ADD
 

I have it. Felt like sharing. Got diagnosed today.

ADD is over diagnosed. Is it ruining your life? Is it causing a serious problem? Is it serverly causing a disability for you? NOPE!


sorry, feel like bein a bitch today. missed my period =X

I think every single person has ADD, it just depends how you handle it, some can focus in on things more-so, others that just let it take advantage of them fall to its effects.

Congratulations, Katie.

Haha, what's the baby's name?

Another overly diagnosed disease. This one even gives parents a nice medical excuse for when they can't keep their kids in line. Bust their ass and tell them to sit down. Case closed.

I don't deny that it's overdiagnosed, at all. I, however, believe that I actually do have it. It's had serious effects on my life and I didn't realize until recently that it's actually been ADD all along. I show almost every single symptom.

The irony is you can probably find posts by me arguing that ADD is not only overly diagnosed, but might actually be completely fictional. Either way, I'm 99% sure I've got it, and hopefully medication will help.

Yes, to an extent. I wouldn't necessarily say it's RUINING MY LIFE ZOMG, but it has severely impacted the quality of my life so far and has held me back quite a bit.

I have ADD as well, I can't hardly focus on anything, got fired from my first two jobs because of it. I would get started on say, dishes or something, and just stop doing it and go do someting completely unrelated. And the other job was at a country club. Easy as hell job, yet got fired for basically the same reason.

I would say that these people don't have ADD.

I'm lazy, unorganized, unfocused, I can't concentrate on anything, I'm scatterbrained, I'm constantly losing things, etc. I've even noticed it having pretty severe effects on my ability to write long posts that make sense. My thoughts are so scattered that I have a hard time debating or writing long things of any sort.

Also, I've noticed my problems getting worse as I've gotten older. I think this is because I have a lot more stuff to deal with, since I'm now working full time and going to school 1/2-3/4 time.

I have always had a hard time in school, since Kindergarten. I was always fidgetting, never doing my homework because I never though to do it when I got home. When I got home I would just run and do something. Middle school was probably where It affected me more, Simply because I never really did anything, Just enough to pass. I'm glad I'm finally graduated, however, college will be a bitch.

You sound like you have a bit more hyperactivity than me. I've only got one sign of hyperactivity and that's fidgeting(tapping my feet, fingers, constantly shifting the way I'm sitting) but I think that's mostly from the stress from having so much work and all of that.

It annoys my dad like crazy when I start shifting in my chair and stuff. I don't have much stress. I just space out alot, Like just a moment ago, I'm trying to learn HTML, and I spaced out for about Twenty minutes and forgot about it.

So you can't concentrate on anything? I can't concentrate for as long on things I don't find interesting. That's just normal though, imo.

I've learned for the most part how to efficiently cope with mine, though, I still have ADHD outbursts. But it can be controlled and maintained without medication, I feel.

I think I have self-induced ADD.

That could be a possibility.

So today was my first day on medication. The doctor prescribed me Ritalin, 10mg twice daily.

I took one at ~9:15, it kicked in about an hour later, and I started crashing at ~1:30-2:00. Took another then, that one lasted maybe 3 hours.

My first impression of the medicine is that, it definitely helps. I don't think it's as good as it could be, and it needs to be tweaked a bit, but it really helped me focus and concentrate on work. I did more work today than I do in a few days without the medication.

There were a few bad side effects, though. First, when it first started kicking in, I got some pretty severe anxiety. From what I've read, this is fairly common, but it was really bad. Secondly, it wasn't the uberfocus that people describe it as. I was still somewhat easily distracted by things around me, and my thoughts were still a bit chaotic and unorganized. It really felt like a caffeine rush. Third, the muscles in the back of my neck and upper back were very tense throughout the day. Fourth, lack of appetite. I could tell that I was hungry, but felt no urge to eat. Fifth, dizziness. Sixth, which I'm experiencing right now, extreme fatigue. Now that my second dose has worn off, I am completely unmotivated to do anything, and feel like I've got no energy at all, and I'm sore.

I'm going to suggest to my doctor that I take one of the extended release medications instead, since that will somewhat prevent the anxiety in the beginning and the "ups and downs" of the day. As for the other things, some of them might go away with time. I suspect that my lack of energy and achiness is because my body isn't used to doing so much work, but I should adjust to that. Lack of hunger is very common and will probably not go away, even with a different medication. The diziness and "tweaking"ness might be helped by trying a different medication.

Overall, my feelings are that the medication definitely helps, and even if I can't get rid of the side effects, I would continue to take it.

That's scary..... that describes me........ I have ADD too.

Well firstly KA. You'll adjust probably better once your tolerance builds up a bit. You should know it's like that with all drugs. Also, that seems like alot to put up with man, I'd see some different doctors. Try a homeopathic doc. Just taking Ritalin seems very 90's. Uhm, kind of an arcaic way of dealing with this issue.

In all honesty, I think my doctor is a retard. With how much better Adderall and most other new-age ADD treatments work, I really don't see why anyone would prescribe Ritalin unless other drugs don't work. Not to mention he didn't even give me an extended release.

Basically how I see it is, my psychologist suggested to my doctor that I get some ADD medication, and my doctor was clueless as to what to do so he gave me Ritalin, which is a widely known and accepted treatment for it, even though there are better ones. I'll probably end up getting a better doctor if he doesn't shape up soon. I'm going to tell him that from what I read, Adderall has fewer side-effects and that extended release forms of ADD medications work better to prevent the anxiety effects in the beginning and end. I'll probably just tell him a friend told me that Adderall works better for these reasons.

Haven't you ever seen John Q? Doctors make more money to keep you sick!!!

On a more serious note, if you ever start to feel super depressed, stay away from all pills and blades. Word on the street is those kind of pills make you so depressed you commit suicide.


And guns....stay away from those too...

Watch your stress and sleep, if you go too far with them you will probably get Chronic Fatigue, and that will ruin your life to an extent.

Actually, KA, I was originally prescribed Ritalin as well. I requested to make it Adderall.

I'm going to request it as well as soon as I get a chance. My doctor is out of town until tuesday.

It's not something I've really looked into, but I've never heard of Ritalin being somehow inferior to Adderall. I merely requested Adderall because I had experienced it before.

Ritalin works for some people. It does not work well for me. I use concerta.

The active ingredient is the same in both. My doctor basically described Concerta as Ritalin XR.

From what I've read, some drugs are better for some people than others. Some people do better on Ritalin than Adderall. It seems like you have to bounce around for a bit until you find your drug.

I see a considerable number of kids on both. A morning dose of either Adderall XR or Concerta, followed by a low dose of Ritalin in the afternoon (4pm) for homework purposes, one would assume.

That also wouldn't be too bad. I've heard of people doing that. Although, I don't remember reading about mixing them. Usually it was Adderall XR in the morning and a booster Adderall in the afternoon.

Can't you get addicted to Ritalin if you take enough of it each day?

I was on Ritalin for about 8 years, followed by Adderall for 3. Yes, you can get dependant. I stopped medication to try to get into the USAF, and the first month was hell. I wouldn't say it's addictive, though, because I've gone without it for 7 years and I have little will-power. I've often thought that I should get back on it, but I've never done anything toward doing so. The biggest factor I've found in dealing with it is always getting enough sleep; I have to push myself to get 8 hours or I'll be sorry the next day.

That is exactly what I do. I usually just use the concerda once a day and no ritalin. I just do my HW before it wears off.

Well, it's very plain by analyzing this thread so far, ADD sucks :grin: Now who wants some candy?

i likes candy!

I'm on Ritalin for the first time today. As compared to Adderall, I think Adderall is more potent but this certainly gets the job done.

That's basically what I've heard. Adderall is more potent.

Here's an update:

Yesterday, I told my doctor about all of the side-effects I was experiencing, so he told me to stop taking the Ritalin and prescribed me Strattera.

I went and picked up my Strattera, and then came home and read about it. Basically, I think my doctor is just an idiot, or he doesn't know what he's doing. Strattera is usually what they give you if the stimulant ADHD medications don't work. It causes all sorts of fucked up side effects, such as pain in the testicles, trouble gaining/keeping an erection, difficulty orgasming, and leakage before orgasm. Fuck that shit. Not only that, but it takes 4-6 weeks to even start working, assuming you got the right dosage. That's just way too fucking long to wait to see if it works. He could have given me dextroamphetamine or Adderall and we could know in a couple of days if they work.

I called a psychiatrist today and made an appointment for next Tuesday. I even made sure that I picked a psychiatrist that listed ADHD as one of their specialties. Hopefully she'll know what she's doing.

EDIT: Oh, and I'm not taking the Strattera. I'm kinda bummed that I paid for it and now I'm not going to be taking it.I'm taking the Ritalin still, for now, as it does help at least a bit. I upped my dosage to 20mg twice a day instead, and the side effects are still about the same but the intended effects are a bit better. I just took a third dosage for the day so I can do some housework and homework. I understand that upping my own dosage without a doctor's orders is potentially a dumb thing to do, but I'm perfectly healthy and have low blood pressure, so I feel that there are no risks.