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Quick question: how long should 10mg of instant release Adderall last? My campus psychiatrist gave me a script for that for evenings on top of my usual 20mg daily XR, and I'm just trying to figure out when in the day I should take it.
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Mar 11, 2010 02:02
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Edit: I'm a moron and read "extended release." Immediate release Adderall lasts about 4 hours. It slopes up in about half an hour, peaks, and then steadily decreases over the next 3.5 hours. Take it at least 5 hours before you want to go to sleep. Paramemetic fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Mar 11, 2010 |
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Mar 11, 2010 04:56
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So what's the general consensus on which doctor to go see? I have new insurance and I moved, so I'll be seeing a new PCP once I get back home. So should I talk to the PCP about it or should I just schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist?
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Mar 15, 2010 15:50
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orinth posted:So what's the general consensus on which doctor to go see? I have new insurance and I moved, so I'll be seeing a new PCP once I get back home. So should I talk to the PCP about it or should I just schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist? I'd see the PCP first; they may be able to recommend a Psychiatrist for you.
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Mar 15, 2010 17:31
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Aleksei Vasiliev posted:Also I managed to find some of my old school files from elementary school through early high-school. Literally everything written about me by a teacher mentions either a "lack of motivation for long-term" activities, or a lack of attention. Also one of my teachers wrote that I had wasted my entire year. When I was gathering up all of my old school stuff to take in to my psych, I had one of the same moments of "jeez how was this not figured out before..." 
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Mar 16, 2010 00:43
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Well I went to my PCP yesterday and I discussed with him my thoughts on ADD and he gave me a 30 day sample supply of Strattera to try out. He mentioned that if I didn't like it, we could try moving onto adderall or concerta. That was easy.
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Mar 23, 2010 15:40
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Every time someone says PCP in a post here my first thought is No, don't take PCP! That's a terrible idea! and then I remember what it means. Every single time.
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Mar 23, 2010 15:48
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Ellen Page Reactor posted:Every time someone says PCP in a post here my first thought is No, don't take PCP! That's a terrible idea! and then I remember what it means. Well, in this case the avatar was missleading.
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Mar 23, 2010 16:52
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Well, saw the doc two weeks or so ago. He definitely thinks that I have Auditory Processing issues, related to the ADHD. he also said that the first step in this would be to get a hearing test done. But that the hearing and processing gets 'better' on the Adderall was a pretty telling sign. It was good to have someone listen to this symptom, however, and verify that this is something real and could potentially be an issue. (And I want to get that hearing test done, but right now there's more pressing medical issues that I'm dealing with. So it'll wait.)
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Mar 25, 2010 07:44
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Does anyone happen to know the neural basis for the auditory processing problems with people with ADHD?
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Mar 25, 2010 19:33
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taylor posted:Does anyone happen to know the neural basis for the auditory processing problems with people with ADHD? No idea - but you folk with access to research papers and the like can pull up this one that explains a connection. Abstract here: http://spi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/3/235 School Psychology International, Vol. 17, No. 3, 235-252 (1996) posted:Relationship between ADHD and Central Auditory Processing Disorder 
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Mar 26, 2010 02:16
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Who would you talk to about this, a doctor or a psychologist? I've been noticing I have been having those audio processing issues more and more lately. The scariest experience was when I was at moms for Christmas and my brother was joking around with me while I was taking me shoes off. I was looking right at him while he was saying something. I saw his lips move, and sound came out but I didn't 'hear' any of it. On top of that, for awhile now (a year or two) it seems I can't focus on anything. If I try to read something that's 'boring' (like a manual versus a good fiction book) nothing sticks. I read the words but nothing sticks, even going over it multiple times. It's annoying. 
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Apr 3, 2010 18:31
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Danith posted:Who would you talk to about this, a doctor or a psychologist? Either or to make the diagnosis, but only a psychiatrist can prescribe medications, so it's a better bet to go to one of them for treatment. The downside is that often it's hard to see a pdoc for long enough to make a good diagnosis.
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Apr 3, 2010 18:33
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Hey guys, I need some advice. So around december, I got put on concerta. It has totally helped me out a lot. It felt good to be able to sit down, do what I need to be doing, and get stuff done. My confidence has gone up, I'm slowly getting over some of my bad habits, etc. Lifes been pretty good lately. I even joined a group with add people and it has been nice to be around other people who were going through the same crap I am. So I went in for an appointment because they wanted to see how bad my add was. I took a few boring test, played around with blocks, did some simple math and word problems, etc. It was kind of cool cause I hadn't done math in awhile, but it was kind of basic. So I get the test results back, and the lady tells me that I don't have add. She say that I did well in all the tests, my IQ was pretty average and my empirical thinking was fine. What I scored low on was retention of information. I don't retain information too well when it comes to reading and verbal communication and I scored pretty drat low on that. According to her though, sense I scored high with everything else, I have no add. I might be taken off my meds. I'm kind of stressed right now Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the whole thing about add is the fact about attention? Regardless if I'm happy or stressed, I still can't tolerate to do what I need to do when it comes to work, reading, etc. If what she is saying is true, wouldn't I have to be experiencing anxiety 24/7? Hell, I'm the one who is always calming everyone else down when poo poo is hitting the fan. I'm afraid that they might just try to close one problem without fixing the other. Yeah, I would like the anxiety to go down, but at the same times, sense its more annoyance than actual interference, I want to learn to live with the add first than move on. Does this make sense with anyone else or is she right?
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Apr 3, 2010 19:34
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Hey,here's an idiot question. Is it possible for an adult to "grow" into ADD when he/she had no such symptoms as a child or teen? Or, does the person need to have had ADD symptoms when they were a kid? Heard a story from a friend of a friend that his cousin was always alert and had very high grades during elementary and high school and half way through college but then did a complete 180 and was disorganized, played video games or went to bars all the time and didn't finish a lot of his school work - he ended up having to repeat a year. He bought some Focalin from a dealer and was able to "feel normal again"; he then was able to get a legit prescription for himself. I asked if he suddenly went through some trauma (family member or friend died, a break up, or even a head injury)and the friend mentioned he didn't. Not too sure if maybe the guy was just suddenly bummed out but it just sounded strange to suddenly go ADD with no past symptoms in childhood. Clearly this is my own ignorance shining through; I just want to know how often it happens and if it can "work" that way with some people.
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Apr 4, 2010 03:51
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No, you absolutely cannot under any circumstances develop ADHD as an adult. It is a disorder of childhood and has to be present from before age 7. There are many, many other psychiatric conditions that can cause attentional problems, however. Anxiety and depression, to name two.
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Apr 4, 2010 03:56
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Danith posted:Who would you talk to about this, a doctor or a psychologist? I've been noticing I have been having those audio processing issues more and more lately. The scariest experience was when I was at moms for Christmas and my brother was joking around with me while I was taking me shoes off. I was looking right at him while he was saying something. I saw his lips move, and sound came out but I didn't 'hear' any of it. O HAI. I get that. Yeah. I hate that. I forgot - do you already have a diagnosis of ADHD, and the auditory processing issues are on top of it? Or do you not have a diagnosis of ADHD yet? If you're just curious about the auditory processing issues, I'd consult your primary doctor first, and they can arrange for you to get a general hearing exam, just to make sure that nothing else is going on that could be causing your hearing issues. If it turns out to be normal, and you still have auditory issues? Then you can take our hearing results to the Psychiatrist. Oh - and for those of you out there wondering if you have it or not, it's worth it (if you have the means) to get it checked out and Officially Diagnosed if you indeed have ADHD. Why? So that you can do what I had to do this week - which is talk to my boss and request accommodations for said ADHD. Because, no matter what I'm doing, people come up to me and talk to me ALL THE TIME. Which makes me lose my concentration. Which makes it all the harder for me to get back on track. Which makes me all flustered. And then I forget what the hell I was working on to begin with. And, once I finally get on track? I get interrupted again. And then my coworkers wonder why I'm behind everyone else, and why I'm constantly asking for clarification as to what I'm supposed to be doing in the first place. And then they wonder why I'm making stern annoyed faces at them. Oh - and this is with me taking my Adderall. Well now, if I need to concentrate, I get to wear headphones and ignore the people around me. If they want my attention? They need to send me an email. And if I *really* need concentration, I can work in a neighboring office in solitude. 
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Apr 4, 2010 07:35
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Qu Appelle posted:O HAI. I get that. Yeah. I hate that. Nope, don't have a diagnosis for anything except depression and anxiety  at the moment.I've had hearing tests when I was having some blockage behind my ear drum but I guess they weren't looking for audio processing issues. I'll bring it up when I'm at the doctor and/or psychiatrist Thanks!
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Apr 4, 2010 16:04
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Hey everybody! I am on my very first dose of Ritalin LA and had a question about a seemingly contradictory reaction. I am more calm than I have ever been in my life. No need to fidget, no need to look around the room and I actually paid attention to the lecture I was just in. While this is awesome, I am at the same time, a little jittery. Is this normal? Will this improve the longer I am on it? I am also experiencing some nausea and wondered if taking my pill with food will help. To add to the convo on delayed diagnosis, I am currently 23 and just receiving treatment for my ADHD. I was always a really nervous and depressed kid, so I have been in and out of treatment for that since 13, but ADHD never came-up. Looking back, it seems obvious what was really wrong, especially since last time I was on anti-depressants I dropped out of school, got into debt and generally acted irresponsibly. Its weird being diagnosed and realizing the things that you thought were just you being lazy are actually part of the disorder. Like someone said a page back about not putting their sheets on their bed for three days. I have done this exact same thing and always just thought I was a crappy unmotivated person for it. My mom is always getting pissed at me for not calling back after she leaves me a message. Sometime it will take me weeks to call her, because it just seems like such a big thing. In reality, it takes about 5 minutes... When I was telling her about my diagnosis, she actually asked me if ADHD makes me hate my mother and I had to explain to her how my constantly being frustrated at her over little things was just my disordered reaction to every little stress in my life. It was devastating. Also, I don't know if ADHA genetic, but my grandma took my mother to the doctor for behavioral problems when she was a kid. My mom was the youngest of 9, so my grandma knew a thing or two about raising kids by then, but still couldn't figure out what to do with her. The doctor told my mom she was just too smart for her own good and she should listen to her mother  .Wow, kind of wrote a novel there... SquirrelFace fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Apr 6, 2010 |
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Apr 6, 2010 18:47
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SquirrelFace posted:Hey everybody! I am on my very first dose of Ritalin LA and had a question about a seemingly contradictory reaction. I am more calm than I have ever been in my life. No need to fidget, no need to look around the room and I actually paid attention to the lecture I was just in. While this is awesome, I am at the same time, a little jittery. Is this normal? Will this improve the longer I am on it? I am also experiencing some nausea and wondered if taking my pill with food will help. Your first reaction was the same one I had when I started on my stimulants. Congratulations. Edit: and very typical for people who have ADHD to react to stimulants. IT's a weird paradoxical effect of the medication. Edit x2: Re: nausea, I used to get barfy taking it on an empty stomach. Eat a good breakfast. fuck you aurora fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Apr 7, 2010 |
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Apr 7, 2010 02:14
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Paramemetic posted:No, you absolutely cannot under any circumstances develop ADHD as an adult. It is a disorder of childhood and has to be present from before age 7. There are many, many other psychiatric conditions that can cause attentional problems, however. Anxiety and depression, to name two. Only under current DSMIV criteria I believe, you can have symptoms and be undiagnosed throughout your childhood, but I think once you get diagnosed as an adult you can either have ADHD or what psychiatrists are calling adult-onset ADHD. Research, however, points that it's more likely that you were undiagnosed when you were younger.
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Apr 7, 2010 02:15
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Master_Jay posted:Hey guys, I need some advice. Did you let her know that you were medicated at the time? I'm sure that probably affected the outcomes of the exam. THere's actually no conclusive way to test for ADHD despite what people may say, there are predictors and algorithms that I'm not familiar with (they're more for psychologists and for research).
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Apr 7, 2010 02:19
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gently caress you aurora posted:Did you let her know that you were medicated at the time? I'm sure that probably affected the outcomes of the exam. THere's actually no conclusive way to test for ADHD despite what people may say, there are predictors and algorithms that I'm not familiar with (they're more for psychologists and for research). Yep, she knew and had me not take the pill that day until the tests were over. She tested IQ, some stupid test where I press the button when I saw a letter, and other simple crap. I feel angry cause she ignored my experiences and instead looked at what my Mom and girlfriend had stated in their report they had to do. It was frustrating to be trumped over all this poo poo that wasn't easy for me to talk about by one sentence stating "he seems anxious at times". Edit: I should have known I'd have issues when she found it weird when I didn't have the hyper part of add. That, and when she kept correcting me. "No, it's adhd not add..." *sigh* Master_Jay fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Apr 7, 2010 |
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Apr 7, 2010 03:44
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Master_Jay posted:Yep, she knew and had me not take the pill that day until the tests were over. She tested IQ, some stupid test where I press the button when I saw a letter, and other simple crap. I think concerta has a half life of 24 hours? They're extended release and I'm sure you probably were still medicatd at the time, probably less so
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Apr 7, 2010 06:31
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gently caress you aurora posted:I think concerta has a half life of 24 hours? They're extended release and I'm sure you probably were still medicatd at the time, probably less so I hadn't taken the medication in 24 hours anyway. No, I was off it. I couldn't focus on half the stuff she was saying. I scored in the low thirties in terms of retaining audio and visual stimuli and somehow it's sever anxiety.
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Apr 7, 2010 07:26
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I'm turning 31 in a couple of months, and have finally had enough "AD" problems with my life to see a doctor today. He had me fill out a survey I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Scale of 0-4, 0 being never, 4 being very often. Questions like: "How often do you have difficulty keeping your attention when you are doing boring or repetitive work?" "How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?" "When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you delay getting started?" I was all fours on those types of questions. The bottom part of the survey were "H" questions. Fidgeting, interrupting people, etc., mostly 1-2 with a few fours. (Especially the interrupting people and finishing their sentences. I am an incredibly annoying rear end in a top hat, I just never recognize it until like 20 seconds after I've been an annoying rear end in a top hat.) The questions were, to me, like, "How often are you lazy?" "How often do you get bored by boring stuff, like 99% of the world?" It kind of got beyond that though. It's more like, in my interpretation, "How often does your boredom lead to serious, real problems at work/home/personal life?" I often delay things -- when I say often, I mean EVERYTHING GOD drat -- until the last possible second, or when I have no option but to do them. For example, I had to be at work at 6:30 this morning. I woke up at 5am so I'd have time to cook breakfast, shower, etc. I didn't leave the loving house until 6:35. I don't know if ADHD is real. I don't know if I really have it. But when it comes to adult ADHD (disorganized & emotional), I have every. Single. Symptom. The doctor prescribed Wellbutrin. Seemed weird to me but I guess it's supposed to be effective. He didn't want to jump right into amphetamines (Adderall, specifically), which I'm fine with. I don't care what i'm taking as long as it gets my mind right. I seriously get into vapor lock if there are multiple tasks to do, multiple aspects of the job. On the other hand, if there's a task I'm interested in, I'm all over it. A common thread of basically every loving professional assessment I've had back through my elementary school report cards is, "RobotEmpire is smart, but he is not fulfilling his full potential." I have enormous amounts of CONSTANT job dissatisfaction. I'm extremely defensive/sensitive to criticism. Like I said: Dunno if adult ADHD is real, but god drat I have every symptom as relating to the emotional and disorganization bits. I hope the Wellbutrin helps. It's supposed to take a couple weeks. edit: Oh yeah, let's not forget the terrible short term memory. "Hey, RobotEmpire, take care of XYZ for me." "Sure thing, boss." 30 seconds pass. "I loving love Kit Kat!" I'm making light but this is a serious issue for me, and has created severe professional issues. RobotEmpire fucked around with this message at 08:19 on Apr 7, 2010 |
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Apr 7, 2010 08:09
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Later this week, I'll be taking my seven year old in to begin testing for ADHD. Reading this thread has been very interesting - there's so many 'when I was a kid' that sounds like my son. Because he's so young, it will probably be a long road in terms of diagnosis and then decision on what do for treatment. In the meantime, is there any suggestions for things that I can do to help him on the behavioral end? Was there anything that your parents did that was helpful - routines, structures, techniques, etc? If you had a peaceful workspace at home to help you concentrate, did you find that the contrast made it harder to concentrate at school? Really, any advice would be helpful. The internet has been a good source for information about symptoms and general advice, but a lot of it relates to older children or teenagers.
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Apr 7, 2010 08:15
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1. If he actually does have ADHD, don't be afraid to give him medicine for it. I have a feeling my educational years would have been a lot smoother if I had actually been given the Ritalin the doc recommended. 2. Be on the look out for auditory issues - if he seems to be not listening, etc. I really prefer things to be written down instead of being told to me orally. Your son might be the same way. And even if he doesn't have that subissue, writing things down for him to refer to would be good. And to the person having issues at work - have your boss email you the tasks you need to do. I request that of my boss and my coworkers, and things generally go a lot smoother that way. No confusion, no missing of items, and you have something to go back to for reference.
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Apr 7, 2010 08:40
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I've been thinking about plans for the future in the last few days (I'm currently at my parent's home and recovering from some lovely depression issues, although thanks to meds and few stress factors I'm actually pretty happy right now). Basically, I'm thinking about giving up on my B.A. and finding a job instead, at least for now. What lead me to this line of thought is pretty much this: Since I finished school (which mostly made me miserable), I have done nothing but studying and being surrounded by university settings that (here in Germany) have generally been getting more school-like in recent years. Unlike my first two attempts, I was actually able to get pretty far this time, since I finally started getting treatment for ADHD before enrolling. But I'm still stressed out and prone to depressive episodes and nervous breakdowns, because I'm unable to schedule time for class work, research and writing papers, which magnifies all the other personal issues I have to deal with. Bascially, here's what made me think that giving up on college life for the time being might be a good idea: Deadlines, course requirements and other college stuff always weigh heavily on me, and whenever I do something else, whether it's learning stuff for myself or just killing time, I feel bad about it and it seems like I'm avoiding what I should be doing. If I worked instead, even if it's not a terribly exciting job, I could perceive my free time differently and use it to set my own priorities and get into stuff that interest me without a voice in my head saying "it's nice that you're into X, but don't you have three papers to write?". Earning my own money would also help my self-esteem and stop making me feel bad about living out of my parents' pocket for the most part. Of course, this is all highly hypothetical, because getting a job in these times isn't exactly easy, and I don't really have any idea what to look for, but somehow, the thought of doing this just feels very liberating. I'm not asking you to make this decision for me, but I'd be intersting in different perspectives on this idea, stories from people who made similar changes or otherwise restructured their lifes (even if they failed) and perhaps even tips on what kind of work ADHD-sufferers might be suited for.
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Apr 7, 2010 09:36
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gently caress you aurora posted:I think concerta has a half life of 24 hours? They're extended release and I'm sure you probably were still medicatd at the time, probably less so I'd get a horrible agonizing comedown after roughly 8 hours so I wouldn't count on it (54mg). But weirdly enough I didn't get addicted to it (another paradoxical effect of ADHD?) despite taking it for a solid year and then just going cold turkey. No withdrawal. It did gently caress up my creativity when I was on it though, so I'd recommend dexedrine or wellbutrin. But ritalin would make me feel like my body temperature was incredibly high, I might have been taking too much though. I personally take 40mg oxycodone and 5mg buspirone for adult adhd and severe refractory depression. Took me about 6 years of lovely antidepressants and pharms to get this far though. Oxycodone allows me to focus perfectly, but I realize taking opiates for ADHD is a bit of an overkill. I would have been taking dexedrine but it's banned in Austria and Slovakia. Can anyone who has tried Modafinil give me a heads up on what it's like? Last Days of Crisco fucked around with this message at 10:56 on Apr 7, 2010 |
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Apr 7, 2010 10:46
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To all the people not diagnosed until adulthood, did you ever feel a sense of loss over all the things you could have done, but didn't because of ADHD? Looking back at all the lessons and clubs and activities I dropped out of as a kid makes me feel like I missed my chance to be a good pianist or dancer or whatever. If I had stuck with Spanish instead of taking up three other languages, maybe I would be fluent. If I had stayed in gymnastics, maybe I would be an athlete. I know its crazy to let that stuff get me down now and I am hopeful, but I'm just angry about it. The worst is that when I was on anti-depressants a few years ago, I dropped out of school without dropping my classes and failed everything. My anxiety and depression were really good at keeping my behavior in check and with those gone I went a little wild. I have since pulled my poo poo together since going off those meds, but with a whole semester of F's, my GPA is so low I could never get into grad school. Now I just tell everyone I don't want to go...
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Apr 7, 2010 22:50
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timbit_fiend posted:Later this week, I'll be taking my seven year old in to begin testing for ADHD. All punishments must be swift and immediate. All rewards must be the same. Children with ADHD are incapable of conceptualizing things ahead of time, and all rewards and punishments must take place at what's called the "point of performance." A child with ADHD cannot understand that they can't go outside next weekend because they broke a vase today. They will academically "get it" but it will not change their behaviors, and they will be pissy as gently caress come the weekend because they don't "get" why they're being punished anymore. Likewise, a child with ADHD cannot be rewarded with a new toy two weeks after they got As on their report cards. They will appreciate the gift but it will not serve as a behavioral reinforcer. Basically, if you want to scold or praise a child, do it right when whatever happens. It will not serve as an effective reward or punishment otherwise. Similarly, break things down into small tasks with definite endpoints so they can see achievement on an ongoing basis. If they are working towards getting all As on the report card, focus more on each individual A they get on a test. Don't try to entice them with a longterm goal because immediate gratification will always trump delayed gratification for a child with ADHD. ADHD is not a disorder of attention. That's old thinking. Any more, ADHD is better seen as a behavioral inhibition disorder. Children with impulsivity and hyperactivity are not as able to filter their actions. They literally act before they think. This is the behavior that needs to be trained; you need to train them to delay before acting and think through what they're about to do. That is, of course, if you're looking at ADHD Combined Type. Predom Inattentive Type is an entirely different monster and frankly the research on it just isn't there. DSM-V is likely to split ADHD into two different disorders because Inattentive Type ADHD is completely different from Combined Type. In Inattentive Type ADHD there really is an issue with attention. There is not such an issue with Combined Type. This is probably the best piece of information on ADHD there is right now available easily online. Russell Barkley is the foremost expert on ADHD, period, and not much has changed since this lecture was given. Every single person in this thread should read it. Paramemetic fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Apr 8, 2010 |
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Apr 8, 2010 01:01
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SquirrelFace posted:To all the people not diagnosed until adulthood, did you ever feel a sense of loss over all the things you could have done, but didn't because of ADHD? Looking back at all the lessons and clubs and activities I dropped out of as a kid makes me feel like I missed my chance to be a good pianist or dancer or whatever. If I had stuck with Spanish instead of taking up three other languages, maybe I would be fluent. If I had stayed in gymnastics, maybe I would be an athlete. I know its crazy to let that stuff get me down now and I am hopeful, but I'm just angry about it. I'm just shy of 30 and recently getting treatment so all the people who are in their early 20s and agonizing over it being caught sooooo late make me laugh because the wistful theories about what could have been if this was caught at 5, 9, 13, 16, 22, 25... just multiply the more years you go without diagnosis but are just as useless to your future at any age. Find a good counselor or support group (whatever works for you) to help herd your brain away from thinking about this poo poo too much. The anger is a tough thing to have hanging around. Don't think it will ever go away in some aspects, especially not the resentment towards my parents and how hosed up attitudes about symptom description/diagnosis are for girls and women (boys are hyper while girls are neurotic/hysterical/histrionic). If it makes you feel better take some Spanish classes after your meds are leveled out and you get into a normalized routine - Doing things is so much easier when your brain is getting herded into better habits, especially with meds as help, but it won't guarantee success because some things are challenging with or without treatment and having a diagnosis will not ensure success at all those failed what if's. (Now that medication and therapy are in the picture I'm going to rent a violin to take up something I loved so much as a child but never managed to handle.  Even if I suck at playing just being able to sit down for an hour to practice will be revolutionary.)SquirrelFace posted:The worst is that when I was on anti-depressants a few years ago, I dropped out of school without dropping my classes and failed everything. My anxiety and depression were really good at keeping my behavior in check and with those gone I went a little wild. I have since pulled my poo poo together since going off those meds, but with a whole semester of F's, my GPA is so low I could never get into grad school. Now I just tell everyone I don't want to go... In the future, after you get leveled out and in a routine: See what your doctors and the school registrar can do about dropping or remedying those class grades from that semester. Write a letter to the school's president if you need to and explain that there were extenuating medical circumstances, what they were and what you've accomplished since then and your fears about grad school. At least make the effort so you can say you've tried if you really honestly do want to go to grad school.
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Apr 8, 2010 01:23
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Qu Appelle posted:2. Be on the look out for auditory issues - if he seems to be not listening, etc. I really prefer things to be written down instead of being told to me orally. Your son might be the same way. And even if he doesn't have that subissue, writing things down for him to refer to would be good.  Since my diagnosis I've read this whole thread over more than once and I always thought that this was a symptom I just didn't have, since I've never noticed any issues hearing things. But, I don't know why, something in the way you phrased this made things click. I actually do this pretty often, but (I think) only with certain people. I'll be in a conversation and it's like I zone out without actually thinking about something else and I completely miss something. So thanks for accidentally sparking that little realization.
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Apr 8, 2010 01:37
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extraneousXTs posted:Find a good counselor or support group (whatever works for you) to help herd your brain away from thinking about this poo poo too much. Thanks for the advice. I am also seeing a therapist in conjunction with a psychiatrist and I plan on talking this out with her next week. I had thought about asking if I could get those grades changed to incompletes or something, but wasn't too confident about it. Now I think I'll give it a go. And yeah, I feel you on that gendered diagnosis criteria bullshit. My over-sensitivity and easy frustration wasn't a symptom when I was younger because "girls are just more sensitive" and I just had low self-esteem. gently caress that!
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Apr 8, 2010 01:53
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Supposedly I have inattentive add. I constantly day dream, I can only start assignments under absolute pressure, if you look at a paper I've written, you'll see constant erase marks and corrections, math especially is a mess for me. I constantly forget stuff, i have a hard time following directions. Medication is ok, but lately it's been making me obsessive and depressed.
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Apr 8, 2010 04:14
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Professor Skittles posted:Supposedly I have inattentive add. I constantly day dream, I can only start assignments under absolute pressure, if you look at a paper I've written, you'll see constant erase marks and corrections, math especially is a mess for me. I constantly forget stuff, i have a hard time following directions. Medication is ok, but lately it's been making me obsessive and depressed. We have many of the same symptoms, though I have opposite problems with writing. I don't believe in proofreading. Though I don't think this has anything to do with ADHD for me but sheer  ness.What medication are you on? I'm on Wellbutrin (just started recently) and am hoping to specifically avoid those two side effects. It's actually why I'm on Wellbutrin. I asked my doctor to give me something that didn't have obsessiveness/depression ("I don't want to be laying in my bed crying myself to sleep for no reason in six weeks."). Also for anyone who's taken Wellbutrin, how long does it take to get full effect? Yesterday I both felt and was told I seemed much more focused at work. But I'm like 95% sure it's just placebo effect. I've only been on two days of full dosage.
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Apr 8, 2010 13:14
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RobotEmpire posted:We have many of the same symptoms, though I have opposite problems with writing. I don't believe in proofreading. Though I don't think this has anything to do with ADHD for me but sheer I also didn't proofread  , since my brain and nerves were usually too fried by the time I had finished writing to even think about re-reading it. Just finished my first paper I wrote while medicated. I finished it, proofread it, and made a coherent argument throughout. Most importantly, I still remembered my thesis by the end of the paper. I don't have any experience with taking Wellbutrtin, but it was offered to me as the slow-path medication, so I'm assuming it takes at least a few weeks like most anti-depressants do.
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Apr 8, 2010 19:37
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SquirrelFace posted:To all the people not diagnosed until adulthood, did you ever feel a sense of loss over all the things you could have done, but didn't because of ADHD? Looking back at all the lessons and clubs and activities I dropped out of as a kid makes me feel like I missed my chance to be a good pianist or dancer or whatever. If I had stuck with Spanish instead of taking up three other languages, maybe I would be fluent. If I had stayed in gymnastics, maybe I would be an athlete. I know its crazy to let that stuff get me down now and I am hopeful, but I'm just angry about it. Essay forthcoming. Loss and/or resentment? Somewhat. The biggest aspect of resentment for me is school; my stepdad in particular was very much of the mindset that 'Grades are Everything'. He, along with my mom, also didn't want to medicate me for the 'Actually Diagnosed by a Real Doctor Look - She Really Really Does Have loving ADHD, she needs Ritalin OMG now' ADHD because "Speed is bad." So consequently, I did bad in school - over and over. And would get punished for it - over and over. Even though they withheld the one thing that would have probably let me excel. Oh? Also? I didn't know I had ADHD as a child *when I was a child*, so when it hit time for college, and my coping skills completely deteriorated, I couldn't go to Student Services once I was an adult and say "Hey - I don't have an attention span, fork over the speed." I didn't learn of the childhood diagnosis until my mom came across some old records...when I was 34. So overall, I felt I was set up for failure, at least academically. And the sensation of being punished for something that's wildly out of your control? Also not healthy. It's like punishing a mute person because they can't sing Opera. Yeah. That would have helped way back when. Thanks, guys. No, really. And now? I don't talk to my stepdad. So now do I deal with it? It sounds very cosmic and Zen, but by concentrating on the Now. I can't really go back and change history, but I can concentrate on what's going on with my life currently. The first step in putting everything back together was getting that Official Diagnosis of Adult ADHD a few years ago, and then now getting that treated. And discovering treatments that *actually* work, at least for me. Now that that all is happening? I'm finding out two very important things: 1. I have the energy to sort out what I want out of life, and the willingness to go after it. In my case, it's taking Programming classes. At least for now. Having that fog clear away has been an immense help. 2. Also, knowing that I'm at least doing something now about it all. For years, I did Software Testing, and I was really unhappy - I wanted to break out of the rut, but I didn't know how. And I was paralyzed by indecision, because I couldn't sort out my thoughts. Now, I at least have somewhat of a path, and am working towards it. They may just be Continuing Education night classes at the local Community College, but I already have one SQL class down, and I'll have two C# Programming classes done by the end of June. Over the summer, I may finally tame the dragon known as Math, because it turns out that you really do need math skills to advance in Computer Science.
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Apr 9, 2010 23:02
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Qu Appelle posted:1. If he actually does have ADHD, don't be afraid to give him medicine for it. I have a feeling my educational years would have been a lot smoother if I had actually been given the Ritalin the doc recommended. I will recommend some caution with this - the stimulant drugs are also appetite suppressants. Young children taking them may not eat as much as they need to, stunting their development. Personally, I don't think the drugs would have helped me much at that age. Instead of being the smart kid bored to tears not paying attention because he has ADHD, I would have been the smart kid not paying attention because he's bored to tears. But, obviously, everyone is different, and the risks associated with the drugs are worth it if it allows your kid to be successful and avoid a lifetime of depression thinking they are just a worthless lazy rear end in a top hat who can't pay attention to anything because they are an inadequate failure.
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Apr 10, 2010 04:08
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