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So after talking with an ex-coworker buddy of mine and reading part of this thread, I decided to talk to my Primary care Doc about being tested for ADD. I've been struggling at work recently with my ability to focus and other items, its really hard for me to describe. took the test, and basically because I put down that I can read and enjoy reading that I'm not ADD. If I had marked those questions in regards to reading that I was unable to read because of XYZ, I would of been in the mega-positive zone as ADHD. I don't know if I actually am ADD, or if there is something else mentally I need to have addressed but do any of you guys who have been diagnosed enjoy reading? I read nightly to wear my brain out so it shuts down and I can sleep. I basically force myself to read for an hour+ nightly, if I don't my mind doesn't turn off and I'm up all night tossing and turning trying to rest. Should I just step up and go see a psychiatrist/psychologist to discuss mental issues further instead of my primary care?
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Mar 5, 2015 23:58
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 07:15 |
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Wow, thank you all for the replies. I've honestly been really hesitant to talk to a Doctor about things. It took 3 years and multiple people talking to me to convince me do the basic test at my primary care in the first place. I plan on trying to re-enroll back in college to finish my last 2 semesters and get my piece of paper, I needed to figure out why I just lost all focus for the last 2 years I was previously enrolled. I just wasn't able to function normally. Took me 6 years to get 3/4 of my credits earned for my undergrad. The same thing that happened with my focus/completing courses happened to me in high school and middle school but I had some amazing teachers that called me out on things. They worked with me to re-focus me which is probably the only reason I finished high school. I won't go into a huge wall of text but my family is major conservative except me. Mental health is one of those unspoken things and looked down upon things. My Mom is diagnosed OCD though and there are definitely mental illness in my family that goes untreated. I just need to stop being scared and talk to a shrink about things, and its probably years/decades overdue.
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Mar 6, 2015 04:20
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I am struggling to find a doctor. Don't trust my primary care for any referral anywhere. I'm ditching him to go find another primary care doctor. Thought I found a Doc to get looked at for mental items, they had weird hours and don't answer the phone. Insurance said they accept him and then I talk to them "nope we stopped accepting that!". Not to mention a 2 month waiting list. Only reason I went looking at that Doc was based off his reviews that hes treated patient x y z for years with ADD/ADHD and similar type things. Frustrated as hell right now, probably should of gone down this path years ago and now even trying to find a doc to get this taken care of is a pain in the rear end. Is there some keywords or specialties i should be looking for in a psychiatrist? Any websites that are reliable in finding someone? My insurance companies website is useless and calling them on the phone takes hours to get anything done. Maybe go to a psychologist first for diagnoses?
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Mar 13, 2015 21:29
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So I finally did it and talked to a new doc after my old primary care moved his practice. New Doc agreed I had ADHD and said I found coping mechanisms growing up, but as soon as I stopped doing certain tasks+routines I fell into a rabbit hole and never quite climbed out. I tried to talk him into going the non-stimulant route, he wouldn't have it. Doctor basically said since we are just starting treatment, we're going with the meds that work faster and are proven to work well. Started on 2x10mg Adderal daily and WOW the difference its made in my life. I can engage on a task and disengage without issues. My studying for a certification is so much more focused its incredible. I had gotten 10 chapters into this certification book with some poorly written and scribbled notes. The new notes from 4 days into treatment where my handwriting improves I actually have coherent and thought out notations. The only odd item is my random dyslexia while writing seems to be hitting more. I tend to swap letters mid-sentence while writing but I am good at catching myself and fixing it. Don't be like me and procrastinate getting tested if you're having issues. If a Doctor gives you an odd reason when you're borderline on one test, don't hesitate to ask for a different test if available. This second test I took, 41 and higher was considered ADHD prone, I scored a 57.
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Jun 24, 2016 01:53
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Random oddity that maybe some of you have experience with I'm feeling like my bare minimum adderal dosage isn't cutting it anymore for my adhd. Unfortunately my doctor retired suddenly and I only have his PA at that office to work with for RX while another doctor gets hired. Can PAs authorize a dosage change for me or do I need an actual Doctor to authorize that change in dosage?
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Jul 26, 2017 20:35
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Thats why I've been at 10mg x2 a day non-XR for the past year. I found it's been keeping me just at that cusp of keeping me going but not crazy overthetop on the dosage to make me turn into a robot. Thanks guys for the response there, now to figure out when my Doc's office will get another MD in house since mine emergency retired
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Aug 2, 2017 18:04
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My 7yr old was just diagnosed with ADHD (he's literally a near clone of me, even down to putting baby pictures of me and him next to eachother its crazy). His teacher had a big role to play during a parent teacher conference. He had been acting out, back talking and not focusing at all. His main teacher and spanish immersion teacher then went down a list of behaviors they had kept notes on. Wife and I were like Whoaaaa. Come to find out my son's teacher has a kid with ADHD as well. She delayed getting him diagnosed until he was a teenager due to social stigmas. And then she tried to do everything else except medicate him to address the condition after diagnosis. After two years of failing without medication, she got him medicated at 14. Night and day for her son. Once he knew what his baseline could be for focus and attention, he was able to utilize the skills he had been learning for two years to eventually get off medication in college. So my kid's teacher basically told us "don't delay, get us the paperwork and get him in to the doctor, we'll give a good writeup to the doc. Don't make the mistake I made, kids don't know what that normal 'focused/ontask' behavior is like most of the time. Being medicated helps them learn it and then you can work on behavioral items from there". The teacher didnt know we had already talked to our peds doc about ADHD before the school year start. Our Doc is an authority on ADHD in our county. 2days later we had our son diagnosed and starting medication. Holy crap. Night and day difference in ALL his school behavior. He gets chatty, but he went from failing in reading and only doing well in math to catching up to his class in reading and being on track for 2nd grade. Definitely work with your doc with the treatment plan. Read books, and if needed possibly try a different medication based off your doctor's recommendations. I know i've had to switch to a variety of adderal XR and immediate release myself based off of mood swings I'd get coming down. My son is on concerta XR and its working great for him. Have any of y'all been hearing the studies that folks with ADHD come from Hunter/gathering ancestry? ADHD brains being wired to hyperfocus on our surroundings when hunting? I have some neighbors that the husband and wife are both psychiatrists and were teaching me about this when I did some free computer work for them. Fascinating discussion with them and makes sense for my family. EVERYONE on my dad's side is a hunter/fisher of some sort. Talking with my cousins, we all have been diagnosed with ADHD as adults and finding similar things in our behaviors. Our ages range from 30-60 yrs old on diagnosis, my family could be a case study in their own. Especially my one cousin who started self-medicating.
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Jun 3, 2022 16:02
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Bar Ran Dun posted:It can be useful to alter environment as a control however. My parents controlled mine entirely that way. Stupid high amounts of exercise, uncontrolled outdoor time, and a huge amount of extracurricular activities. But I’m ADHD and tested profoundly gifted so it’s got some differences. We had been able to do the same for my son until the pandemic hit. Between losing extracurriculars and remote it was pretty rough. Adderal extended release was amazing helpful. But now we are getting to the point where we can reduce dosage (mostly to get his appetite back.) This is how I got through life undiagnosed until my 30s. Sports, Music, busy busy busy. High school I woke up at 530am and was usually out doing things until 11pm-1am every weekday. But really, it was the structure that kept me focused. As soon as I went to college and lost that structure/ extreme busy schedule everything slowly started to unravel. Being medicated has been a godsend for me to get through the day. Just enough of a push so I can actually function normally.
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Jun 5, 2022 06:20
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 07:15 |
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Surprise T Rex posted:This was my experience also. I think I went in expecting to take a pill and have a magical wave of clarity wash over me and turn me into the dude from Limitless, but it's much more subtle than that. Honestly this is how we handled my meds too. I've never felt a "rush" of focus. We just slowly got things in place so I could focus, plan things out day by day and actually accomplish my life. My wife was telling my nephew and his spouse how it's been night and day difference from her point of view. Basically went from zoned out, not able to finish ANY projects (her words) to finishing projects ive had for years and getting things done. When we pushed too much of the meds I definitely felt not like myself, but it was subtle. That was when we made the change from IR to a mix of IR and XR adderal. That's been the ticket for keeping my brain chugging nicely all day mostly on task
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Jul 12, 2022 16:02
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