Any experiences with ADHD (in adults)?

[Jeff Kelly]

I know that Schild generally despises self help threads but what the heck ;-)

A few weeks ago I accidentally stumbled upon material about ADHD, its symptoms, the issues people with ADHD have to deal with and especially what changes when people with ADHD become adults.

It has been a small revelation to me because the symptons associated with the disorder describe how I feel in my daily life and kind of explain a lot of the psychological issues I deal with every day. On the other hand I'am not really sure about whether or not I have it because some of the descriptions don't really fit to me.

Since the f13 crowd is such a diverse group of people from all kinds of backgrounds I wanted to ask if anybody has any experience either dealing with ADHD or though friends or family that have it and could offer at least some advice or share the experience.

Before you answer with 'don't ask people on the internets for professional advice on medical or psychological matters' I am also actively looking into professional help and advice on the matter at the moment so don't worry about that.

If you feel that that kind of discussion is really inappropriate feel free to den it.

[Ookii]

Since the f13 crowd is such a diverse group of people from all kinds of backgrounds I wanted to ask if anybody has any experience either dealing with ADHD or though friends or family that have it and could offer at least some advice or share the experience.

See a doctor or a shrink and they'll give you wonderful pills that will allow you to be a super worker.

They also make you a god if you play FPSes.

[Nebu]

Atomoxetine hydrochloride - Strattera.  NEW in 2003 - First demonstrated effective in both adults and children

See a psychiatrist for a diagnosis.  I've known MANY people in medicine with ADD/ADHD.  It's really not all that uncommon. 

[schild]

Is strattera as much fun as ritalin?

Also, I'm still in the camp that doesn't really buy adult add/adhd, but I'm pretty much a dick about it.

Edit: Strattera is a non-stimulant? Comeon now, why would ANYONE take that over ritalin?

It's really not all that uncommon. 

Is that because it's pooly diagnosed and people are prone to being flighty can't-focus yutzes?

[Nebu]

The two drugs have different MoAs. 

ADD/ADHD is all about a chemical lack of stimulation of certain centers of the brain responsible for focus.  It's nothing you can choose not to have, unless you have the magical ability to change your brain biochemistry by thinking about it. 

[Nebu]

Is that because it's pooly diagnosed and people are prone to being flighty can't-focus yutzes?

To some degree.  Many people do see pharmacologic management as a good and useful thing.  You can do double blind studies to demonstrate this. 

[schild]

It's nothing you can choose not to have, unless you have the magical ability to change your brain biochemistry by thinking about it.

I see you've found me out. You'll pay for this!

Is that because it's pooly diagnosed and people are prone to being flighty can't-focus yutzes?

To some degree.  Many people do see pharmacologic management as a good and useful thing.  You can do double blind studies to demonstrate this. 

In this case, I would even question a double-blind, simply because if someone thinks they're supposed to focus they probably will. I was misdiagnosed when I was younger. There's a good reason I'm completely wary of it even being a real disease/disorder.

[Nebu]

Well... you can manage ADD symptoms by behavioral modification, but this doesn't treat the chemical/physiological cause.  It's a coping mechanism.

[Nebu]

In this case, I would even question a double-blind, simply because if someone thinks they're supposed to focus they probably will. I was misdiagnosed when I was younger. There's a good reason I'm completely wary of it even being a real disease/disorder.

Good science uses large sample sizes to overcome outliers like yourself.

[schild]

In this case, I would even question a double-blind, simply because if someone thinks they're supposed to focus they probably will. I was misdiagnosed when I was younger. There's a good reason I'm completely wary of it even being a real disease/disorder.

Good science uses large sample sizes to overcome outliers like yourself.

When was the last time any pharmaceutical company's studies could be classified as good science and not profit-driven. How many drugs are on the market for shit they've made up because people are inherently flawed?

Edit: I'm not trying to be mean, I just throw ADHD medicine under the same umbrella as acupuncture. Read: Bullshit. I mean, I LOVE adhd medicine, it would make ANYONE feel super awesome and super focused (unless they were allergic), but the idea that anyone needs it is just, well, weird to me.

[Nebu]

Edit: I'm not trying to be mean, I just throw ADHD medicine under the same umbrella as acupuncture.

ACK!

ADHD is caused by a lack of neurotransmitter in a synaptic cleft of select neurons.  This is testable.  Academic neuroscientists around the world (unaffiliated with pharmaceutical companies) confirm this. 

This is very different from chiropractic or accupuncture. 

[schild]

Edit: I'm not trying to be mean, I just throw ADHD medicine under the same umbrella as acupuncture.

ACK!

ADHD is caused by a lack of neurotransmitter in a synaptic cleft of select neurons.  This is testable.  Academic neuroscientists around the world (unaffiliated with pharmaceutical companies) confirm this. 

This is very different from chiropractic or accupuncture. 

Is it testable via a chemical/blood/some other physical test or is it testable by a bunch of shitty questions on a piece of paper administered by your local doc? Because if it's the former, I'd like to know what the fuck the doctors of the world are doing with our children.

[Nebu]

It is testable.  In animals you look at neurotransmitter levels in the presence and absence of agent, etc.

Is it overprescribed.  You bet.  Is ADD overdiagnosed?  You bet.

Is ADD/ADHD a real disorder, yes!  Do as many people have it as get prescriptions for it, decidedly not.


EDIT: FOR THE RECORD... my expertise is in Cancer and infectious disease.  The above information is all my OPINION and should be taken as such.

[chargerrich]

OK true story...

My youngest son has ADHD and takes something called "concerta" which is a branded ritalin... Before letting him take it starting a few years ago I researched it and found that it is almost 99% identical to Cocaine!  

Needless to say I had a long talk with the Dr who convinced me that differences were enough and that my son needed it. Now keep in mind that I was pretty hardcore into the camp, that this "syndrome" was invented and that since it did not exist when I was a kid and we "did ok" that my son did not need it.

To make a long story short, it has done wonders for him in school but that is not the point of my post. I actually took one myself one time and all I can is DAMN! I was so focused at work I considered going to a Dr.  

However I thought better of it as that would be a bad example to set for my kids, but I can imagine I would finally be able to kick my sons ass (other son) in Gears of War and Halo.  

[schild]

I actually took one myself one time and all I can is DAMN! I was so focused at work I considered going to a Dr.

The number of adults addicted to concerta and ritalin, particularly among soccer moms with multiple kids, is always on the rise. I, myself, would have no problems having an endless supply.

[MrHat]

I actually took one myself one time and all I can is DAMN! I was so focused at work I considered going to a Dr.

The number of adults addicted to concerta and ritalin, particularly among soccer moms with multiple kids, is always on the rise. I, myself, would have no problems having an endless supply.

Hook a brotha up.

I need some chemical give-a-fuck.

[Nebu]

Here's something I should have mentioned earlier: Ask yourself why an amphetamine would be used as the treatment for a hyperactivity disorder.  It's all about the stimulation of a focal center. 

Hope I helped a little.

[Sky]

I've considered getting some pharma help, I've read a lot on the subject. I'm really really ADHD, though I've built a lot of coping structures. Having the chemical imbalance + being extremely right-brained is difficult, but there are a lot of downsides to the pharma solution, too. You do lose some of your amazing abilities that are also the things that make life so very difficult. Dunno, kinda want to try it out and see how much of the beneficial side I lose vs how much I gain by calming down and focusing.

Some of my band's longest opuses were written while my singer (also very right-brained and more adhd than me) were under the influence of amphetamines, the fact that we were able to concentrate on a single task for hours was shocking, and we just thought that was what amphetamines did for you.

Really interesting reading on the subject, and I was able to refine a few of my coping mechanisms, but they take so much out of me and slip away very easily.

[Montague]

I've considered getting some pharma help, I've read a lot on the subject. I'm really really ADHD, though I've built a lot of coping structures. Having the chemical imbalance + being extremely right-brained is difficult, but there are a lot of downsides to the pharma solution, too. You do lose some of your amazing abilities that are also the things that make life so very difficult. Dunno, kinda want to try it out and see how much of the beneficial side I lose vs how much I gain by calming down and focusing.

Some of my band's longest opuses were written while my singer (also very right-brained and more adhd than me) were under the influence of amphetamines, the fact that we were able to concentrate on a single task for hours was shocking, and we just thought that was what amphetamines did for you.

Really interesting reading on the subject, and I was able to refine a few of my coping mechanisms, but they take so much out of me and slip away very easily.

The best music was all written under the influence of mind-altering drugs. Might be why music these days seems to suck compared to the 60's and 70's. 

[K9]

ADHD is caused by a lack of neurotransmitter in a synaptic cleft of select neurons.  This is testable.  Academic neuroscientists around the world (unaffiliated with pharmaceutical companies) confirm this. 

Can you test for that without any invasive action?

[Nebu]

Can you test for that without any invasive action?

In humans, not that I'm aware of.  Treatment of neurochemical disorders is very much a trial-and-error or titration sort of affair.

[Yegolev]

It was probably 1.5 or 2 years ago that I figured out I have all of the symptoms of ADHD except for the hyperactivity part.  I haven't gone to be diagnosed even though I think meds would help, but considering my relatively awesome mental health this year, I might do it now.  The interesting thing is that simply being aware of it has helped me tremendously; instead of fighting against myself by trying to be like Everyone Else, I go with my strengths and compensate for my weaknesses.  This has also greatly reduced my overall stress.

I'm still pretty damned disorganized and cannot do more than one thing at a time.

[Teleku]

The best music was all written under the influence of mind-altering drugs. Might be why music these days seems to suck compared to the 60's and 70's. 

Are you trying to imply, in any sort of way, that Musicians these days somehow do less drugs than they use to?

[Jeff Kelly]

It was probably 1.5 or 2 years ago that I figured out I have all of the symptoms of ADHD except for the hyperactivity part.  I haven't gone to be diagnosed even though I think meds would help, but considering my relatively awesome mental health this year, I might do it now.  The interesting thing is that simply being aware of it has helped me tremendously; instead of fighting against myself by trying to be like Everyone Else, I go with my strengths and compensate for my weaknesses.  This has also greatly reduced my overall stress

Sometimes it takes me a whole day to start with a task that I don't like doing even though it might only take a few minutes to do. I constantly fight against myself, get totally stressed out, frustrated and even depressed that I fail to do something really fucking simple or that I take hours for simple tasks.

I always berate myself for being lazy or stupid or forgetting things and at the end of the day I am strung out from constantly fighting with myself.

I never told anybody because I was really ashamed about that. How do you tell somebody 'Hey today it took me 4 hours to write a fucking e-mail'.

So as silly as that may sound I really hope that my intuition is right because that at least would explain things and at the same time I am really really cautious because maybe I just want it to be just so that I have an explanation.

Sounds weird, eh?

[schild]

Man, you just sound stressed out.

[Jeff Kelly]

Maybe. I don't know.

But I intend to find out.

[sigil]

It was probably 1.5 or 2 years ago that I figured out I have all of the symptoms of ADHD except for the hyperactivity part.  I haven't gone to be diagnosed even though I think meds would help, but considering my relatively awesome mental health this year, I might do it now.  The interesting thing is that simply being aware of it has helped me tremendously; instead of fighting against myself by trying to be like Everyone Else, I go with my strengths and compensate for my weaknesses.  This has also greatly reduced my overall stress

Sometimes it takes me a whole day to start with a task that I don't like doing even though it might only take a few minutes to do. I constantly fight against myself, get totally stressed out, frustrated and even depressed that I fail to do something really fucking simple or that I take hours for simple tasks.

I always berate myself for being lazy or stupid or forgetting things and at the end of the day I am strung out from constantly fighting with myself.

I never told anybody because I was really ashamed about that. How do you tell somebody 'Hey today it took me 4 hours to write a fucking e-mail'.

So as silly as that may sound I really hope that my intuition is right because that at least would explain things and at the same time I am really really cautious because maybe I just want it to be just so that I have an explanation.

Sounds weird, eh?

I've had a combination of these two  for all of my adult life, and probably longer.

Knowing you're not alone is a big help. Knowing it's not just something you're imagining is just as big.

By all means, talk to someone about it. I've been strictly with coping mechanisms, but I'm contemplating going the pharma route after fighting for four years.

[Tale]

Sometimes it takes me a whole day to start with a task that I don't like doing even though it might only take a few minutes to do. I constantly fight against myself, get totally stressed out, frustrated and even depressed that I fail to do something really fucking simple or that I take hours for simple tasks.

I always berate myself for being lazy or stupid or forgetting things and at the end of the day I am strung out from constantly fighting with myself.

I never told anybody because I was really ashamed about that. How do you tell somebody 'Hey today it took me 4 hours to write a fucking e-mail'.

So as silly as that may sound I really hope that my intuition is right because that at least would explain things and at the same time I am really really cautious because maybe I just want it to be just so that I have an explanation.

Sounds weird, eh?

Is it not the case that you are procrastinating because you'd rather be doing something else? If so, here's my diagnosis: you're human. Modern working life does not tolerate the human condition.

[Hindenburg]

If they can afford it, why would anyone use coping mechanisms when they could be using drugs? 

Knowing you're not alone is a big help.

How? No, seriously, how?

[schild]

How? No, seriously, how?

I don't know. I've never understood the need to not be alone. That part of my brain doesn't exist. As such, I find alcoholics anonymous a totally laughable endeavor for anyone, including addicts.

[Ingmar]

It was probably 1.5 or 2 years ago that I figured out I have all of the symptoms of ADHD except for the hyperactivity part.  I haven't gone to be diagnosed even though I think meds would help, but considering my relatively awesome mental health this year, I might do it now.  The interesting thing is that simply being aware of it has helped me tremendously; instead of fighting against myself by trying to be like Everyone Else, I go with my strengths and compensate for my weaknesses.  This has also greatly reduced my overall stress

Sometimes it takes me a whole day to start with a task that I don't like doing even though it might only take a few minutes to do. I constantly fight against myself, get totally stressed out, frustrated and even depressed that I fail to do something really fucking simple or that I take hours for simple tasks.

I always berate myself for being lazy or stupid or forgetting things and at the end of the day I am strung out from constantly fighting with myself.

I never told anybody because I was really ashamed about that. How do you tell somebody 'Hey today it took me 4 hours to write a fucking e-mail'.

So as silly as that may sound I really hope that my intuition is right because that at least would explain things and at the same time I am really really cautious because maybe I just want it to be just so that I have an explanation.

Sounds weird, eh?

My COMPLETELY non-professional guess is that this isn't ADHD, it is depression.

[Yegolev]

Sometimes it takes me a whole day to start with a task that I don't like doing even though it might only take a few minutes to do. I constantly fight against myself, get totally stressed out, frustrated and even depressed that I fail to do something really fucking simple or that I take hours for simple tasks.

This is a symptom.  Huge difficulty doing things you do not want to do.  It's not because you are lazy, it's because your brain doesn't work like everyone else's.  What works for me is some combination of finding a way to make it interesting or waiting until it is interesting.  Both of these methods make no sense to normal people, but they work.

I always berate myself for being lazy or stupid or forgetting things and at the end of the day I am strung out from constantly fighting with myself.

Stop doing those things.  Firstly, there are other people like you and your situation is well-documented.  Secondly, you probably have great talents at certain things and ignore these in favor of beating up on yourself for not being like a regular person.  You might be fine with just making some adjustments to how you do things, see ADHD coaches for this.  Otherwise you can see a doctor.  You will know soon enough if the meds work for you or do not, and if not then get off them.

Sounds weird, eh?

Nope, all that sounds exactly like me.  Do you wear a watch?  ADHD people do not often wear watches.

As for depression, it's fucking depressing to be unable to do things a normal person can do easily while being unable to explain why, plus the fact that most people think ADHD is bullshit and tell you that you are lazy doesn't exactly make you feel good about yourself.  Best advice is to see a doctor and get it all sorted.

If they can afford it, why would anyone use coping mechanisms when they could be using drugs? 

This is a great question, actually.  I think I just don't care for taking a pill every day.  Did that already, feel better now.

[MrHat]

 What works for me is some combination of finding a way to make it interesting or waiting until it is interesting.

Been doing that for years.  In fact, I'm doing that RIGHT NOW.

But ya, almost everything you two have posted is me to a T.  I've just been procrastinating for so many years that I'm curious if a chemical will break my Cycle.

[gryeyes]

While there may be actual neurochemical imbalances in some people that are "diagnosed" ADHD/ADD they sure as fuck are in the minority of people on ADD/ADHD drugs. You can get a diagnosis and prescription for ADHD/ADD after a 30 second conversation with a doctor.

[Nebu]

While there may be actual neurochemical imbalances in some people that are "diagnosed" ADHD/ADD they sure as fuck are in the minority of people on ADD/ADHD drugs. You can get a diagnosis and prescription for ADHD/ADD after a 30 second conversation with a doctor.

Which agrees with what I said above.  It's a part of the growing problem with having a profit-based healthcare system.  Give the customer what they want or they will go someplace else.