Misc Finally a Place I can talk about Adult ADD ....

[ravemirror]

Hello all,


Recently I have been fed up with the fact that I can't concentrate on shit. Excuse my language, though reading and searching through the internet I keep coming up to the same conclusion that I have ADD. I am now 25 years old, I know I'm a bit old though hear me out, I wish that I had spoke to my doctor about ADD a long time ago.

It seems like, after finishing High School my attention span has been dwindling, and the amount of thoughts and random "stories" as I like to call them has grown exponentially in my mind. So much that I find my self wasting hours per night to accomplish one task. I just recently finished my first two years of college (Having been in the military) and am looking forward to transferring to an expensive University. My reason to signing up here for this website is finally to speak to people who have the same problem(s) as I do. I just would like to know how friendly your doctor was and open about talking to them about ADD. To be honest, I spoke to my doctor about it, though he's great at changing the subject. The conversation went from my problems to all of a sudden talking about how the american dollar is no longer backed by gold and that we should go back on the gold standard. To be honest, at that point I knew I was fucked. So this upcoming week i'm going to change doctors and try to speak to one who is a bit more open minded. Though I'd like to know, what's the possibility of him/her prescribing me Adderall? It seems like it would best suit me from what I have read on the internet. Though from all my readings I've also discovered that a lot of people...well have abused it as well and given it a bad reputation. So is it nearly impossible for someone who GENUINELY believes that they have ADD to acquire?

I suppose I'm just looking for some hope ....

I'm just tired of wasting ....time

 

[littlepenguin]

"adult" ADD/ADHD is not a technical diagnosis, nor a term used by doctors. Even if it is not diagnosed until adulthood, ADHD is a condition that is present throughout the patient's younger years until present (if still experiencing negative symptoms after adulthood is reached.)

Nobody here can tell you whether or not you have ADHD, which doctor you should see, or exactly what to say or do to provoke a doctor into prescribing you a medication to treat ADHD.

There is no single medical, physical, or genetic test for ADHD. However, a diagnostic evaluation can be provided by a qualified mental health care professional or physician who gathers information from multiple sources. These include ADHD symptom checklists, standardized behavior rating scales, a detailed history of past and current functioning, and information obtained from family members or significant others who know the person well. ADHD cannot be diagnosed accurately just from brief office observations, or just by talking to the person. The person may not always exhibit the symptoms of ADHD in the office, and the diagnostician needs to take a thorough history of the individual's life. A diagnosis of ADHD must include consideration of the possible presence of co-occurring conditions.


you can read a whole lot more here about almost everything to do with ADHD:
National Resource Center on ADHD

 

[pinpoint]

Be careful with psychiatric diagnoses while serving active duty in the military. I'm going to have to hide my ADD diagnosis when I enlist next year.

 

[QUARE]

I never been diagnose ADHD though they said I probably have it and a 10 years old I tried every meds that existed at this time; Methylphenidate IR, Dextroamphetamine IR and Methylphenidate ER. The fact is that I dont believe ADHD really exist... Im not saying that its impossible but I dont believe it. From watching my self go I believe I was only a kid with a lot of imagination and energy. Not being able to concentrate was more due to the fact that the subject at school didnt intrest me more than anything.

At 18 years old I was starting having difficulty with going through my science homeworks so I asked my doctor to have those med again, I saw a psychiatrist and he treid a buch of meds on me again; Atomoxetine, Bupropion Methylphenidate IR and Methylphenidate ER.

Atomoxetine was horrible, it made me sick all the time and never helped me. Bupropion was an intresting one, it is not too powerful and destructive as Methylphenidate, it actually good for my mood but it didnt help me with the work. Methylphenidate IR is very powerful it will make you concentrate like never but it comes with side effect... Methylphenidate ER is complete chaos, I felt into paranoid psychosis and lost 25 pounds and I was in complete Ahedonia.

I tell you what, med is not the way to cure that. Self training is the way to go. There is a lot of Cognition games that may help you with brain training, also video games are very good for that too in my experience. Also just being conscious of your condition will help you.

Good luck with that and be careful if you choice the meds they can be very destructive.