skunkape

I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD. I never even considered the possiblity that this is something that I could have. I guess I should have. Apparently if your sibling has it, which my brother does, you are at least 25% likely to have it yourself. Yet looking back on the symptoms during different phases of my life, even before drugs and alcohol, has convinced me that I indeed was genetically predisposed.

I would like to hear from others who are dealing with ADHD. I know it's generally known as a childhood thing, but thats only because a lot of people make it to adulthood without ever knowing the truth about what is wrong with them. For those who don't believe it exsists please refrain from sharing, I have made up my own mind about it's legitamacy.

hope3

Hi shunKape, I wasn't diagnosed untill I was 43.

Looking back I can pin point all the symptoms from

childhood to adult life. Course, it wasn't really heard of

that much where I grew up. I am doing quite well with

medication, and have a huge difference in social situations.

Also, I flunked out of college 30 years ago, after being diagnosed, and meds

I went back to college, got my associates degree and am continuing

school.

Life is good, hope3

skunkape

thank you so much for your message hope. Better late than never right? I'm convinced my trouble in college was largely based on it too. I've never been able to string any kind of plan together without jumping to something else. I used to think that my troubles were all in my head. I guess I was right, unfortunately they were something that has always been in my head, and because of that I couldn't tell the difference between normal thinking and crazy distracted thinking.

adore79

I am taking Aderall for ADHD and Celexa for depression and I really don't notice any difference as far as attention span or really any difference in behavior/outlook at all but I'm not entirely convinced that I have ADHD.

skunkape

Felly it's quite possible you may not have it. I was diagnosed with 3 different conditions before this one from my GP. The problem with mental illnesses is that they all have characterisitics of one another, and then it's hard to tell if they have been caused by your genes or your environment or a combination of the two. It's so damn confusing sometimes. Unfortunately, being confused about it, doesn't make it go away. Best of luck to everyone in the struggle.

Aura

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. My son was not hyperactive and was always very talented and inteligent but had a great concentration problem. It was also probably why he dropped from university 1 year before finished. Recently he told me he had ADHD.

adore79

I should add that many people do benefit from medication so you should at least try it if your doctor recommends it because it could work, maybe it just takes a while to notice differences since everyone is different. Good luck to you.

reader

My son has ADHD and I am currently homeschooling him. It was a major commitment and I have days where I question myself but overall, a very positive experience. I would go to a psychiatrist to get a more through evaluation. General practitioners aren't all knowing in this area.

shutterbug

I'm bipolar and have been working hard to understand it and try to stay healthy since discovering this mental illness was a major player in my game of life three years ago.

And although ADHD shares many of the same characteristics of bipolar (and both are often misdiagnosed for each other about 50 percent of the time) I have both.

I haven't paid much attention to the ADHD side as it's the bipolar that through my world upside down, but i'm slowly starting to realize how much of a major impact ADHD has on my life....bipolar or not.

In reading books, I find it almost amazing that on my own i've come up with most of the coping skills suggested for those with ADHD. Like I just adjusted as best I could and I happened to be doing several things right...so i've been able to manage it quite a bit. But as time goes on and I see more how it is affecting my life...I wonder how much ADHD meds could make a difference?

Anyway, thanks for the thread.

Hugs,
Jenna

wezzy55

I was diagnosed ADHD in 2002--I made it through college--but I always had my 12 pack when I sat down to do homework.. But I've never been able to stay with a job--doing things on impulse, disorganized. Quit drinking thinking thats why I got into so many messes...Nope continued to mess up.........Now I am off my meds and in the same shape I was in 2002........It never ends..Now all I have is the alcohol........My body just cant take much more alcohol abuse..Didnt mean to be negative...ADHD is really fun...But I'm depressed at this point and cant see the light....

shutterbug

my suggestion is as much self education about ADHD and Bipolar Disorder as you can. Studies have shown that the sypmptoms of both are so similar that they are misdiagnosed for each other about 50 percent of the time.

It is also possible to have both - a dual diagnosis.

www.nami.org has lots of great info on ADHD

and I'm pretty sure www.dbsa.org does also.

two EXCELLENT places to start learning!

Hugs,
Jenna

pedagogue

Couldn't agree more. Psychiatrists prescribe ~15% (depending on which study you believe) of all psych meds.....so that leaves 85% of all psych med prescribing to GPs and NPs. Both can be great practitioners.....but Dx'ing is not a core competency for either, and unfortunately they have to do the best that they can, and often times they don't get it right. Heck, psychologists argue with each other about Dx'ing...and they are the experts in that area!

As an aside, substance abuse can definitely cause symptoms that mimic a psych disorder. Docs vary on how long they wait until they give a Dx (even a prelim one). One thing to remember is that substance abuse is often used as a coping mechanism, and may in fact cover legitimate symptoms, but other times withdrawl and mood/behavior changes can masquerade. There are definitely no easy answers, but if you can keep your sobriety, it will go a long way in helping the doc figure out what applies.

Also, a Dx is just a way to quantify a cluster of symptoms. A Dx shouldn't define you, so don't get too caught up in labels. Dx's are for insurance papers and books......for everything else, it is just a person interacting with a person, try to make some sense of life.

-p

shutterbug

Peda...but would you agree that there is at least SOME good that can come out of proper diagnosis, by way of treatment and management?

For example: After learning of my bipolar and about my bipolar....I know now that when I get manicy that the higher I go then the harder I will crash. And from knowing that lack of sleep can trigger a hypomanic episode then I am better able to manage my moods and ups/downs by paying attention to my sleep and by learning relaxation techniques and excersizes to actually help me go to sleep when manicy (instead of giving into it and spending all night organizing my closets, which is what i'd much rather let myself do in those moments).

When I was improperly diagnosed with depression only....I was like an unmanned race car heading toward a brickwall at 80 mph that i couldn't even see. A proper diagnosis and education years prior could have greatly reduced the impact that the major depressive crash had on my life.

Also...i don't offer to know many specifics about borderline personality disorder and only slightly more about ADHD, but I do know that they are often blamed and misdiagnosed when the true diagnosis is actually Bipolar disorder. And I know that Bipolar Disorder is a progressive illness with a high suicide rate and an even higher addiction rate if untreated or improperly treated. Yet, from nothing I've read has told me the same consequences are the result of unmanaged ADHD.

(simply... some research shows that HALF the time....people will be diagnosed with a non-life threatening mental illness, when in fact they are actually experiencing something that will worsen their quality of life over time and cause many to even loose the ability to care for themselves or even kill themselves from the deep depressions!) This to me should be considered near criminal.

So in my mind, not only is there good reason for individuals to strive toward proper diagnosis (through primarily self-education and competent p-docs), but there are actually harmful reprocussions likely to come as a result of mis-diagnosing, or not caring about true diagnosis.

Would you not agree?

pedagogue

I totally agree that a proper Dx is necessary, and that it is vital for treatment and daily living. I think it is nice to be able to put a name to something, but sometimes people get so caught up with the label, they forget that they are much more than the Dx.

-t

shutterbug

totally agree

savoy

Until an alcoholic works the steps and recovers, alcoholism can mask any symptom, you don't really know until the alcoholism is addressed.
My severe depression went away when I worked the steps.
All the doctors knew was what I told them.
After the steps I was telling them something completely different.

Does this mean the steps cure depression?
I prefer to see it as my depression was my untreated alcoholism.
I had suffered depression since childhood and didn't realize it.

I didn't become alcoholic because I drank too much.
I drank too much because I am alcoholic.
It was a pre-existing condition waiting for a drink.

PaperDolls

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD (I don't have the H part though so I guess it's ADD). I'm 32. After talking with my pdoc about life and what I was like has a child and now. She's convinced that I've had it all my life. I'm on Vyvance now. I don't notice a huge difference but I don't feel so lazy and I seem to be able to concentrate on one thing for a longer amount of time.

I don't think I was genetically predisposed to have ADD, the alcoholism for sure, but I'm not sure about the ADD or the depression or the anxiety.

Just curious, are you on any meds for your ADHD? I'm curious what sort of effects you may be having on your meds if it's different than mine.

Zencat

I have ADD and without the psych meds I’m in a bad way. In fact not taking my meds is a trigger for Meth use. Those that don’t believe in treating mental illness with medication have told me its all a symptom of my alcoholism. I have to stay away from those people because I start to believe them, go of my meds and away I go, off and running into the ground again.

reducedtozero

My dear friend,
Im really glad you posted this. This is my first night on SR and I have found someone I can talk to. Im 20 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD at 6 years old. I was heavily medicated on ritilin for over 10 years and quit taking them in HS. My parents love me very much but I feel the ritilin wasn't the best choice for me, and probably did some permanent mental and physical damage. Regardless, ADHD has been very hard for me. I never really did my research on what ADHD does, because it affects everyone differently. Relationships are a huge struggle for me. Focusing is a huge struggle for me as well. At 20 years old, I almost have a Bachelors in Science of Architecture from a prestigeous University without Ritilin or any ADHD medication. I never got "extra time" on exams. I never wanted to feel different. Regardless, addiction, relationship issues, and concentration issues still plague my life. Im currently focusing on breaking the drug, alcohol, porn, and other addictions that I have. If you'd like to talk more my email is mvitkovich******.com

Good luck.