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Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

opie posted:

It's also amazing how easy it is to just make an appointment with a psychologist and actually talk to a professional, yet so many people can't figure that part out. I guess it's easier to go to a million websites and make a bunch of posts and find people to let you try their ritalin, I dunno.

I think a big part of the failure to get it treated is the nature of the disorder combined with the depiction it's gotten of being simply a lack of discipline or something that can be willed away. People are embarrassed at how weak medication makes them feel as a person (with a lot of disorders, probably), or they're terrified that it will take away their person-hood. They're embarrassed to admit they have a problem that is reserved for children or to be seen as trying to make excuses for their "choice" not to properly discipline their child or, if they're the child, to work as hard as everyone else.

Then again, it is one of those things that (like the 'sperg) contains behaviors so general to such a large number of people that so long as the idea is never tested it can be adopted into the identity of anyone looking to justify their behavior or the difficulties in their lives.

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Sekhmet
Nov 16, 2001


shoetastic posted:

I have ADD (not ADHD) and i'm happy to contribute, that's if there hasn't been 10,000 contributors already ;):D

The DSM-IV diagnosis is always ADHD now, with subtypes. So if you have what used to be "ADD" then you have ADHD, predominantly inattentive type.

opie
Nov 28, 2000
Check out my TFLC Excuse Log!

Stofoleez posted:

I think a big part of the failure to get it treated is the nature of the disorder combined with the depiction it's gotten of being simply a lack of discipline or something that can be willed away. People are embarrassed at how weak medication makes them feel as a person (with a lot of disorders, probably), or they're terrified that it will take away their person-hood. They're embarrassed to admit they have a problem that is reserved for children or to be seen as trying to make excuses for their "choice" not to properly discipline their child or, if they're the child, to work as hard as everyone else.
I would agree except that the people I'm talking about who post in these threads seem to go to great lengths to convince themselves and everyone else on the internet that they do have ADD. And a lot of them will self-medicate, so I don't think taking medication is the issue either. I know it's a huge pain in the rear end to get off the computer and drive somewhere and talk to someone, but obviously a lot of us have done it. Still, that doesn't make us qualified to do anything but say "congratulations, go to the doctor" when someone asks for validation after rattling off all their symptoms. It might not even be ADD - could be hypothyroidism, a sleep disorder, whatever, I dunno, I'm not a doctor.

rainbow kittens
Jan 20, 2006

Poor little kittens, they've lost their mittens! And now they shan't have pie :(

shoetastic posted:

We can't tell you. Don't self diagnose on the internet, see a doctor.

Thank you for your insight and assuming that I'm self-diagnosing, good sir. Seeing as how it took me years before I finally accepted that there might be something wrong with me - after a few people have told me that I likely have ADD, I do have a doctor's appointment in a few weeks. Believe me, I don't WANT ADD/ADHD, but if I am diagnosed with having it, then at least I have something to work with.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

opie posted:

I'm not blaming you or anything, it just seems that there's a thread every other week or so, and even if the topic is somewhat specific, like "ask me what it's like to raise a kid with ADD", people will start self-diagnosing or just telling stories about their adult ADD and all the meds they're on, which doesn't have much to do with the purpose of the thread. It's more what the thread turns into, I guess.

I feel bad because I was part of that derail. :ohdear:

Perhaps we can ask the Goon Doctor mods for a sticky thread on ADHD? I volunteer to PM them about this, if others think it'd be a good idea.

Slumpy
Jun 10, 2008
I was diagnosed with ADD at around age 11 when my teacher noticed I didn't hand in a lot of work (which seems to be how most people are ending up getting diagnosed).

For me it use to be completely haywire. I would not pay attention in class but somehow still pick up what everyone said and then the next I would try to concentrate only to be distracted easier than without concentration. I ended up taking ritalin which made me horribly sick by making me lose tons of weight (I was already skinny) making me ghost white and I acted completely different around friends. I was eventually taken off all medication and I'm still off of them.

I can say I feel I have been getting better, though some things do feel tedious at times (questions that need similar outcomes I get bored with through the 3rd or 4th one) and my organization is still pretty bad (but I feel I could fix this). I don't have to be around exciting poo poo all the time and I'm fine doing most boring, mundane things (Long car rides, doing computer work, so on).

I like to tell myself I'm outgrowing it but I'm not sure if I am.

TrueChaos
Nov 14, 2006




rainbow kittens posted:

EDIT: My question for the OP (and other ADD sufferers) is this: Does it feel like your head will explode ALL THE TIME? Do you ever overthing everything so much that you pretty much just freeze and can't do anything other than sit in a lump while your mind wanders aimlessly? Do you feel rage boil to the surface when you are interrupted while doing something you are attempting to concentrate on? I know my feelings aren't typical of a "normal" person, but I'm really looking to see if they are normal for a person suffering from ADD/ADHD. I don't know. If the doctor comes back and says I don't have it, then what the hell could it be? My cousin has Tourettes, and Mom always told me that I had it because of certain characteristics that I showed as a child (ticks, loud voice, etc), but I read in a book that Tourettes can also be comorbid with ADD. Mom also thought I was bipolar because I was always moody and I would fly off the hanger if someone interrupted me. Of course, I always told Mom off when she hinted there was something wrong with me anyway but now I see where she is coming from. :(

Yes, just about 100% of the time before I got on meds. Its overwhelming, but I managed to find ways to deal with it. One of the biggest things that helped me in highschool / before meds in university was to have music going when I was working, that and talking on msn at the same time as writing my lab report. Sure the talking on msn didn't help with the efficiency, but with the music (I'd always find myself singing along under my breath) and the MSN conversations I managed to occupy the parts of my brain that would go a million miles a minute from one subject to the other. Occasionally, I'll hyperfocus, and good luck tearing me away from whatever I'm doing when this happens. I've put off a simple thing like going to the bathroom until it was basically painful because gently caress it cant stop now! Also, when growing up I'd get so into a book that I would have no recolection of my parents asking me to do stuff while reading. Like, they'd tell me to walk the dog, and apparently I'd reply "Ok in 5 minutes" and 2 hours later I'd be in the same spot, 200 pages farther along in my book. "Why didn't you walk the dog?" "Uhhh no one asked me to."

Oh, and for whoever was asking about meds, I'm on strattera and it works wonderfully. My mind shuts up for the most part. I tried ritalin SR, and even on something like 20mg x 3/day didn't do anything. I just didn't feel any different. So I tried strattera and it worked.

Edit:

KH_BlanK posted:

I am of the firm belief that this "disease" plagues the majority of society to a degree, and can be overcome through will power and training. Like anything you want to build up, it requires exercise and dedication. Surely some medication can aid in the process, but if you only use the crutch, your leg will weaken and the withdrawal will leave you worse off.

Some background on myself: In first grade I threw a chair at my teacher, so they tossed me in special ed and would of thrown away the key if my parents had not fought for my freedom. Of course the fact that I was smart helped convince the system I was worth saving.

A couple pills later I was on Ritalin, and by fourth grade when we moved, I had been mainstreamed back into regular classes. Even on the pill, I could still have problems concentrating on things that I didn't find interesting, and still had problems doing home work when Id rather be playing video games or doing other things.

I do believe the pills helped me concentrate better, and at the very least gave me a nice pick me up in the morning so that I was awake during class. I also had bouts with depression during puberty, that of course were compensated by more pills (Nortriptyline?), but it went away with time. My assumption is, most of these things are "normal" to a lesser extreme, and probably something most kids suffer from, but only the extreme casses get pumped full of meds.

By college, I decided enough was enough, and I needed to see what I was capable of without the medication. I took myself off the meds, and did the best I could, still procrastinating on work like any normal college student, ignoring and cramming the courses I thought were BS and uninteresting, and living my life relatively "drug free".

Nine years later, I look back on a relatively successful college career in which I excelled at the things I was passionate about. I avoid pills whenever I can, and normaly take half doses of things when necessary (read pain medication that most of society is hopped up on). I have a job as a software engineering, and when my mind branches off into tangents I let it explore a bit and then stop myself and role back to the direction that is actually important and critical. I consider my thought process to be a tool and not a disability.

Good for you buddy! I did 6 months with a learning specialist who refered me to a doctor after nothing worked well enough that I could complete my work. You sound like that one dude who had a really easy time quitting smoking because they only had 1 or 2 a day anyway, and thinks its the easiest thing in the world because of it.

TrueChaos fucked around with this message at 14:15 on Aug 24, 2009

LyonsLions
Oct 10, 2008

I'm only using 18% of my full power !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mike grace jones posted:

My symptoms were typical of ADD but not in the impulsive or hyper way, I'm highly disorganized, often anxious, I talk quicker than most people and often try to fill in the end of their sentences if I'm pretty sure I know where they're going (and I usually think I do).

I used to have a woman working for me that would do this (finishing other people's sentences) and it was really frustrating because it was clear that she wasn't really listening to what people said, and was finishing their sentences in a completely different way and then assuming that what she said was what they had meant to say.

She hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD before she started working there. I feel bad that I actually just thought she was kind of a moron. Then she mentioned one day that 2 of her 3 kids had been diagnosed with ADHD, and after reading about the symptoms, she had decided to get herself checked out. It turned out that she did have it, and with her doctor she came up with ways that we could help her to do her job properly. This worked brilliantly and made everyone happy.

My question to the people in the thread is, what can your employers and bosses do to make it easier for you to do your job? I know it's different for everyone, but do you have some general suggestions? In the case I mentioned, I felt really bad that I wasn't as understanding as I should have been, because at first I didn't realize she had a problem, and thought she was just a flighty slacker.

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


LyonsLions posted:

My question to the people in the thread is, what can your employers and bosses do to make it easier for you to do your job? I know it's different for everyone, but do you have some general suggestions? In the case I mentioned, I felt really bad that I wasn't as understanding as I should have been, because at first I didn't realize she had a problem, and thought she was just a flighty slacker.

Help us be and stay organized. And for the love of god - just tell me what to do. We're bad enough keeping ourselves on-task the last thing we should be doing is telling other people what to do.

Socket Ryanist
Aug 30, 2004

shoetastic posted:

I have ADD (not ADHD) and i'm happy to contribute..
ADHD and ADD are synonyms. The latter is no longer used by the medical community.

Edit: gently caress, beaten

rainbow kittens
Jan 20, 2006

Poor little kittens, they've lost their mittens! And now they shan't have pie :(

Tab8715 posted:

Help us be and stay organized. And for the love of god - just tell me what to do. We're bad enough keeping ourselves on-task the last thing we should be doing is telling other people what to do.

Lists help.

DBlanK
Feb 7, 2004

Living In The Real World

TrueChaos posted:

Good for you buddy! I did 6 months with a learning specialist who refered me to a doctor after nothing worked well enough that I could complete my work. You sound like that one dude who had a really easy time quitting smoking because they only had 1 or 2 a day anyway, and thinks its the easiest thing in the world because of it.

I spent half my life in therapy and my mom sitting on my rear end so I would actually get poo poo done. Before I went off to collage I went to see a specialist as well who diagnosed me with an auditory processing disability, which supposedly might conflict with the original diagnosis of ADHD (back when it meant something different then ADD). Personally I think it was just icing on the cake. I apologize if I was implying that things were easy, but looking back I can't really isolate any particular moment of massive progress or major frustration in regards to the ADHD. It was just a long and slow evolution to a new state of mind.

Being easily distracted was definitely a big deal while growing up, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who have/had it worse then I did. Part of the problem was that I couldn't control it, but another issue was that to a degree I enjoyed it. When it happens nowadays, it feels more like a choice of exploration. Of course every mind is a completely different ball game, and as I said I think my overall progress was in part due to training, part due to will, and part due to the natural growth of my mind.

DBlanK fucked around with this message at 08:30 on Aug 26, 2009

Brydinut
Dec 20, 2006


mike grace jones posted:

I wasn't diagnosed until a few months ago (I'm 24). You are very lucky to have gotten treatment at 15. I managed to hold a 3.0 GPA through high school and a top college without doing reading, or any work on time, or even buying books through all of college, but every day I resent that I was able to be a "functional ADD," because as soon as I left the womb of academia the real world hit HARD. I never understood how to manage basic little mundane life tasks or even find an occupation that interested me because EVERYTHING was interested at first and then suddenly not at all. When I think about what I could have accomplished by now if I had been treated throughout my middle and high school years...it's all very depressing. Be happy for the time you've had.

This happened to me. Except I got tested really young as a highly functional ADD and my parents never told me until I was 20 (a year ago). It explained quite a few things and some things made a lot more sense. I guess I feel a bit of the resentment of what life could have been like also, because I barely had a 3.0 in high school, and in college, and if things would've gone better if I had been properly treated for it. My teacher comments always had things like "highly intelligent but has trouble putting forth effort into schoolwork."

However, I feel like I perform pretty well and my mental abilities make up for a lot of what I lack attention-wise. Does medication really help that much? I'm a bit afraid of some of the side effects of medication. I don't really know much about the condition to be honest, though I keep meaning to read up more on it.

Brydinut fucked around with this message at 09:55 on Aug 26, 2009

linkdead
Apr 6, 2005

Tell me your dreams...IN HELL!
If anyone wants, and if it's ok with the OP, I can help provide some insight in this thread from both someone diagnosed with ADD and also someone who treats people with ADD (ADHD for the sticklers in here - although we use the terms interchangeably - ADD is kind of the shorthand). Happy to answer anything without stepping on any toes.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

linkdead posted:

If anyone wants, and if it's ok with the OP, I can help provide some insight in this thread from both someone diagnosed with ADD and also someone who treats people with ADD (ADHD for the sticklers in here - although we use the terms interchangeably - ADD is kind of the shorthand). Happy to answer anything without stepping on any toes.

I have a question:

What do you do for people whom pills aren't an option? What do you suggest?

Long story short, the low dose of Adderall (5mg) works a bit, but when it wore off, the physical effects were quite literally crippling. (I also have spasticity). I have the pills that I'll take once in a while if I want to get something done, but not everyday anymore.

linkdead
Apr 6, 2005

Tell me your dreams...IN HELL!

Qu Appelle posted:

I have a question:

What do you do for people whom pills aren't an option? What do you suggest?

Long story short, the low dose of Adderall (5mg) works a bit, but when it wore off, the physical effects were quite literally crippling. (I also have spasticity). I have the pills that I'll take once in a while if I want to get something done, but not everyday anymore.

It sounds like your body may have a tough time tolerating stimulants, which happens in a small percentage of the population. Is adderall the first medication you've tried for managing your ADD? There is a number of non-stimulant based meds that might work instead. Strattera, a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, may get you better results. Wellbutrin, which is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor (and nicotinic antagonist for the added benefit of smoking cessation) might also work. Both are non-stimulant based.

If you really want to go the no medication route, there is certainly some behavior modification you can do to help you through a day. Lists are a huge one. For me (and my patients) lists are a godsend. They help you organize your day, and the act of writing things down can slow down the rapid thinking that we are all blessed/cursed with.

There are also ways to structure your environment to give you an edge, like making sure your workspace is free of mess and clutter, and giving yourself frequent breaks while in the middle of a task (5 minutes for every 20 minutes of work is a good ratio - make sure you get up and move around a little, even just to go to the water fountain). If you need some reading, I would recommend Driven to Distraction by Hallowell. It's sort of the go-to for learning about how you and your family can cope with and manage ADD.

I also recommend Thom Hartmann's writings - he writes about ADD being a genetic throwback to when we were a hunter-gatherer society. ADD is perfectly suited for a hunter's lifestyle. You can go out into the woods and sort of pay attention to everything all at once. Then when you hear that branch *snap* you can hyperfocus on that deer to the exclusion of everything else and chase it down for days, if necessary. He puts the problem of ADD not into the hands of those with ADD, but rather into the type of society we live in, which these days is agrarian (farmers). Farmers poke a million little holes into the soil and fill each of the million little holes with a seed. To me (and to those of you with ADD) this sounds like death. His purpose is to really restructure the thought processes of those with ADD, most of us have been told throughout our lives that we are "less than" or "broken" and his writings can go a long way towards making you feel differently about the way your brain works.

Lastly, a joke:
Q. How many kids with ADD does it take to change a lightbulb?
A. LETS GO RIDE BIKES!

linkdead fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Aug 26, 2009

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

LyonsLions posted:

My question to the people in the thread is, what can your employers and bosses do to make it easier for you to do your job? I know it's different for everyone, but do you have some general suggestions? In the case I mentioned, I felt really bad that I wasn't as understanding as I should have been, because at first I didn't realize she had a problem, and thought she was just a flighty slacker.

One of the effects of the disorder (at least for me?) is that far fewer things register as important enough to stick in short term memory even if I want them to, and as a consequence my short term memory is awful as hell. If it's important that an ADHD employee remember something, you must write it down. If it's not an extra important piece of information, such as the time for a meeting, the names of your wife and mistress so that they don't get mixed up, that sort of thing, just understand that the person you're dealing with has a hard time with details. He or she is going to forget everyone's names, and it doesn't mean that they don't think they're important enough to remember.

Also, if you're not Google or some really casual tech company, this needs to be stressed: let your employees listen to music or radio or something. Especially if they're unmedicated, background music is one of the only ways to concentrate on a task for long periods of time. Music helps by drowning out the meaningless, mostly random static of an ADHD person's environment and replacing it with something coherent that all the "loose" parts of the person's consciousness can latch onto while the important parts focus on work.

ALSO, if your employee already has a task and seems really into it, don't interrupt them unless it's an emergency. If you need another minor task done, and another employee can do it, have the other employee. The odds are good that your ADHD employee has entered a hyperfocus, and two things will happen if you interrupt this state: you will lose the greatly increased productivity the employee was going to bring to the table during this period, and you will probably trigger all the comorbid anxiety/rage/depression people have been talking about in their posts. Seriously though, an ADHD person who's hyperfocusing is like a production superhero, accomplishing twice the work in half the time so long as you don't interrupt them. HOWEVER, it's also a mistake to judge all of your employee's work by what's accomplished in these random bursts of focus. Think of them as an added, happy, occasional surprise rather than a dependable resource to be exploited.

linkdead posted:

If anyone wants, and if it's ok with the OP, I can help provide some insight in this thread from both someone diagnosed with ADD and also someone who treats people with ADD (ADHD for the sticklers in here - although we use the terms interchangeably - ADD is kind of the shorthand). Happy to answer anything without stepping on any toes.

Yeah man, I don't care. You can probably answer questions better than me.

Stofoleez fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Aug 27, 2009

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

linkdead posted:

It sounds like your body may have a tough time tolerating stimulants, which happens in a small percentage of the population. Is adderall the first medication you've tried for managing your ADD? There is a number of non-stimulant based meds that might work instead. Strattera, a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, may get you better results. Wellbutrin, which is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor (and nicotinic antagonist for the added benefit of smoking cessation) might also work. Both are non-stimulant based.

Yeah, I have a hard time with stimulants. With a lot of drugs, actually. Because I also have the Spastic Paraparesis, all of the ADHD drugs I've tried have made that a lot worse - either it makes the spasticity worse when it's in my system, or when it wears off. If it's a trade off between thinking or walking, I'll take walking.

It's funny that you mention Wellbutrin; I've been on that for nearly a decade. And it did help the ADHD, and also my depression. However, with my doctor's guidance, I finally stopped taking it earlier this year because my anxiety was ramped up to unacceptable levels (one should not get a panic attack going to a concert, for instance), and the Baclofen I'm taking for the spasticity also helps my depression :wtc: . (Plus, my insurance balks at paying for the name brand version of the drug, and the generic version made me really ill).

Lists are a good suggestion, I need to do more of them. Google Calendar has been a lifesaver; I set appointments there then have them message my phone for reminders. So are the book recommendations. I've already read 'Driven to Distraction', and I'll check out the other one in a little bit.

Finally, the 'lifestyle' way to look at ADHD makes a lot of sense to me. As well as me, both my father and my cousin have ADHD, and it's interesting to see how both of them cope with it. My cousin is a lawyer, and relies on Strattera and lattes to function. My dad, however, merely works a job where he has to literally move around a lot. It ends up being a blessing in his case, because he has to shift gears quickly on the job, and he can.

I think my next step may be meeting with an ADHD coach for a few times. Luckily, I'm at a period in my life where I'm considering a career change out of computers, and it'd be good to move into a field where I don't need to be doped to the gills just to function.

mike grace jones
Mar 5, 2009

by Peatpot

Brydinut posted:

However, I feel like I perform pretty well and my mental abilities make up for a lot of what I lack attention-wise.

A recent piece in the New Yorker described a study that tested children for their self-control ability by seeing if/how long they could last alone with a candy without eating it when they were promised 2 candies in the future. They checked the children later in life and those who demonstrated the most self-control were doing significantly better in school. Even more than IQ, self-control correlated with success. Knowing my life, my intelligence, my self-control, and my disorder I am not at all surprised by those results. The medication is there so I can exercise greater self-control. It absolutely helps that.

Put it in Your Mouf
Jan 8, 2009

Stofoleez posted:

Also, if you're not Google or some really casual tech company, this needs to be stressed: let your employees listen to music or radio or something. Especially if they're unmedicated, background music is one of the only ways to concentrate on a task for long periods of time. Music helps by drowning out the meaningless, mostly random static of an ADHD person's environment and replacing it with something coherent that all the "loose" parts of the person's consciousness can latch onto while the important parts focus on work.

I am one of the weird ADHD'ers that absolutely can't tolerate background noise. If I am doing something on my own, that's fine, but if anyone tries to say anything to me while music or a TV is on, or someone else is speaking, even quietly, my brain just short circuits. I can't listen to one person, no matter how hard I try to focus, with anything else going on. Sometimes even the flickering of florescent lights has the same affect on me, it just depends on the day.

So while this is great advice for some people, it would be good to have it as personal choice for the employee. As in, the person choosing to listen to their iPod versus having a radio on in one area or through an entire store. That is, if you don't already work somewhere with background music.

I would also say to watch out for people like me, if you know the person has ADHD and is okay talking about it, go ahead and ask if they are able to focus on what you're saying with music in the background, or other people talking. I know for me, anything you want me to remember or have an intelligent conversation about, we would need to go somewhere quiet where I can't hear anyone elses voice. If you notice them looking more distracted when you try to talk to them over other noise, go somewhere quiet if you have the time to do so. If not, try making a concise list and keeping the verbal instructions short and only supplementary to the list.

Also, some of us might want to make our own lists, but have a hard time doing so. It's hard to write down what you need to do when you get to number three and you're wandering off to do something really important, right now, before you forget it again! Then the list is forgotten until it's too late to finish everything on it...if you could even remember what it was.

So making lists for your employees could be a huge help, though of course time constraints mean this isn't always feasible.

I hope that made sense, can you tell my Adderall has worn off for the day?

JizJizJiz
Apr 18, 2005

mike grace jones posted:

I wasn't diagnosed until a few months ago (I'm 24). You are very lucky to have gotten treatment at 15. I managed to hold a 3.0 GPA through high school and a top college without doing reading, or any work on time, or even buying books through all of college, but every day I resent that I was able to be a "functional ADD," because as soon as I left the womb of academia the real world hit HARD. I never understood how to manage basic little mundane life tasks or even find an occupation that interested me because EVERYTHING was interested at first and then suddenly not at all. When I think about what I could have accomplished by now if I had been treated throughout my middle and high school years...it's all very depressing. Be happy for the time you've had.

What are you taking - how did you get to the right dosage - and how is life now? I'm 24 too and it hurts having watched everyone pass you by when you knew it wasn't your fault.

Also, this took me about 7-8 tries to read (and it required a fight with the girlfriend, a 30 minute drive, 2 meals, and a Facebooking to do it)

JizJizJiz fucked around with this message at 09:29 on Aug 27, 2009

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Collar Crazy posted:

I am one of the weird ADHD'ers that absolutely can't tolerate background noise. If I am doing something on my own, that's fine, but if anyone tries to say anything to me while music or a TV is on, or someone else is speaking, even quietly, my brain just short circuits. I can't listen to one person, no matter how hard I try to focus, with anything else going on. Sometimes even the flickering of florescent lights has the same affect on me, it just depends on the day.

I hope that made sense, can you tell my Adderall has worn off for the day?

That makes a lot of sense, actually. If I'm doing something analytical (which is most of my work), music or some other background noise helps a lot. It ends up being complimentary to the activity at hand.

However, if I'm reading or studying something nonanalytical, I have to have complete silence - otherwise my brain pays attention to the words I'm listening to instead of the words I'm reading, and the stuff on the page doesn't stick at all. It's like the words clash and have to fight for a slot to fit into the head.

Can we have a brainstorming session here, my fellow malcontents in attention span? I'd like to hear of ADHD-friendly occupations. Because my current stint isn't doing it, and I'm at a crossroads - I can continue on my path, where I'll have to be doped up in order to function at a higher level, with all the resultant badness of that. Or, I can start off on a new path.

My current job also ends in late June, 2010 (if not sooner), and my field (Software Testing) is also being adversely affected by robots and outsourcing. This means a. Unemployment Insurance, b. subsidized COBRA health insurance :toot: , and c. possible tapping into Worker Retraining funds. So, this would be the *perfect* time to switch gears.

So, ideas? I wanna hear them. I don't care how outlandish they are - if something looks like it might stick, I want to entertain it. Trial lawyer, EMT, avant garde dance artist, caribou herder, cartoonist, Tibetan Buddhist nun, gimme.

(Also, if anyone has names of good ADHD coaches in the Seattle area, also throw them at me. I have PMs.)

deptstoremook
Jan 12, 2004
my mom got scared and said "you're moving with your Aunt and Uncle in Bel-Air!"
Good post, I have a rather unique problem maybe someone can give some advice to....

I know that I must have ADD, I fit every single symptom, Adderall (which I'm not prescribed) has its paradoxical reaction for me, and I think my other psych. problems may stem from it.

For the past month or two, I've been taking Adderall daily, 10mg in the AM and another 10 in early afternoon. I have insomnia and anxiety, so the stimulant makes my anxiety a little worse, but helps with fatigue from insomnia. Overall, I am able to get so much more done with my life that it is a profit overall.

I want to speak to a psychologist and get a diagnosis, and then hopefully get on Adderall on a prescription basis. Trouble is, I've had addiction issues (am in recovery). I know that I could never ever abuse stimulants, I've tried that a couple of times (several years ago) and the results are so disastrous I could now have such a surplus of Adderall that I'd sooner throw it away than abuse it.

So, I know that I won't abuse stimulants, but would a psychologist? I'm a college student and I'd be going to the university's counseling service, so that also makes me suspect to begin with. I'd really like to talk to a shrink about addiction things but this makes me very scared to, I'd sooner omit my drug abuse and get a prescription.

In short, to what extent can I lay it all on the table? Again, I am in recovery....

deptstoremook fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Aug 30, 2009

Put it in Your Mouf
Jan 8, 2009

deptstoremook posted:


So, I know that I won't abuse stimulants, but would a psychologist? I'm a college student and I'd be going to the university's counseling service, so that also makes me suspect to begin with. I'd really like to talk to a shrink about addiction things but this makes me very scared to, I'd sooner omit my drug abuse and get a prescription.

In short, to what extent can I lay it all on the table? Again, I am in recovery....
I'm guessing when you tried to abuse them before, you took a recreational dose without taking them on a regular basis first? A lot of people have bad reactions to that. So while you may not ever do that again, it's very likely you will build up a tolerance from taking these drugs regularly. Also, once you're used to them, you can take a larger dose just for fun, without a lot of the bad side effects. At least until the dose wears off.

Is there any chance you could look into a non-stimulant drug like Straterra? A lot of people have success with this, and I believe it may help with anxiety as well.

You very definitely could benefit from treating your ADHD symptoms in some way, but I would urge you to be completely honest with yourself as to whether or not you really need it to function. My worry would be that you enjoy the feeling of Adderall(I do too!), and it makes you feel better than you do without it, so you assume because you feel better that this is a good drug choice for you. I'm not trying to be all "you rear end in a top hat, you're a drug abuser so you obviously have no idea what you're talking about!" I just thought it might be something to think about and talk with a psychiatrist about?

I don't think hiding your history drug problems from them to get Adderall is a good idea at ALL. Yes, it might be helping you now, but do you really feel lying to get drugs is helpful for your recovery? If you're honest and open they can work with you to try alternative medications or therapy. Also, if they DO prescribe you a stimulant, wouldn't it be better to have them overseeing it? Rather than to buy it illegally and have no one checking in on you? If you get a prescription you need to go back once a month for a refill, and if you ever possibly start to slip up there is a great chance they will notice. They also won't give you enough medication to easily abuse if they know your history, and would be likely to keep the dose low.

Sorry to write such a novel, but I think it's worrying that you're in recovery and wondering how honest you should be with a new doctor when trying to get some Adderall. Make sure you want treatment for the right reasons, and be open and upfront. I'm not trying to preach, just genuinely concerned.

Good luck in your recovery and with seeking treatment.

Six AM
Nov 30, 2008
Has anyone had any luck with non-medical treatments? I hear omega supplements, caffeine, and exercise are good. Any others?

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Six AM posted:

Has anyone had any luck with non-medical treatments? I hear omega supplements, caffeine, and exercise are good. Any others?

I drink copious amounts of black tea throughout the day, and also practice Buddhist meditation.

Both work, sortof.

The caffeine is my self medicating crutch. I totally admit that it's a crutch, and my docs know that. However, it's what I have, as meds either make me ill or adversely affect other medical conditions I have. Basically, I have 4+ cups of black tea a day. Gentler on my stomach than coffee, and I like it better as well.

The meditation was something I started not as a tool to use for ADHD, but as an alternate spiritual path. However, a cool side effect of that is that I'm calmer in situations where normally I'd get agitated, it's easier for me to get back on task, etc. I've been meditating off and on for a couple years though, and seriously for a few months - so it's not a quick fix. And I'd be doing it even if I didn't have ADHD, because the Buddha is my Om Boy. I also do silent chanting with a mala, and I find it useful to finger through when distracted or in class.

(Once, I was in class, a classmate saw it, then bowed to me when we stood up :wtc: )

rainbow kittens
Jan 20, 2006

Poor little kittens, they've lost their mittens! And now they shan't have pie :(

Six AM posted:

Has anyone had any luck with non-medical treatments? I hear omega supplements, caffeine, and exercise are good. Any others?

I've tried Omega 3... and I thought it was helping, but that could also be the placebo effect.

maznaz
Jan 14, 2004
GOON!
i tricked my doctor into giving me ritalin just because it juices you if you dont really have ADD. The downside now though is it's having the opposite effect. Before it used to let me work hard on a project or something for hours and be pretty happy doing it ... now ... i can't do anything on it.

I quit taking it about a week ago ... hoping my own motivation comes back.

LET THAT BE A WARNING TO YAS!

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

maznaz posted:

i tricked my doctor into giving me ritalin just because it juices you if you dont really have ADD. The downside now though is it's having the opposite effect. Before it used to let me work hard on a project or something for hours and be pretty happy doing it ... now ... i can't do anything on it.

I quit taking it about a week ago ... hoping my own motivation comes back.

LET THAT BE A WARNING TO YAS!

:vd:

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

maznaz posted:

i tricked my doctor into giving me ritalin just because it juices you if you dont really have ADD. The downside now though is it's having the opposite effect. Before it used to let me work hard on a project or something for hours and be pretty happy doing it ... now ... i can't do anything on it.

I quit taking it about a week ago ... hoping my own motivation comes back.

LET THAT BE A WARNING TO YAS!

It also ruins it for the rest of us, who legitimately need the drugs.

Thanks for contributing to the image of ADD afflicted folks as drug seeking junkies or experimenters, instead of people with an actual brain disorder who need pharmaceutical treatment :hellyeah:

Zhentar
Sep 28, 2003

Brilliant Master Genius

deptstoremook posted:

So, I know that I won't abuse stimulants, but would a psychologist? I'm a college student and I'd be going to the university's counseling service, so that also makes me suspect to begin with. I'd really like to talk to a shrink about addiction things but this makes me very scared to, I'd sooner omit my drug abuse and get a prescription.

In short, to what extent can I lay it all on the table? Again, I am in recovery....

Vyvanse is the new drug being pushed as a replacement for Adderall XR (because of it's patent expiration). While the benefits of Vyvanse over Adderall to the average patient is fairly questionable, there's a clear benefit for prescribing physicians- Vyvanse is released though digestion, which means snorting it doesn't work very well. A psychiatrist is going to be a lot more willing to prescribe Vyvanse to someone with a substance abuse history than most other stimulants. And of course, there are non-stimulant treatments as well.

Aside from that, people with ADD have a much higher substance abuse rate than the whole population. Plenty of psychiatrists consider stimulant abuse by ADD patients a form of self medication, and will prescribe stimulants hoping to prevent further abuse.

Kneel Before Zog
Jan 16, 2009

by Y Kant Ozma Post
Yep, Vyvanse. It hydrolyzes in the liver or whatever at a much slower rate and disperses itself into the blood stream much slower over time compared to other drugs meaning the chances of someone successfully abusing it is very slim. Now if someone could elaborate better than I could about the pharmacokinetics.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Kneel Before Zog posted:

Yep, Vyvanse. It hydrolyzes in the liver or whatever at a much slower rate and disperses itself into the blood stream much slower over time compared to other drugs meaning the chances of someone successfully abusing it is very slim. Now if someone could elaborate better than I could about the pharmacokinetics.

How does Vyvanese work for ADHD cases? Does it wear off after a 12 hour period? 24 hours? I'm hoping for an easier ramping up and comedown than Adderall XR. (Name brand, not the generic).

TONY DANZAS HO
Aug 27, 2003

retired
and
loving it
Vyvanse suuuuuucks, it gave me wicked headaches and a feeling which I can only describe as "my eyeballs being willfully pushed out of my skull by a force with its pressure points somewhere on my optic nerves".

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot
Have any of you noticed stomach cramps with the stimulant ADHD medications? When I was starting on Concerta a few years ago, I was way less disciplined as far as when I took it, and I during periods where I missed a lot of them on and off my stomach would start seizing up and, sorry for being gross, it would jettison all of its contents. It still happens now from time to time, but not as bad.

Also: the little bit of a loss of appetite that Concerta caused helped me develop a really mild eating disorder, which I'm sure contributed to the cramps*, but I wondered if any other chubby ADHD goons who got put on a stimulant noticed a change in their weight and how you reacted? My reaction was, "Oh hey I can see my hip bones and I'm not hungry...WHELP GUESS I WON'T EAT DERP DERP *PASS OUT AT WORK*"

*The fact that they've continued after I started eating again is why I don't lay the blame entirely on starving myself

DearSirXNORMadam
Aug 1, 2009
So, what are the tests for ADD exactly?

Is it just some thing where you lie down on a couch and tell the nice analyst that you can't concentrate, or do they do bloodwork, or what?

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

ZORRO CRUMB SHOULDER posted:

Vyvanse suuuuuucks, it gave me wicked headaches and a feeling which I can only describe as "my eyeballs being willfully pushed out of my skull by a force with its pressure points somewhere on my optic nerves".

You know, if I can walk on it, I'll give it a shot. But the headaches are good to look out for.

I hate my Spastic Paraparesis so much right now you all don't even comprehend.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Mirconium posted:

So, what are the tests for ADD exactly?

Is it just some thing where you lie down on a couch and tell the nice analyst that you can't concentrate, or do they do bloodwork, or what?

With me, it was talking to my Psychiatrist at a session, then I got re-diagnosed. Probably not the 'standard' way to test for it, but I had been seeing him for Depression for the past 6 years beforehand, he's an expert in Adult ADHD, and I was originally diagnosed as a child. And I didn't really consider it an issue because I thought it was all related with my Depression, and when that cleared up...why am I still distracted? Hrm. Oh! :downs: LET'S GO RIDE BIKES

I don't remember the childhood diagnosis at all, but I do remember periodically being pulled out of classes and given batteries of written puzzle tests given by nice looking yet concerned strangers.

Danger Mahoney
Mar 19, 2007

by FactsAreUseless

Qu Appelle posted:

You know, if I can walk on it, I'll give it a shot. But the headaches are good to look out for.

I hate my Spastic Paraparesis so much right now you all don't even comprehend.

Supposedly, the instances of headache and rapid heartbeat are far less than with Adderall, but everyone is different I guess.

Hope you have insurance, though - the stuff is ungodly expensive.

Danger Mahoney fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Sep 5, 2009

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Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Danger Mahoney posted:

Supposedly, the instances of headache and rapid heartbeat are far less than with Adderall, but everyone is different I guess.

Hope you have insurance, though - the stuff is ungodly expensive.

I do - no idea if they'd cover it though. And I'm unwilling to pay for it if they don't. But before I try it, I'd like to hear how the comedown is. I see my doc in a couple of months anyways; I'll ask him about it.

In the meantime, I'll stock up on Murrough's Welsh tea; that poo poo brews up like mud and is the most heavenly stuff on Earth.

Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 17:34 on Sep 5, 2009

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