Need information/advice

[morgana]

I know there are several folks on these boards who've been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

I need to pick some brains about this subject, and find out whether I'm ADHD or a hypochondriac.

Help?

[SteeleDragon78]

I know there are several folks on these boards who've been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

I need to pick some brains about this subject, and find out whether I'm ADHD or a hypochondriac.

Help?

having dealt with it for most of my life i can tell you that a licensed psychiatrist can properly diagnose you with a couple of methods. i was diagnosed young with a set of observational surveys filled out by my parents, teachers, scout master, etc. then with several 1 on 1 sessions with the doc. we were able to get mine under control with low dose drugs and when i lost my insurance i self medicated with caffeine and nicotine.

if you are worried about being add or adhd, see a professional.

[FuzzyKitten99]

ADD/ADHD is the inability to stay on task, usually because you get sidetracked very easily. You are facinated by intricate items. Shiny stuff is also of interest. Most ADD/ADHD people are very visual and physical learners. Ever see "Emperor's New Groove"? Kuzco will often let his mind wander when someone is talking to him about stuff he has no interest in. Now just because you do that same thing, doesn't mean anything, but if you do it on a regular basis, along with the above mentioned stuff, I suggest you get tested, just so you can get help in order to live life without being tripped up by the problems ADD/ADHD can cause.

It is very treatable, and 99% of the time, only behavior modification is needed, and most times it is just changing simple actions. If you are diagnosed, you will now understand that you are not stupid and that now you know the reasons behind some of the things you do, you can work to change them.

My issue has always been staying on task when my brain lacks stimulation from the activity or I notice something else that will need to be done, and I refocus on that, leaving my previous activity half-done. My whole deal is I think that I will forget about the newly discovered task if I don't tend to it right away.

I am pretty good at multi-tasking though.

[Shangri-laschild]

Yeah, my recommendation would be to talk to a doctor about it and see if you can get diagnosed. I was tested for it when I was very young, so I don't really remember what it was like. They're the ones that are best going to be able to tell you though.

[Lioness Blackfire]

Several of my friends and myself have professionally-diagnosed ADD or ADHD. Just as with all such things, there are different degrees of severity. An acquaintance quoted her (ADHD) daughter as being relieved and delighted when her medication allowed her to focus on one thing at a time. On the other hand, to paraphrase one of my (ADHD) close friends, she just grew to be able to control it herself, with time (and she notes that that may be why she's so good at multitasking, because she's used to having her brain on several tracks at once).

I myself was diagnosed back before they figured out the way to medicate it effectively, and the meds they gave me were so pathetic that even when I accidentally took a double dose there was never any notable change. On the other hand, my ADD is weak. I only have trouble concentrating when I'm very tired or on things that are really, exceptionally boring (a math professor in college who was re-teaching basic fractions, for instance). And ever since I was young (before the diagnosis), I've been generally more productive with additional, irrelevant stimuli (music or the TV) going on as I work.

Everyone really is different.

So, I guess I just wanted to make the point that not all ADD (or ADHD) is crippling. On the other hand, some is. If you feel you have ADHD and that it is inhibiting you from something, then I'd recommend seeing what a psychiatrist has to say.

[morgana]

Thanks, guys.

I do have an appointment Monday to get a psychiatric referral, and I have filled out the DSM-IV "Self-Report Scale" (which scared the hell out of me). I think if I do have it, I'm fairly high-functioning. I just feel so scattered so much of the time.

That's the major problem; the inability to stay focused.

Oh, well, we'll see what the doctors have to say.

Thanks again.

[Amethyst Hunter]

I have ADD, primarily hypoactive (meaning, I'm a slug as opposed to bouncing off the walls hyperactive). However, my brother has ADD hyperactive, so I know quite a bit about both kinds.

Please do PM me if you ever have any questions about it. I'll be glad to offer whatever I can. I never got the help I needed when I was younger, and as a result my life by most accounts (including my own) would be considered a royal failure. I don't want to see anyone else suffer the way I have. No, ADD is not a death sentence, but it's a helluva lot harder if you don't have the resources you need.

(Also, random note: I found out tonight that Michael Phelps, he of the Olympic medals, has ADHD. My admiration for him just shot up about a gajillion points now.)

Anyways, good luck, and like I said, feel free to PM me anytime if you have any questions about ADD-stuff. :)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I was never diagnosed as ADHD/ADD but I have to say I'm pretty certain I am.

I mean, I've told the story several times about how my elementary school teachers lured my mom to school for a meeting about my "reading habits" and at the meeting they then started trying to persuade her to put me on Ritalin.

Nowadays I usually don't have problems focusing on tasks at work, but sometimes I find it difficult, especially if I don't have anything in particular I need to be doing. I also can multi-task pretty good.

[protege]

I mean, I've told the story several times about how my elementary school teachers lured my mom to school for a meeting about my "reading habits" and at the meeting they then started trying to persuade her to put me on Ritalin.

My mother had a similar discussion with the idiots at my elementary school. They thought I was either stupid or "slow," simply because I seemed "out of it" most of the time. Sorry, but I already knew how to read--according to my mother, I taught myself. While the other kids were reading about Dick, Jane, and their dog Spot...I was busy reading about sports cars. In other words, I was bored :p

I do admit though, I do have trouble staying focused sometimes. Especially with my model projects. I don't know why, but I sometimes get bored with whatever I'm working on...and work on something else. That's why it's front-page news whenever I do finish a car. (Shut up, Dale :p)

[RetailWorkhorse]

I mean, I've told the story several times about how my elementary school teachers lured my mom to school for a meeting about my "reading habits" and at the meeting they then started trying to persuade her to put me on Ritalin.

...the teachers tried that stunt with EQ and I, as well. I never paid attention in class because it was DULL and I was already reading Reader's Digest Condenced Novels in the second grade.

EQ's teacher came to our house one day to talk to Mom about her "lack of reading habits" and Mom showed the nosy bitch our bookcases (books stacked everywhere, we're HUGE readers in the family). Most of it educational, some Sci-fi, and a lot of Sword and Sorcery.

Cathy-boss-chan describes ADD/ADHD as "RW on crack" :roll:
I have the attention span of a gnat on acid most days.

[blas]

I was placed in Special Education in kindergarten because at screening (where to-be kindergarteners are tested to see where they stand against other kids their age, to be sure they are ready for school, and I guess to see if they are special needs or "normal"....not sure if they still do it, this was back in 1992) I was cranky and refused to listen.

Well let's see...most kids are very uptight and don't listen to strangers anyway. And this was the first time in my life that I had to get up at the crack of dawn and be somewhere super early. I was tired and cranky. But that automatically meant I was mentally disabled, right?

I stay skeptical until a psychiatrist has diagnosed it and prescribed medication or some kind of non drug therapy as an alternative. Too many people self diagnose themselves or others. Or they speculate. There is nothing wrong with wondering to yourself "Do I have this?" but it's always best to get a professional opinion.

I have found that talk therapy works very well. Well heck, this is a great place for chat therapy :) Going through something with other people's support is always a major ingredient for success.

[Amethyst Hunter]

I stay skeptical until a psychiatrist has diagnosed it and prescribed medication or some kind of non drug therapy as an alternative. Too many people self diagnose themselves or others. Or they speculate. There is nothing wrong with wondering to yourself "Do I have this?" but it's always best to get a professional opinion.

ADD is one of those things where it's both overdiagnosed *and* underdiagnosed. It's easy to take one look at a hyperactive kid and go "Oh, he's/she's ADD." But the key with any form of ADD is that the symptoms HAVE to be chronic - that is, repeating consistently over a period of time. A hyperactive kid could just as easily be wound up for other reasons, not necessarily ADD.

The sad thing is that on the other side of the spectrum, those that go underdiagnosed don't get the help that they need, and by the time anyone does think to examine them the damage has already been done. (*points to self as example*) This is why girls with ADD have a much harder time in general than do boys - the boys tend to have that easily noticeable hyperactivity, while girls tend to have the hyPOactive variant that makes them quiet and daydreamy (which, ironically, fits in with cultural conditioning that mandates girls be 'nice' and eager to please others) and therefore not as noticeable. And the girls who do have the hyperactivity are often dismissed as tomboys or unfeminine. I HIGHLY recommend Sari Solden's book Women With Attention Deficit Disorder for any woman who suspects or knows she has ADD. It will break your heart, but it will also enlighten you.