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Hi, guys. I have been reading this thread to try to get a better understanding of what my brothers and mom go through as they have ADD but medicated and seem to be doing pretty well. But as I've been reading some of the things you guys have said have seemed to be very familiar to me as well. I don't know if I'm just internalizing what I have been reading or if I really may have some form of ADD but it's scary to think about but I also wanted to get opinions from people who would know better than me. A main problem for most people with ADD seems to be school. I didn't do particularly well in school. I did well in the classes that were interesting to me, like science and english. But math I just didnt get, at all. I would try to follow and quickly get lost, even if I took word for word notes, I could only concentrate on taking the actual notes rather than listening to what the teacher was actually saying, so I didnt really learn anything in the process. I would just take notes and then end up with no way of understanding what I wrote. In the off chance that I was able to actually GET something at school, the minute I got home and started homework I had completely lost everything that I thought I knew. So I eventually just started sleeping in math and other classes that I was already failing because I saw it as a lost cause, however there were other things going on in my life such as physical abuse, etc. So I am not sure if this could even be ADD related.I dropped out of school in 11th grade, however I was depressed at the time so I don't think it would be ADD related. Later studied and got my GED. I also talk fast,especially if it's a subject I know a lot about, but I don't talk a lot to random people. I am very introverted around people that I don't know. So I've never had someone tell me, oh you might have ADD. However my mind is racing, constantly. Work keeps me pretty busy, however I can only do one thing at a time at work. It's even become difficult for me to do my work with regular office noise going on around me because my brain seems to get fixated on listening to what other people are saying and I have to constantly remind myself to do the work that is right in front of me. To me this doesn't seem ADD related but, I don't know. It's difficult to deal with nonetheless. To add onto this, I have trouble falling asleep. As I said before I have constant thoughts racing through my head, I think about everything and anything. Sleeping pills have little to no affect on me, I took 2 50MG sleeping pills, it was more like a tranqulilizer, my body was tired, but it still took me an hour to fall asleep. Again, this doesn't sound like ADD to me, but, I just don't know. Whenever I'm not engaged in something that keeps my brain occupied I have to start listening to music, loudly. Whenever I drive I have to listen to music turned all the way up to distract me from what's going on in my head, because sometimes even thinking distracts me from driving. I find myself swerving while in thought even though my eyes are on the road. How ridiculous is that. When I read, I have to have almost complete silence, or I have to concentrate so that I block out anything else that's going on around me. I have to constantly remind myself to read what's on the page and not listen to people at work if I'm at work. So I usually just read before bed. When I think of something to do in the moment I have to do it right that second or else I will lose it and forget it. OR I have to write it down. Pretty much every week when I have some downtime at work I write a 10-20 numbered list of things that I think of in the moment that I need to do but haven't done yet. Easy things that I just keep constantly forgetting but need to get done like have my oil changed... I don't fidget or walk around like most of you describe, I can sit down for an extended period of time because I have to for work. However I have to constantly have a leg moving at all times when I'm sitting. If I have to stop like during a meeting or something I start to get very anxious or even stressed. I have to move my leg, up and down up and down. I know it annoys some people here but I have to do it. Like I said, I can stay in one place fine but I just have to move my leg. The problem is my eyes are constantly moving, I have to look at everything and everyone around me, is this paranoia and not ADD? I don't know. I'm not really thinking about peoples intentions or thoughts, I am just observing evertyhing and everyone constantly I notice random things about people and my environment that no one notices or cares to think about. When I am deep in thought I pretty regularly hold my breath for a few seconds without even realizing it. The only person that noticed this and pointed this out was a therapist I saw when I was a child. I haven't seen anyone since, and I was there about depression she didn't mention ADD at the time. But like I said there were other issues during my childhood. but I still do this today. But that seems more anxiety based? I dunno. Feel free to tell me if I'm crazy or if I should look into this further, I feel like something is wrong. Any input would be appreciated.
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Apr 25, 2014 22:06
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A few things- Some of that sounds like it could be symptomatic of ADHD. Some of that sounds like there could be some emotional trauma that could be addressed with cognitive behavioral therapy. Some of that could be comorbidity with something else. Most of it sounds resolvable with the right help. I'd start with the cbt so you can set some of those bricks down so to speak and sort it out. Usually you start to hit a stumbling block in the fourth grade where things get remedial and you get bored and your mind wanders. It all tends to fall apart if you don't have good coping mechanisms in play at college because volume and complexity overwhelm you. You have to read two hundred pages a night or you fail. Etc. some people tough it out, but it costs three to four times more energy. Like trying to go down a highway in second gear. Again, it sounds solvable.
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Apr 26, 2014 00:48
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Darksidepsy posted:Work keeps me pretty busy, however I can only do one thing at a time at work. It's even become difficult for me to do my work with regular office noise going on around me because my brain seems to get fixated on listening to what other people are saying and I have to constantly remind myself to do the work that is right in front of me. To me this doesn't seem ADD related but, I don't know. It's difficult to deal with nonetheless. All of this sounds alot like ADHD. I was reading through this going 'Yep, yep, yep, yep'. The bit where you have trouble focusing if someone is talking around you if very common for ADHD, as is the need to have music to drown it out if you need to think, because otherwise every little thing'll drive you nuts. Another thing, the last paragraph there kind of sounds like a tic. Tourette's is very commonly comorbid with ADHD, I should know since I have it, and while medication for Tourette's is pretty spotty, CBT to deal with the tics and how others percieve them is great. I made an A/T about it if you want to look. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3620435&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1
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Apr 28, 2014 19:06
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Ugh, does anyone have problems oversleeping? Lately I've been working on freelance which pays really well, but the issue is if I go to sleep I end up sleeping for 12-20 hours straight. It's bizarre to sleep through my alarms again, except for an additional 10 hours.
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Apr 28, 2014 20:59
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Same here, I regularly sleep for over 12 hours. It was really awful in high school when I used to set two or three alarms and somehow sleep through all of them. These days my sleep has evened out a bit and I'm now able to wake up for work pretty consistently, but I still have really awful problems like sleeping through my entire day off, or taking a 7 hour nap after work. EDIT: I did go to a sleep clinic at one point. They weren't able to tell me anything except I didn't have narcolepsy, so that was a waste of time.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:22
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I wish I could sleep that long.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:59
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It's great, until you have actual responsibilities and you feel sick and exhausted if you only get 7 or 8 hours.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:26
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Tin Hat posted:It's great, until you have actual responsibilities and you feel sick and exhausted if you only get 7 or 8 hours. Sounds about the same as the 4-5 I get to get even when I could sleep in for 20.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:30
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I USED to sleep super late/long like that until having a job with regular hours, and then having a kid, forced me into a schedule. I was still pretty bad even when I was getting up the same time every day because I used to be horrible about going to bed on time, but once you have a kid that doesn't know what weekends are, it's pretty drat good incentive to get to bed, even on the weekends, because you know you're going to be woken up super early. Still, I need at LEAST 7-8 hours, or I'm going to be crashing during the day. I think a big part of the needing long hours for sleep might be the quality of the sleep. There are a lot of nights where my brain won't shut up, so even if I fall asleep, if the littlest thing grabs my attention, then I snap back awake too much to fall right back asleep again. So then you spend extra time getting back into that sleep cycle. Doesn't happen ALL the time, more often when something's on my mind before bed, but it could explain how you would need longer sleep. I used to be like that in high school and college, where I'd sleep 12 hours no problem. I think sometimes your body just needs to catch up, too. I've been plugging away at that book! I think I'm about 4-5 chapters in, now. (Skipping a bunch of the intro stuff of course!) It's crazy reading through it, if I had just picked up the book before looking into ADHD at all, I would have just gone, "Wait... this isn't just how people think?" I really liked all the metaphors for what it's like, it's one thing to go through a list of symptoms and check them off, it's another to see other people describing to a T how it is in your brain. I've been talking to my husband about all the interesting bits as I go along, I'm really hoping he reads it when I'm done with it. Kills me that I'm still less than 100 pages into the thing, though! I think it's so funny, this is exactly why I couldn't get through a book once I hit high school. That whole "Read 50 pages by tomorrow," bullshit was never going to fly with me. I've had that book how long, now? And it's a topic I'm super interested in. But still. Read a few sentences, start thinking about your life, start thinking about how it applies to you (while looking out the window), remember this story, remember that thing someone said, think about telling husband later, think about how you forgot to tell him about such and such from earlier that day, remember you need to do laundry, realize your mind is doing exactly what it's talking about in the book, but go up to start laundry anyway, come back to find where you left off, wind up reading that same paragraph again... Oh! And the drat fidgeting!! Since every ADHD list everywhere mentions how you fidget in your seat, I am SO aware of when I do it, now. Used to just be a thing, like breathing or your heartbeat. Now it's like trying to sleep and hearing your heartbeat in your head, or if you start THINKING about breathing, so then you get so caught up with it, you can't remember how to breathe without thinking of it (or is that just me?) So, yeah, I'm SUPER aware of when I start fidgeting (which is always) and it distracts me even more from everything, haha.
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Apr 29, 2014 12:00
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Finally had my follow up. The doc just recommended upping my dose to two 20mg of Adderall XR. One in the morning and one after lunch. Not sure how I feel about that.
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May 2, 2014 03:27
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Does anyone else have horrible memory? And not just the murky, nebulous "I did a thing once" kind of memory, but not being able to remember anything about siblings? I come from an abusive family and recently a sibling emailed me to ask for forgiveness and to try again at having some sort of contact or relationship. Unfortunately for them I cannot for the life of me remember anything about them other than extremely shallow details, like what kind of clothes they wore or bits and pieces of memory. We shared a room for quite a few years too, but I'd never be able to tell you about them beyond that. Other than lingering anger or guilt at my family as a whole for the abuse I went through (sexual, physical and verbal whoo yahtzee!) I don't actually remember anything about them as people. It's making things really easy to deal with now but it's concerning that in a few years I will think about my ex-husband and other people close to me like that too. Elderbean posted:Finally had my follow up. The doc just recommended upping my dose to two 20mg of Adderall XR. One in the morning and one after lunch. That sounds like quite a bit. Hate to admit this but sometimes when I'm in crunch time for work I will double dose on 25mg Xr a day, a few hours apart. I try not to do it more than once or twice a month, but it's definitely something I can see other people needing. I would suggest you get regular blood or heart tests to make sure it isn't doing damage, since recently one of my friends was taken off a low dose of ritalin since it was affecting the pacemaker part of her heart.
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May 6, 2014 13:45
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Horrible Smutbeast posted:Does anyone else have horrible memory? And not just the murky, nebulous "I did a thing once" kind of memory, but not being able to remember anything about siblings? I come from an abusive family and recently a sibling emailed me to ask for forgiveness and to try again at having some sort of contact or relationship. Unfortunately for them I cannot for the life of me remember anything about them other than extremely shallow details, like what kind of clothes they wore or bits and pieces of memory. We shared a room for quite a few years too, but I'd never be able to tell you about them beyond that. I have this. I also was coincidentally abused by my family. I don't remember large portions of my episodic memory, though I'm fine at remembering conceptual stuff. When I was dating my last boyfriend, he would regularly bring up big events in our relationship and 9/10 I wouldn't remember it at all. I can barely remember events from my own life to the point where I dislike small talk because so much of it revolves around drawing on moments of your own experience to advance the conversation. Aside from a few of the more climactic moments from my interactions with my parents (my father raping me, for instance), I don't remember much about them at all. I couldn't tell you what they're like as people, what they like or dislike, or really anything about them. I've often wondered if it was a feature of a defense mechanism to cope with the abuse. For instance, I thought I had a happy childhood for a long time, which is a defense mechanism that plays with memory I assume.
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May 6, 2014 14:31
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Yeah, sadly I don't think the abuse part is coincidence. My childhood (up to mid teens) is pretty much a few scattered islands of events in a sea of ???, though sometimes I'll remember other events when reading about someone going through something similar (it's a weird kind of "oh yeeeeah that horrible poo poo also happened  " that has the same air of recalling a Saturday morning cartoon series).My memory's still pretty wonky now but in a different way. Mostly issues with working memory, events/appointments, and especially names (which sucks because I'll generally remember everything else about a person, and it extends to things like scientific nomenclature that doesn't have an obvious system. Biology is all fhqwhgads encoders to me, which is why I am no longer in the health sciences...) While we're on the  topic of effects from lovely families, I found this Reddit thread about procrastination really relevant
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May 6, 2014 19:19
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In Delivered from Distraction the author specifically calls out having a memory that is pretty poor as one of the hallmarks of ADD. For me it's more like sometimes I can remember everything and be super on top of things and other times my mind is completely blank and even though I know there's something in there I can't get at it. Abuse/PTSD is another source of poor memory too.
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May 6, 2014 21:07
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Thank you so much for your replies. I have been slowly looking into therapy, however it is not covered by my insurance. I will have to pay out of pocket. I would have to start working overtime to pay for this, but I feel ive let this go on for too long and it feels like a necessity at this point. Once again thank you for your input, I feel better now =)
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May 6, 2014 22:10
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Darksidepsy posted:Thank you so much for your replies. I have been slowly looking into therapy, however it is not covered by my insurance. I will have to pay out of pocket. I would have to start working overtime to pay for this, but I feel ive let this go on for too long and it feels like a necessity at this point. Once again thank you for your input, I feel better now =) Group is better than nothing and is often free.
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May 6, 2014 22:20
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Mad Wack posted:In Delivered from Distraction the author specifically calls out having a memory that is pretty poor as one of the hallmarks of ADD. For me it's more like sometimes I can remember everything and be super on top of things and other times my mind is completely blank and even though I know there's something in there I can't get at it. Abuse/PTSD is another source of poor memory too. I agree with this post a lot and generally with the statements about memory. I definitely don't experience the severity of what other people are posting about but I can relate. One thing I do is keep a daily journal about little things and take a ton of pictures. It really jogs my memory for some reason to read what I was doing that day and see a picture. Even if I didn't do that I still feel like I could remember what my siblings were like 10 years down the road. So YMMV. I think constantly making a concise effort to be mindful of your surroundings and to be in the moment as much as you can is important. Went and saw a doc because of this thread like I previously posted and got prescribed 10mg Adderall IR. First 2-3 days were great and the effects were lasting about 4 hours or so and they were fairly strong. The next couple of days I wasn't feeling much if anything at all so I took the weekend off. On Monday it felt a little better but I felt like my tolerance was too much and I wasn't really getting the desired effect. And by Wednesday of the second week of taking the medication the effects felt almost non existent. I then took 3 days off because what I was taking was doing nothing at all. Fast forward to today after taking just the recommended 10mg on Monday, I took 20 mg today (Tuesday) and felt like that was an appropriate dose. I'm a little nervous right now because I feel like I almost enjoy Adderall too much. I mean I didn't obsess over it like I did when quitting nicotine but I was looking forward to taking it. I can't tell if I just enjoy the calming effects and being able to get things done or if its the beginning of an addiction. I'm trying to be objective here and think if I should bring this up to my doctor when I go in for the initial follow up about taking 20 mg and finding it worked better for me and felt like a more appropriate dosage. I just have a weird pathology developed about developing addictions to things and it scares me. Taking 20mg today was just so nice. I felt like I could get things done that normally would have been impossible. Its just a line that is tough to look at it, am I enjoying just being able to feel normal or am I enjoying the hyper focus I can direct more easily to other things now too much. I felt like I was in the moment more so than usual (while doing trivial tasks) and enjoyed the hyper-focus I can only get doing my hobbies and even then its hard to find. It wasn't to the same degree but definitely the same sort of thing. Eventually the "rush" of adderall coming on wears off right? I thought about if my doctor recommended to me an XR and my immediate thought was disappointment. The opposite side of the argument is the thing I look forward to is the normalcy. It excited me that I could sit down and fix my lawn mower. Its hard to convey completely what I am feeling. Is this excitement and energy just because some of the goals I have in life are now attainable and day to day activity isn't just scattered daydreaming with moments of self loathing about how little I have accomplished? Or is it that I am not being completely objective about how much I enjoy the state that adderrall puts me in and I use those activities as an excuse to continue using. This is basically what a doctor is supposed to do I'm pretty sure, I just plan on being very open with the therapist and psychiatrist and let them sort it out. Kind of answer my own question just wonder if anybody else felt the same way. (I did read a good amount of this thread and saw people mentioning the same thing, the increased mood and anticipation of taking the medication) Side note here as well, something other people have touched on here and I have found great success with is to write everything down in the same planner and have it easily view able. Before I had things spread across juggling them in my mind, written on sticky notes, some in a planner, and some written as notes on my phone. Its now just easier to look at my planner and see what I have to get done or what the next week looks like then trying to draw from different organizational tools. Also instead of obsessing over some entrepreneurial thought or something like that and trying to give it some passion (make it so important I don't forget it) I just think about the idea for an appropriate amount of time and then write it down so I can continue to keep on going about my day. Edit: One thing that I am interested in as well besides how much people anticipate taking the medication is what kind of career's people that read this thread are involved in. I'm still young enough (20) that I only have worked dead end retail and in the restaurant industry (hated both) but just curious what people with ADHD have had success in. I have some career prospects in mind but they are very difficult to get into and I don't plan on them panning out. For example things like a journalist, tv show writer, talk show radio host, author (something like what Malcolm Gladwell writes). I'm just objective about my talents and those seem difficult. Not impossible but difficult, I'm not incredibly passionate about any of things yet either. Chocolate fucked around with this message at 02:22 on May 7, 2014 |
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May 7, 2014 02:12
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I would suggest you discuss getting on an extended release version of medication it sounds like you would do better because of the steep up and down you're experiencing. I would simply mention that its wearing off very quickly after only a few days. You probably metabolize it rapidly and will need to try something else.
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May 7, 2014 02:26
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Regarding your question about careers, I'm a journalist and it's definitely a job with some advantages with respect to the ADHD mind. Things move extremely quickly and every day is a little bit different, so if you're the sort that needs a lot of stimulation in your job there's little that can beat it. You get to talk to interesting people, and you get the immediate satisfaction of seeing your work in print rather than having to wait until the end of the fiscal quarter or whatever the way you might with a corporate job. Constant deadline pressure is an excellent motivator if you find you're the kind of person that gets lost on long term assignments. For me, the best part is that journalists are, by and large, paid to think, and paid to indulge their intellectual curiosity -- I can't even begin to say how much I've learned about the world in this job. That being said, it demands a lot of organization and time management to be successful with, and speaking from experience I can tell you that without some sort of support in place and a good scheduling system THIS WILL KILL YOU. There's also very little downtime to appreciate your accomplishments -- the saying in the industry is you're only as good as your last story. For me, the constant forward momentum with no time to rest has started to take a toll. Also, if you consider yourself a creative writer, you should know that journalistic writing is really not creative. There's a formula and you execute against it, and your goal is to make your copy readable and informative, not beautiful. There's just not enough time for it. And of course there's all the frustrations around working in a shrinking industry where jobs are scarce and there's not much job security, and dealing with the fact that you're doing similar work to people in marketing (but working harder) for about a third of the pay. So yeah.
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May 8, 2014 03:42
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Mad Wack posted:In Delivered from Distraction the author specifically calls out having a memory that is pretty poor as one of the hallmarks of ADD. For me it's more like sometimes I can remember everything and be super on top of things and other times my mind is completely blank and even though I know there's something in there I can't get at it. Abuse/PTSD is another source of poor memory too. I've experienced this as well. When I'm on Focalin (off brand adderall) I seem to remember everything I need. I also get the sensation of mental blocks sometimes when trying to recall very specific things.
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May 9, 2014 02:48
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What's the consensus on Focalin vs. Ritalin? Is it like Dexedrine vs. Adderall where Adderall has more peripheral nervous stimulation and other unwanted effects from its addition of the levo- component?
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May 9, 2014 17:46
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So my 8 yr old has levelled out. I need to make sure to keep her super physically engaged and she snaps out of the zombie mode. I spoke to her Doctor, and we decided the best course at this point is to keep her busy once she is home, and we are buying more nuts as snacks, keeping almonds, peanuts, fresh fruit and vegetables around. She has mostly free reign on snacking other then right before dinner. She's also getting carnation instant breakfast in her morning milk. My mom came down to visit (we see her about once a year due to geography) and she helped me see that I needed to tweak my own meds, as Anna is just being a kid. She also pointed out some sensory issues that I didn't put together, and it's helping me not get on her about. Thanks again for the recommendation on Driven from distraction.
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May 9, 2014 20:35
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An update, and this may be potentially good news! 1. My doc had me take a month off of all ADHD meds. Considering that I'm also unemployed, it's proven to be a good respite to let my brain heal up. 2. Now, I'm trying a trial of dextroamphetamine sulfate. Psychiatrist wants me to try 5 mg a day. I noticed that it's both an IR drug, and it's scored. Thus, I'm trying 2.5 mg a day, the tiniest of tiny doses. I'm not in school, and I'm still unemployed, so this is a perfect time to try it out. I also took it with a banana, so if it torpedoes my appetite, I at least started the day with something healthy. This is the drug that caused the least amount of side effects, just depression and stomach upset. Well, Lamictal takes care of the depression, and Omeprazole the stomach. 2.5 Got on a decent Obamacare plan so, you know, I have help paying for this stuff. 3. I got a referral to the UW Autism Clinic; he thinks that Asperger's/mild Autism is a distinct possibility. Communication difficulties as a child/social awkwardness to the point where it's negatively impacting my life (most people can order a chicken sandwich without getting overwhelmed)/sensory issues (THINGS ON MY FACE NO GOD NO GET THAT MAKEUP AWAY NO SERIOUSLY gently caress YOU - btw, female. Makeup is kind of expected.)/drug sensitivity seems to point to it more and more. I at least discovered Aqua Jogging as exercise - I can paddle around in the pool, without having that dreaded water getting on my face  )4. If I don't get the job that I interviewed for on Friday afternoon, I'm going to an orientation where I may get government support to go back and study programming and web design, at my old school (Seattle Central Community College). I'd be on the Worker Re-education Track (to get me back into the workplace) rather than the College Transfer track, but there's a fair overlap of classes. The bad thing? No Calculus. The good thing? No Calculus! At this point, Calc + Programming/Comp Sci might just be too much. I have the all day orientation tomorrow, and I can definitely prove that my job is in decline and I need programming skills to get ahead. I'd still have to pay tuition and books out of pocket, but they may provide a living stipend through Unemployment Insurance.   
Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 19:46 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 19, 2014 19:41
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Qu Appelle posted:
Good luck getting things squared away! I'm happy to hear taking the time off of your meds has helped you out. I just wanted to point out that many children have communication difficulties, particularly with ADHD; anxiety can make ordering things overwhelming; and sensory integration disorder is correlated with ADHD, bipolar, POTS, as well as autism. With regards to your drug sensitivity, you may just have something going on with your liver enzymes. I had to start on 2.5 mg of Ritalin and I found that overwhelming; I'm extremely sensitive to meds, I have sensory integration disorder, and I find ordering food anxiety-provoking and I'm not autistic. I was also an extremely awkward and friendless child. Everything you said as evidence you have autism is also associated with other disorders, including ADHD, bipolar, etc. I'd wait until you have a diagnosis before being sold on the concept. Fluorescent fucked around with this message at 23:54 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 19, 2014 23:52
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Fluorescent posted:Good luck getting things squared away! I'm happy to hear taking the time off of your meds has helped you out. I just wanted to point out that many children have communication difficulties, particularly with ADHD; anxiety can make ordering things overwhelming; and sensory integration disorder is correlated with ADHD, bipolar, POTS, as well as autism. With regards to your drug sensitivity, you may just have something going on with your liver enzymes. I had to start on 2.5 mg of Ritalin and I found that overwhelming; I'm extremely sensitive to meds, I have sensory integration disorder, and I find ordering food anxiety-provoking and I'm not autistic. I was also an extremely awkward and friendless child. Everything you said as evidence you have autism is also associated with other disorders, including ADHD, bipolar, etc. I'd wait until you have a diagnosis before being sold on the concept. Thank you! I'm not in the 'self diagnosing' camp, and if the pros say 'yeah, no - you don't have autism.', I'll obviously be OK with that. I also want to take this very conservatively, and talk to someone first before leaping into diagnostic tests. They're upwards of $1000, they're not covered by my insurance, and at 44, I'm really questioning what I could get out of a diagnosis. Any school/work accommodations would be covered by the ADHD. Yes, I'd 'know', but I'd rather spend that money on, say, rent.
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May 20, 2014 05:12
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Regardless of your diagnosis what's important in my opinion is you have a solid idea of what your weaknesses are, and you can actively try to improve on them.
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May 20, 2014 12:31
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I have found my thread  High School sucks when you can't focus, and for some reason none of my doctors ever diagnosed me with ADD and kept deferring it to other Doctors, and my parents were very not proactive. Last year I got prescribed Concerta and have been going with progressively higher dosages around every three months, I refuse to accept that it's working. The only difference I can sense is that I barely eat when I'm on it. I'm on 56mg and it seems to have not improved much from the previous dosages, just a stronger appetite suppression. This isn't very fun as my weight drops. My doctor is persistent with Concerta but I wish I could try something else. Don't get me wrong here, I am actively trying to improve myself and I'm not letting medication try and pull the load. When it's not working it's just some very frustrating stuff! And by frustrating I mean a shade below infuriating! Edit: I'm not sure what to do at this point! I do a psychologist and he tries his best but he can't help me much. Top Hats Monthly fucked around with this message at 20:26 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 20:17
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You haven't communicated the nature of working versus not working. Being on means you can perform a task while keeping track of how much time has elapsed. It's not earth shattering, it's just what everyone else gets to take for granted. So- what's not working?
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May 20, 2014 20:37
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TheBigBad posted:You haven't communicated the nature of working versus not working. Being on means you can perform a task while keeping track of how much time has elapsed. It's not earth shattering, it's just what everyone else gets to take for granted. So- what's not working? What's not working is the fact that even on the medication I procrastinate heavily, and then when I finally get my rear end in gear and start working on it, I get terrible anxious I'm not doing a good job, then suddenly I decide I need to sit and think about it before I try doing it again, then it never gets done. I never turned in homework because I had a 'I'll do it later' mindset. When I first get upped on dosages that mindset is obliterated and I feel like I can work, but then suddenly a week later I'm resistant and fall back into old habits. I tried correcting those habits and got the help of a psychologist but they aren't getting fixed by me working with him in combination with the medicine. It's not cool. I wish I could see my psychologist more and see my doctor more but A It's expensive B I don't always have time
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May 20, 2014 20:40
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How much do you exercise?
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May 20, 2014 23:47
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TheBigBad posted:How much do you exercise? Five days a week, usually at least an hour a day
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May 22, 2014 04:13
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Do you take fish oil supplements and/or magnesium or any of the B-vitamins (6, 12)?
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May 22, 2014 15:28
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Oracle posted:Do you take fish oil supplements and/or magnesium or any of the B-vitamins (6, 12)? No I do not. I should probably add that dyslexic
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May 23, 2014 20:06
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Gonna put the procrastination bit up here since it'll probably be relevant to more people: I often struggle with procrastination of the kind where there's one task that I dread doing, that I procrastinate on, that pushes back everything that comes after it and makes days totally useless. That drain-plug task can be something that would understandably cause anxiety, like having to write some kind of awful/embarrassing letter... Or it can be completely completely inane like taking a shower (on a day off when that's a "whenever" sort of thing). What I find has been helping lately, in situations where it's possible, is realizing "well, I need to do ____, I clearly haven't been starting _____ for the past half hour, so... I'm not going to do it!" Now, what I really mean is I'm not going to do it right now, which isn't a plan so much as an observation. But I find it releases some of that weird procrastination anxiety to just... Go off and do some of the stuff that comes after that task. And I find that with that anxiety diminished, after doing one or two other things (as long as they're things that won't get me horribly sidetracked - I try to keep these small/contained), I start to feel motivated to go and start that task that I "skipped". What's weird is that this is very close to "procrastination by doing other stuff instead", but... Somehow just adding in that mindfulness aspect makes it work for me. I think it's because I'm not doing other stuff while avoiding thinking about the unwanted task, I'm doing other stuff while admitting to myself that Task A just isn't happening right now. Also, it's been mentioned before, but starting really is the hardest part and I find that it really helps to "think small". So not "okay, I've done some other stuff, now I'm ready to clean the kitchen", just... "let's put away the stuff on the dish dryer racks". Keeping it to 5-10 minute starter chunks makes it easier to start, and just about always once I'm done with the starter, I feel quite fine about doing more, all the way to the rest of the job and then some. But some of that may just be my issues with switching tasks (e.g. don't want to stop whatever it is I'm doing to do the dishes ---> alright, fine, let's do a couple of mugs ---> don't want to stop doing the dishes). Unrelated rest of post: ----- So uh... Yeah, I think I've got a sleep disorder. Husband's had to be out of town for the past few days, I'm on a break between classes (but with some finals to study for), I was burnt out as all hell and decided, no, gently caress making attempt #9435 to get into bed, screw feeling guilty about what it is I'm doing/not doing, there's nobody around so how about I just give doing whatever the hell I want to a shot. Yesterday I slept from about 7 AM to 2 PM. Past few days were around that territory. And... I feel great. Let's take today... I had 3 meals in a day (day-ish... period, let's guestimate 5PM / 11 PM / 5 AM) for the first time that I can remember (it's otherwise just once or twice). Slept great, despite it being not quite seven hours. Not depressed. Got a lot more done than I usually do (in terms of chores, study, etc.), in much less time than it usually takes me, without forgetting or losing track of stuff. Had fun in terms of playing a game or whatever here and there without it exploding into huge marathon sessions, successfully alternating in periods of doing useful stuff without some strict schedule (that I usually end up ignoring). It's like what I've imagined being a normal person would be like. Way, way less ADHD symptoms. (Not perfect of course, still some procrastination etc., but a major improvement) ...Except how in gently caress's name am I going to live/get through school/get jobs & internships like this  Well, I've still got that sleep clinic appointment coming up sometime in the summer, but... I don't know what they can really do, beyond that maybe I could try modafinil instead of Vyvanse for getting around in the mornings, maybe it'd kick in faster or something. But that's still like the functional alcoholism version of sleep deprivation. And on the flipside, I can take melatonin to get those earlier hours of sleep in, but the quality's not quite there and the doses that work at all are the doses that make me groggy and sleepy when I'm up despite getting "enough" sleep. Light therapy lamp didn't do anything noticeable either sleep-wise, which is not surprising since I've always liked going to sleep with the sun up. I guess for the worst case I better start figuring out how to make a living outside the office shift world, easier said than done... Culinary Bears fucked around with this message at 11:33 on May 25, 2014 |
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May 25, 2014 11:29
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The verdict's out on whether or not the Dexedine IR is the Magic Bullet, but I've noticed one interesting side effect - my sweet tooth is nearly gone. Where I would normally sit down and have some cookies or pie or what have you, now about 1/4th of that amount is enough to sate the craving. Which is great, because I work near a grocery store, so when I want something sweet, I can just pop in and grab a banana. I'm OK with this. And the Dex isn't making me particularly more anxious or depressed, so there's that. Does make me sleepy, but sipping on green tea throughout the day fixes that right up.
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Jun 5, 2014 07:46
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Gonna switch from Strattera to Vyvanse soon. Pretty excited. The dry mouth, constipation, nausea, and lack of sleep were causing more attention problems than they were curing.
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Jun 5, 2014 18:38
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Vyvanse was awesome the first couple days then really lovely for about 2 weeks. Weird vision side effects and dizziness. After those 2 weeks though, the side effects vanished completely. Maybe it helped I started on zoloft and am also on wellbutrin (which I hope alleviates the sexual dysfunction from zoloft sooner than later...) Good luck.
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Jun 5, 2014 20:04
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Hello everyone, I've been reading the thread and it's been a very interesting read. I am hoping some of you will be willing to provide me with some insight or advise regarding ADHD and relationships. See, the situation is as follows. I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for the past 5 years, and truthfully it's been mostly going downhill since day one. All the ingredients for a good life are present, but we have descended into a downward spiral or fighting and argueing. There's a long list of 'complaints' I have regarding the things he does, and I've been telling him that he does these things for years now. It's ranging from starting a new project every two weeks (we have been financially in the hole ever since I met him and I no longer have any savings or money of my own and have not had it for 3 years now), to never finishing anything (when I moved in to his place, he did not have a bathroom yet. Five years later, I still do not have a bathroom. I have to cross the street in my bathrobe to shower at another building, and this is a very busy public street in a large city - rather humiliating), to being egocentrical or defensive, and more. Unfortunately it seems that the more I push for change, the more he gets defensive. It has actually gotten to the point where I am, at this very moment, pretty much all packed up and ready to go and move out of the house. I have things set up at my parents, and have been looking at places to live. It's tearing me up, because there is a lot of love and I invested everything in this relationship, but I am so very deeply hurt and burnt out by now and there seems to be no chance of things changing. So this weekend it turns out he has talked to his sister. She has been diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, and after talking to her he is pretty convinced that he has ADHD. I've thought it myself as well many times in the past, and pretty much everybody who knows him would probably agree that yes, it's likely that he has ADHD. And me too, now that I read up on it a bit, see that this might very well be one of the reasons for all our trouble. But my major concern is that not everything might be attributable to ADHD. I read a lot about not finishing projects, not being able to keep focus, etc. which are all things he has. But he also has a lot of other issues that I cannot cope with that I am not sure have anything to do with ADHD. For instance, he will constantly get very upset whenever I forget something, and he will constantly keep reminding me that "He told me so" and cannot comprehend why I would forget it, almost as if I did it to spite him. It might very well be that the next day he will forget a similar thing, and if I then confront him with it, he will get completely defensive and refuse to see any similarity. Another example is that he will ask me to do something (ie.: "Grab that thing for me"), but be completely vague it, and when I ask for clarification (ie.:"What thing?"), he could very well just flip out to me ("That thing! That thing! I'm pointing right at it! The one with the red handle! What ELSE would I be needing right now?!") and later on he will casually tell me that he did not behave abnormally at all and in fact doesn't understand why I am upset, because 'all' he did was ask if I would hand him the screwdriver. I just can't for the life of me decide wether this has anything to do with ADHD, or if he's just a real rear end in a top hat, or if he's an rear end in a top hat BECAUSE he has had untreated ADHD all his life. For me it's very hard to comprehend how an attention disorder can turn a person 'mean'. There are other things too. For instance, he is a BIG spender whereas I am naturally inclined to save up and spend very little. However, in the time I've known him he has spent over 40,000 euros on luxury bullshit items like audio sets and cars and whatnot, whilst I have always bent over backwards to keep us afloat financially. I am at the point where I am foregoing buying basic necessities (clothing, haircut, cheaper brands of everything I use or just not buy at all, etc.) because things are financially lovely, but then he might just go out and buy 500 euros worth of RC cars because they were such a good deal. Hell, last week he tried to make it up to me with some moderate success, but then three days later a package arrived with a new expensive purchase - research proved that he made the purchase ONE HOUR before trying to make it up to me. Also, it's interesting to note that he cannot understand my problem with this. He still thinks my issue is that he thinks I feel like I can't spend money on myself, whereas the real problem is that neither of us should be spending that kind of money. His solution is "If you feel like I am spending all the money, you should just go and buy whatever you want and need and also spend more money", and he cannot comprehend that spending more money does not improve our finances. Even still, the very few times when I DO spend some money, I am faced with criticism and instantly seem to lose any right to ever complain about his excessive spending again. I believe he is very egocentrical in his thinking. It's not just this situation of course, I could write a booklet with examples. Mostly it's about a lot more minor stuff. He just can't seem to relate to anyone else, ever. I am a mixed bag currently. On one hand I've already made my mind up to go, but on the other hand I can't help but think that "What if one stupid pill could fix all our problems?". I am worried that it might not, however, and that I am yet again exposing myself to more of the same hurt. I feel like I've been terrorized and in some cases traumatized by some of his behaviour, because of all of this I am currently suffering from a very real burn out (not the kind everyone says they have when they feel down), physically I am falling apart with massive weightloss, sleeploss and various psychosomatic problems. I just don't feel like I can physically or emotionally risk 'giving it another try' unless I can be certain that these things are going to get better. Part of that is finding out if his issues can all be fixed by medication or treatment. I would be very interested in hearing what thoughts you people might have on these things, from your experiences. I've noticed that relationship problems often come up, so perhaps one of you can tell me if these type of behaviours could also be the result of ADHD or not. I am planning on consulting an expert on this matter as well, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to hear it from some people who have ADHD as well.
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Jun 12, 2014 00:29
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The anger and outbursts are really similar to what I had for a long time. It's like the same kind of coping mechanism, of course you are forgetting on purpose or don't understand what he's pointing at, when really it's something going on inside him. I'd lash out a lot about NOTHING. Getting diagnosed and medicated helped a lot, but it still takes work on his part to recognize that he's being an rear end in a top hat. I would usually know when I was being a dick whenever I'd be stupid and lash out. Sometimes I didn't. It's part of that never ending frustration that seeps into your life after years and years of being untreated. My roommate is unmedicated and definitely has add and he'll do the same thing, as in, yell at us if we don't understand what he's saying instantly. He refuses to get medicine again for some stupid reason and it's one of the reasons why I'm moving out. If I were you though, I wouldn't count on the medicine fixing him. Unless he already is really apologetic and sorry about it a lot, it might not do a lot except make him a little calmer. Maybe. Unless he gets on Ritalin or has bad rage side effects. Then it'll be worse. I'd just leave.
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Jun 12, 2014 00:45
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| # ? May 17, 2024 20:13 |
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Pretty much all of that is attributable to untreated ADHD. But treatment isn't about a pill magically fixing things. Treatment is about getting on medication so that you have the ability to start fixing things through a large amount of hard work on your own part. That's doubly true with relationships. If he gets treatment that will help him to get better, but that depends on the degree to which he recognizes the problem and is willing to address it. It sounds like he's not quite there yet for a lot of the things. What you have to do is think: 1. If he gets into treatment and I talk honestly about the issues I have, will he be responsive and willing to change? 2. Am I willing to support him in that change? 3. Can I wait the months or years it will take for that change to happen? If the answer to those questions is no, then you might consider moving on.
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Jun 12, 2014 01:43
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