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I'm not sure what to do. My Dr seems to think that getting assessed for ADHD is pretty justified. In the mean time I've got my final uni exams coming up before christmas worth half my degree. I know I haven't done my best at all for the coursework during the year. And I know from experience that getting myself down to do the work is unlikely before it becomes a huge ball of anxiety and stress and I might flunk the exams. I've forgotten a lot since I was initially meant to do the exams 6months ago. So I can just try to get down to the work and be done with uni, or I can ask to redo the whole year next September and try to get my poo poo together in the mean time - get assessed, work on relationships, other stuff that frustrates me. I mean its hard throwing away a whole lot of work which wasn't terrible. I've just lost points for lateness. Based on what I've got so far I'm on track for a 2.1. I don't feel like I'll bring my exam results in line as things are with it though. 
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Nov 9, 2014 21:43
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| # ? May 21, 2024 02:46 |
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pippy posted:I'm not sure what to do. My Dr seems to think that getting assessed for ADHD is pretty justified. Explain your school situation to the doctor entirely. If I was him I'd give you a trial of some meds to see if it helps you get your poo poo together in time. If you can reach for Bs and learn your lesson for next semester that'd be good. Don't dig yourself a hole though if you're gonna get overwhelmed.
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Nov 9, 2014 22:05
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Smoothrich posted:Its pretty straightforward. You might need to take a physical or bloodwork before they want to prescribe you anything. But from my experience they ask you routine questions about you and your family's medical history, learn about how you are with school or work, and are probably assessing if you are real hosed up or a druggie or something or just appear to be struggling with things that all us ADHD idiots deal with daily. thanks for the reply. i have an appointment next week. im not sure if i have some form of ADHD so im gonna get checked. might just be super lazy, idk. is motivation a part of adhd? i feel like i dont have strong emotions and lack a lot of motivation for things.
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Nov 10, 2014 00:23
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DaRandomGuy posted:is motivation a part of adhd? i feel like i dont have strong emotions and lack a lot of motivation for things. Lack of motivation is a massive part of ADHD.
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Nov 10, 2014 01:23
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hahaha thanks!
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Nov 10, 2014 01:59
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So it seems like I do have some degree---'mild-to-moderate', to quote the doctor yesterday--of ADD. The test they did showed I have the most trouble noticing visually when things change suddenly---as such I'm worried what that means for my future ability to drive a car. Anybody here struggled with that? Do meds help? Therapy? Just being really really alert all the time? To be fair my reaction speed was apparently good so once I finally noticed the car that swerved in front of me, I would probably be able to stop quickly.
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Nov 10, 2014 04:04
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Astrofig posted:So it seems like I do have some degree---'mild-to-moderate', to quote the doctor yesterday--of ADD. The test they did showed I have the most trouble noticing visually when things change suddenly---as such I'm worried what that means for my future ability to drive a car. Anybody here struggled with that? Do meds help? Therapy? Just being really really alert all the time? To be fair my reaction speed was apparently good so once I finally noticed the car that swerved in front of me, I would probably be able to stop quickly. I don't drive at all. I drove into a snowbank once and that was the end of it. If you feel you can't pay attention or can safely drive then don't. It's not worth destroying your car or injuring other people.
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Nov 10, 2014 11:48
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My limit for driving a car on my own is about an hour and a half, after that I just stop paying attention to the road whatsoever because I get so bored. I did notice that on meds now I seem to be able to hold my concentration longer, but I still won't drive long distances alone--the minute I feel my attention drifting away I switch off with the other adult in the car. I'm hoping that eventually I can drive longer distances on my own but I'm pretty resigned to the fact that I may not.
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Nov 10, 2014 17:54
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Tips on a morning routine? I'm inadvertently hurting myself here. I'm off the Lamictal completely, and also off the Dex (for the ADHD) for the next two months, as my doc and I think it (the Lamictal) caused such a massive upswing in my GERD that I can barely eat without making myself sick. Like, I can reliably eat maybe 8 foods. We're keeping the Dex out of the mix as well, in case that's also a factor (which I don't think it is). So, my only  is an almond milk latte that I sip on throughout the day. (Job in engaging and I'm not in school at the moment, so I don't have to worry on that front.)The other thing is that I keep on preventing my healing by messing up my morning meds. When it was 2 pills and an inhaler? I can manage that. But now, it's 4 pills, vitamins, an inhaler with a spacer (2 puffs!), and a nasal spray - and there's mornings where I'll just up and forget one of these components, which just doesn't help at all. It's to the point where I'm thinking of setting up a manual, pen and paper checklist for it all. (I have a pill holder for the pills, but doesn't help the nasal spray). Ideas? At least my food journaling is going a lot better since I made a Google Form for it. It has cats on it.  I feel motivated because I like telling the kitties what I ate today. I had zucchini, cats. Yum.
Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Nov 10, 2014 |
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Nov 10, 2014 20:20
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Qu Appelle posted:Tips on a morning routine? I'm inadvertently hurting myself here. Put all the meds you need to take out in the open, visible, on your kitchen counter or something, in a row. Then just go down the row one by one each morning. Buy a small tray or something if you want to make it look a little more organized, but don't put your meds out of sight every day.
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Nov 10, 2014 20:54
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Get a weekly pillbox. That is, a set of seven daily pillboxes. Worked for me when I had to take a fuckton of pills at different times of the day.
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Nov 10, 2014 20:54
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Regarding pills, if you have a smart phone you can set a repeating weekly alarm to remind you to refill the pill box. It's how I deal with the recurring problem of "Did I take my pill or not already?". Double dosing isn't dangerous (on concerta) but it's not exactly pleasant either.Astrofig posted:So it seems like I do have some degree---'mild-to-moderate', to quote the doctor yesterday--of ADD. The test they did showed I have the most trouble noticing visually when things change suddenly---as such I'm worried what that means for my future ability to drive a car. Anybody here struggled with that? Do meds help? Therapy? Just being really really alert all the time? To be fair my reaction speed was apparently good so once I finally noticed the car that swerved in front of me, I would probably be able to stop quickly. I've got ADHD but, I schedule any longer driving (over an hour) specifically so that I know my medicine is in effect during the whole trip. If that fails, constant snacking and something containing caffeine ~once an hour is the best alternative I've found to keeping alert.
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Nov 10, 2014 21:56
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I've also found a weekly pillbox indispensable (i.e. one that has lids going Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc). Especially for the (frequent) mornings that I screw up waking up and end up falling back asleep at least once or twice. Having that solid "is today's empty? yup then you took it" component is a great relief. You can dump everything you take at the same time in one day's box. As for the stuff that won't fit, a small notepad with day columns written in (Monday | Tuesday | etc...) that you put checkmarks under, kept right where the inhaler stuff is, might really be the best solution.
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Nov 10, 2014 23:05
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Technically are you even allowed to use the weekly pill boxes for schedule 2 drugs?
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Nov 10, 2014 23:15
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I have in the past; I just don't carry them out of the house. For that, I keep them in the container. I think that a check sheet is going to be it. I may have to go back on another medication that is extremely hard to take, and has to be on a schedule. At least the inhaler has a counter on it, so I can go 'count today is 131, should be 129 at end, etc.' Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Nov 10, 2014 |
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Nov 10, 2014 23:24
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uG posted:Technically are you even allowed to use the weekly pill boxes for schedule 2 drugs? I had no idea this was a thing. I keep a day's worth of pills, including Adderall, in a small box in my purse at all times, just in case of I-don't-know-what. Is that bad?
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Nov 10, 2014 23:45
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Hungry Squirrel posted:I had no idea this was a thing. I keep a day's worth of pills, including Adderall, in a small box in my purse at all times, just in case of I-don't-know-what. Is that bad? Probably? I carry 5-6 pills inside of my pill cutter almost everywhere, just in case I don't get home before the previous dose wears off. I don't worry since having cutter looks less like drug addiction and more like I need to take less medicine than the doctor prescribed to me
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Nov 10, 2014 23:56
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Hungry Squirrel posted:I had no idea this was a thing. I keep a day's worth of pills, including Adderall, in a small box in my purse at all times, just in case of I-don't-know-what. Is that bad? You can use pill boxes for any drugs you want. But if you're concerned about being questioned by police about having pills on you, take one of the stickers off the receipt you get at the pharmacy and stick it to the bottom of the pill box, whichever one has your name and the name of the drug. That should be sufficient, but generally speaking it's not a great idea to keep unlabeled pills outside of a bottle on you.
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Nov 11, 2014 02:12
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Astrofig posted:So it seems like I do have some degree---'mild-to-moderate', to quote the doctor yesterday--of ADD. The test they did showed I have the most trouble noticing visually when things change suddenly---as such I'm worried what that means for my future ability to drive a car. Anybody here struggled with that? Do meds help? Therapy? Just being really really alert all the time? To be fair my reaction speed was apparently good so once I finally noticed the car that swerved in front of me, I would probably be able to stop quickly. Mind describing the tests you took? I'm curious since I never had one. With driving, you should be fine except long boring drives. Really hard not to zone out here in the Midwest with all the farms and crap lulling me into daydreaming and I avoid it as much as possible. Mostly dreading boredom more than anything. I'm also used though to aggressive NJ driving where everyone drives crazy. Just remember to be cautious and alert but not too anxious about it cuz that's also unsafe. I've always been real bad at remembering directions which is my least favorite part of driving. I think being untreated for ADHD made that way worse and felt like a real disability that people didn't understand. Smoothrich fucked around with this message at 11:54 on Nov 11, 2014 |
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Nov 11, 2014 11:50
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The main test involved a computer program, actually---it would either speak or flash a number; you're watching for 1. Though, to try and trip you up it would also say and flash 2 randomly. The idea was to click the mouse once (and only once) when you saw or heard a one. The trick is, it gets rreaaaaallllllyyyy samey and boring through the middle---flashing the same number repeatedly to see how well you can stay focused. It measured things like how well I noticed when the number I was looking for flashed, how good I was at responding to audio cues, and also things like how good I was at not jumping the gun and clicking in advance of seeing any numbers at all. The next thing he did was had be do like 5 different surveys ranking things like how true it was that I lose things, get off-task easily, twitch when I have to sit still, can't seem to finish what I start, tend to procrastinate, etc. There was also one on childhood, and he also had me to do depression and anxiety inventory since those were the problems I'd noted at intake. I kind of wonder if the surveys themselves were a kind of meta-test---I mean what's the worst thing a person with ADD can imagine? Having to sit and focus on a bunch of boring worksheets! So yeah. That's how they did it for me. Depending on where you go they might also give you an EEG test---that's the thing where you lie on the sofa and they attach electrodes to your head to measure your brainwave activity.
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Nov 11, 2014 13:03
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Hungry Squirrel posted:I had no idea this was a thing. I keep a day's worth of pills, including Adderall, in a small box in my purse at all times, just in case of I-don't-know-what. Is that bad? Do you travel often for short business trips? I can understand if you need to take by certain times +1 hour but not sure as I take ER medications by the morning. I'll know when I've forgotten as I become a narcoleptic before noon and I just zone out for hours on end. Anyone ever tell a doctor how they are experiencing some less than fun side effects and their response is "Good, then it's working. Come back in 3-4 weeks."
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Nov 11, 2014 21:02
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Alder posted:Do you travel often for short business trips? I can understand if you need to take by certain times +1 hour but not sure as I take ER medications by the morning. "It feels like I'm walking down a set of stairs sometimes, I'm sweating through my shirt and I can't think clearly, should I stop taking it?" "Well, those are some side effects we could be expecting, let's wait a couple of days and hope they subside so we don't have to stop this one." gently caress you too buddy. It did eventually stop, but that was loving miserable
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Nov 11, 2014 21:30
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I had my dosage upped of concerta and I'm starting to feel terrible. I'm focusing (not on what I should be doing) and I'm sweating incredibly hard, it's visible. This has never happened before and I am very concerned.
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Nov 13, 2014 20:51
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try to relax a bit and call your doctor dont forget to drink lots of water
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Nov 14, 2014 00:38
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Concerta made me hyperfocus too. Classes were a nightmare on it.
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Nov 14, 2014 01:03
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After talking to a pdoc about lifelong depression/anxiety and possible ADHD, I got put on wellbutrin (a. he didn't fully test for ADHD, just talked, b. I can't handle stimulants), and it's been a godsend. I've been on it for only two weeks, but I'm actually able to like, concentrate on poo poo without totally getting frustrated or fighting myself the whole way. I've always been able to work on stuff as long as it's new/fresh/easy to me, but now I can work on poo poo that isn't, which is so great. It's helped a lot with persistent agoraphobia issues, too. I'm hoping it helps with the whole depression thing the longer I take it, but just being able to focus makes me feel better. Bad parts: I have motor tics and it made those and my anxiety worse for a while, but now it's abated and I'm not ticcing quite as much. Mostly I just wish I'd been on this years ago.
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Nov 14, 2014 04:13
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DaRandomGuy posted:try to relax a bit and call your doctor Yeah a lot of the side effects of stimulants are just the result of dehydration. I began drinking loads of water and cut caffeine and most bad things went away.
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Nov 14, 2014 04:51
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Or if you aren't eating enough.
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Nov 14, 2014 05:22
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slogsdon posted:Or if you aren't eating enough. I've lost 15 pounds on concerta actually. Hell of a drug.
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Nov 14, 2014 06:15
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I lost a few pounds when I started my adderall and my doctor made me come up in a month after my six month checkup to weigh me again, maybe it's different for people who aren't perpetually underweight 
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Nov 14, 2014 06:51
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slogsdon posted:I lost a few pounds when I started my adderall and my doctor made me come up in a month after my six month checkup to weigh me again, maybe it's different for people who aren't perpetually underweight I find dexedrine when properly dosed to actually improve my eating habits, I have more energy and forethought to make sure I can have food available when I need it. That all goes out the window at higher doses or with most other stims, but 20mg dexedrine XR in the mornings does me well.
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Nov 14, 2014 18:57
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So, uh, anyone else have sexual side effects with Strattera? It wasn't really noticeable at 40 mg but now that I had my doseage upped to 80 mg my libido is sort of shot and when I do have sex its not as satisfying.
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Nov 14, 2014 20:32
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Baby Babbeh posted:So, uh, anyone else have sexual side effects with Strattera? It wasn't really noticeable at 40 mg but now that I had my doseage upped to 80 mg my libido is sort of shot and when I do have sex its not as satisfying.
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Nov 14, 2014 20:39
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I dunno, I was on Wellbutrin all through highschool and basically had no sex drive whatsoever until I went off it at 19.
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Nov 15, 2014 04:09
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Top Hats Monthly posted:I had my dosage upped of concerta and I'm starting to feel terrible. I'm focusing (not on what I should be doing) and I'm sweating incredibly hard, it's visible. This has never happened before and I am very concerned. I didn't really like Concerta but I stayed with for a few months. You can see if you can arrange a another appt w/your doctor if the side effects don't improve after a few days. The only memorable side effect was the extreme mood swings from calm to rage in a few minutes. Cardiovorax posted:That's one of the most common side-effects, actually. Agreed, I don't really notice it now but then again I think I've stopped caring too.
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Nov 15, 2014 05:39
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Astrofig posted:I dunno, I was on Wellbutrin all through highschool and basically had no sex drive whatsoever until I went off it at 19. When I went on welbutrin as a teenager, it fuuuuuuuuuucked my sex drive up and gave me ED, but as an adult on the highest dose my doctor is willing to give out, I've had no sexual side effects whatsoever. Only the celexa makes me less interested in sex, but since I'm actually mentally present in sex now, I've been told that my skills have improved significantly. I think that it's a pretty fair trade
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Nov 15, 2014 09:08
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Has anyone else's blood pressure gotten hilariously high after starting treatment? I used to be sitting around 100/70, but now on my meds I hover around 130/95, I've tested 3 times a day since last Sunday. I didn't even know it until we were in clinicals and my instructor used me for an example on recording vitals, I was taking adderall and ephedrine at the time (my doctor said it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but said that if I were actually sick I could take it or pseudofed since phenylephrine doesn't help me at all) and I was at 145/110. The instructor thought was going to have a stroke. It's a little scary having such high blood pressure as a 22 year old, 175 lb, relatively healthy man
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Nov 18, 2014 14:59
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Mine never jumped that high but it would get borderline pre hypertension for like a month, and that was with taking clonidine (add med off labeled for add) with adderal. Weed lowers blood pressure too fwiw
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Nov 18, 2014 15:39
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uG posted:Mine never jumped that high but it would get borderline pre hypertension for like a month, and that was with taking clonidine (add med off labeled for add) with adderal. Ehhhh, I'm trying to cut my intake, but I guess in this instance it couldn't hurt
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Nov 18, 2014 19:16
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Checking back in post-withdrawal. I am now down to 2 antidepressants, abilify and wellbutrin, with lower dosages than before. I got adderall back because I was feeling floaty and foggy and couldn't focus on anything. However, with all those other meds gone, the adderall is way more effective. So all in all it's been a great success!
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Nov 18, 2014 20:12
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