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Trying to treat ADHD by training your working memory is like trying to treat muscular dystrophy by doing pushups. You might be better off than you would be without doing it, but it's not going to solve your issues. You're probably going to be happier accepting your limitations and finding ways to work around them than by putting in ten times as much effort to make something that's broken slightly more functional. Mechafunkzilla fucked around with this message at 05:23 on May 27, 2015 |
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May 27, 2015 05:00
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Mechafunkzilla posted:Trying to treat ADHD by training your working memory is like trying to treat muscular dystrophy by doing pushups. Going by that train of thought no one with any kind of illness, disorder should seek treatment. 
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May 27, 2015 05:08
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Tab8715 posted:is there a way to get CBT through a book? Yes! But YMMV. The most commonly recommended book for DIY Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is Feeling Good by David Burns. It's not an ADD-focused book - the main bent is cognitive behavioral therapy for depression - but there are some chapters in there about procrastination. IMO it's one of the best introductions to the "procedure" of cognitive behavioral therapy, e.g. worksheets/self-monitoring/etc. You can then use that foundation with supplemental, ADD-targeting work. I found that the book really helped me in conjunction with a few sessions with a therapist who could hold me accountable, otherwise I'd just read the book and not do the worksheets on paper like you're supposed to.
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May 27, 2015 05:26
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Tab8715 posted:Going by that train of thought no one with any kind of illness, disorder should seek treatment. What I mean is that when you have organizational problems due to ADHD, trying to fix them by improving your working memory rather than finding organizational strategies that acknowledge your impairment and work around it is like swimming upstream. Even non-ADHD people use routines and tricks to stay organized, and no amount of brain training is going to get your working memory to that level. Start with the easy stuff. Mechafunkzilla fucked around with this message at 05:33 on May 27, 2015 |
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May 27, 2015 05:27
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Mechafunkzilla posted:What I mean is that when you have organizational problems due to ADHD, trying to fix them by improving your working memory rather than finding organizational strategies that acknowledge your impairment and work around it is like swimming upstream. Where did you see anyone suggesting we improve our working memory?
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May 27, 2015 05:33
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Tab8715 posted:Where did you see anyone suggesting we improve our working memory? Like 5 posts back, Mr. Jive talking about considering CogMed training to become more organized at work. Did you miss that discussion? You must have ADD or something 
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May 27, 2015 05:39
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Only taking a stimulant like Vyvanse or Adderall, I take a high dose of both now, gives my mind the ability to use my memory effectively in implementing organizational thinking. I describe it like overclocking or upgrading my onboard brain RAM. Its no magic fix but I can effectively shove thoughts like short term to do lists and sort by order of prioritization and "float" it out of my rapid stream of hilariously uncontrollable thoughts and reference back to it as necessary.
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May 27, 2015 06:28
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Mr. Jive posted:
A surprising number of effective executives suffer from the ADHD. One of the most interesting discoveries is that they have come up with a unique system that only they and their assistant can decipher and they stick to it religiously. You need to figure that out. If its pen and paper and colored markers every morning for 15 minutes of planning and prioritizing- then make that the ritual. 15 minutes will save you hours every day. (As you know). The more unique and appealing to you- the better. Trying to use the Franklin-Covey day planner system is great for the first two weeks. I spent years trying to make that system which makes sense and is helpful work only to throw away 10.5 unused months every year. I took the value and made up something that I use because its mine. Part of the solution is to create a simplified strategy to ensure you can always execute your system. I made a personal wiki, and I would just put the technical procedures for doing stuff. I spent some time scripting out what I could, and then any time I needed to do that task, I could do it without spending too much mental energy. either through automation or just looking up the steps and doing them as outlined. I even hired a foreign freelancer to script the stuff I never would have figured out on my own. The other part is to get help and offload mundane things you are not good at. You can hire a virtual assistant, sit down every morning and go over your schedule and task list. Prioritize them and have them remind you through out the day. Globalization can work for you, not just corporations looking for cheaper labor. If you wanna spend money on the cogmed stuff- more power to you. I always looked at that as, trying to go down the highway in 2nd gear. Having 2 gears is great in a short race, but burns more fuel and wear and tear (effectively eroding your working memory). Don't get me wrong, do your sudoku and NYT crossword puzzles to keep it working upstairs, but my gut says it's not going scale with your success in career. Finally, accept that everyone loses working memory as they age, as they go through life stages. Quickest way to kill it for the sharpest normie, is to have a kid. You need more sleep and you need to be more precious about your down time.
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May 27, 2015 06:54
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Oh good. Now that I have a vaguely stable medication regimen, my insurance no longer wants to pay for Strattera.  So, question - is there a generic out there for Metadate yet? That was the formulation of Ritalin that my brain accepted the most readily, and now that I'm on an anti-anxiety medication as well, the anxiety side effects I got should be mitigated. What's the longest lasting generic Ritalin out there? In case I have to switch.
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May 27, 2015 07:04
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TheBigBad posted:A surprising number of effective executives suffer from the ADHD. One of the most interesting discoveries is that they have come up with a unique system that only they and their assistant can decipher and they stick to it religiously. Could you elaborate on how this works more? E.g. what field are you in, that you use this scripting? I have had only intermittent success getting these sorts of habits down or creating scripts. Using a personal assistant or a similar organizational system seems super helpful. E: recommendations for personal assistants would be great in particular. semicolonsrock fucked around with this message at 23:28 on May 28, 2015 |
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May 28, 2015 21:20
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Oh, good - I can haz Strattera nao. My schoolwork and I thank you, Washington State. Because I missed 4 days - is it going to be a snap back to my previous functioning, or will I have to ramp up again? I restarted my dosage this morning.
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May 29, 2015 01:52
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Qu Appelle posted:Because I missed 4 days - is it going to be a snap back to my previous functioning, or will I have to ramp up again? I restarted my dosage this morning. From http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds/Strattera - "Strattera (atomoxetine) does one of those weird double metabolisms. Atomoxetine itself has a mean average half-life of five hours, with poor metabolizers... taking up to 24 hours to process it. Then the metabolite is further metabolized into yet another substance, and that has a mean average half-life of 6–8 hours, with the poor metabolizers taking 34–40 hours to deal with it. Presume a total half-life of 13 hours and that it’s out of your system in 3–4 days." "As the active portion of atomoxetine has a half-life in people with normal metabolisms of 6 to 8 hours, and as most people take it once a day, you may or may not reach a steady state in 36 to 48 hours. Eli Lilly didn’t provide any steady state data." Presume that unless you're a poor metabolizer (CYP2D6-related), you will probably have to go through the ramp up again. ETA: I'm glad there's someone out there who does well with Strattera. My first dose gave me 5/5 akathisia plus drowsiness and hot flashes. ChickenOfTomorrow fucked around with this message at 03:32 on May 29, 2015 |
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May 29, 2015 03:28
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:From http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds/Strattera - Coolness, thank you. Strattera is a weird beast for me. I'm not really on a high - or even medium - dose. Sometimes I'm thinking that I'm taking a sugar pill. But then, I notice things like being able to sit through a lecture and not feel distracted a thousand times, or not have the code bleed in front of my eyes because I'm getting overly tired (I'm in a CS/Web Dev path in school). I know that the Buspar also helps 1000% in keeping the panic attacks in check, which I think also helps the Strattera do it's thing. Overall, I do like Ritalin better for the ADHD, but it also ramps up the anxiety even more. Since I have a steady thing going, my doc and I want to stick with it for a while. If I can stay on the drug; my insurance may cut it out of my plan next month if they don't accept my doctor's reasoning for me to be on it.
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May 29, 2015 06:54
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Strattera is kind of the same way for me. It has no real noticeable effect while I'm on it, but then after the fact if I look at what I'm able to accomplish on days where I take it vs. days when I don't, and it's clear it's helping me to focus much better. Much prefer stims, though, they seem to be more effective with fewer side effects.
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May 29, 2015 07:12
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semicolonsrock posted:Could you elaborate on how this works more? E.g. what field are you in, that you use this scripting? I have had only intermittent success getting these sorts of habits down or creating scripts. Using a personal assistant or a similar organizational system seems super helpful. The simplest system is to have a floating list of priorities that you review and update every day. I never have more than 5 things. I never expect to finish or have significant progress on more than 1 or 2 things a day. A visual example- My deck had rotted to the point where 2 boards gave out when stepped on. I decided I didn't want old wood to a certain point and then just new boards. So I came up with a plan to paint and weather boards so that it looked like reclaimed wood but had a random on purpose pattern. My lists looked like- Mark all boards to replace. Remove as many as possible. Make cut/shopping list. Buy paint, stain, sandpaper and screws. They would evolve to- Go back and buy the wood stupid. Mark cut list. Paint all white wash boards. Remove old wood for replacement. Then- Paint all red boards. Stain and weather white boards. Get more screws. I just did what I could while the baby napped in 90 minute increments. Then the sitter would get there and I'd go to work. Sometimes I finished the list. Sometimes I got partway through 1 task. Honestly, as long as I made progress and kept it simple it was fulfilling and it got done at a clip. Looking back it was amazing and complicated project. On any given day, I felt good not overwhelmed and didn't change my mind fifteen times. I could visually see my progress. For more what you were talking about, I started with this list here a couple years ago- http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704198004575310710174207000 I kept things relatively simple because I needed help and I landed with getfriday. I used them mainly to chase insurance company claims down because it got all screwed up in a transition in jobs. It was too expensive to actually use it like I wanted to, but I could literally hand off petty poo poo and have them update my calendar. Schedule other people for board meetings for the HOA and a charity I sit on. Off the plate. You can let them manage way more of your life like an actual assistant would. I'm a cheapskate. I got very good with Siri and then started trying apps that made things easier to manage. I can recommend- Google Now- I use this to pull in the external. So weather, traffic and routes, entertainment, news on industry topics... ebay auctions etc. Reminders to get milk from the store when it normally runs out. Honestly what I find the hardest is to just touch base with people. Six months can go by and I haven't talked to my cousin. No more.. I get a reminder to call her every 2 or 3 weeks since I talked to her last. I switched from Apple and/or Google based apps (calendar to dos etc) to 24me. Cleaner interface, integration with finances. It auto happy birthdays facebook friends. It also lets my wife who is better at this stuff share and access it too. I cut out all the decision fatigue and shopping for best deals with Fetch. They do better than I do on average. It still doesn't beat my 15 minutes at the beginning of the day with graph paper. I work out what needs to get done, what I want to get done and I look for opportunities to do 2 for 1. Example- I need to stop by the post office to send a package and pick up milk, don't work from home today. I work in IT, so scripting just makes my job easier. I also do digital marketing and consulting on the side. So I just use perl (yeah I'm old) to pull twitter activity into a mysql database that I hacked so I can get snapshots of activity. Clients say I tweet every day. I can look and see that they only tweet at lunch and they get more engagement from random tweets at different times etc. I have made templates to lead them building demographic polling data so I can focus on analysis and next steps. Anything I have to repeat I look for shortening the process as much as possible. What I always say... probably a dozen times in this thread alone is use the  to build a habit or create a system that is ingrained for when you don't take them or they wear off. You really just have to say to yourself- this keeps tripping me up. I have to prioritize getting this new system down every day for 3-5 weeks. If that's the 1 of 2 things you get done beyond the basics- day well spent. I keep saying paper and markers because 21 days later... there are 21 sheets of paper with everything you got done.
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May 29, 2015 07:49
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Cool beans. That's an encouraging perspective.
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Jun 1, 2015 02:00
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Hi thread, I am back with exciting tales of ADHD treatment, and hopefully someone can learn from my little tale and get the same kind of help I did. All my life my mom has told me "you're too anxious" and as an adult I looked into treatment for generalized anxiety disorder but the symptoms didn't really fit (I've never had a panic attack, for example, and I don't spend much time worrying about the day to day things like work, home, family, or whatever) but I knew I had some kind of issue since I definitely would jump from one subject that made me go AAAAA WHAT IF...??? to another. I learned pretty early on to keep those thoughts to myself though, because if I told anybody they would think I was dumb ("What if I trip when I'm brushing my teeth and POKE MY EYE OUT?!?!?!" "What if I suddenly decided to JUMP OFF A BALCONY for no reason?!?!?!") Learning as an adult that I had ADHD was a relief since it covered part of the puzzle of why I'm so hosed up (the patchy memory, general wackiness, inability to watch movies while sitting still) and I assumed my goofy worries were the manifestation of my inability to focus on useful things, like "what if I have an appointment tomorrow BUT I FORGOT IT???" It is true though, that some of the things that troubled me deep into the night didn't seem normal, but I thought everybody had those so I didn't mention them to anybody including my psychiatrist. These were things like "I really want to live but I think I might commit suicide in a fit of pique  " and "What if my boyfriend (who adores me) comes over and when I answer the door he shoots me in the face?" Without mentioning any of these to my psychiatrist, she speculated I might have obsessive disorder (no compulsive) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primarily_obsessional_obessive_compulsive_disorder from conversations we've had over the year and a half I've been seeing her. Then it all came out and she decided she was pretty sure. Woops. Seems obvious in hindsight, but to he honest, I kind of thought everyone stayed up at least some nights worried that their loved ones might murder them for no reason. Well, anyway, ADHD kids, check your ADHD earworm thought loops, because if you can't banish them, you might be able to get help.
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Jun 18, 2015 22:07
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That's an excellent post, thank you. I've had the obsessive thought loops definitely, and and was diagnosed with OCD about 20 years ago. However, that got amended a bit recently, and looped in with the Generalized Anxiety and Depression issues I definitely have, as well as the ADHD and possible Asperger's. I talked to my Psych and GP about the thought loops that I fall into, and I'm seeing a good therapist about it. I do know that they get worse when I'm under stress - like studying for my Final? Yes! They reappear! My GP recommended that I take up Mindfulness Meditation as a way of helping to combat this (along with my Buspar and Strattera). I looked at some secular therapist IM practitioners that don't take Medicaid and wanted to charge hundreds of dollars. Then...I looked at Buddhism, which also has Mindfulness Meditation, as well as other actual teaching that resonate with me a lot right now. So, I've been reading the info from Sakya Monastary, which is a center for Tibetan Buddhism, as well as going through guided meditations on my phone from the app Insight Timer. And, hot drat, I'm getting something from it! It's far from perfect, but with a combo of all these tools, I'm able to deal with the intrusive thoughts and thought loops head on. Instead of trying to suppress it and distract it, I acknowledge it, and let the thought do what it's going to. I've even talked to them out loud. "OK, this is a bad thought loop caused by stress. I acknowledge you, bad thought loop. But, you're just a bad thought loop." That seems to help make them dissipate, more than consciously trying to make them go away by will. I'm not ready to call myself a Buddhist or take refuge or anything like that, but I'm happy with the meditation and spiritual practices I've incorporated so far from it.
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Jun 18, 2015 23:00
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Hi Qu, thanks for the advice. I think I will look into mindfulness - it's something that has interested me from afar before but now I should really get into it. I've always wondered why it seems like 2/3rds of the time I take psychedelics I have a bad trip, and this seems to be why.
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Jun 19, 2015 00:51
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Qu Appelle posted:I'm not ready to call myself a Buddhist or take refuge or anything like that, but I'm happy with the meditation and spiritual practices I've incorporated so far from it. I visited a temple a few times as a tourist. The fun starts wearing off once you realize there's nothing to do after sunset other than sleep. I did like the nice scenery and waterfalls though. Calming. When I have racing thoughts I like to write in my journal as then I can pretend to be productive with insomnia.
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Jun 20, 2015 03:51
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OK. Hi thread. So I've got an appointment to see a specialist in two weeks time to get some sort of assessment, since I've had a long history of symptoms and difficulties which, with hindsight, resemble ADHD inattentive. At school my reports were full of 'smart kid, doesn't really join in, would do better if he paid more attention' type comments. I sleepwalked through my GCSEs (exams at 16yo) without actually being able to do any revision (because GCSEs were easy), struggled through my A-Levels (exams at 18yo) with the same issue, and then spectacularly failed my university degree because the idea of being able to sit down for long enough to actually write the necessary coursework was pretty much akin to the idea I might sprout wings and fly around the room. Since then I've had a patchy work record of mostly low-wage, temporary jobs, and on the occasions where I've been in permanent employment I've ended up losing those jobs due to performance issues tied in to my inability to concentrate for any period of time. That's hit my self-esteem and self-confidence, which in turn have led to me seeing doctors for depression, but anti-depressants haven't really done anything for me (I'm currently on 100mg sertraline daily, but it may as well be a placebo). I've always known that mentally something wasn't as it should be with me, but I'd never really considered ADHD as a possibility, probably because of the usual 'drugs for your kids to stop them being kids' stigma, and had just been thinking of the depression side of things. That's until I happened to read this last year, and one section in particular: quote:II. ADHD is absolutely under-diagnosed. There are two populations where this happens: Well that all sounds a little too close for comfort. And over 30s who spent their childhood outside of urban areas are under-diagnosed you say? I grew up in a little English countryside town and I'm 35... So I go to the NHS website, search for 'Adult ADHD' and read the list of symptoms. It's like I'm looking into a mirror. Now, the NHS is fantastic and I'm tremendously lucky to live in a country that has it (  ), but mental health treatment is NOT something it excels at if you need anything other than a prescription for anti-depressants, and demand for psychiatric services and diagnosis vastly exceeds supply. I've been awaiting an assessment with them for 12 months now, and I've been told to expect to wait another 6 months to be seen (and realistically, I take that to mean '9 months if you're lucky, probably another 12'). I'm fed up of waiting now, so I'm putting my hand in my pocket and paying to be seen privately and do that most un-British of things; jump the queue.This thread is tl;dr as gently caress so I've no idea if I'm adding anything to the conversation with this, but it might be useful if only for myself just to throw these words down in one place for future reference. Roller Coast Guard fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Jul 9, 2015 |
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Jul 9, 2015 10:28
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Do it. It's worth the relief of knowing.
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Jul 10, 2015 03:15
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Its been a strange struggle to actually take my medication on a schedule, every day when I am supposed too. Ironically the same issue they had with me as a child when they had to force feed them down my gob. Now that I have been regularly taking it though the improvements in my quality of life are massive. No I am not a super genius all of a sudden who excels in everything or can study for hours and hours like its a gift from god. However I can now prepare and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. I can brush and floss my teeth morning and night without having to set sixty different reminders, I can engage in a conversation with another human being and actually listen and focus without sitting there stroking out like a meth head trying to talk over the top of them. I can organise myself and and my life. I can do all of the basic things I was struggling to do before. It might not sound like much to most people but I would struggle with basic simple life tasks, being somewhere on time, holding down a conversation, hell something as simple as sitting down in the one spot and watching a TV show for 30 minutes was something that was not previously possible for me. My brain just ran out a million miles an hour and I had this constant ever changing urge to be "doing something" but that something could swap and change every fifteen minutes. I guess what I am saying is that the medication has not had any sort of "you are a superhuman now and all your life problems are solved forever because you are taking smart drugs" but it has brought an incredible calm and focus to my life. I am in a much happier place than I was twelve months ago by far. *edit* I am trying to think of a good example of the difference. Previously without the medication I might have say, five things that I believed were *urgent* to do. I would attempt to tackle them all at once, swapping and changing between them all while driving my anxiety up at my inability to complete or close them off. The more I struggled the more I added on and the worse the feelings of uselessness and stress became. Now? I can see those five things, I can acknowledge they need to be done at some time, but that time is not RIGHT NOW. It is ok to pick one thing, to take my time with it and complete just that one thing. Sure ok, there are four other things to do but they are not so important that I need to drop everything and try and do them now. Its ironic that one of the biggest benefits the medication has brought me is the realisation that not EVERYTHING needs to be done right now, it is completely ok to just pick one thing at a time and do that. I fought this urge even on the medication initially "but this is so slow, how ever I will I get everything done, its too inefficient!". Its not however, while I might have been doing five things at once before I was never actually finishing anything, despite only working on one or two things at a time now I am actually getting things done and I am no longer tearing myself down about it. If you have doubts or concerns and think that the information or experiences in this thread could apply to you, its worth investigating. insidius fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Jul 11, 2015 |
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Jul 11, 2015 05:07
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After 2 years without adderall, I've been back on it for 8 or 9 months and I am once again a productive member of society! ...with heart palpitations. Strattera is a no-go. The cardiologist is allowing me to stay on stims but I have to give up caffeine.
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Jul 11, 2015 05:26
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I just want to take this moment to thank Express Scripts for sending my three month supply of generic Adderall to my old apartment, even though I changed my address in their system and called them. Of course the lady on the other end of the line was completely loving useless, but she assured me "the post office would send it to the right place". Well it didn't. Luckily for me I have a great relationship with my last landlord and it's just her elderly father living there now so I was able to get my meds, but seriously Express Scripts, go gently caress yourself.
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Jul 11, 2015 15:37
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Helicon One posted:That's until I happened to read this last year, and one section in particular: About 11-12 years ago, I went to see someone who gave me the TOVA test, determined that, like my father, I had ADD (I'm not hyperactive, believe me), and prescribed me Dexadrine. I took that for about 3 years, but stopped, because a) I felt like I was becoming an angrier person when it would wear off, b) much faster heart rate than I was comfortable with, and c) truly believed that I could outsmart my own brain and get through it on my own. Well, for a few years, I was more or less ok, but now I have a wife who is the exact opposite, mentally, of me with regards to ADD (seriously, she is so organized, it's incredible) and a son, and I'm dropping the ball with both of them. I don't take initiative with dealing with anything regarding his daycare, minor health problems, or anything else. I constantly forget so many things, and this is all taking a toll on my wife, who's getting frustrated more and more with every day where I screw up any number of things that come so easily to her and she has to handle everything on her own. I don't take initiative for two reasons, I think: one is because I don't actually think of things that need to be done, but also, I think I'm subconsciously terrified of messing it up. I constantly feel anxious about making more mistakes and disappointing more and more people, especially my wife. I'm not too proud to lie and say I didn't just break down in tears in my kitchen, all by myself, when I read what you quoted from that site, because I 100% empathise with anyone going through that. The feeling of being dumb, stupid, not good enough for anything even though you know otherwise. I feel like less of a person than I used to, like I'm just dragging everyone else down and someday I'm just going to be the biggest disappointment to my son, whom I love more than anything. I moved to where I am about 2.5 years ago and haven't gotten a doctor yet, so I have to get on that, because I can't make all of me better on my own. I need to have mental clarity, because this fog of thoughts that's always in my head is the worst thing that's ever happened to me.
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Jul 12, 2015 15:36
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Hi, thread. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was a kid, very early on. I had at least an IEP and maybe even a 504. My only accommodations in elementary/high school were that I could have unlimited time on tests/exams. I was more of the type that couldn't really focus or study well unless I was into what I was reading or studying - I liked science, did OK in English/literature if I was curious about the book or topic (e.g. I don't know how I got even a D when we studied Desire Under the Elms and The Scarlet Letter but I did awesome in Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Romantic poetry, etc.). With a lot of being cracked down on by my parents when my grades dropped, and with the study skills/resource room class I got instead of a study hall elective, I did well enough in HS. I was given Ritalin in I think 8th or 9th grade but I hated the thought of Being On Meds so much that I faked side effects to get off of it the first day or two. I did fine in college - lousy in math but well enough in my major and overall GPAs - and have been in a productive IT career since I graduated in 2004. Homeowner, good retirement savings, married, etc. In 2009, I was surfing the web a lot at a job that didn't like me surfing the web, and I was on Adderall for about a month. I felt super-wired in the mornings when I took it, enough to not drink coffee, but all it did was hyperfocus me on web surfing. I discontinued taking the Adderall. The thing is that the hyperfocus is still there on things that I like doing. I can spend hours working on building a model kit. I just realized I was OK painting instrument panel faces with a superfine paintbrush and painting seat belt clasps with a toothpick, but my wife still has to remind me that I have to fold up cardboard boxes for recycling rather than just try to nest them in. The hyperfocus also has me hyperfocusing on negative points and stress at my job and jobs. It's been like this for several jobs recently. Eventually I switch jobs - vertical moves wherever possible, but more than one or two laterals. I simply can't fathom or determine a method to work through my stress - I'm good at avoiding it as best I can, accepting it but not processing it until I can get out of the office to let it out either via hobby focus or shouting in the car, etc. If a job has a flaw, I've been able to at least try to balance the flaws with the merits, but inevitably the flaws either become worse due to my interpretation or due to the company's actions/decision. I'm also seeing a psychologist for anxiety, and on Zoloft, which has been helping take the edge off - I'm basically fully able to handle anxiety, where previously it was a consuming physical sensation. Has anyone else had this kind of manifestation of ADD? Did you explore it with a therapist? What was your med experience like, if any? MJP fucked around with this message at 14:49 on Jul 13, 2015 |
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Jul 13, 2015 14:44
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:About 11-12 years ago, I went to see someone who gave me the TOVA test, determined that, like my father, I had ADD (I'm not hyperactive, believe me), and prescribed me Dexadrine. I took that for about 3 years, but stopped, because a) I felt like I was becoming an angrier person when it would wear off, b) much faster heart rate than I was comfortable with, and c) truly believed that I could outsmart my own brain and get through it on my own. I empathize with every part of that. The worst part of ADHD Inattentive isn't so much the fogginess or never finishing stuff, it's the feeling that you're constantly letting everyone down in countless little ways. When it was really bad for me I used to wish that I could just sort of fake my death and disappear and be homeless somewhere, because at least that way nobody would be depending on me so I'd have nobody left to let down. All I can tell you is that it does get better once you're in treatment. Medication isn't magic, it doesn't make all your problems go away overnight, but it at least makes the battle manageable. It's the difference between trying and failing over and over no matter how much effort you put forth, and being able to do the things you want to do with effort. It sucks now, and it's really hard to take the first steps, but the sooner you actually speak with a doctor and get yourself started on treatment, the sooner you can get on with your life.
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Jul 13, 2015 19:29
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Baby Babbeh posted:I empathize with every part of that. The worst part of ADHD Inattentive isn't so much the fogginess or never finishing stuff, it's the feeling that you're constantly letting everyone down in countless little ways. When it was really bad for me I used to wish that I could just sort of fake my death and disappear and be homeless somewhere, because at least that way nobody would be depending on me so I'd have nobody left to let down. Yeah, I know it's not a magic solution, but in a way it is, because I know that without the fogginess, I CAN do everything that I want to do, and get through a day without being confused or forgetful (at least not to my usual degree). That, to me, is magical and I'm looking forward to it very much. I can handle life and decisions and everything if I can at least think clearly on a regular basis.
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Jul 13, 2015 19:56
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:Yeah, I know it's not a magic solution, but in a way it is, because I know that without the fogginess, I CAN do everything that I want to do, and get through a day without being confused or forgetful (at least not to my usual degree). That, to me, is magical and I'm looking forward to it very much. I can handle life and decisions and everything if I can at least think clearly on a regular basis. Use the clarity to build habits. You can drive a car. You don't really have to think much about it after doing it every day for a few years, but at first it was probably a night mare of procedures. To change lanes, first check your rear-view mirror, second check your side mirror, third check your blind spot, fourth signal in the direction you are turning, fifth accellerate to 10 mph faster than the car you are passing but under the speed limit, check blind spot again, merge smoothly into lane, turn off signal, finally resume safe speed. Now you can basically get to work, and not remember how you got there. So build your habits, because the magic wears off as your brain adjusts to the medication.
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Jul 14, 2015 00:49
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TheBigBad posted:Use the clarity to build habits. This is what I dread most about learning to drive---there's so many PARTS to keep track of! Hell, some days I forget to put detergent in the washer; how the hell am I supposed to corral a three-ton steel deathtrap going 60 miles per hour?
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Jul 14, 2015 03:34
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TheBigBad posted:Use the clarity to build habits. It's funny you should use that example; just this past week, while driving to work, I missed the exit off of the highway and had to backtrack.
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Jul 14, 2015 03:53
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Astrofig posted:This is what I dread most about learning to drive---there's so many PARTS to keep track of! Hell, some days I forget to put detergent in the washer; how the hell am I supposed to corral a three-ton steel deathtrap going 60 miles per hour? After a little while and some practise, it becomes muscle memory and you don't have to consciously consider your movements to make the car do what you want (I had trouble with clutch/gearshift for a little while whilst learning but even that just clicked before long). Also dear lord why would anyone need a 3 ton car 
Roller Coast Guard fucked around with this message at 12:42 on Jul 14, 2015 |
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Jul 14, 2015 12:39
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Astrofig posted:This is what I dread most about learning to drive---there's so many PARTS to keep track of! Hell, some days I forget to put detergent in the washer; how the hell am I supposed to corral a three-ton steel deathtrap going 60 miles per hour? These were more or less the same thoughts I had when I was learning to drive. I hope you keep up with it, I gave up and bought a bus pass. Also I have walked into stop signs, which didn't full me with confidence.
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Jul 14, 2015 15:06
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MJP posted:Hi, thread. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was a kid, very early on. I had at least an IEP and maybe even a 504. My only accommodations in elementary/high school were that I could have unlimited time on tests/exams. I was more of the type that couldn't really focus or study well unless I was into what I was reading or studying - I liked science, did OK in English/literature if I was curious about the book or topic (e.g. I don't know how I got even a D when we studied Desire Under the Elms and The Scarlet Letter but I did awesome in Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Romantic poetry, etc.). With a lot of being cracked down on by my parents when my grades dropped, and with the study skills/resource room class I got instead of a study hall elective, I did well enough in HS. I was given Ritalin in I think 8th or 9th grade but I hated the thought of Being On Meds so much that I faked side effects to get off of it the first day or two. Zoloft was bad for me. Huge sugar cravings and always tired and destroyed my impulse control. Those effects correlate to a drop in seratonin so I'm transitioning off. My thing is that I get obsessed with models. It makes me a great inquisitive person who solves problems people overlooked. It also means I spend hours connecting data that no one wants and spinning wheels, even if I know problems will take care of themselves in feedback.
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Jul 15, 2015 19:56
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So uh, what's a good job for someone with ADD?
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Aug 7, 2015 20:52
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Does anyone have any way to budget? I'm finding that even with my slightly higher than min wage paycheque I never have enough money despite getting paid enough that I really should have more than I do. I think it's at the beginning or end of the months when I'm waiting/just got paid where I spend like crazy without thinking about it, then realize oh poo poo I have $150 in medication I still have to buy, that I wanted to get a gym membership, pay off my credit cards...etc...and then I'm left with 100$ for 2-3 weeks of the month with no savings. It's just super hard for me and I really don't want to sign up for something like Mint where it has access to my bank account, but I wouldn't have the time/energy to actually input all the data manually. AllPraiseToAllah posted:So uh, what's a good job for someone with ADD? Anything high stress, lots of changing tasks or direction and very short projects ie. art, construction work, programming, some sort of managing position. Really, I think it's just finding something you like doing and finding a way to make money off that.
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Aug 7, 2015 21:21
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Marketing.
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Aug 7, 2015 22:39
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You Need a Budget works well for a lot of people. If you don't want to bother with the software (which is free for college stduents), at least take a look at "Learn The Method".
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Aug 8, 2015 21:29
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Horrible Smutbeast posted:Does anyone have any way to budget? I'm finding that even with my slightly higher than min wage paycheque I never have enough money despite getting paid enough that I really should have more than I do. I think it's at the beginning or end of the months when I'm waiting/just got paid where I spend like crazy without thinking about it, then realize oh poo poo I have $150 in medication I still have to buy, that I wanted to get a gym membership, pay off my credit cards...etc...and then I'm left with 100$ for 2-3 weeks of the month with no savings. You may want to put in the effort to use a website or a piece of software to help you, but just having a general idea can make a big difference. If you take an hour to write down a solid list of all of your monthly expenses, then you can fairly easily figure out roughly what you can afford to spend on whatever else. You're going to inevitably gently caress it up if you don't have that information, but it doesn't have to be a super-complicated system that you update monthly, since you'll probably fall behind on keeping it together, and then it will be useless. If your issue is mostly impulsive, there are a lot of things you can do. You could set up separate bank accounts, so that you can't accidentally overspend. You can also set up roadblocks that give you an extra minute to consider what you're doing: for example, not allowing websites to save your credit card information makes it much harder to make impulsive online purchases.
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Aug 9, 2015 17:27
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