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How do you determine for certain that you have ADHD? When I think back to my childhood, ADHD definitely fits, but so does being lazy, bored, and depressed. The only reason I suggested it to my doctor was the paradoxical effects stimulants have had on me based on past drug use. I'm prescribed 30mg Adderall daily, and it most definitely helps, but it'd help anyone. So how will I know for sure? He prescribed Strattera first, and it was moderately successful, but at $200 a month there's no way I could afford it.
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Jun 23, 2011 23:44
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DONT DO IT posted:How do you determine for certain that you have ADHD? When I think back to my childhood, ADHD definitely fits, but so does being lazy, bored, and depressed. The only reason I suggested it to my doctor was the paradoxical effects stimulants have had on me based on past drug use. For me, it was a pattern of behaviour that started when I was youngr that was way beyond the norm. For instance, I was kicked out of prexschool for being 'too wild '.
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Jun 24, 2011 01:27
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Socket Ryanist posted:Blame the fact that meds are hard to get on the government's misguided drug policies, not individuals' decisions about what to put in their bodies. Why not blame both? BLAME 'EM ALL, LET GOD SORT IT OUT! Chant with me! BLAME! BLAME! BLAME! ...Sorry. I am weird sometimes. The point stands though that it's not one or the other, it's both things and they feed off of each other. Oftentimes misguided government policies are based on a small minority of people, and instead of fixing the problem it punishes the people who least need to be punished the most. The war on drugs is a joke and illegal usage makes it harder to use it legally sometimes. It's one of those jokes that's more "punch to the balls" funny than "haha" funny. And I misread the med part of your post and was going to suggest exactly what you did until I re-read it. DONT DO IT posted:How do you determine for certain that you have ADHD? When I think back to my childhood, ADHD definitely fits, but so does being lazy, bored, and depressed. The only reason I suggested it to my doctor was the paradoxical effects stimulants have had on me based on past drug use. I was precribed Vyvanse and had to rush back to the doctor's office on a Friday before they closed to get something cheaper (Adderall). I know some drug companies have coupons but Vyvanse was 50% off but only for 1 month. You could check to see what is available if you take the brand name. Also some pharmacies have their own savings plans that you have to ask for before they give it to you. There's certain tests you could do but why pay the extra money to find out you don't have it? Especially if it helps you function normally. There is much more to it than just being lazy, bored, and depressed. Read up on it a little bit more. This gets posted probably once a page, but Delivered From Distraction has some good info. There's also one that's called Answers to Distraction that is all questions written to the author that he answers. That's a quick read, you can pick and choose in that one very easily, you can do that with the first book too. It's not a book you read from page 1-whatever. Pick and choose.
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Jun 24, 2011 01:31
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Wartime Consigliere posted:
The Vyvanse coupon is actually valid for a year, not a month. At least in the US. I'm hoping one can renew it after a year.
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Jun 24, 2011 02:31
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Wartime Consigliere posted:
For sure. The point I was making is there are a lot of overlapping symptoms between disorders, and I'm looking for a definitive answer. You're right though, it ultimately doesn't matter. I'm prescribed a drug that is apparently difficult to get in a college town (??), and it helps. I'm just obsessive.
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Jun 24, 2011 09:07
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DONT DO IT posted:For sure. The point I was making is there are a lot of overlapping symptoms between disorders, and I'm looking for a definitive answer. You're right though, it ultimately doesn't matter. I'm prescribed a drug that is apparently difficult to get in a college town (??), and it helps. I'm just obsessive. The definitive answer- Go to a (child) psychologist (who takes adult patients), have them perform the tests and evaluations according to DSM IV for ADHD. Then its definitive.
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Jun 24, 2011 09:17
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Chumbawumba4ever97 fucked around with this message at 12:33 on Sep 18, 2012 |
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Jun 24, 2011 17:05
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DONT DO IT posted:How do you determine for certain that you have ADHD? When I think back to my childhood, ADHD definitely fits, but so does being lazy, bored, and depressed. The only reason I suggested it to my doctor was the paradoxical effects stimulants have had on me based on past drug use. The biggest thing for me is the feeling of helplessness. You want to do these things, you want to succeed, but it feels like you're sabotaging yourself. Or that poo poo is due tomorrow, but you can't seem to sit down and do it no matter what you tell yourself, getting stressed out etc. I think honest to god lazy people choose to be lazy. They don't want to expend energy, so they sure as hell aren't going out for a run/cleaning their room/doing something instead of their work like adhd people are. I highly doubt super lazy people are actually beating themselves up over being "incapable" of sitting down to do the work either. From my experiences, they just bitch when it bites them in the rear end.
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Jun 24, 2011 17:24
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Aculard posted:The biggest thing for me is the feeling of helplessness. You want to do these things, you want to succeed, but it feels like you're sabotaging yourself. Or that poo poo is due tomorrow, but you can't seem to sit down and do it no matter what you tell yourself, getting stressed out etc. I came in this thread looking for this. I don't feel I have ADD but my brother is diagnosed with it and so was my mother. For a long time I refused to accept the possibility that I had ADD because of the fact all my friends would tell me I'm just bitching. Now, as I'm trying my best to study for my finals, I'm starting to realize that no matter how hard I try, I get distracted incredibly easily. Not only that, my head just feels fuzzy whenever I do manage to focus and I find it impossible to think clearly about the paragraph I just read. Teachers have told me I had ADD, some forced me to go get tested. Although the school psychiatrist promised me she'd set up the test she actually forgot about me. Since I still didn't want to be diagnosed with ADD back then I never brought it up. Now I'm wondering how much medicine would actually help me. I used to take cocaine sometimes and, although it made me more spazzy overall, it helped me focus on things occasionally and often even calmed me down. An effect I heard happens mostly with people who have ADD. My biggest concern is how much medicine changes your personality. I was prescribed piracetam by my doctor to help me concentrate but I stopped taking it when I saw no difference(it was the first semester of college and it was just too easy to really notice an effect). If I went back I'm sure he'd prescribe me something stronger but I'd like to know just how badly it could possibly affect me.
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Jun 24, 2011 18:23
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The more important question is: Does it allow you to be who you want to be? If it "changes" you into that person who can do the intermediary things they need to do to be able to do what they want, how is that a bad thing? (I'm assuming you want to do those undesirable intermediary things to do the thing at the end you really want to do)
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Jun 24, 2011 18:29
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NeilPerry posted:My biggest concern is how much medicine changes your personality. I was prescribed piracetam by my doctor to help me concentrate but I stopped taking it when I saw no difference(it was the first semester of college and it was just too easy to really notice an effect). If I went back I'm sure he'd prescribe me something stronger but I'd like to know just how badly it could possibly affect me. What do you mean, 'change your personality'? I hear this all the time from people afraid to go get medication to fix legitimate problems. You're taking a stimulant, something that's gonna increase your heart rate, help you focus and maybe get you high if you snort a whole bunch. It isn't an antidepressant or a mood stabilizer, it's just like taking a bit hit of coffee in the morning that lasts the whole day. The real question I'd be worried about is why do you believe taking the medication will be a super negative experience that will do something as serious as change your personality?
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Jun 24, 2011 18:43
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I don't think it changed my personality at all. If it did- I'm nicer and happier and much more pleasant to be around.
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Jun 24, 2011 21:33
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NeilPerry posted:I came in this thread looking for this. I don't feel I have ADD but my brother is diagnosed with it and so was my mother. For a long time I refused to accept the possibility that I had ADD because of the fact all my friends would tell me I'm just bitching. That's pretty much what happened with me. I never did homework or studied because I just couldn't seem to make myself do it. I'm fortunate in that I have a very high IQ. So when I did well on tests, people just assumed I was bored and lazy. Over time I started believing it myself (still believe it to some extent). This is how I got through K-12. Now that I'm in a field that actually forces me to study, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I'd get fidgety as hell just trying to read the drat textbook, and could barely read a page without having to reread something because my mind wandered. The first time I did cocaine I actually became relaxed.. Everyone else was amped up, and I'm just sitting on the couch. I don't remember an improvement in focus, but a party isn't an ideal location for observation. Tried cocaine again because the first time was boring and my buddies really wanted me to enjoy it. The same thing happened. Then there was ecstasy, loaded with amphetamines. People are hyperactive and dancing, whereas I'm just enjoying the sensation of cold air on my skin, pleasantly relaxed and ridiculously calm. Talkative, sure.. but calm. The Adderall hasn't changed my personality. I'm actually less anxious, and my mood is slightly elevated. The improvements in focus and concentration are profound.
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Jun 24, 2011 22:01
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NeilPerry posted:My biggest concern is how much medicine changes your personality. I was prescribed piracetam by my doctor to help me concentrate but I stopped taking it when I saw no difference(it was the first semester of college and it was just too easy to really notice an effect). If I went back I'm sure he'd prescribe me something stronger but I'd like to know just how badly it could possibly affect me. I haven't had any experience with ADHD meds changing my personality per se. However, some out there, such as Adderall and Vyvanse, did give me rebound depression when they wore off every night. YMMV, of course.
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Jun 25, 2011 05:35
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Welp. I'm a 'problem employee'. Or something. Maybe. I don't know. I've tried the strategy the past comple of weeks of alternating my Adderall with my Dexedrine (e.g. taking Dex M,W,F and Adderall on Tues and Thurs). I thought it'd be AWESOME, but not so much. So, I'm going back to the Dex, despite the horrid side effects. Because heartburn and not walking? Annoying. But the depression from the Adderall is just starting to make me sabotage everything, which is worse. I've been feeling sort of out of sorts depression-wise for weeks now, and today, when a zillion things went wrong at work, I just broke down a little bit when my boss expressed frustration at something that I did wrong, because my concentration was just GONE. So I told him about the ADHD and how I was trying to bring it under control, but it's been a frustrating process in its own right. So now he's reading articles on 'managing the ADHD employee'. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing.
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Jun 25, 2011 06:04
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Qu Appelle posted:Welp. This might be a good thing. My boss knows gently caress all about ADHD. I explained how needing medicine wasnt the same as Addiction and how I just lack something in my brain to function at a normal pace. She is entirely understanding about my issue, but I also bust my rear end day in/day out. Maybe being frank with your boss about what you deal with will help? It could also hurt you. Maybe bring up your own ADHD Employee strategies? It sounds like he wants you around enough to google how to best help you in your work environment.
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Jun 25, 2011 06:10
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2508084 posted:This might be a good thing. My boss knows gently caress all about ADHD. I explained how needing medicine wasnt the same as Addiction and how I just lack something in my brain to function at a normal pace. She is entirely understanding about my issue, but I also bust my rear end day in/day out. Yeah, that all is true. Basically, I've been doing OK but I had a bad day, and everything that could go wrong seemingly did. I know there's other employees with health issues, and he works with those. I'll just wait for him to approach me about it. In the meantime, I do have that call into my doc. So at least I'm trying to do something about it on my end.
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Jun 25, 2011 06:42
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Well, he shouldn't be reading something published by someone else on how to manage you. You should be working with him to come up with a system that works for you both so you can do your job satisfactorily (for you and him).
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Jun 25, 2011 07:02
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TheBigBad posted:Well, he shouldn't be reading something published by someone else on how to manage you. You should be working with him to come up with a system that works for you both so you can do your job satisfactorily (for you and him). I think it's uncharted territory for both of us. I'll just see how it plays out. And mentally, I'm just too tired to come up with anything that even sounds like a rational response right now.
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Jun 25, 2011 07:03
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Qu Appelle posted:I think it's uncharted territory for both of us. I'll just see how it plays out. And mentally, I'm just too tired to come up with anything that even sounds like a rational response right now. Understandable. Probably why a lot of ADHD people become entrepreneurs.
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Jun 25, 2011 08:18
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Aculard posted:The real question I'd be worried about is why do you believe taking the medication will be a super negative experience that will do something as serious as change your personality? Because the words my doctor used when he prescribed me piracetam were "well, this might be better as it doesn't influence your personality". Roughly translated from Dutch of course. But I've always been a bit paranoid about drugs such as anti-depressives and so on. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm already a pretty depressed person and while I think that'd change if I could just focus better on the tasks I start(you have no idea how many stories I've started writing and just got bored of after a page) I might be generally happier. What scares me though is that some medicine can actually make you more depressed. Part of my worries also come from the fear that I don't have ADD, but if I were to be given ritalin or adderal it might affect me badly because of it. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Either way, I think I'll give the doctor a visit.
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Jun 25, 2011 10:18
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TheBigBad posted:Understandable. Probably why a lot of ADHD people become entrepreneurs. Yeah. I'm seeing it more and more. Part of my Master Plan™ is to become an Independent Programming Contractor. I take the gigs I want, I don't take the gigs I don't want, I work remotely, I already have a tax accountant I use every year, etc. Maybe in a couple of years or so. While I'm grateful to have full time, permanent employment, I also forgot how oddly constricting it can be. To NeilPerry - depression isn't a side effect that everyone gets, nor is it a side effect that's associated with every medication. Definitely talk to your doctor about it, and hopefully they can recommend a medication that has a reduced chance of triggering that side effect. Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Jun 25, 2011 |
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Jun 25, 2011 19:22
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Every time I do my accounting homework I feel like a moron. I have a lovely professor, and the book sucks but without my meds- I'm a helpless moron. I'm gifted in algebra, I can write SQL and design relational databases at an enterprise level. I can't tell you what the entry will look like if you convert bonds into common stock though... not with the book open with any certainty. It makes me wonder how much input I'm really losing when I read, or watch something. How much of it just falls right out of your brain with or without meds?
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Jun 26, 2011 08:04
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TheBigBad posted:It makes me wonder how much input I'm really losing when I read, or watch something. How much of it just falls right out of your brain with or without meds? Without the meds I have to write almost everything down to remember it, to the point where my nickname in high school was Leonard Shelby. With them, I can remember the important stuff (my schedule, if I've taken my meds, etc.) but I still forget small things like people asking me to do stuff, where I put something, or what I've ate. When it comes to reading, it's nigh impossible for me to read a long fiction book or a book about something I don't know without taking notes, marking pages, and drawing it out. Something that did help me with learning new things in college was just listening to the lecture, then writing down the stuff I hear after class, then talking with the prof about it. It might not be possible to do that if you're in a super big class, though.
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Jun 26, 2011 19:44
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Account and ADHD? Are you... Serious? That's like torture...
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Jun 26, 2011 20:28
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Today I woke up with my alarm, took my morning Adderall sitting up in bed. Fell asleep for another 2 hours. Now I'm still tired. When my alarm went off I had gotten 8 hours of sleep, the extra 2 makes 10. I feel tired all the time no matter how much I sleep so I'm not seeing the point in sleeping.
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Jun 27, 2011 22:47
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Well I finally got my overly expensive 8 hour test battery results back. Turns out that, yup, I am ADHD. So I am on my first week of taking Ritalin. Though rather inconsistently. Not sure how awake and focused I wanted to be for conference presentations and long road trips.
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Jun 27, 2011 22:50
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Wartime Consigliere posted:Today I woke up with my alarm, took my morning Adderall sitting up in bed. Fell asleep for another 2 hours. If I sleep less than six or more than seven hours, I'm absolutely exhausted all day.
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Jun 27, 2011 23:57
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Goodpancakes posted:Well I finally got my overly expensive 8 hour test battery results back. Turns out that, yup, I am ADHD. So I am on my first week of taking Ritalin. Though rather inconsistently. Not sure how awake and focused I wanted to be for conference presentations and long road trips. I tend to drive closer to the speed limit on medication. It's not a conscious choice I made, I just notice it when I look down at the odometer and I'm going slower than I used to. This usually means the speed limit or 5 over. Meds during a conference would probably make it more bearable since you might get that "this is so interesting" effect even if it's really boring. It'll keep you from feeling excruciating boredom even if it doesn't have that effect. 2508084 posted:If I sleep less than six or more than seven hours, I'm absolutely exhausted all day. I tend to sleep until I get woken up. As a teenager I sometimes slept 15 or 18 hours. That's impossible now with a wife and child, but I don't want to sleep that late anyway. I am 70% deaf and a deep sleeper. I can be hard to wake up. I try to leave a hearing aid in so I hear the baby monitor but then the inside of my ear feels gross the next day.
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Jun 28, 2011 07:41
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Yeah... I have a very advanced alarm clock for when the pager goes off. I call it my wife.
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Jun 28, 2011 07:44
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Wartime Consigliere posted:Today I woke up with my alarm, took my morning Adderall sitting up in bed. Fell asleep for another 2 hours. Consider a sleep study. I had ADHD and extreme exhaustion since I was a kid, turned out I had OSA and never knew it (and no I am not fat). Saved my life.
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Jun 29, 2011 02:49
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Chumbawumba4ever97 fucked around with this message at 12:33 on Sep 18, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2011 19:57
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Hamburglar posted:Dr. started me on Intuniv today. Interestingly, he told me to take it at night, not in the morning. I'm not listening to him and am taking it in the morning as per goons here.
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Jun 29, 2011 22:11
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Generic Adderall. drat, do I enjoying paying $18 vs. $120.
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Jun 29, 2011 22:20
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Tab8715 posted:Generic Adderall. drat, do I enjoying paying $18 vs. $120. I don't remember exactly what kind it was, but today at work I ended up talking to someone about price matching with Costco because their amphetamine salts ended up costing 199 bucks through their insurance. I have no idea what the gently caress was up with that.
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Jun 30, 2011 03:22
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TheBigBad posted:Yeah... I have a very advanced alarm clock for when the pager goes off. I call it my wife. I want a wife  Work ended up going a lot better than planned. I apologized for my little meltdown, and my boss said "Hey - it gets to everybody." Then he did something awesome. I have a lot of bugs that I have to concentrate on for my work. He actually arranged them by *category*, and taped them on the wall right in front of my test machine. Then, he has me tackle each 'category' systematically. Makes things a LOT more organized for me; and I'm getting a fair bit more done at work as a result. And the depression went away now that I'm back on the Dex full time. This is apparently My Drug. I need to stop fighting it.
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Jun 30, 2011 07:09
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Hamburglar posted:Consider a sleep study. I had ADHD and extreme exhaustion since I was a kid, turned out I had OSA and never knew it (and no I am not fat). Saved my life. Hmm. I have some symptoms, but I am also uninsured.
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Jun 30, 2011 10:11
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Okay so my mom is against me going to the doctor for more info because in the end it'll come down to me being prescribed ritalin(I don't think adderall exists in Belgium) and she's pretty certain about it killing your creativity or something. Can anyone comment on that?
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Jun 30, 2011 11:43
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NeilPerry posted:Okay so my mom is against me going to the doctor for more info because in the end it'll come down to me being prescribed ritalin(I don't think adderall exists in Belgium) and she's pretty certain about it killing your creativity or something. Can anyone comment on that? It's bullshit, buy and read Delivered from Distraction. Throughout the book it debunks the creativity killing line of thinking. There's a bio of the CEO of some American domestic flights company who doesn't medicate because of that fear and the author (a doctor specialised in treating ADHD who has it himself) specifically jumps in with "(It doesn't)" when relating the story to the reader. If it helps I just got prescribed a dose Concerta that works for me about a week ago (the extended release version of Ritalin) and if anything I'm more creative: my wandering "creative" thoughts are more on track of what I want to think and I have more ability to follow through with them. To compare, my un-medicated thought process would probably be 30% useful creative thoughts. While medicated, it's more like 80%. I used to think that my creative thought process is intertwined with a load of bullshit thoughts and that's just how it is - to get the good stuff you need the useless wandering thoughts too. It turns out that isn't true at all. For reference I'm usually a massive daydreamer. Even if it were an issue, the way the drugs are broken down by your body means they'll be gone within 24 hours and you can be free to let your thoughts wander completely uninhibited. See: Drug holidays. My parents think I shouldn't be taking medication either and were against me going to the doctor. My dad because he thinks it's normal to have ADHD symptoms. I'm 99% sure he has undiagnosed ADHD. My mother is more believing of me having ADHD but because I can seem relatively normal when I want to via coping mechanisms (i.e. lying to cover up being poo poo at life) and her mad beliefs in homeopathic medicines thinks I shouldn't be "medicating my personality." I obviously can't speak for your situation but I just ignored them because they don't know what they're talking about; they are not doctors. Have your brother or mother ever been medicated? It's possible to have a bad experience with a drug that just doesn't agree with you and you should try another. From lurking this thread I've gleamed that you should ask Qu Appelle about this phenomenon! Out of interest, where are you in Belgium? I'm visiting Brussels for my sister-in-laws wedding in two weeks and I'm super excited because it's the first time I'll be able to do touristy stuff (it's also my second ever holiday!)- the only other time I've visited was for a super depressing World War 1 school trip to West Flanders (mainly Ieper and Kortrijk). Any heads-up on hot places to see? I loving love good beers so I'll probably end up staying in the Delirium bar in the centre of Brussels the whole time but I do have a trip to Bruges planned. Also, today I did the dumbest thing: woke up and took my meds like normal but then fell back asleep for an hour. I thought I'd dreamt taking my meds so took another. I'm pretty much buzzing right now, it's like a mega coffee. SAVE-LISP-AND-DIE fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Jun 30, 2011 |
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Jun 30, 2011 13:26
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strange posted:It's bullshit, buy and read Delivered from Distraction. Throughout the book it debunks the creativity killing line of thinking. There's a bio of the CEO of some American domestic flights company who doesn't medicate because of that fear and the author (a doctor specialised in treating ADHD who has it himself) specifically jumps in with "(It doesn't)" when relating the story to the reader. Thank you very much. My mom almost convinced me, no matter how much I need better concentration for schoolwork I wouldn't sacrifice my creativity to achieve that. Now that I know it isn't true I can go to the doctor without any fear. strange posted:Out of interest, where are you in Belgium? I'm visiting Brussels for my sister-in-laws wedding in two weeks and I'm super excited because it's the first time I'll be able to do touristy stuff (it's also my second ever holiday!)- the only other time I've visited was for a super depressing World War 1 school trip to West Flanders (mainly Ieper and Kortrijk). Any heads-up on hot places to see? I loving love good beers so I'll probably end up staying in the Delirium bar in the centre of Brussels the whole time but I do have a trip to Bruges planned. I sadly don't know anything about Brussels, I've actually never been there in my life. I live at the coast and go to school in Leuven but I'm sometimes with my dad in Bruges. However, I hardly ever go out there so I have no idea what places are any good. I'd say the Irish pub at the Burg or the Republiek next to the cinema in the Sint-Jakobsstraat. There's also the Lucifernium which is a very special bar that's only open on certain days and has a €5 entry fee. All the drinks are also €5, no matter how much(or little) alcohol is in it. It's actually an old freemason lodge and the owner hangs all of his strange art in it. But I haven't been there in years so I'm not sure if it's still worth going.
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Jun 30, 2011 14:00
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