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The funny part about that is that when she actually gives in once every month or so and agrees to go on a bike ride, ten minutes into it she'll be sprinting past me up hills with a grin on her face. It's just the getting started that she resists so much. No amount of "hey, remember how much you enjoyed this last time?" will convince her otherwise. But she'll come around eventually (when school starts again and it's either $10 a day to park or ride a bike  )I did tell her today "You can't just take adderall everyday and not bike. It doesn't work that way." Eggplant Wizard posted:Personally it really really doesn't help when someone else tells me to do things. It doesn't give me any more motivation and just makes me feel awful about myself. You might not be helping by pushing her. Stick with positive feedback when she manages a thing instead. I'm not in your relationship obviously so I could be wrong. No, you are 110% spot on with this. I'm the exact same way; someone tells me to do something I'll do nothing or even the opposite. I try to push her in a positive way but I know that I just need to leave it be. Usually I'm good at just asking if she wants to work out or bike or whatever and accept the answer at face value. Sometimes, like today, I push it a little bit, but I quickly realize that I'm just making her feel hella crappy about herself. wilfredmerriweathr fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 01:45
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Personally it really really doesn't help when someone else tells me to do things. It doesn't give me any more motivation and just makes me feel awful about myself. You might not be helping by pushing her. Stick with positive feedback when she manages a thing instead. I'm not in your relationship obviously so I could be wrong.
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Jun 29, 2012 01:53
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Going to the doctor in an hour to find out if I have ADHD, last week I did a 2x2hour test session with "Mark every letter d that has 2 marks surronding it" on a paper filled with d and p with 0-4 marks, "Look at this figure, now draw it from memory, now do it again", some other memory tests and some general IQ test things. I'm worried sick, my gf is confident I have ADHD and I'm convinced I'll walk in and be told "Hey, so it turns out you're actually a psycopath" or that I'm not sick, just normal and lazy.  EDIT: Mild ADHD, mostly problems with mental stamina? He wants me to try medication and see if/how much it helps and then figure stuff out from there so I'm waiting until sometime in autumn for my next appointment. And apparently according to the IQ test I'm in the 99th percentile. Andohz fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 09:00
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Personally it really really doesn't help when someone else tells me to do things. It doesn't give me any more motivation and just makes me feel awful about myself. You might not be helping by pushing her. Stick with positive feedback when she manages a thing instead. I'm not in your relationship obviously so I could be wrong. Also, you don't want "encouragement" to turn into "nagging".
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Jun 29, 2012 16:19
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So I saw the psychiatrist today, and even with our one hour appointment (which was a discussion/interview and him reviewing some old records), he was like, "Yeah.. you definitely have inattentive type ADHD and how on earth did they miss it when you were in high school??" In high school, I was having some serious academic problems at my difficult private school, and at the school's insistence, I went to see an educational consultant who conducted a bunch of intelligence tests. My mom dug up the report, which I had never seen before last night, and it was mind boggling how she missed such obvious signs of ADD. "Authentic You is very fidgety... she scored really low relatively on short term memory exercises and at a few points seemed to forget what task she was supposed to be working on... Teachers observe Authentic You as being aloof, not paying attention in class and doodling and sucking at completing assignments... she has some odd behaviors and seems to have low self esteem... she seems trapped in a vicious cycle of shooting herself in the foot academically, but interestingly, she seems aware of the fact that she is shooting herself in the foot. I don't really understand why she doesn't stop shooting herself in the foot." The bulk of recommendations involved teaching me how to use a planner  and other bullshit. I know how to use a drat planner and have since fourth grade, I just don't remember to use it. Then seeing an educational therapist and continuing to work in the school's special study center, and then way down the list, a half-assed recommendation to get checked out for ADD to "rule it out". Ten years later, we get to that step, and lo and behold. Psychiatrist said ADD testing should have been the absolute first recommendation based on that assessment.So yeah, I get to go back and learn about  and also get a EKG because I have some chromosomal mosaicism that could potentially cause congenital heart issues (which no one thinks I actually have - just need to be extra sure).So, guess I get to join the club in an official capacity. It's great to know why I've sucked at school and life so far and that it can be fixed.
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Jun 30, 2012 01:08
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Authentic You posted:The bulk of recommendations involved teaching me how to use a planner I've always had this issue. I learned to take in material without taking notes, because if I took notes it would break my concentration, but I'd never look at the notes. It's a really awful cycle of not learning. I'm in a master's program now thankfully, because that means most of the work is writing. From time to time though, I have a timed multiple choice test about fine detail from the readings. gently caress that poo poo!!!!!!!! Good luck!
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Jun 30, 2012 02:13
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For those who hate writing notes buy a MP3 dictation machine. Or if you have a laptop in class, use the mic to record the lecture. My handwriting and spelling suck so bad that I'm about 10 minutes behind if I pay attention to what I'm writing. I've used it to play back the lecture later as I am doing dishes or whatever and that's a good use of otherwise "down" time. Now if I could only find mine.  I have a (college) classmate who is so visually oriented she literally draws little cartoons about what the Prof is talking about and it really seems to work for her because maybe the picture only has 35% of the material, but looking at something thta was eye/kinesthetic brings the rest back. Try a few things and stick with the one that works. And by works I mean 51% of the time can = success after awhile. The current self help book I am reading recommends the 51% idea for indecision (which I've posted before is often my biggest prbolem).
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Jun 30, 2012 20:19
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signalnoise posted:I've always had this issue. I learned to take in material without taking notes, because if I took notes it would break my concentration, but I'd never look at the notes. It's a really awful cycle of not learning. I'm in a master's program now thankfully, because that means most of the work is writing. From time to time though, I have a timed multiple choice test about fine detail from the readings. gently caress that poo poo!!!!!!!! Thanks! Looking back at my notes, they were very sparse and had lots of doodles intertwined. I had a funny association-based note taking method, in which I wrote down the general topic that was being discussed, and listened as I doodled. I then would associate the random poo poo I drew with what I was listening to while I drew it. Like, aquatic dragon = such and such figure from the American Revolution, array of fantasy swords = whatever mathematical concept. I have a weird indirect way of thinking about a lot of things. Anywho, followed up with the psychiatrist about (I'm so happy I can use the emote now, and even more so about getting to take the ), and he's given me a few different dosages of Concerta and a schedule to ramp up the doses and see which one works/doesn't give me side effects. Also got 10mg Ritalin for an afternoon booster in case the Concerta wears off. I don't get to fill the scripts until after the EKG, which is next week. Luckily I'm visiting home on vacation now so I don't have any pressing need to start it.Also, talked more with my mom after coming home with a solid ADHD diagnosis after so many years of everyone wondering why I wasn't doing as well in school as I could have. She told me all about the side of that evaluation that I didn't know about. I worked with an academic therapist, who was great to talk to, but her effect on my performance was probably minimal. I also talked to a psychologist, who I vaguely remember. This guy, along with the education consultant who conducted the intelligence test thingy, essentially painted a picture in which I wasn't doing well because I had emotional problems and was acting out/rebelling by not doing well in school due to my parents being overbearing control freak assholes. Also, that the solution to me essentially power-tripping due to my 'emotional problems' was therapy and academic counseling. Therapy was bs, and the academic counseling only tackled symptoms of the real problem. In truth, my parents were great and not Asian-parent-style overbearing like the psychologist suggested. Our relationship got tense because I was literally incapable of doing any better at school, despite me being perfectly smart enough to outclass most other students. I hated not doing well because my parents kept laying on more pressure and taking away privileges. I would have done anything to do better in school and not have them be mad at me all the time. Oh, also the educational consultant and my teachers observed be being 'fearful and anxious all the time over failure to complete schoolwork'. You'd think that if I was just power tripping, I wouldn't be so fearful and anxious. I was never a rebellious kid. Everyone missed the mark by a lot, and I didn't even know how badly until now.On the issue on me never getting tested for ADHD in high school, it was a weak 'maybe' recommendation, and my mom confessed that she felt really relieved that the results came back as me just needing some counseling and organizational skills, because then I wouldn't have to be put on those 'horrible, mind-altering drugs'. My parents had a horribly stigmatized view of ADHD and its medication, so they didn't pursue a real evaluation for me, and I didn't know much about it, other than it was a condition that hyper kids had, so I didn't say anything about it. I'm just really glad I went to a good psychiatrist off the bat who saw right through all this bullshit from ten years ago. He also recommends that patients and their families read Delivered from Distraction (his practices and leanings are very in line with those in the book), so I gave my mom my copy and she already has a much better understanding of what ADHD actually is. 
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Jun 30, 2012 22:08
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^Agreed. Give family members or spouses Delivered from Distraction. Tell them it's a big favor for you for them to read it. Offer them some fancy dinner out if they finish it, whatever works. Having the people around you understand your condition and how to work with it is SO important. I've only been diagnosed for a year now and I wouldn't have thought it at first, but drat does it matter a lot.
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Jul 4, 2012 00:22
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Winszton posted:^Agreed. Give family members or spouses Delivered from Distraction. Tell them it's a big favor for you for them to read it. Offer them some fancy dinner out if they finish it, whatever works. I'm glad a book like this exists. I've also emailed my mom a few articles from the ADDitude magazine site (except I want to go redesign that goddamn website because there are so many distracting embedded links and columns of links and other poo poo, and really finicky drop down menu and it's generally horribly distracting - basically it's horrible for ADD people, or it's on purpose because their ADD readers will click on all the links and get them more ad revenue). So yeah, I think my mom is actually starting to get it. She also told my sister that she felt bad about not getting me the right help when I was really struggling in high school. Not her fault, though, because why would she have reason to think these expensive professionals were completely wrong? My dad is another story - from what I got from my mom, he was a driving force against me getting diagnosed with an 'excuse' because "she's just lazy and needs to sit down and do her assignments!!" The funny thing is that he has several ADD-like traits himself. However, he's managed to be very successful, so I guess he doesn't have it to disorder magnitude or he figured out way better coping mechanisms. I just hope that once I start treatment and learn how to be productive and stuff, he'll come see that I never meant to be a lazy slacker. I had a funny conversation with my mom (who is trying to watch her weight):  - So, are there any major side effects of this... drug? - Well, what I'm concerned about is that it's a huge appetite suppressant. - Wait.. it's an appetite suppressant? - Yeah, a really strong one! Doc told me to set an 'eat food' alarm on my phone, otherwise I'd feel like crap from not eating and- - Oh my god how do I obtain these pills??So much for them being evil mind altering drugs. Also, annoyingly, in the days since my diagnosis, my little sister has been on my mom's case about how she thinks she has ADHD also. "But mooom I think I could really benefit from taking Ugghh... family, stop trying to get into my !!
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Jul 4, 2012 01:35
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Does your father drink a lot of coffee?
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Jul 4, 2012 08:26
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Yeah it bugs me that there's pretty much no way I could ever be an officer in the air force (despite being in the right field and having great grades) because I have ADHD which is treated with medicine. But if I were undiagnosed and just drank an assload of coffee, that'd be A-OK! poo poo, I can't even get a private pilot's license Small price to pay, really, to have my life functional though.
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Jul 4, 2012 14:07
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You cant get a private pilots license because of ADHD? What about a parachuting license? First ones something which would probably never happen but second is just like $3000 and then you can jump outta the sky every weekend. Was set on doing that, im gonna be pissed if I find out this diagnosis blocks me from it for no good reason
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Jul 4, 2012 19:03
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I'm currently in the midst of the diagnosis process, and the last couple of posts got me wondering. Is the stigma of ADD that severe? What other doors (other than those mentioned) close once you get labled and medicated?
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Jul 5, 2012 06:20
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usha posted:I'm currently in the midst of the diagnosis process, and the last couple of posts got me wondering. The stigma of ADD is that people who legitimize it see it as debilitating even with medication and the people who don't legitimize it think you're just lazy.
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Jul 5, 2012 10:55
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My girlfriend was diagnosed by her psych a little over a year ago and has been on medication for it ever since - it keeps her focused and motivated, and she's a 100% different person when she's on it. Her doctor moved out of town, so she saw a new doctor yesterday... who decided she didn't have ADHD and wouldn't prescribe her anything. So she's got about 14 days until she's forced off her meds, and about a month until her last semester of college starts. What a lovely situation.
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Jul 5, 2012 13:12
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Winszton posted:You cant get a private pilots license because of ADHD? What about a parachuting license? I'm sure parachuting is fine. I think they just don't let you fly if you currently take CII medications (amphetamines, opiates). You shoulda seen the look on the Navy recruiter's face when I went in to talk about the Nuclear Propulsion program. He was all excited to be snagging someone for the program and then when I mentioned ADHD he just instantly lost all interested and was just like "yeah you'll never make it past the physical." Joke's on them though because I'll just take my creativity to private enterprise. wilfredmerriweathr fucked around with this message at 14:23 on Jul 5, 2012 |
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Jul 5, 2012 14:21
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QPZIL posted:My girlfriend was diagnosed by her psych a little over a year ago and has been on medication for it ever since - it keeps her focused and motivated, and she's a 100% different person when she's on it. Her doctor moved out of town, so she saw a new doctor yesterday... who decided she didn't have ADHD and wouldn't prescribe her anything. Gah. What a horrible situation. If she can, see if she can get in touch with the now out of town psych, explain what happened, and see if they have any recommendations for a psych to see that believes and treats adult ADHD.
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Jul 5, 2012 16:23
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This is why I went ahead and got a clinician to give me it in writing. It's on a form and everything
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Jul 5, 2012 16:55
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usha posted:I'm currently in the midst of the diagnosis process, and the last couple of posts got me wondering. I think it's because of the medication, not the diagnosis. I've got an appointment for a screening next week 
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Jul 5, 2012 19:12
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Good news for those who wish to fly someday- http://www.zenithair.com/news/sport-pilot.html Requires either a 3rd class FAA medical certificate or a current and valid U.S. driver's license as evidence of medical eligibility (provided the individual does not have an official denial or revocation of medical eligibility on file with FAA). I was talking to a pilot friend who builds experimental aircraft. You simply don't get the FAA medical certificate and just license under your drivers license eligibility.
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Jul 6, 2012 03:19
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QPZIL posted:My girlfriend was diagnosed by her psych a little over a year ago and has been on medication for it ever since - it keeps her focused and motivated, and she's a 100% different person when she's on it. Her doctor moved out of town, so she saw a new doctor yesterday... who decided she didn't have ADHD and wouldn't prescribe her anything. This is awful! Goon speed! Hopefully like Qu Appelle mentioned, she can get her previous psych to write up a little note to the new psych medically stating 'Hey douchebag, give Ms. QPZIL her pills back.' TheBigBad posted:Good news for those who wish to fly someday- I asked a similar question in the aviation megathread and a few people there recommended the same thing - the Sport Pilot license. There aren't too many downsides to it. You just can't fly at night, into clouds/rain/inclement weather, nor can you fly fast planes. But the last one is a moot point anyway. Fast planes are expensive. It's like your driver's license banning you from driving Lamborghinins and Ferarris. Dolemite fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Jul 6, 2012 |
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Jul 6, 2012 04:51
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Ugh, why didn't I install this sooner? https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji Stayfocusd is an extension for Chrome (and Firefox I think) that limits the time you spend on certain websites. It's really well done, just take a look at the options menu, it instantly made sense to me.
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Jul 6, 2012 05:37
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JayMax posted:Ugh, why didn't I install this sooner? I may need to install this at work. Ip found another way to keep focused - stand at my desk instead of sitting. I have to go between two banks of computers, so I'm not even bothering to sit down anymore. I may even prop my keyboard and mouse up so it's not such an ergonomic clusterfuck.
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Jul 6, 2012 06:29
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Dolemite posted:This is awful! Latest update is that I believe she spoke with her previous office and is going to meet with someone there...... about 2 weeks after her current meds run out. But, then again, it's better than nothing! As for my own issues - I finished my two week trial of Adderall. When it was "on", it was great. But the problem was that when it ran out, I felt AWFUL. Incredibly irritable, mad, sad, bad mood, just awful. Because of my work schedule, my meds were wearing off around 5pm or 6pm, which was kind of a bummer if I wanted to get anything done after work. So, my doc prescribed Adderall XR to see if that fixes the terrible crash effect. Here goes nothin'!
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Jul 6, 2012 13:13
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Qu Appelle posted:I may need to install this at work. If it's not shared, but your personal desk maybe get one of these? 
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Jul 6, 2012 14:38
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Yeah, I requested a standing desk at work mainly for health reasons (sitting down is terrible for you, ruins your hips, ruins your squatting muscles, etc.). But now I've realized it's helped me focus a lot more since I can't really relax and zone out. Great advice.
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Jul 6, 2012 14:48
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Does Ritalin help out with depression in any way shape or form? It seems that my mood gets better when I'm medicated.
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Jul 6, 2012 15:09
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Pollyanna posted:Does Ritalin help out with depression in any way shape or form? It seems that my mood gets better when I'm medicated. I tend to get less frustrated about my distractions when I'm on Ritalin, but I wouldn't call it a general depression cure.
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Jul 6, 2012 15:17
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Yeah it can, though it isn't generally a treatment for it. If you're just starting don't be disappointed if the mood heightening effect diminishes somewhat. Some people think they suffer from depression but it goes away once they get in control of their lives through treatment of ADHD, so that could also factor in. The direct effect might stick though. No ones sure whether or not it releases serotonin.
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Jul 6, 2012 15:28
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Technically I've been on it since I was six, but around high school I practically ditched it. I don't use it much now aside from when I need to crack down and study or something.
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Jul 6, 2012 15:40
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It's more dopamine than serotonin
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Jul 6, 2012 15:48
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Has anybody thought of (or have the time to) putting all the helpful tips from this thread into one place? It took me MONTHS to get through this thread and I remember there being some great advice about nutrition, medication, coping & time management strategies and more, but it'd be great to have it all in one place...
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Jul 7, 2012 03:45
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I was on ritalin for about 5 years in my youth (second to around seventh grade). I didn't like being the kid that had to go to the nurses station to take pills at lunch, and after all that time I didn't really like dealing with it in general, so I quit taking them (against doctors orders). I promptly started failing classes, eventually dropped out of high school. I decided to give college a shot and came up with some cool ways to mitigate my ADD (I was diagnosed when it was still called that). Recently, however, I find it much harder to concentrate, read my textbooks (it used to take me 3 times to fully comprehend the book without zoning out, now it takes me like... 5-8 times), I'm completely not punctual (I was on time to class twice last semester), my note taking has gone down, I'm more fidgety... It's becoming increasingly clear that my symptoms are getting worse. So I'm thinking about going back on meds. I've had three friends swear by adderall, and I'd like to give that a shot. How do I go about getting back on pills? I'm 24 now, so it's been at least 10 years since I was on ritalin. Do I just go to a doctor and say "I have ADD, give me adderall please?" Do I need to prove it to them in some way? I really don't want to go through the bullshit of getting re diagnosed, I know what's wrong with me, I know where I have deficits, I just want to start working on a solution. Any tips, thoughts, input, etc?
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Jul 7, 2012 05:19
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So, hey, this is my second day on Adderall XR. Not really much to say. Unfortunately don't have work or something similarly demanding going on right now. But, for the mood talk, here's an anecdote for ya: Was half an hour late to work on the first day I was medicating and promptly sent home. Later that day, came in for my paycheck and told not to come back unless called. So, I'd just been fired, but I didn't have a big heavy mood shift like I normally would. I mean, it's not even that the thoughts didn't occur that would've brought me down, I just never had a that drop happen. Rums posted:So I'm thinking about going back on meds. I've had three friends swear by adderall, and I'd like to give that a shot. How do I go about getting back on pills? I'm 24 now, so it's been at least 10 years since I was on ritalin. Do I just go to a doctor and say "I have ADD, give me adderall please?" Do I need to prove it to them in some way? I really don't want to go through the bullshit of getting re diagnosed, I know what's wrong with me, I know where I have deficits, I just want to start working on a solution. Any tips, thoughts, input, etc? I had a previous diagnosis when I started treatment too (I was ADHD even back when there was the split). I'm currently getting treatment through a clinical psychology clinic. When I meet with the shrink for the first time, I talked with her for 45-ish minutes and she concluded that would be a good thing for me. Might be a little different for you, because my psychologist had meet with me weekly for about a month beforehand and had decided that ADHD was the main issue. But, regardless, the prior diagnosis will be beneficial, just expect talking and maybe some testing (I, honestly, never did anything more than the 600+ question MMPI). The big thing is to let your doc decide what will be best for you; stimulants cause physiological things like increased heart-rate that could be of a concern and there are other issues to. Your shrink is an MD for a reason.
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Jul 7, 2012 07:21
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BirdOfPlay posted:Might be a little different for you, because my psychologist had meet with me weekly for about a month beforehand and had decided that ADHD was the main issue. But, regardless, the prior diagnosis will be beneficial, just expect talking and maybe some testing (I, honestly, never did anything more than the 600+ question MMPI). The big thing is to let your doc decide what will be best for you; stimulants cause physiological things like increased heart-rate that could be of a concern and there are other issues to. Your shrink is an MD for a reason. My general idea was to just go in, explain what's going on, and ask if I should go on drugs. I'm gonna let the shrink decide. My current serious symptoms are extreme fidgeting, procrastination, difficulty reading textbooks/note taking/writing essays/general assignments, and complete and utter lack of punctuality. At least those are the most extreme aspects of it. I also can't watch TV or movies anymore (I watch them in 5 to 10 minute shifts and take a break, then come back; completely eliminates movies as a social experience). It's taken me about 15 minutes to write this post and about an hour and a half to watch the 30 minute TV show I have on my other monitor. God I let this get out of hand. Edit: I also lose track of what I'm saying mid sentence all. the. time. Is that also a symptom? I don't even know.
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Jul 7, 2012 07:50
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Doing 36mg Concerta at present, it feels like it works allright for helping my memory and concentration, but it does nothing to help (or exarebates) my apathy and anxiety. I spend much of my times sitting still and worrying, which didn't use to be as big a problem. I'm in an intensive government-sponsored program for psychiatric patients, so money and examinations are not really an issue, but I'm not sure what to do, save start taking anxiety medication and anti-depressants on top.
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Jul 11, 2012 14:36
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yeah thats the problem with methylphenidate for a lot of people. Sounds like you need to switch to dexedrine or something.
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Jul 11, 2012 14:56
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Thanks, I'll bring it up with the psych, I think. He says next option is Strathera, do any of you lot know how that works?
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Jul 11, 2012 15:25
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It's a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It's basically an antidepressant that Eli Lilly decided to market as ADHD treatment. I've known many people who have taken it, one or two of them said it worked, and one of them was on it AND adderall at the same time and the strattera was making his hand shake like an alcoholic trying to quit drinking. So yeah in my opinion it's garbage for ADHD but your mileage may vary! I'd say vyvanse is probably your best bet, though I know you have experience with amphetamine already so you probably know better than I do how well amph helps your symptoms.
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Jul 11, 2012 16:44
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