Hello there:I'm interested in understanding adults who are diagnosed with ADD in their twenties (or later). I can understand the ADHD perspective, but the ADD aspect is not as well understood.1. What is it like to have ADD? Can you tell me about some of your experiences and what made you suspect you had it? What is it like to hear but not be able to listen, or read but not be able to comprehend meaning? Could you wathc movies? Could you even proofread your own writings?2.Did someone have to point it out to you? Were you ridiculed about it by your close relatives?3. When you visited the doctor, how did they rule out depression? That is, when you told them about your symptoms did they try to prescribe you antidepressants before trying stimulants? I find its tough to diffrentiate the two. I imagine someone with attentional problems is going to have trouble at home and work which may lead to depression. But in the other case depression may be the original cause and attentional problems would follow. Thank you very much for sharing your stories. It must be very difficult to try to describe this experience for others.Django
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For adults with ADD
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I am an adult with ADD. I was diagnosed in my early twenties. I was having trouble learning to drive. My dad suggested I might have some kind of phobia about driving, because I couldn't learn. So he paid for me to go to a shrink to figure out what the problem was. It turned out I have ADD and just never realized it.
The doctor prescribed Wellbutrin and it helped a lot, but then I had a siezure, which is a common side effect of Wellbutrin (especially if you also consume a lot of caffeine). So I stopped taking medication and just learned how to deal with the ADD as best I can on my own.
What it's like (at least for me) is that I have a lot of trouble focusing or thinking straight if there are two things going on at once. For instance, if the TV was going or some music was on the stereo, I would be having trouble typing this because my thoughts would be all scattered. I could still type, you know, but I'd just make a lot of mistakes and not be able to express my thoughts as well.
But it is possible to adjust your life so that you can cope with this, even without meds.
There is no way of knowing whether you have ADD, really, without going to the doctor for a diagnosis.
Good luck. -
In reply to:
if the TV was going or some music was on the stereo, I would be having trouble typing this because my thoughts would be all scattered. I could still type, you know, but I'd just make a lot of mistakes and not be able to express my thoughts as well.
i had that kinda shit too about 2 years ago, but looks like it dissapeared. mine probably was from a very stresing school year
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My younger brother, who is 46, got diagnosed with ADD about seven years ago. We never could figure out why he couldn't hold a job or effectively cope with life, in general. He is on medication but which kind I don't know. He used to be the best brother a person could have, until he started the meds. Now, I don't know whether he is coming or going! Sometimes, I want to fly down to Arizona and shake some sense into him. I care for him so much but I'm at a loss on what to do. His wife is trying many avenues and has managed to turn him into a hypochondriac. He takes pills for his heart, sinuses, back pain, chloresterol, depression and allergies to everything, in general. Obviously, he is over medicated and I can't get his wife to admit it and I feel that all these drugs are screwing up his medication for ADD. Any ideas?
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Drugs for ADD or ADHD can really mess you up. I have ADHD and was diagnosed with it when I was very young and was put on Riddlin. It made me a complete zombie. I would sit at home and just stare off into space, someone would look at me and it'd make me cry, it'd make me walk to the halls at night because I couldn't go to sleep. I hated it because I didn't feel like me. My parents hated it to so they took me off the medication, and I've had to deal with my ADHD on my own with the help of my famliy and friends. I think you should sit down with your brothers wife and talk to her about your brother and the reasons for all these medications she has him on and see if he really needs then. To me, it doesn't sound like he does and I think you need to ask if she has any proof (medically) that he actually needs all of that to help him. ADD/ADHD can cause a lot of problems in your life. As I said, I've known that I had it since I was really young and I've had it all my life (which I'm pretty sure its something you can't out grow, just something you have to over come). When I was in high school I used to get in so much trouble from my teachers because I couldn't pay attention to them. I couldn't because while they were talking to the class other students would be either talking or making noise and I just couldn't keep myself from paying attention to all the other things in the classroom. It was really hard for my in school because my ADHD would always keep me from doing my very best. When I'd write papers I'd have to stay after class to have my teacher read the paper before I could turn it in because I'd forget to add words or completly leave out important facts. When I would read it, I'd automatically add the words in so I would never know I messed up until a teacher would point it out to me. My parents and teachers would call me the "Social Butterfly" because I'd get bored becasue I couldn't concentrait(ms?) on my tasks at hand so I'd get up and start talk to anyone and everyone. I do the same thing at work and at college and its really fustraiting(ms?). Its hard to deal with, but I do the best I can.
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Thankyou for your post! I did recently speak with my sister-in-law. My brother has ADHD not ADD. Thanks for clarifying that! He can focus, on one thing very intensely, but will wear blinders to the rest of the world. She is considering to consult a naturalpath to help him and get him off all the crazy meds.
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Well I'm glad that you talked to your sister-in-law. Its hard to deal with, but it is possible, I'm proof of it! ^^ I hope everything goes well with your brother. Good luck and I'll keep you guys in my prayers ^^
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I'll be turning 30 next this coming Feb. '05 and was diagnosed with adult add about a month ago. Here's my resonse to the questions posted: 1. What is it like to have ADD? Can you tell me about some of your experiences and what made you suspect you had it? What is it like to hear but not be able to listen, or read but not be able to comprehend meaning? Could you wathc movies? Could you even proofread your own writings? I'm currently in college and before the holiday break I became concerned with the possibility of have ADD because I found it extremely hard to stay awake in lecture classes that I didn't particularly find interesting. Furthermore, when it came to reading the textbooks I would often read the same paragraphs over and over again (up to 10 or more times) and immediately after reading I still had no clue exactly what the important facts were from the paragraph that I just read. It was very frustrating because I felt as though I was just not able to learn through reading, however, when it came to reading books that I was interested in I was fine so it was quite confusing. It lead me to believe for the longest time that I was just a procrastinator and was subconciously refusing to learn or comprehend the things that I found boring.In lecture classes, it was very difficult keeping on the same track with the instructor. Basically I would do my best in trying to write down everything, but in the process I would have no clue what was just said by the professor as well as ending up with notes that didn't make much sense because I was not always able to keep up. Also, my notes were always fragmented so they were difficult to study from most of the time.When it came to writing essays, reports I had always managed to write excellent papers, however, it seemed to me that I spend numerous hours in getting started with the first sentence. I often would take at least 1-2 days before finally being able to come up with the first sentence, but then once that was started then I would be fine. Watching movies was not much of a problem, but I mostly stuck with movies that interested me. 2.Did someone have to point it out to you? Were you ridiculed about it by your close relatives? In my opinion my case was a bit difficult to point out. I had always managed to get by with excellent results. Most of the time, I was told that school grades were used to identify a possible diagnosis of ADD, however, my grades were gradually improving after a brief drop. When I came back to school, my grades were mediocre (taking classes that did not interest me at all) I came out with all C's. After that first semester my grades slowly improved as I started taking more classes that interested me and often dropping the classes which I knew that I'd be getting C's in. I managed to earn a 3.5 gpa in my first semester after transferring to a new school, but then at the end of my 2nd semester (last semester) my gpa dropped to 3.0 after a boring lecture class. (I was diagnosed with ADD at the end of this semester). It was only after going through with my concerns with my doctor that the both of us determined that I may have ADD. Certain family members were not very supportive, claiming that my inability to focus and frequent forgetfulness was just caused by bad sleeping habits and lack of sleep. However, most have been very supportive, so I guess it just depends on the person. 3. When you visited the doctor, how did they rule out depression? That is, when you told them about your symptoms did they try to prescribe you antidepressants before trying stimulants? I find its tough to diffrentiate the two. I imagine someone with attentional problems is going to have trouble at home and work which may lead to depression. But in the other case depression may be the original cause and attentional problems would follow. Depression was never brought up as a possibility both by myself and my doctor. When I set up my appointment I had stated that I wanted to find out the possibility of having ADD as a result of taking online tests several time regarding ADD. I had taken 4 tests online from an ADD test site in the span of 1 year prior to making the appointment. I notified my doctor that although I question the validity of the tests that I believed that I may have ADD, but was not sure. My doctor asked me questions regarding why I felt I had ADD. I explained to him that I was experiencing diffculty in paying attention and maintaining focus in classes that I found boring, my frustrations with reading, and how I was easily distracted when it came to doing things that I found to be pointless or boring. I also brought up the fact that I was concerned of being misdiagnosed because I still felt that perhaps I was just a big procrastinator. However, in telling my doctor about my experiences, I also recalled my performance in elementary school when I would frequently get in trouble for talking too much in class as well as being constantly distracted while doing homework at that time. Regarding employment, I have had some problems. The longest I've been able to keep a job before eventually quitting has been 2 years. I've always done well in my jobs and have been praised by my supervisors, however, I find it difficult to stay too long because I tend to loose interest or unsatisfied. I believe that these may have been an exception though because I somehow ended up finding jobs that did not require me to focus too much on one thing for too long. I have been a bartender, a cashier, waiter, research consultant, and a program coordinator for a student program at a community college. I manged to excell in these positions, especially the last two because I had way too much to do so I was constantly doing different things throughout the day. Basically I was able to break up what I needed to do so that once I started to feel bored with one thing I would stop and do something else and still maintain productivity.Since being diagnosed last month I started taking Metadate ER 20mg/day. From the first time I took the medication I immediately felt as though a cloud has been lifted. I did notice the ability to focus on whatever it was I was doing at the time. However, since I am still on holiday break from college, I have yet to see how much better I am able to concentrate and focus during lecture classes. Actually, with classes starting next week I am planning to make an appointment with my doctor about changing my dosage. It as been almost a month now since taking the pills and I have concerns about the medication not kicking-in in time for my first class in the morning. Since I'm taking an "extended release" version, it doesn't seem like it will be kicking-in when I need it to. Also, I have concerns about it wearing off before I get started on homework. I almost feel as though I've already developed a tollerance in the short time since last month. As far as a change in personality, I haven't noticed much change at all, except for noticing that I am able to focus my attention rather than being all over the place. I'm able to stay on topic when in engaged in conversation where as I was not able to before...I was constantly changing from one topic to another and then coming back to past topics. I don't feel as though my personality has been affected at all, but rather able to listen to someone for a change instead of cutting someone off.Hope this helps.