Ask me about childhood and adult ADD.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about childhood and adult ADD.

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

Stofoleez posted:

I have had (what I consider) pretty severe ADHD for my whole life. I was only diagnosed 7 years ago, at 15 years old. I haven't seen anything on the disorder in ask/tell except the thread asking how to get help for a friend who might have had the disorder, so I thought maybe this was worth a shot! If you're a normie, feel free to ask anything. Nothing is too personal, I honestly don't mind dealing with some of the misconceptions, and I've been on the internet long enough to shrug off a lot of things that are patently offensive if that's what you're into! If you also have the disorder and want to answer questions or ask some of your own (I know I'll try to pick your brains) that is super great!

Thank you for this thread, I actually was diagnosed with adult-onset ADD a year ago and let me tell you that parts of my life had turned around with the proper help. I am now on a low-dose of medication and see a therapist for other problems, but it feels amazingly different than how I was living 1 year ago. I'll help answer any questions.

Paramemetic posted:

That's fine, I'm just saying that response to stimulants is not diagnostic of ADHD at all.

I'm not going to question you, but I will let you know that the way that my psychiatrist convinced me to pursue my problems (partially I was in denial and partially didn't want to take medications) was to give me a prescription of low dose ritalin to see how I responded. The difference, thankfully, was night and day. It seemed as though shortly after I took the medication I was able to "quiet down" my brain and not let so many random thoughts go through. To tell you the truth, after that experience I was convinced and decided to continue taking the ritalin.

And people with ADD vs. people who don't carry the diagnosis act differently under the medication. People who do not have ADD and Ritalin will obviously be able to concentrate more or some people actually have little/no effect from the medication. Some of it is a placebo effect, but some are as you described a little of further concentration. People with ADD, from my understanding, will have these weird epiphanies when they take the medication. They'll notice that they can control parts of their life that they were not able to before and their thoughts as well.

Qu Appelle posted:

I'm on 5 mg of Adderall, long acting. And, like others said, it's not a radical change. It's much more subtle than that.

Some things I noticed right away:

1. It was much easier for me to start a task.
2. When that task was started, it was easier for me to stay on task until I got it done or completed a significant amount.
3. It was easier for me to observe when I strayed off task (like writing a reply in SA in the ADHD megathread instead of work), and thus easier for me to get back on task.
4. When things didn't go as planned, I'm much more able to just keep my wits about me.
5. It also has an antidepressant effect with me as well, so the 'negative brain chatter' is gone when the drug is in my system.

Like I said, it's subtle - but I started to notice those changes after my very first dose.

Ritalin LA 10mg for me. It's been amazing, Concerta was a pain because I think their dosing was too high and give me anxiety and GERD. I found that on the Ritalin it did the exact same thing where it's had this anti-depressant effect, I'm less worried, I'm more even-keel, I don't get flustered so easily and now generally keep my cool. High five.

fuck you aurora fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Jan 24, 2010

# ¿ Jan 24, 2010 15:32

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 07:36

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

Elpato posted:

I have a question for you guys with ADHD.

My wife has recently been diagnosed with ADHD by her psychiatrist, and it seems to explain a lot of the difficulties she has had for as long as I've known her. Her mind races a million miles a minute from subject to subject, she can't concentrate on mundane tasks, she is absolutely immune to routines, and she has a sort of brain vomit where she sometimes can't control what she says even if she knows it's stupid. The whole thing has made life pretty frustrating and depressing for her, and she regularly breaks down in tears at work, believing she is broken and worthless since her productivity is way down from what it could be if she concentrated.

She comes home most days extremely upset at herself and depressed at her situation.

She can't enjoy activities she would like to do unless the stars align and she gets her hyper-focus on.

I feel so helpless. I feel like I should be able to do something to help her, but nothing I say can fix what is wrong.

She has an appointment with an MD today to see if she can get a working diagnosis and perhaps medication to relieve the symptoms, but is there anything I can do to help her in the meantime? I try to be understanding, but I can't comprehend what she is going through.

Thanks.

I am going to say you're really awesome to have stayed with her throughout the years, I know that my ADD messed with several of my relationships through the years and that it's put my exes through the ringer several times. You're lucky because she knows that she's got a problem and she's willing to change for the better.

Just do what you've been doing all this time. You've been together and stayed strong, so I think with the medication and therapy it can only get better from here. I used to fight a lot with my partner, she would say something and I would find it offensive or I'd get self-defensive and then get a thought "stuck" in my head.

For example, we fought over the oxford comma, we fought about our vacation time, we fought over little things because I could not let things go. She's one of the reasons why I thought I had to get help. And since then, I got into therapy for some of associated depression and anxiety and instead of fighting every other week, we fight once every other month. The fights are now different, they're like little spats instead of full out yelling.

She's going to get a lot better. Here are some random tips:

1. Find a medication that works, some of the medication I was placed on made me a lot more anxious, so if she notices little changes (or you) you should mention it to her.
2. Stick with therapy, help her through some of the little tasks and jobs she's assigned because she's going to need a partner to help her.
3. She may have the same problem as I did, which was the occasional lack of insight, so gently mention things you notice about her mood and concentration, however YMMV, I crave feed back.

Edit: Here's a question for the ADD people in the thread, I'm actually a post-graduate student who's almost done with their degree. I am wondering how you guys studied because I study differently than any of my friends and they hate me because I love to distract myself, but manage to study at the same time? How do you guys do it?

fuck you aurora fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Jan 24, 2010

# ¿ Jan 24, 2010 15:53

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

Qu Appelle posted:

Yay. High Five to you too!

It took a while for me to find the right medication, but I'm so thankful I did. My only problem now? My job and insurance. I'm going to talk to my doc about this when I see him in early March, but I have a potential issue coming up with my access to the medication and my job. See, my job ends late June. I've known that for a year, and the job loss itself doesn't bother me - I do contract work, and it's part of the gig. However, this is the first time I've been on a medication that needs to be refilled every month; all my other meds I just get refilled in three month increments.

So, I have a question. But first, the backstory: Let's say I lose my job June 30th. It'll take a couple of weeks or so for the COBRA paperwork to be generated and sent to me, and a couple more weeks or so for that to be processed after I send in my payment for the insurance. Then, a week or two before my insurance gets reinstated. Now, despite being unemployed, I'd like to continue taking the Adderall. But I'll have a 6 week gap that'll show that I'm essentially uninsured. So if I get it filled then, I'll have to pay full price. On the name brand version of the drug, because my insurance, for some bizarro world reason, won't pay for the generic version.

So, question: Can my doc write me a prescription for 90 days worth of medication? Or, are there other ways around this? Because, what I've been doing is taking 'holidays' on the weekends (to no ill effect) and hoarding the medication in preparation of getting laid off. I also have it timed to fill an Adderall script the week I get laid off, so I'll have at least 30 days worth at the end.

Thanks, tweakers, for making my legitimate drugs so hard to get

Speaking as someone who's in healthcare, I can tell you that it will depend on your psychiatrist. If s/he trusts you and likes you, it's more likely that they will do that for you, however if I remember correctly there may be some issue legally about prescribing more than 1 month of controlled substances in the state I am in. So, the short answer is most likely no, but it depends on what they can do for you. You may however have to pay out of pocket for the medication, as I recall Adderall is pretty expensive.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2010 05:05

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

I.T Zander posted:

Prepare to be completely and utterly shocked. This is about to blow your mind Something Awful, but I too have ADD.

e: It does suck

It's a unique set of traits.

http://www.amazon.com/Attention-Deficit-Disorder-Different-Perception/dp/1887424148/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266293486&sr=8-11

One of the first books that therapist asked me to read was this one. The author has a unique perspective on ADHD since his son was diagnosed with it. He talked about the ADHD is actually the old "hunter-gatherer" set of traits that we had when we were neanderthals (I'm joking).

However, evolution introduced farming into our society and while we managed to adopt some traits necessary for survival in a farming culture, our inherent traits of being able to have hyper-focus and also being able to track many things at one time works against us in a farming society.

He states that we can't look at our failings as deficits, but strengths that aren't valued in the lives we lead and occupations we are supposed to pursue. While I am still very skeptical of his claims he presents in different perspective (hence the title). The book is worth reading once to see how you fit the stereotypes.

I know this paragraph sounds like a furry-support group rant, but give it a look through - it's nice to know that you're not alone.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2010 05:16

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

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.

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...

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

# ¿ Apr 7, 2010 02:14

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

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.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2010 02:15

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

Master_Jay posted:

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?

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).

# ¿ Apr 7, 2010 02:19

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# ¿ Apr 30, 2024 07:36

fuck you aurora: Jan 1, 2007; by mons all madden

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 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*

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

# ¿ Apr 7, 2010 06:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about childhood and adult ADD.