ADHD/ADD Victims

[ShadowxMakerZ]

Originally Posted by SweetJane

Aw, man, good luck with the unemployment and everything. I hope you can get that together soon... I'd be pissed if I couldn't get my meds. I completely agree with you on this.

Meds, helpful. but they can be a bitch as well...
They're only temp in getting your body going...

[Ben Lahnger]

SweetJane, thank you very much. I haven't asked to be on the anti-depressant meds in a while. They did take the edge off the ADD meds but I find I prefer to manage the depression and other aspects of the emotional roller-coaster ride with natural techniques. And overall, since I could be taking six different prescriptions for this and other things I've been diagnosed with, I've tried to cut back on the meds I take overall. But the ADD medication, well, that just makes such a difference in my ability to maintain focus and do the types of multi-tasking that so many jobs require these days. It really is a boon and I do miss it.

Funny story: When I was first diagnosed, I was prescribed Adderall. My doctor and I refined the prescription to what strength worked best and settled on a time-release formula. And I stuck to that prescription through 3 consecutive doctors. And it wasn't until I got to my current doctor that I agreed to switch to Vyvanse. I found it to be much more effective, and in talking it over with my doctor I discovered that I should have been taking the Adderall TWICE a day and not just once! It would have been nice to know that nine years earlier!

[ShadowxMakerZ]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

SweetJane, thank you very much. I haven't asked to be on the anti-depressant meds in a while. They did take the edge off the ADD meds but I find I prefer to manage the depression and other aspects of the emotional roller-coaster ride with natural techniques. And overall, since I could be taking six different prescriptions for this and other things I've been diagnosed with, I've tried to cut back on the meds I take overall. But the ADD medication, well, that just makes such a difference in my ability to maintain focus and do the types of multi-tasking that so many jobs require these days. It really is a boon and I do miss it.

Funny story: When I was first diagnosed, I was prescribed Adderall. My doctor and I refined the prescription to what strength worked best and settled on a time-release formula. And I stuck to that prescription through 3 consecutive doctors. And it wasn't until I got to my current doctor that I agreed to switch to Vyvanse. I found it to be much more effective, and in talking it over with my doctor I discovered that I should have been taking the Adderall TWICE a day and not just once! It would have been nice to know that nine years earlier!

So... what are your thoughts on the meds? Is it worth really taking themmm....?
My grades are hard to keep up cause I drift off on thousands of possible topics while working in school and then my body starts feeling so heavy like I just woke up. Same goes for my job, I get screamed at a lot and no one actually understands why I'm the way I am.... most people think I'm just a dumbass. I hate medication though and using products... this could be an exception.


~ I only am able to focus easier though when in motion, but then I end up power walking. Love being able to do that....

[Solumina]

Meds can be an amazing help but if you are in a high stress environment then I would look more towards anti-anxiety meds (which have been shown to help those with ADHD) instead of the stimulants which are usually the first choice, as the stimulants can cause problems with increasing irritability. I'm not saying that you can't go on stimulants without any problems I would just look at alternatives first.


Oh and the reason why you are better able to focus while in motion is because the release of endorphins stimulates brain activity.

[ShadowxMakerZ]

Originally Posted by Solumina

Oh and the reason why you are better able to focus while in motion is because the release of endorphins stimulates brain activity.

Well that's something new, thanks for telling me since it's good to better understand things then be unaware. "D thanks!

But I'm not really in high stress environments but that is a possible solution when it comes to projects and tests where I start to freak out and get tons of simple answers wrong.... I'm a bit say secluded from my life in general... since I don't usually talk much until a topic comes up that I find interest and I dream so much where I barely know whats going on when hanging out with friends or doing work in class... Would be nice to be active....

[the-nihilist]

God dammit I think I may have ADHD. Fuck this thread.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by ShadowxMakerZ

So... what are your thoughts on the meds? Is it worth really taking themmm....?

Um, I think you've gotten a decent answer to this, but I addressed it in my previous posts.

[ShadowxMakerZ]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Um, I think you've gotten a decent answer to this, but I addressed it in my previous posts.

Heh...

Do I think it helps in any way? Well, the general opinion is that people with ADD tend to be more intelligent and creative than the average person. I think there haven't really been enough empirical studies to determine that, and the disorder itself is still too much of a mystery to researchers.

But I would trade being a little less creative for being able to remember things better ... or being able to finish a project without losing focus.

Creative Yes... it's not worth it though if you can't actually put it to use more often and so would I have traded for being able to cope with an simple life.


Still meds help which is the obvious, but I always get from a lot of people that taking meds would fk you up eventually... :/

[Solumina]

I had some bad side effects from meds in the past but once I found what worked for me I didn't have any problems and the problems that I had with the other meds went away fairly quickly. Honestly I think the whole idea of meds eventually fucking with you comes form people being on something that is better than nothing but that isn't really working well, if you work with your doctor you should be able to find something that does work well, it may take a bit of trial and error but you should be able to find something that has benefits greatly outweighing any negatives.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by ShadowxMakerZ

Still meds help which is the obvious, but I always get from a lot of people that taking meds would fk you up eventually... :/

As I said the last time you asked, I addressed my opinion about meds in several posts on page one. You just quoted the wrong post.

[ShadowxMakerZ]

That's a great point. Thanks a bunch Solumina.

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

As I said the last time you asked, I addressed my opinion about meds in several posts on page one. You just quoted the wrong post.

Whoops.... well that post seemed a bit inspiring and it felt as if you were against meds and dealing with it naturally.. but then again I could be wrong... I'll check them out soon. Thanks for responding Ben.

[vindicatedxjin]

For some reason I've allowed myself to believe that there is no such thing as ADD. And that it's merely a person being themselves, which is a very naturally hyper person. Is that a bad thing? I'm always attracted to the people who are apparently "ADD". And I've always noticed that I like them better when they aren't on they're meds. I'm a dull, quiet, person and I don't want to be around other dull and quiet people. I assume it might be difficult for them in school though....I dunno.

[Solumina]

Chances are that the people you are talking about are just what you think they are, hyper people. A lot of parents are responsible for children being diagnosed as ADHD because the parents feel that there must be something medically wrong that is making their precious little snowflake act up so they take snowflake to their general practitioner, who aren't really qualified to diagnose ADHD in the first place, and say they want their kid to be on meds and the doctors pretty much just go along with it. If seeing a specialist, who is actually able to properly diagnose ADHD, was required for a diagnosis I think there would be far fewer cases.

[Priestly]

Overmedication and an abundance of diagnoses is certainly a problem when you talk about ADD/ADHD. It's really quite unfortunate. Those who do actually suffer from it are suffering from a MEDICAL condition and should not be viewed as anything else.

You make a good point, Jin. ADD is so thorough that it seems to become part of that person's personality. I learned this when I attended an adult ADD seminar recently. I always thought of myself as an empath, as being very frank and honest. But I've learned that people with ADD are more prone to blurting things out and can appear as harsh because it's harder to internalize some emotions. What I once thought was a charming part of my personality can be attributed to this condition. It was a sobering thought.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by vindicatedxjin

For some reason I've allowed myself to believe that there is no such thing as ADD. And that it's merely a person being themselves, which is a very naturally hyper person. Is that a bad thing? I'm always attracted to the people who are apparently "ADD". And I've always noticed that I like them better when they aren't on they're meds. I'm a dull, quiet, person and I don't want to be around other dull and quiet people. I assume it might be difficult for them in school though....I dunno.

First off, did you just post that off the top of your head without reading any of the previous posts? Because if you'd read mine you'd know I explained how I was diagnosed at the age of 40 ... and have had 4 different doctors confirm the diagnosis.

Second, there are many types of ADD/ADHD. Mine doesn't manifest with any hyperactivity at all. In fact, you wouldn't know I have it unless you gather the clues from my changing the subject rather abruptly in casual conversation or when I get seriously irritated when you start telling a story and start laying out details of minutia that obscure and delay the story from concluding in a timely and succinct manner. As I am fond of quoting to my SO, tell me what time it is ... don't try to tell me how the clock works!

And most people like to embellish their stories because they think they are performing as story-tellers or dramatists, making their performance the focus of attention rather than the story itself. Believe me, most of you aren't that good at it, and you ought to be more self-critical before you audition with me.

Third, you have no clue what a person who really has ADD/ADHD has had to deal with. I have about 90 relatives show up at a family reunion every other year, and I've seen these people most of my life. But I can't remember most of their names. And I really want to. I can't remember most of my grade school and high school teachers ... not their names, not what they look like, nothing. I will never attend a high school reunion because it will just be too painful to acknowledge all night long, "I'm sorry, I'm sure I know you but I can't remember who you are."

People talk about their childhood memories. I have very few I can lay my hands on. I remember very little about all the Christmases we had ... and I know we had some good ones. I know I got great gifts, my parents treated us well ... but I just have no memories of them.

And memory is just one aspect of it. Without the medication that brings my observational skills into focus, I miss noticing things other people do notice. It's like living in a perpetual fog. It takes a great strain of effort to push myself through reading a book, and that has gotten harder over the years. And I love to read! I tried to take some online schooling recently and failed at it miserably.

I could go on, but there are other sources already listed in this thread that discuss the symptoms and treatment of ADD/ADHD.

Fourth (and finally), everytime some nitwit gets on the internet and post about how they don't believe that ADD/ADHD is real, I just want to strangle them. I'm serious, it pisses me off no end. It's like those jackasses that maintain that the Holocaust never happened (not that I'm comparing this to the devastating severity of that dark history) or as if you told someone with Parkinson's Disease that you think that is made up.

You have offended me. It's real. It's not some affectation that makes people more interesting at parties. And you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

[Ben Lahnger]

And now, to prove I can have a sense of humor about this thing, I'm posting the lyrics to a song I wrote:

Short Attention Span Blues

Being diagnosed with ADD makes a person kinda blue.
You try to make some plans but you never follow through.
Some people don't believe that this malady is legit,
but when you live it day-to-day you know they're full of ...

Why do I have hundreds of TV channels? I can never make up my mind! ... er ...

When you cannot maintain focus it makes for trying times.
Sometimes it's amazing that you actually write in rhymes.
And you try to tell some folks about the way you're stuck,
But you quickly realize that most don't give a ...

I think I could train my dog to do a backflip! ... um ...

Sometimes you can't remember names even though you know the mugs.
You see a doctor for it and he gives you crazy drugs.
Some expert says just cope and give the funky drugs a pass,
But in your heart of hearts you know he's just a pompous ...

Ask me about eating out some time. Why do the menus have to be so complicated? ... humph! ...

Reading a whole book is like a mountain climb to you.
You start a project just to find your mind is mired in glue.
You know you're bright enough to win but then you conclude
that when it comes to luck in life you really have been ...

screwed. ... Eh, sometimes you do manage to get it together.

[ShadowxMakerZ]

I've seen these people most of my life. But I can't remember most of their names.

... I'm only able to remember people I've stayed with recently but there are some many times i forget the names of a close friend, and I still don't know the names of 90% of my cousins. They always ask how I don't know who they are..

It's like living in a perpetual fog.

It is a fog, once I was walking and literally began day dreaming where I was automatically walking and I walked across a red light where I awakened when a truck beeped when it was inches away from hitting me.

effort to push myself through reading a book.

I cannot manage to touch a book, I have not completed a book in about a year now and the books I touched last I only managed to read a good 7-10 pages before I gave. T.v. the same though, I only tend to play video games of interest because it requires motion.

Reading a whole book is like a mountain climb to you.
You start a project just to find your mind is mired in glue.
You know you're bright enough to win but then you conclude
that when it comes to luck in life you really have been ...

screwed. ... Eh, sometimes you do manage to get it together.

So freaking true. I end up doing homework and projects around 10-11pm because I just can't stay focused until.

[vindicatedxjin]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

First off, did you just post that off the top of your head without reading any of the previous posts? Because if you'd read mine you'd know I explained how I was diagnosed at the age of 40 ... and have had 4 different doctors confirm the diagnosis.

Second, there are many types of ADD/ADHD. Mine doesn't manifest with any hyperactivity at all. In fact, you wouldn't know I have it unless you gather the clues from my changing the subject rather abruptly in casual conversation or when I get seriously irritated when you start telling a story and start laying out details of minutia that obscure and delay the story from concluding in a timely and succinct manner. As I am fond of quoting to my SO, tell me what time it is ... don't try to tell me how the clock works!

And most people like to embellish their stories because they think they are performing as story-tellers or dramatists, making their performance the focus of attention rather than the story itself. Believe me, most of you aren't that good at it, and you ought to be more self-critical before you audition with me.

Third, you have no clue what a person who really has ADD/ADHD has had to deal with. I have about 90 relatives show up at a family reunion every other year, and I've seen these people most of my life. But I can't remember most of their names. And I really want to. I can't remember most of my grade school and high school teachers ... not their names, not what they look like, nothing. I will never attend a high school reunion because it will just be too painful to acknowledge all night long, "I'm sorry, I'm sure I know you but I can't remember who you are."

People talk about their childhood memories. I have very few I can lay my hands on. I remember very little about all the Christmases we had ... and I know we had some good ones. I know I got great gifts, my parents treated us well ... but I just have no memories of them.

And memory is just one aspect of it. Without the medication that brings my observational skills into focus, I miss noticing things other people do notice. It's like living in a perpetual fog. It takes a great strain of effort to push myself through reading a book, and that has gotten harder over the years. And I love to read! I tried to take some online schooling recently and failed at it miserably.

I could go on, but there are other sources already listed in this thread that discuss the symptoms and treatment of ADD/ADHD.

Fourth (and finally), everytime some nitwit gets on the internet and post about how they don't believe that ADD/ADHD is real, I just want to strangle them. I'm serious, it pisses me off no end. It's like those jackasses that maintain that the Holocaust never happened (not that I'm comparing this to the devastating severity of that dark history) or as if you told someone with Parkinson's Disease that you think that is made up.

You have offended me. It's real. It's not some affectation that makes people more interesting at parties. And you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

God damn dude...I think you have something else besides ADD/ADHD..to have gotten offended by what I said.

[Ben Lahnger]

Well, it's in your nature to deny that you've said something offensive even when you have, and your twatty remarks were highly offensive.

That's just a fact. Don't bother stating your opinion. It'll still be a fact.

[vindicatedxjin]

Well it's also a fact that you are an annoying idiot.

[Ben Lahnger]

That's what I'm talking about. I expect you think that was clever. Well, it was certainly less offensive than your original remarks, I'll give you that.

*BAH* - I just need to ignore you.

[ShadowxMakerZ]

Dun dun dun.........

~Game Over~

[Priestly]

Interesting thread. I quite enjoy reading about other peoples' experiences. I am curious as to ADD and job choices and what kind of work you do and if you function well enough at it. I do research mostly online at my work and I find it so difficult just to stay on task when fun websites are just a click away...

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Third, you have no clue what a person who really has ADD/ADHD has had to deal with.

You have offended me. It's real. It's not some affectation that makes people more interesting at parties. And you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

I identify with everything you've said about your experiences. The stories, memory problems, the feeling of "fog." That being said, "you have no clue what it's like?" You can say that about everyone; no can can possibly understand how it's like to be you. I doubt Jin meant any harm. So many people are unaware about the real facts about ADD, including people who have it.

[vindicatedxjin]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

That's what I'm talking about. I expect you think that was clever. Well, it was certainly less offensive than your original remarks, I'll give you that.

*BAH* - I just need to ignore you.

Yes please do so...You know you can BLOCK me if you want....that's just a suggestion that would bring both you and I some happiness.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Priestly

I doubt Jin meant any harm.

Um, I'm sure you mean well, but this wasn't just someone who didn't understand the condition or what it's like to live with it.

For some reason I've allowed myself to believe that there is no such thing as ADD. And that it's merely a person being themselves, which is a very naturally hyper person.

Statements like that make it harder for people who have a real medical condition to get it treated seriously by the mainstream. She's not just unaware of the details of the illness ... she's saying it isn't really a medical condition at all.

And I've always noticed that I like them better when they aren't on they're meds. I'm a dull, quiet, person and I don't want to be around other dull and quiet people.

If I treat that statement with the most benevolent of perspectives, it's insensitive at best. I'd equate it with saying those epileptic people are more entertaining when they're off their meds.

Maybe she isn't really around people with true ADD/ADHD. And maybe I'm a little sensitive when it comes to people posting public opinions about it not being a real medical condition. But the comments were glib and ill conceived at best.

I spent the first 40 years of my life without anyone understanding what challenges I was dealing with. So when the world is just starting to train a spotlight on what really is going on, it should be understandable when I get irritated with someone who wants to unscrew the light bulb a little just to make what she thinks is "interesting conversation".