs to As because i could finally concentrate.

being medicated has made a WORLD of difference for me. it's not a cure-all (i still need to be doing 2344 things at once a lot of the time, but it helps sooooo much with my concentration), but i would definitely recommend talking to your doctor about it.

** sorry if this was all over the place, but it's late and i'm ridiculously tired. PM me with any questions you might have, because i'd be more than happy to answer them!

i can relate to a lot of this

what kind of doctor do you need to see about this shit

I feel I can miss out on a lot of things in life if I dont seek out some sort of treatment

[goraiders]

I have terrible ADD and have never gotten meds for it. When I was little my parents got me diagnosed, but I was convinced I didn't have it because I wasn't jumpy and ADHD.

I assumed I never had it because I always did OK in school, but then at one point I was talking to my friends and realized they didn't read pages of books over and over without paying enough attention to remember what happened.

I got to the last stage of getting meds then missed the appointment and never made another. I don't have insurance now, but when I do I plan to go back and get some meds. I've tried them a few times and when I realize that is what most people feel like it is crazy.

[AlexH.]

i've dealt with it my entire life, and through high school, my intelligence made up for my lack of ability to concentrate. however, when i got to college, where there were no parents and distractions were numerous, my intelligence couldn't compensate due to the sheer amounts of work. i balked at taking medication until i was 19 because i hate taking drugs for things like this.

^This describes my school experience exactly. I took a shitton of tests last year and was diagnosed with ADD, low-grade depression and speed processing disorder. I tried non-stimulant meds for a while, they didn't do anything for me so I let the prescription run out and have not gone back to the doctor for something stronger. I should probably do that since I'm back in school and some success would be nice.

I've struggled with attention problems for most of my life, but neither I nor my parents thought it could be ADD because, as Eddie said, when you think ADD you think of the out-of-control kid with parents who won't take responsibility for their poor parenting.

[rtw88]

This can only be cured with laxative pizza.

[garrygumguru]

I can relate to a lot of what has been said in this thread. It is so hard to pay attention to some things. I'm glad I'm not the only person that has to reread things. Even if I'm reading a book for enjoyment, my mind will go off on a tangent and I'll realize that I didn't get any of the last page or two and have to go back.

Thankfully, I'm covered under my mom's insurance because I'm still a full time student. While I don't take meds for ADD, I do take some for mild depression. It helps out a bit, but could use some fine tuning. Of course it would be better if I was on a regular sleeping schedule so I could take my meds when I'm supposed to. Some days I'll be up around 7:30, others around 11:30. And I'm starting to ramble...so, the end.

[hankmurphy]

Do they make a pill for awkward?

[jonnywreck]

i smoke pot to combat my add. ever since i started, it really did make quite a difference. i'm sure this won't work for everyone, but it's worth a try?

[lonesomexloveus]

i have it and i take adderall XR (which is slowly released all day as opposed to all at once).

no offense to the 'mind-over-matter' stance, but that's really not possible if you truly are ADD. it has nothing to do with blood flow to your brain; it has everything to do with your neurons being understimulated by chemicals that are present in amounts that are too low. people think it seems counter intuitive to give someone who's already hyper or unable to concentrate a stimulant. however, kids with ADD act out or are constantly doing 982374 things at once because they're unconsciously seeking external stimuli to make up for their lack of chemical stimuli in their brain.

i've dealt with it my entire life, and through high school, my intelligence made up for my lack of ability to concentrate. however, when i got to college, where there were no parents and distractions were numerous, my intelligence couldn't compensate due to the sheer amounts of work. i balked at taking medication until i was 19 because i hate taking drugs for things like this.

having ADD and not being medicated is the worst feeling ever. i would sit down to study and be determined to do so for several hours. ten minutes later, i'd find myself back at my computer surfing the internet and be so angry with myself, because i had no reason why i was doing it other than i literally couldn't sit there and read for longer than 5 minutes at a time. i almost didn't get rehired for my summer retail job because i was so distracted all the time. however, after i started taking adderall, they wanted me to work fulltime as a manager. my grades went from Cs to As because i could finally concentrate.

being medicated has made a WORLD of difference for me. it's not a cure-all (i still need to be doing 2344 things at once a lot of the time, but it helps sooooo much with my concentration), but i would definitely recommend talking to your doctor about it.

** sorry if this was all over the place, but it's late and i'm ridiculously tired. PM me with any questions you might have, because i'd be more than happy to answer them!

i can relate to a lot of this

what kind of doctor do you need to see about this shit

I feel I can miss out on a lot of things in life if I dont seek out some sort of treatment

i just went to my family doctor. i had to take some tests, and by tests, i mean it was more like filling out questionnaires/checklists, because there's no definitive test for ADD/ADHD, per say.

getting diagnosed with this kind of has a stigmatism that comes along with it, which is why i resisted doing anything for so long. it's always the brunt of jokes, and everyone claims to have it and uses it as excuses (kind of like tourettes), which upsets me on occasion because it's actually a hard thing to live with.

like i said, i can't speak for everyone, but taking meds for it has made a world of difference in a lot of aspects in my life. i'm almost sorry that i waited as long as i did to get treated for it.

[mcm1610]

From a teacher's perspective, it's annoying as shit when every student claims to have ADD. It's certainly out there, but it's most definitely over-diagnosed. It definitely does coming with stigmas though, which really sucks for those that actually have it, because there's people like me who get really skeptical about whether or not they are making up excuses or not.

[lonesomexloveus]

From a teacher's perspective, it's annoying as shit when every student claims to have ADD. It's certainly out there, but it's most definitely over-diagnosed. It definitely does coming with stigmas though, which really sucks for those that actually have it, because there's people like me who get really skeptical about whether or not they are making up excuses or not.

in my experience, the kids who are obnoxious and outspoken about it are probably the kids who don't really have it/don't need to be on meds. i would most definitely agree that it's over-diagnosed and has become a catch-all diagnosis for doctors/parents who don't want to take responsibility for their child's behavior.

even though i'm ADD/ADHD, i never acted out in school, which makes my parents lucky, i guess. when i was like 7 years old, my mom's friend, who is some type of therapist/psychiatrist told her that i was ADHD, and my mom didn't believe her because i never caused a problem in school. she said she always just thought that that's what all bright, active kids acted like (until she had kid #2 and realized i was a little bonkers).

[blackswanns]

after talking to a friend of mine and doing some research, im pretty convinced that I have it, I wont go into details , but basically I feel like this is something ive struggled with my whole life

for years I didnt believe that ADD was such a thing and it was just to get kids jacked on ritalin and adderall and what not

does anyone here have it? does the medication help??

its really expensive to go see a doctor about this and I dont have insurance, but it migh be worth it if I can better my life because of it

Our pediatrician believes that my son has ADHD.... I believe my wife has ADD .

We have to do referrals and crap just to see a specialist and they are booked until Feb. '11. Fun let me tell you.

[mcm1610]

PS - from this thread but also stuff that comes up in the +/- thread... don't self-diagnose yourself. If something's a problem, call your doctor and describe it to him. Don't sit on internet doctor sites and trick yourself into thinking you're coming down with some crazy illness.

[lonesomexloveus]

webmd is probably the worst thing to happen to humanity.

[elementary]

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was littler, and got put on concerta. It didn't really do much. Honestly I think it's the most condiluted disease to ever be thought up. I think if you tried hard enough you could shake it. Just focus. It's not the hardest thing in the world, right?

[lonesomexloveus]

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was littler, and got put on concerta. It didn't really do much. Honestly I think it's the most condiluted disease to ever be thought up. I think if you tried hard enough you could shake it. Just focus. It's not the hardest thing in the world, right?

jay kay?

[eddieruckus]

i smoke pot to combat my add. ever since i started, it really did make quite a difference. i'm sure this won't work for everyone, but it's worth a try?

this worked for me for years, but when I turned like 25 I came to the realization that marijuana is illegal ( althought I think its completely absurb) but gettng caught with it would not be good

[desensitizedbyu]

I definitely have it and was put on Ritalin LA 30mg. It helped a lot but made my blood pressure sky rocket sometimes out of nowhere and it made my hunger go away completely. I lost a lot of weight and would never eat and that made me get sick a lot but it really helped. There is a definite stigma to it but fuck those people.

[goraiders]

I wished smoking pot helped me, I just get way too anxious to do anything.

[lmorgan5]

Before I was diagnosed I failed out of college, twice. After constant nagging from my parents I got tested at 20. I immediately started taking adderall XR and after some toying with the dosage have found 20 mg works best for me. I'm currently 25 and have graduated college. This isn't something I'm normally open about, but if you truly do have it medication makes all the difference. Good luck!