anyone else ADD or AD/HD?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I may have this; ADD or ADHD.

After having a hard time this past semester, struggling with course work, my advisor asked if I’d ever been tested for any learning disabilities. I had not.

I do remember one of my younger brothers having some mental or pscyhological problem, but as a child, it was never explained fully to me. So, I did some checking into my family history. It turns out my father and one of my younger brothers has a form of ADD. After talking with a friend who’s also a psychologist and who specializes in learning disorders, he recommends I take an online test, which points out that I have a tendency toward inattentive ADD. Again, not a conclusive diagnosis, but it does point in the direction of having it.

I’m scheduling the proper tests to confirm this with one of the local university psychological programs.

I’d like to ask if anyone else out there has ADD or AD/HD and if it was diagnosed later in life (I’m 44 and just now finding out). How did you cope with it? Anything you’d like to recommend?

2

It f’ing sucks.

You may want to look up a book called You mean I’m not lazy, crazy or stupid?.

3

I don’t know if it is useful or not, but I’d like to relate an ADD anecdote from my high school.

Picture this, you have the class clown, failing almost all of his classes, but doing very well on tests in school, and scoring a 32 on his ACT as a Junior. Somwhere a flag was raised, and our guidance counselor, who was really on the ball this day, recommended to the boy’s mother that he be tested for ADD. He returned to school on a very mild dose of something to help him focus (I don’t remember what.) and went on to graduate from the University of Kentucky with a law degree Magna Cum Laude.

YMMV. :slight_smile:

4

You know, I have never been tested, but since I got to college and learned a little more about it in a couple psych classes, I think I may have a mild case of it, as I do/did have MANY symptoms. Such as: inattentivness, disorginization, clowning, goofing, fidgiting, and so forth, yet still getting good grades on tests, and having teachers be mad because I would get an A had I dones the homework as well. I also took one of those online tests a little while ago, and, while certainly not definitive in any way, said I may have a certain type of either ADD or ADHD, I forget which it said. I’ve even had both psych students and teaching students after having met me and known me for a while tell me that I might have it. But, it if I do, it’s not a seroius case, and I was able to get into a good college and get semi-decent grades.

5

Thanks, everyone, for the information and support.

From what I’ve read so far, for a correct diagnosis of ADD or AD/HD, you need to take a series of comprehensive exams to specifically detirmine you have ADD or AD/HD rather than something else. That’s what I’m doing with the exams I mentioned in the OP.

After the correct diagnosis, there are several ways to control the disease, thru medication and diet and neurofeedback. I’m looking into all of these options.

If you’ve been able to work around your affliction, that’s great. I just feel that mine isn’t being controlled and is affecting my life negatively.

6

Just a tiny bit, nothing that caused me anything more than difficulty concentrating on some tasks. I just go with the flow and joke that I’m simply a typical flakey artist. For stuff where I can’t flake out, I set up schedules, like down to the minute, intensely detailed. Routine is my friend, I loves it so, sweet, sweet routine.

I found out because of my second cousin. It’s all over my dad’s side of the family and my cousin’s son had adhd so bad his time out was about ten seconds. His mom worked with him, made sure he got into all the right programs and that everything stayed appropriate (meds and IEPs need changin’ sometimes). Now he’s in college doing quite well in some computery techy stuff, and he’s grown out of his need for meds.

7

I do have ADD but was diagnosed when I was 15.
Driven to Distraction is an excellent book to read about ADD/ADHD.

There is a new medication out there, which I have yet to try as my ritalin (which I don’t take anymore) increases my anxiety. I can’t remember the name of it off the top of my head, even with an internet search…bah, it’s one of “those” doopy days. So discuss it carefully with your primary physician what is best for you. You may need to try different meds as everyone interacts with meds differently.

If you are like me, you lose things easily. I have quite the system set up for keys and the like. They are always with my wallet and the wallet is always by the front door.

For work or school, trying to stay organized is critical. When I am working, I always carry a notebook with me. Phone numbers are written down, notes from a phone call, whatever. I have that book and can go back through it to remind me of things I need to take care of. As a sales rep previously, it made my job so much easier.

Also, I color code my files. Whatever system works for you works.

Now that computers are so much around (not so much during my sales career) Outlook is a wonderful thing. All my appointment are there and all my tasks that need to be done are in there too. But, when I am not at my computer, I make it redundant as possible to carry with me my Day Runner because I tend to forget.

It used to be that I would fall asleep after school and my dad would sit there and think I was drinking or doing drugs, he couldn’t fathom it. For me, it was just because I was tired as ADDers like me work harder throughout the day to keep up with our peers. I saw that (later in life) as a sign that if I needed to nap when I got home from work, take one. 20 minutes is enough to refresh you so you can complete the tasks you need. So listen to your internal clock, if you need to rest, do as you will only tax out your brain. In my life, there is nothing more important that being as rested as possible. If I don’t get that, then my depression creeps up and I hate it when I have to take a cocktail of medications.

The medications only help, they don’t cure. Whatever your symptoms are, they will remain but not as severe.

There are some good organizations around here are two for you:

http://www.add.org/

8

Long long time sufferer of ADD. Diagnosed when I was probably 6 or 7. By the time I was 13 I was taking three times the adult dose of ritalin, one 30 mg pill three times a day and it was doing nothing. I stopped taking it, and started self medicationg with massive massive ammounts of Dr. Pepper. That helped, along with coffee. It sucks major donkey balls to have it. barely graduated highschool, but now that i have it under control, I soon will be going to Sac state majoring in law, and a minor in Japanese. Alcohol makes it like a thousand times worse. Get me buzzed and I will be bouncing all over the place, but hey, at least I am not an ass when drunk, just incoherent.

9

The new med is Strattera. It’s been discussed on a couple of lists I’m on and it appears to me that it’s either a fantastic drug or is a disaster for any one person.

My SO probably has ADD. He’s unmedicated and works for himself. He needs an intense amount of scaffolding from me to keep his life functional but ::shrug:: it works for us most of the time. My older son is diagnosed ADD primarily inattentive, he was diagnosed by a neuropsychologist and is currently on compounded dexamphetamine. He’s a changed child. Still very intense but can now sit for longer than 10 seconds. I’m expecting my younger son to be diagnosed in July. At the very least we will be doing a trial of medication with him when he is 6.

Efalex (a combo of fish oil, evening primrose oil and thyme oil) has made a noticeable difference in the quality of life for my family. It’s worth a trial. I’m of two minds about diet. Are you considering the Feingold diet? The Dengate diet (google Sue Dengate) seems to have made a big difference for some people. My older boy was on the Dengate diet for several years but now is doing OK without it. We still limit additives and colourings and chocolate, poor kid ;). My younger son’s on a gluten free diet which is hard work but for him has been miraculous.

OK I’m rambling. Everyone got the rotten tomatoes ready for the people who are gonna come in here and say it doesn’t exist? :wink:

10

I got’s my tomatoes ready, Primaflora :smiley:

Seriously, I do have ADHD, was diagnosed when I was, hmm, maybe 10? Not sure. I was on ritalin, but now I’m on concerta (which is basically ritalin, but in a time-release format). When I forget to take my meds, I have a terrible time concentrating, sitting still, finishing a job without getting bored and fed up, etc.

11

Thanks EVERYONE for your recommendations here. It’s nice to know others have experienced this and can help.

For the longest time, I thought I was either stupid or lazy, but my profs know I’m not dumb (nor do the tests show it) and my other work shows I can perform, but the effort I have to put for it. whew

Anyway, once I know the test results, I’ll post again. Might be a few weeks, tho.

12

I was diagnosed in college. I’m also a Concerta user. It’s great because you don’t have to remember to take a pill every four to five hours. My little brother takes Strattera and it apparently works great for him. I’m going to try it next month.

13

I had ADD. Diagnosed when I was in Kindergarten. The teachers thought it weird that I was doing horrible in school and yet I was on of the most intelligent people in the Class. I couldn’t sit still, I always had to be moving…(to this day I’m constantly jiggling my legs, or tapping my fingernails.) I was getting Ritalin 3-4 times a day for about 5 years. Everyday. And Yet, I still couldn’t sit still.
I’ve calmed down over the years. I found that once I learned how to read, I could control myself. One thing I found was that when I started taking the ritalin, my eyesight started to go. In grade 3, I got glasses. My eyesight had been fine before then. I also found that red candies made me even more hyper.

I’ve outgrown it mostly, bit still, Its an annoying thing to have.

14

I’m actually going to a psychiatrist tomorrow morning who specializes in diagnosing adults with ADD. We’ll see how it goes. I’m really interested in what y’all are saying about diet, though! I’ve noticed that if I eat a large dose of carbs I get completely spacey - even worse than usual. It’s like I’m drugged. Is that part of the ADD?

I probably won’t have time to check the Dope before my appointment tomorrow, so I’ll be able to ask the psych as well. :slight_smile:

15

According to my friend (the psych who specializes in this sort of thing) yes, diet and especially carbs can have a negative effect. The carbs cause your blood sugar to swing and that, in turn exacerbates the ADD. This is especially bad when you eat a high carb breakfast. So, I’m learning the joys of omelets. :smiley:

When you know more, tell us, Morgainelf.

16

Freyer, yes!! If I eat a bagel for breakfast I’m sunk for the rest of the day. An omelette and I’m fine.

I sat with the psych yesterday and talked his head off about not living up to my potential, my messy house, my inability to follow through on projects, etc., etc., etc. He gave me a long “take-home” questionnaire, and questionnaires for my husband and mom to fill out as well. He said at the next appointment (in a week and a half) he’ll pop me in front of the computer and give me a 15 minute test to see if I can remain attentive while a bunch of lights and colors flash. Hmmm…quackery? I don’t know. The questionnaires are mostly to rule out other things, such as anxiety disorder and depression.

The biggest hurdle so far in this journey of discovery has been telling my parents that I’m seeing a psychiatrist. (I needed to ask them if they had kept my school records.) Their first reaction was very defensive. (There’s nothing wrong with you! You were a straight-A student. You were perfect!) I think they mis-remember alot. But truly I was a good student, up until classes got harder and I had to get better at managing my time and being more organized. Then it started going downhill, especially in subjects that didn’t come easily to me, like math.

Anyhoo, once I calmed my mom down and explained to her about the disorganization, inability to concentrate on difficult tasks, chronic messiness, etc., she started to understand. She actually said, “Oh, I have that too.” Yep, no kidding Mom.

17

Just got diagnosed, with a lot of the same issues as th OP. I took a series of test from a private psychologist to determine what type and the severity. I started thinking on it because I’m back in school, and finding it very difficult to concentrate in homework or pay attention in class. I’ve always had this problem, not paying attention, not doing homework, but acing the exams.

I’m on Strattera, which is actually a shitty drug until after you get past the initial side effects. I have noticed though, that I can concentrate more readily, and tend to procrastinate less since I’ve been taking it. When my reaction to it stabilized I was a LOT more productive than I had been previously.

18

Freyr, what was the testing like that you went through?

19

welby, would you be willing to talk about the initial side effects?

20

Sure Morgainelf. The first three or four days I took it I was sick to my stomach, which is one of the side effects that should pass. Literlly sick, vomiting in the bathroom. After that I was a little nauseous for another 5 or 6 days for about two hours after taking it. I found that milk helped a lot though.

While we were adjusting the dosage I has sleep problems, but these passed after about two weeks. I’ve started taking it the instant I wake up in the morning to avoid a little edginess when sleeping. I also had a little bit of trouble urinating, but again that passed after about three weeks. That’s one of the side effects that, if it doesn’t pass, requires you to find another med. And it wasn’t necessarily trouble, more like very frequent urination.

For now, I’ve found that it’s helping me enormously. I will say that the first few weeks on it were neither pleasant nor interesting, and I haven’t been on it long enough to decide if it was worth it.

Feel free to ask any other questions.