Anyone have have ADD/ADHD?

Never diagnosed, but fairly sure I have something similar.

DD

 

I have it. Wasn't diagnosed until I was nearly 30 years old.

Met with a shrink and discussed my whole history in school, life, etc. I didn't care for the side effects. I've been compensating for it my whole life without meds, so I stopped taking it.

I think my main problem is more anxiety driven than anything else. Ativan, even in low doses, does wonders for me.

 

I was diagnosed as a little tike with (hyperactivity) ADHD.I took ritalin from age 7 - 12 or so when they thought you outgrew it.I made straight A's when I took it but when taken off,fell through the cracks a bit...night and day
Well,over the years I've adapted like the mammals we are.I've always read a lot and done my fair share of working out/playing sports.The endorphins produced from skiing do wonders.Watching films or talking with friends almost always tame the savage beast.As I've gotten older,I've paid closer attention to my diet too.It can be a real bear,but like I said you learn to cope and eventually to use it to your advantage.
I tried ritalin once when I was older and it was a nightmare .It acted like the stimulant it is.
But there are alternatives.

www.webmd.com/epilepsy/news/20040915/brain-chemicals-suggest-marijuanas-effects

 

What other side effects did you get other than being dizzy? Did you get a boner?

 

Serious question, how do you know if someone has been misdiagnosed with ADHD? I have a younger cousin who is just lazy but blames ADHD whenever he has difficulty in school. He's not like other kids I know with real ADHD since I can have a rational normal train of thought conversation with him. He is very focused in normal situations but just quits when things get difficult or if he doesn't like what he's doing (he's medicated and still does crappy in school).

I believe that ADD is a real condition, because I've met diagnosed people who can't maintain thought process from beginning to end, but I don't think it's intended for those that just don't like doing hard work.

 

thats where the fine line is...some parents will say their child has ADD, when their child is just lazy. kids are going to pay attention to what interests them. if a subject isnt that interesting to the child, of course they're going to wander off and day dream.

 

damn, I take it the night before exams and it makes boring subjects like Accounting and Statistics bearable. I hope this doesn't screw me up when I'm taking my grad student courses.

I'm not sure if it's a made up disease, but I know a lot of people get misdiagnosed with it.

so xr sucks ey?

 

Those drugs help lazy kids by loading them full of speed.

 

The label getting thrown around waaaay too much these days is bipolar disorder in children.

 

Wow. Some of you have no idea what you're talking about. (<--This isn't aimed at nyquil82, as I'll answer that query below.)

Anxiety and ADD can look very much alike. For some, it is much easier to quit than it is to fail. Fear of failure, in other words. Some people get anxious as hell when something gets challenging, causing their mind and their moods to go all over the place. You'd oftentimes never know it, though, because over the course of their lives, they've learned to internalize it. In this case, something like anti-anxiety meds can be very helpful: they calm you down enough to allow you to focus.

And not being able to maintain a thought from one end to the other isn't the only sign of ADD/ADHD. That's only one symptom. A person with "real" ADD can be perfectly capable of having rational, thoughtful conversations. You can think of it as a management problem: personal time, study time, easily bored, 'tuning out' when you don't mean to, that sort of stuff.

Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. Many sufferers of ADD are embarrassed by their condition and have learned to hide it, which in and of itself can result in depression, anxiety, and addiction.

Here is an article listing of some of the symptoms of ADD.

 

If you define lazy as a smart kid who underachieves then thats also a ADD trait.

If it is a kid who never gets around to doing homework?

Does not study for more than a few minutes at a time.

Its hard to really define lazy from ADD.

 

Sorry, but if you think it's not real, I don't know what to tell you. My first 2 years of college netted me a whopping .9 gpa. I was tested and diagnosed with ADD by a psychiatrist and was prescribed Ritaln. Before, I couldn't study for more than a few minutes. I couldn't take proper notes in class. I wasn't learning s***. After I started taking it, I never had another semester under a 3.0. I basically started college over and finished in 3.5 years. There is no way I was going to graduate without it.

I stopped taking the pills after I graduated. I still have problems with ADD a lot. I just manage my time better now and try to get as much done as possible before I wander off

I'm not say there aren't many that have been either misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed. But it's a real thing and the meds do help those that do it right.

 

I forgot what I was going to post.

 

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to see if anyone else had experience with Adderall.

I have been in therapy for almost a year. Each time I see my therapist now, she gives me phone numbers for psychiatrists she recommends. She keeps saying things like, "I think you would find medication very helpful" 2-3 times a session. The first few times I politely declined and told her that I do not want to become dependent on medication, antidepressants OR stimulants. I would much rather just do cognitive therapy. She counters by telling me I am textbook ADHD and to just try it for a week. This has been going on for a few months.

I've come to the point where I need to either try the medication or get another therapist who doesn't urge me every week to get on medication. Every time I come into her office now, the first thing out of my mouth is, "no, I haven't gone yet." Has anyone else faced similar circumstances by any chance? Sure it sounds wonderful, but the thought of trying to come off a medication, especially one with bad withdrawal effects, worries me.

 

Yes. They feel like crap and weigh you down. I took a sample for a week and never want to feel the same way ever again to the point that I refuse to believe that a pill like that can "calm me"; and now I just have faith in myself that I can encourage myself to believe I don't need that crap to function right.

Take the FISH OIL pills, ms. 'bound. They're not "prescription" and can be found at most GNC's or Vitamin Schoppe stores. They are not something from which you'll be dependant. They help ME lots and I don't have to pay a lot to be helped with my "ADD" or "ADHD." I get work done.

 

really, just regular fish oil pills?

i'll definitely try it. thanks swoly.

edit: just read up on it. sounds promising. this would be a grrrrrreat alternative.