Do you have ADD?

[Peppergirl]

Well, caffeine pills are far better for you than pills like Stackers and Dexatrim.

Excuse me? Excuse me??? Are you saying I need a WEIGHT LOSS PILL!?!?!?




Just kidding, hon.

But yeah - and I think a bottle of 50 of them were like 4.00 or so. Jet Alert is the brand name. I think I got them at Target.

[draggar]

But yeah - and I think a bottle of 50 of them were like 4.00 or so. Jet Alert is the brand name. I think I got them at Target.

I went to Target today (to get other things, too) and they don't sell it anymore. Maybe I'll check Walgreens tomorrow.

[Peppergirl]

I went to Target today (to get other things, too) and they don't sell it anymore. Maybe I'll check Walgreens tomorrow.

I know if you have dollar general or family dollar down there, they sell them. I'm pretty sure it's Family Dollar, now that I think about it.

Love,

Peppergirl the drug-pusher.

[draggar]

We have both.

[Misanthropical]

There is a ton of evidence that shows ADHD being passed through paternal lines. Therefore, your father having it increases your sons' chances of having it - even more so if your husband has any of it in his family. My grandfather has it (not diagnosed, but it's obvious), my dad has it (same story), and my brother and I have it. Interestingly enough, it seems to be more common in boys than in girls...which may explain partially how your daughter is "normal", but your sons are both ADHD.

There is no signs of it in my husband's family, only in mine. I wish I would have gotten help for it starting in elementary school, but it was unheard of back then.

I was labeled as a daydreamer, easily distracted and not working to my potential all through the time I was in school.

I'm glad my sons are getting the help they need to deal with the ADHD and ADD and don't have to try to deal with it on their own.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Update:

According to the psychologist who gave me a battery of tests, I do not have ADD. He has tentatively diagnosed me with a condition called Cyclothymia, which is basically a mild form of Bipolar Disorder.

The 'mild' part of that is a misnomer. It can still cause great trouble with a person's life. He is recommending psychotherapy and mild medication.

It's so nice to finally understand what's wrong with me!

[Der Cute]

Ask him again...

is this Bipolar I or Bipolar II ?

Strangely enough, a lot of anti-seizure drugs are used for people with Bipolar! Be careful with drug treatment, as anyone should. Make notes for the doc...keep a log.

Oh by the way. Pay attention to the moon. Watch yourself around New Moon and Full Moon. A friend of mine with Bipolar went manic-y around Moon. Was like clockwork.

Hugs, and I'm glad someone's got a plan of attack!

Cutenoob

[thegiraffe]

Cute, cyclothymia is type II, but it's "mild". Essentially, it's less extreme mania (hypomania) and less extreme depression. The swings are still there, but they don't go as far up or down. Bipolar and ADHD can present quite similarly - particularly the hypomanic component, and they're sometimes treated with the same medication. I don't know TOO awful much about bipolar, but I do know a little.

The major thing I want to stress is that the pop culture definition of bipolar is WRONG. If anything, it's more like explosive disorder or borderline personality disorder (happy one minute, angry/sad the next). Even rapid cycling bipolar only has 7-10 cycles of mania and depression per year. It's not an instantaneous change or even a quick flip-flop. That's one thing that really frustrates me, but I'm weird like that.

TPG, cyclothymia (or cyclothymic disorder, as it's sometimes called) has a pretty decent prognosis. Most patients lead a relatively normal life and learn to function with medication and some re-training. Since you present similarly to ADHD, I would visit some ADHD resources to help manage those symptoms and function at the highest level possible.

Glad to know what it is!!

[Jack T. Chance]

I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I've known ever since I was a child that I've had it, I was diagnosed probably in first or second grade (back when it was simply called "hyperactivity".) I went through many years of treatment for it as a child, learning how to cope with it, how to control it on my own, without drugs (the drugs that were available at the time were too unpredictable when I took them, too unreliable in controlling my ADHD.) It took a long time, and I ended up feeling like I had to go through Hell and back to get to where I eventually ended up, which is as someone that controls my ADHD, more than I let it control me. In the process, I believe I became a much stronger person, emotionally and mentally, and over the last several years, at times, I've genuinely surprised myself with just how strong I've become, how strong I can be when it really matters.

In reading about ADHD over the years, I stumbled upon a discussion of it on another messageboard I go to. Someone in that topic (a topic that's long-gone now, unfortunately) had said that they read or heard somewhere that people with ADHD experience emotions MUCH more deeply and intensely than individuals that don't have our condition. It's apparently part & parcel of ADHD.

This may have a LOT to do with how severe my depression gets at times. I've always had a big heart, and always felt like I was the odd man out, because I could never understand how other people could seemingly turn their emotions on and off like a switch, while I could not. I used to wonder why people seemed less affected by life's major events, both good and bad, than I was. I always wondered how people could be so cold compared to me. But I don't wonder about that anymore. Now I know why I am the way I am. It's because of my ADHD, apparently.

It's as much a blessing, as it is a curse. Those of us with ADHD will, apparently, experience depths of emotion that others can never experience, and therefore, can never truly understand. If a "normal" person's emotional experience is like a black & white film with a mono soundtrack, we get the full TECHNICOLOR, THX SURROUND SOUND experience! We are able to experience love, and joy, and happiness, and all of the other "good" emotions in life, much more deeply and richly than "normal" people. The downside is that the same holds true for the darker emotions... anger, envy, feelings of inadequacy, depression... those are all deepened, as well. But I suppose you have to take the bad with the good in this case, just like everything else in this life.

As for the caffeine thing... I always start my day with a Mountain Dew, it helps me wake up. I used to drink it like a FIEND, all throughout the day, but I had to stop drinking so much when I realized how many calories are in it... I was gaining too much weight from all the excess calories.

So, these days, I usually limit myself to one bottle of Dew a day. Some days I may have a second soda, like a Coke, but I try really hard not to do that too often, because I can't STAND diet sodas, and there really ARE a lot of excess calories in regular soda.

If I think of anything else about my experiences with ADHD that's worth mentioning, I'll post it later.

[thegiraffe]

Diagnosed with ADHD when I was four.

When you were four? How long ago was that? The accepted diagnosis age is 7, but the symptoms have to appear on a consistent basis for six months prior to the diagnosis. My major concern about diagnosing at four is that there is a lot of gray area between developmentally appropriate and inappropriate. Also, most ADHD symptoms don't truly present until school-age because kids don't really have to sit still and be attentive in preschool, and it's limited in Kindergarten.

I'm not saying that the diagnosis is incorrect, I just have a huge problem with early diagnoses. There also isn't a whole lot that is known about long-term effects of ritalin and other drugs on such a young brain.

*Somewhat unrelated tangent* I've been wrestling with what to get my Master's in when I go back to school, and I think I've decided that I want to study everything about ADHD and hopefully work on some research to get a better understanding of it. It's clear that my passions are ADHD (and related disorders) and education, so it just makes sense!! It's so nice to have an idea of direction!!

[4love]

thegiraffe- let me know if you want a test subject/case study.

[thegiraffe]

I'd love one! Now I just have to find a graduate program that would do something like that, and someone to pay for it

A master's degree would cost me about 30k, and that's just tuition and books!!!

[ditchdj]

College degrees are terribly overrated these days.

[thegiraffe]

Haha...I WANT another though! It opens so many doors - especially in my field. You can't do much that's degree-related with just a BA in pysch - you need at least a Master's.

USF, where I went to school, doesn't offer a terminal master's degree in psych though...only a master/doctorate combo. Tempting, but I don't want to be paying off student loans until I'm a grandmother.

I want to do research!!!!!!!

[AdminAssistant]

USF, where I went to school, doesn't offer a terminal master's degree in psych though...only a master/doctorate combo. Tempting, but I don't want to be paying off student loans until I'm a grandmother.

Welcome to my world. I feel lucky to have only accumulated $45K so far.

In all seriousness, look for programs that offer assistantships. They're highly competitive right now, since universities are cutting funding, but I'm sure they exist. With my assistantship, all tuition and some fees are waived, and I'm paid a wee tiny salary.

In some fields, terminal degrees (usually Doctoral, but in some areas a Master's is terminal) are a way of life. It kinda sucks, but that's how it is. :/