Your experiences with ADD/ADHD meds wanted!

In My Humble Opinion
21

I was dignosed ADD at seven or eight, and put on Ritalin. I don’t really recall many details of how I felt at the time, though my performance in school definitely improved. I was in a Montessori program all through elementary school, so it wasn’t like anybody was trying to stuff me in a desk for seven hours.

I stopped taking it of my own volition at thirteen, out of a somewhat misguided desire to not be “drugged” by my parents. Looking back on it, I’m positive that I was at least partially motivated by typical angsty rebellion, because I promptly picked up pot, cigarettes, booze, LSD, coke, etc.

I was on and off various antidepressants through high school - Prozac and Zoloft, mostly. Didn’t really like em.

At about nineteen, I got a scrip for Adderall and the behest of my parents, and commenced taking it like speed for the next couple of years. Meaning, I wouldn’t actually use it for my college classes or job, but I’d down a couple or three with some beers and pot when I wanted to party, or taking it in the mornings when I was hung over and needed to get to work. I also had monthly ten-minute med checks with a the psychiatrist that were completely useless.

Not good. I quit that shortly before I graduated from college with a 2.9 GPA and a degree that I didn’t want or care about.

At maybe twenty-four, and the prompting of my then-fiancee, I saw a shrink for what we were calling “depression,” and he happily wrote a scrip for Lexapro, another anitdepressant. Again, I hated it. Didn’t do anything for me, and made me feel like crap. I quit after a couple of months.

I’m now twenty-eight. For the past year, I’ve been taking 10mg of good, old-fashioned Ritalin coupled with monthly talk therapy to work on my codependancy and ADD.

Before I started on the Ritalin again, I was drinking literally fifteen cups of coffee a day, just to actually make it through at day of work. Now, I take 10mg at breakfast, and occasionally another five in the afternoon.

My big weaknesses are listening attentively, and getting started on tasks. I’ve found that the meds help immensly with the former, and somewhat with the latter.

When I’m not on the Ritalin, long, one-sided conversations where I’m not the speaker, such as getting instructions from a boss or a lecture from a professor, the speaker begins to sound like the adults in the Peanuts cartoons. I can look completely attentive and engaged, but my mind is somewhere else entirely. The Ritalin definitely helps me focus.

The task-initiating stuff still requires a lot of behavior modifications - basically, I make lists; however, once I get started, I’m now able to sit down and work the shit out of a task until I’m completed. Server to configure? I’m done in one sitting. Paper to write? As long as I block out sufficient time, it’ll probably be researched in one setting, drafted in another, polished in one more, and turned in early.

For me, the critical factors in dealing with ADD have been finding the particular medication that works in as minimal a dose as possible, and finding a shrink that I can actually talk to. Most importantly, though, is the fact that I’ve finally accepted that I have a problem, and accepted responsibility for seeking treatment. Without doing that, neither of the other two steps would have been possible.

Hope that helps.

22

So I just got home from work, and I read the new replies.

My goal here was basically to weigh the pros and cons, to find out if the improvement is worth the (to me) considerable side effect of low appetite, etc. I have learned that it is.

I find it hard to conceive that some day I might be able to relax a little with him. A simple yet potentially dangerous act such as crossing the street is challenging. Allowing him to play outside with other kids is difficult for me, because I know that he is so impulsive (yesterday he ate a leaf off of a bush! :smack: ) and literally anything could happen at any time. It’s becoming a very precarious balancing act, as he gets older, of wanting him to take care of himself more and more, and on the other hand having to watch him like a hawk every second and act as his very personal secretary and assistant. I’m a working single mom and have other children, and as the years go by this gets harder and harder with him. Wow. It feels good to admit that- I have a tendency to present myself as supermom with those who work with him and I’ve been carrying a lot of weight with this. Which makes me wonder how much change I will have to do if and when these dynamics change. I wonder how hard it will be to learn to let go and not be in control of every little detail of his life. Hmmm.
All of your replies helped me and I appreciate it!

By the way, in my research on ADD, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve had it my whole life. It explains everything. I’ve always wondered about things like why, if someone is explaining something to me I can’t help but tune them out and not hear anything they’re saying. Especially if it’s very important, like instructions on a new job or driving directions. Ha! I’ll be consulting my doctor.

23

I never noticed a reduction in my appetite. It’s a common side effect, but it doesn’t happen to everyone.

24

I was diagnosed with Inattentive ADD, and I take Dexadrine.

When I first started taking it, it made me very jittery, hyperfocused, and overtalkative. But once my body settled down and got used to it a bit… I can’t describe the difference. Possibilities opened up to me that I never would have DREAMED of, before. I was able to read “difficult” books that I’d always wanted to read, but hadn’t been able to focus on. I was able to undertake and finish large projects. I was able to keep my surroundings clean, and engage in other healthy routines like regular doing of homework. I’m not 10-30 minutes late for everything. I’m able to think clearly and express myself in a rational manner. I can’t begin to describe the boost of self-confedance, suddenly being able to do these things that everyone else can do and I can’t. I grew up thinking that I was stupid and doomed to always be stupid, and my only regret is that I didn’t get diagnosed sooner.

My appetite did decrease, but even so, I ate more because I didn’t get caught up in what I was doing in that distractable ADD way and completely forget to eat, or start to eat and then wander off. I could remind myself ‘I must eat X times a day’, and I’d do it. I also found that I was more willing to try and appreciate new foods, and I eat healthier than I did because I can muster the willpower to make a good meal rather than just go get fast food.

The worst part about ADD meds, for me, is the stigma associated with them. Many pharmacies will pretend to be “out” because they think I’m a junkie or something (I’ve been on the exact same dosage for years, which my records should show, so it’s not like there’s any suspect behavior). My doctor about had a fit one time when I started exercising and cut my sugar intake and lost a lot of weight. My weight was still healthy, but she was very suspicious of me. It’s also hard to find doctors willing to prescribe it at all.

The stigma got bad enough that I tried Strattera, which isn’t as looked down on because it’s not an “upper”. I know that it works for some people, but it didn’t work for me – I turned into an absolute zombie. I wasn’t able to muster myself to feel anything, or to care about anything. Plus, the side effects were murder. I was awake all night, tired all day. Horrid. When I switched back, my boyfriend came home and told me he was glad to have me back. I hadn’t realized how awful I’d been for those two months.

The only other thing is that my doctor likes to see me every couple of months just to check my weight and blood pressure, to make sure I’m not losing too much weight and I don’t get hypertension. So far, my blood pressure is good enough that she’s jealous of me, and my weight is smack-dab in the middle of ‘normal’ on the BMI chart for my height, so I’m doing fine.

25

I hope you don’t mind if I bump this thread.

I was diagnosed with narcolepsy a few months ago. (Note: I don’t have the really dangerous “driving down the road and then fall asleep” type [known as cataplexy, or cataplectic narcolepsy]- mine is less severe but consequently goes undiagnosed a lot longer {I’m 39}].) My doctor gave me a scrip for Adderall yesterday; I’ve been taking Provigil (a non-amphetamine) but he gave me the new scrip because it’s more powerful and because it’s an ADD med.

I was diagnosed with Adult ADD years ago (first by a psychologist I knew as a friend/coworker who hearing me tell a story about cooking something in a crockpot that somehow led to me singing an excerpt of the song Stonewall Jackson’s Way and making some point or other about Sarah Bernhardt [true story] just said "You have just evidenced every single symptom of Adult ADD in less than two minutes… but it was very edutaining). I took Strattera for about two months but couldn’t tell any difference but the side effects. (Strattera is one of those drugs that works wonderfully for some people but not at all for others.)

I have wildly mixed emotions about whether to take anything for ADD. On the one hand, I honestly think that ADD (if I have it) is a large part of my “charm” or any talent I may have as a writer- it enables me to make connections most people just can’t (such as crockpots to Stonewall Jackson to Sarah Bernhardt) and I think it’s perfectly natural not to be able to focus on some of the jobs I’ve had for anybody with an IQ with 3 figures. On the other hand, all of my life I’ve heard “Jonathan [my name when it’s not Sampiro- also the name of Stonewall Jackson, btw, for whom I was named, though I’m not sure if that’s how the crockpot came up is going to be a total fireball one day if he ever gets it together” and even sometimes believed it, but I’m close enough to forty to see it through the spyglass and seemingly never getting closer to ignition and am a TERRIBLE procrastinator at everything from work projects to paying bills. (I’d be embarassed to tell you how many times my phone was disconnected when I had the money in my account to pay it but just never got around to it.)

My dream would be a pill or treatment that would allow me to keep my creativity, but channel it. I want to add discipline to it (and remember to pay my phone bill). I would rather take nothing than become a drone, but I would be willing to trade an ounce of insight/creativity for an ounce of drive. Perhaps treating my narcolepsy alone would be enough to do this (hard to have drive when you sleep 14 hours at a stretch and wake up tired).

Does anybody know if Adderall will do this in some cases (I recognize it doesn’t work the same for everybody)? Or does anybody have any good Indian recipes for crock pots? (Stonewall Jackson ate his meals standing up, you know.)

26

What happened to the ADD or ADHD kids throughout history before Ritalin/Dexamphetamines were prescribed?

27

They were ground up and used for food.

Actually, the same thing that happened to schizophrenics and chronic depressives and bipolars and epileptics and people with other mental disorders: they went without medication to wildly varied results. There have been schizophrenics and depressives and epileptics, etc., who were able to overcome their disabilities and live astonishingly productive and rich lives and there have been others who were unable to see to their own basic needs due to their condition and the majority fit in somewhere in between. (Even for those like Patty Duke and Philip K. Dick and others who managed to be not just productive but wonderfully so, their lives were very unhappy until the advent of effective medication [Dick died just as psychotropic medications for schizophrenia were beginning to show some great results in patients, and Duke says she would not be alive today if it weren’t for Lithium.)

The same is probably true of people with ADD. Some were able to deal with the condition, others weren’t, most who are correctly diagnosed would probably have been happier with treatment than without it.

28

I think it would be interesting to bring back Lou Grant. He was a sitcom second banana, then the star of a drama, and now I think he should combine the two and be the star of a sitcom about a retired reporter (Lou Grant) with a regular cast of characters (including his really hot grandsons who appear mostly nude in several episodes) and occasional visits from old friends (Sue Ann Nivins, Mary, Rhoda, etc.).

Bob and Emily Hartley (The Bob Newhart Show) might also be an interesting couple to see as 70 somethings. (Tom Poston would of course be their new neighbor, being as he’s Bob’s former longtime costar and Suzanne’s husband.)

29

The above was intended for another thread. Apologies. :smack:

30

Several possibilities:

In an era when literacy was not required for survival, such people probably managed to “get by” (just as a great many undiagnosed people continue to “get by” today). As long as they could handle the basic knowledge to farm or herd or (with the advent of the Industrial Revolution) operate some basic machinery, they probably displayed as either the easily distracted type who never quite got everyting done correctly, but did manage to survive, or they displayed as the bright eccentric who succeeded on raw energy.

Another aspect of the situation that is not yet clearly understood is the role played by environment. It is always possible (although I have seen nothing that has provided a clear link at this time) that ADD/ADHD is increasing in the population due to environmental factors, whether it may be food additives or the stress of 21st century life, in a situation that parallels the observed phenomenon that girls are reaching puberty at ever earlier ages and boys are showing signs of male pattern baldness at ever earlier ages. So it is possible that ADD/ADHD was not nearly as prevalent in earlier generations. (Barring actual evidence, I only point out the possibility without attempting to make a claim for its veracity.)

31

There has always been recognition of schizophrenia (whether as a mental illness or as devil-posession or whatever). Bipolar folk have been integrated into the community for their worth during manic phases (and cared for by benevolent souls during their down periods).
But tomndebb, apart from the acquisition of literacy skills, you don’t provide any demonstrable ‘symptoms’ that might have led to a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD in years gone by.

I just wonder now why the diagnosis and treatment of people who claim to be ADD or ADHD is so forthcoming. Why is it more of a problem now than before, apart from a possible increase in prevalence? Why do people feel a need to be medicated when in past times it was just an:

I’m curious as to what might have changed.

32

Well, recalling that this is just speculation on my part:

Let’s look at the various symptoms of ADD and ADHD:

[ul][li]often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities; [/li][li]often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities; [/li][li]often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly; [/li][li]often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions); [/li][li]often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities; [/li][li]often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework); [/li][li]often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments,pencils, books, or tools); [/li][li]is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli; [/li][li]is often forgetful in daily activities. [/ul][/li]
[ul][li]often blurts out answers before questions have been completed; [/li][li]often has difficulty awaiting turn; [/li][li]often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).[/ul] [/li]
[ul][li]often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat; [/li][li]often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected; [/li][li]often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness); [/li][li]often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly; [/li][li]is often “on the go” or often act as if “driven by a motor;” [/li][li]often talks excessively. [/ul](Note that many of these situations are simply indicators of the condition and are not inherently disabling in themselves.)[/li]
The issue of the farmer who was easily distracted when sharpening his scythe (or who became so fascinated by the sharpening process that he wasted time creating the absolutely sharpest blades in the region) or who had to be reminded, each day, that it was time to feed the stock, or who talked incessantly, or for whom it took repeated attmpts before he understood how to perform a task was not going to necessarily stand out as a person who could not function in society. The kid who did not learn to tie his boots until age nine was simply going to be considered odd or slow, not suffering from a disability. The very fact that such occupations tend to be very routine would have helped such people: unable to set a routine for themselves, they would grow up in an environment where each day was pretty much a repetition of the day before, making it easier to fit into the externally imposed routine from an early age. Such routines also avoid the issue of “sustained mental tasks.” It takes intelligence to farm well, but one need not spend hours studying each aspect of farming to accomplish it. If your father always planted 20 pounds of seed on the section behid the barn, you continue to plant 20 pounds of seed on that section. The issues of changing the seed distribution and selection from year to year in the face of changing market demands that challenge modern farmers did not have the same weight of demand on farmers planting for their own family with a bit of surplus to buy tools.

To become a farmer or herdsman, the child grew up repeating the same (somewhat simple and fairly routine) tasks throughout childhood that he would perform throughout his adult life. A kid who had to be told every day to feed the chickems might have received a lot of punishment and been talked about as someone who would forget his head if it were not attached to his neck, but he would not have found himself in a ninth grade class unable to perform math at a fourth grade level.

Even after schooling became the norm, I knew several guys who probably suffered from ADD/ADHD who were simply considered “bad students.” Many of them simply put out extra effort to overcome their disabilities (while often being disciplined for their behavior).

33

Although as an ADD demonstration, it was spectacular.

FWIW - I’ve always thought that I might be mildly ADD - I’m easily distracted by bright shiny objects, I have no patience for focused tasks (I’m lousy at picture puzzles), and I have this tendency to free-associate.

I’ve always described the functioning of my mind as “highly random access”. Imagine a dark room with lots of hard objects in it. Pitch a ping-pong ball swiftly into the room. The ball rebounding off objects and heading to another is how my mind feels.

The initial aim of that ping-pong ball is the challenge - I often have a hard time hitting what I want. Finding a ramdom fact among the clutter is often difficult.

I’m mild enough, IMO, that it doesn’t hamper. I think this is what makes me a good computer administrator. I think my ability to troubleshoot & turn a problem around in my head to find different ways of solving things is based in my slightly wierd brain cells.

I don’t think I’d want any more of this, though. I’d never get anything compl Oh, look! Shiny!

34

I seem to remember reading somewhere that ADD may be an evolutionary holdout from our “hunter/gatherer” times. It was shown that the traits caused by ADD are beneficial for hunters. I find that a bit hard to believe because I am a hunter, and when I am out in the woods staring at a stick and thinking about the latin name for the tree it came from, and the name of my high school latin teacher and how he always stuck his tongue halfway out when he finished a sentence and oh yeah the gas station across the street got robbed that one day when we were in class, there are probably deer casually walking 20 feet from me and snickering.

35

Probably Hunters In A Farmer’s World by Thom Hartman. IMO Worth a read.

36

Actually, no. There are many types of schizophrenia, it’s not just the babbling delusional guy. Many schizophrenics lead completely normal lives on the outside (especially to people who don’t live with them) but on the inside they’re miserable. I’ve known schizophrenics for example who heard voices but never responded to them- they knew the voices were hallucination, but it didn’t make them any less audible or real, and with the higher functioning they were able to talk to another person without ever letting him/her have any reason to suspect they were speaking to a schizoaffective person. (One of these people was a lawyer and by all accounts very good at it.)

So, if some are capable of holding responsible jobs and contributing to society, why medicate them? It’s for the same reason you medicate productively employed diabetics or palsy sufferers- it gives them greater qualit of life.

With most of the bipolar folk I’ve known (I was a social worker for a large mental health organization for years), their manic phases are the time they’d be of least worth to society. They’re bundles of energy that they can’t control or focus and in many cases the mania is coupled with paranoia, delusions, etc… (Patty Duke, for example, would charter Lear jets to take her to Washington DC while manic because she got it into her head that the president needed her- she left the meter of the jet running and chartered limos to take her around town, and this is when she was broke and not making much money.)