are you tired all the time? | ADHD Information

Hi all,
I'm undiagnosed, but after reading some info on it, I
think I have Inattentive A.D.D.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has that kind and if
they have EXTREME FATIGUE that goes along with it.
For years I've felt like something is wrong with me.
My Dr. keeps trying to talk me into admitting I'm
depressed, but I'm not.
I'm just realizing that I'm constantly bombarded with
thoughts all day long. And because of this, I feel like
I'm in "space out mode" just to survive.
I constantly have songs playing in my head at the
same time as conversations I've had with people/will
have with people or scenarios that will never
happen. It's like my brain is always practicing what
might be and reworking what already was.
Anyway, I am going to the doctor to rule out any
physical probs, but then I'm going to try and be
referred to a psychiatrist who specializes in ADD to
see if they diagnose me.
I'm so tired of being tired and dull and spaced out
and just plain "blurry."
Are you? YES!      Sounds like me,  I've been listening to the radio since I was 6M.O. and can still retrieve some of th e music & conversations, but it's hard to keep music, songs, daydreams, videos, movie clips,etc.,,, from playing over and over in my head. I haven't been diagnosed yet but I have been labeled as "depressed" the first time and "anxiety" with the second Dr. so I'm trying to get a specialist in adhd for testing.  "Tired and dull "sounds like adhd with depression from what i've read and experienced, but I haven't had a "proper " diagnosis by a psychiatrist yet. It's really bad when three songs and a movie are playing from memory while trying to talk to someone!  daniel

I was diagnosed with ADD without hyper activity. Thats pretty much the way I am, "blurry" is a good way to describe it. And yes I'm tired all the time, but, I also have depression and anxiety. Right now I'm on meds to help the anxiety and possibly depression, then the dr. wants to try a med for the ADD. But one med at a time, to be sure which one has side effects for me, and which med is causeing what side effect! I was on Wellbutrin - it didn't help with the ADD, and made me have more anxiety than I did before taking it. You might want to make sure you aren't anemic (low iron) because I have that problem too, which contributes to my being tired. Low thyroid can make you very fatigued, too. Thought maybe thats what my problem was, my internist ran test for that, it was o.k. ...........low thyroid also causes forgetfullnes, depression, weight gain.............So if you haven't had any blood test for the two things mentioned, it would be a good idea.

I have had periods where i have had extreme fatigue, last year I did to the point people started suggesting i whent to doctors. I do get very hyper though but dont have the enless enegry to match it. I think being adhd can be extra tiring, when your mind is constantly working and when I have all my interests taking up all my spare time and keep changing it doesn't leave me with enough energy to get through a days work with out ending up absolutely exhursted. Then theres all the extra time it takes us to do things often, due to bordom and mistakes.

For a period i thought somthing was wrong with me pyscially to make me so tired, but now my current theory is that i start out with the same amount of energy but my life takes more of it up even though I may appear to not be spending as much so the outside eye.

Just my thoughts on the subject.
I became chronically exhausted a few years ago. I walked in one evening, and literally collapsed. I felt weak. Since then, I've suffered from what I chalked up to "chronic fatigue" -- I wake up, after about 6 hours, give or take, of being awake, I am slammed by exhaustion. I feel as if I've been awake for days. If I'm able to stay awake, I'm comatose, useless. Sometimes I get a second wave of alertness many hours later. Can't say it's realted to the ADD at all though.Let It Bleed38599.1197685185

psychgirl,

How long have you been on cymbalta?? I have been on it for about a week and a half, was wondering if you are feeling MORE tired and sleepy on it, what time of the day you take it, etc. I was tired anyway, and now it seems I can lay down just anytime during the day and go to sleep. NOT the effect I wanted. I'm hoping that will go away. It seems to be helping my anxiety, dr. said wont' get the full effect till maybe 2 weeks. I'm waiting for it to kick in and help my depression!

About 2 years ago I finally went to my doctor to discuss my fatigue- He started me on wellbutrin becuase he said I was majorly depressed- It worked great for about 6 months-I felt NORMAL for the first time ever, (I am 32) -I had energy, focus, I exercised losing about 25 lbs., my mood was positive, I was so thankful, and then i woke up one day and it quit working. Since that time I have tried several anti-depressants, finally being diagnosed with ADD (wish it was ADHD,no offense to hyperactive people) and then went trough the gamet of ritalin, concerta, adderal, and lastly provigal(which made me more tired ironically!!). With no success, I am now back to tring anti-depressents, Cymbalta now. It is increasingly frustrating. Like many others I often wonder if something is seriously wrong with me, not just ADD. I am lethargic all the time, I feel weak and if I did not have to i would stay in bed or on my couch all day. I need to find a job, clean my house, live my life--But I have no energy or motivation to do it. You definatlly are not alone--I wish you luck in your search for wellbeing!

My regular doctor was certain I was depressed too - even though my constant complaint was "lack of focus". After trying basically every antidepressant in the book and getting no results, he told me "I guess you're not depressed - it's just your personality." After that I gave up getting any kind of help. Thankfully, a few years later a friend told me she had ADD, which fit me to a T. I went to a specialist, was diagnosed and have been doing great on Adderall ever since. I can't say I was exhausted, more like constant lethargy. No motivation to do anything - I could lay on the couch all weekend. But I wasn't actually physically tired.

In my opinion, GP's are not experienced or knowledgeable enough in ADD to be of any help other than referring you to a specialist. (That's if they even believe ADD exists, and many of them don't.)

    Ohhhh it good to people with same symptoms as youself ..... I didnīt
connect always tired factor to the ADD inattentive

have to ask my doctor..... well I am on meds now but I still get the tired
spells but not as much

hoping that it will go when I more balanced
never lived after any structure sleep wise or food wise
canīt blame it completly on ADDI'm feeling better each message I read.
It's so good to know that you're not alone.
I really think the tired thing is because your brain is
always moving a mile a minute. I mean, it makes
sense.
The only thing is, I worry (because I have some
anxiety probs too) that it's not just A.D.D. that maybe
it's MS or cancer or something. I also have a "visual"
component that I THINK other people with A.D.D.
sometimes have, in that I have a hard time "seeing"
things. Like the whole world is kind of out of focus.
I never feel like I'm truly in the present. I think that's
due to the fact that I'm always ruminating in my head,
thinking about the past or future.
It always bothered me before, but now that I'm a
mom, it's INTOLERABLE. I want to be able to look at
my baby and really be in the moment.
Does anybody else feel like their world is out of
focus and fuzzy? Maybe it's tunnel vision, I don't
know. But it sucks.
:)

I for one was a lot like that!  Especially in my early teens - my energy level was around ZERO.  Everyone thought I was lazy - but in fact I would try very hard to muster energy but it was like vaseline on my glasses and walking into a strong wind.  Even getting out of bed was tough - sometimes I'd sleep for 12 or more hours and still feel tired.

In my 20s though it changed somewhat.  I wasn't so tired - but I would still feel in a total fog and non-functional in everyday life.  There were weeks where getting out of bed was almost painful - but generally I had the other symptoms worse than the sleep problem.

Before and after my teens I always had the insomnia though.  Getting to sleep is still not easy sometimes - even on good meds.  I find that if I dont' take at least an hour of prep time to sleep it just doesn't happen.  Going to bed and hitting the pillow unprepared just leads to frustration.

Glad you are finding out you're not alone!  I feel the same way every time I pop in - which is not nearly enough these days but I'll try more.

Good luck to you friend!

 

Glen

Biscuit:

You are definitely not alone here! I've had the same experiences that others have written about for my whole life. When I was diagnosed with depression about a year and a half ago, the tired feelings were at a peak. Now that I've been treated for both the depression and add, I've seen a marked difference. I still get tired at times but now it's nothing close to what it used to be and it happens less frequently when the meds are on board. Moreover, the foggy feeling in my head is gone.

I think there is definitely a connection as far as sleep goes b/c when I started setting my alarm earlier and taking my meds then lying back down for about a half hour before rising, I found I was able to get up in the morning and feel like the fog wasn't there...it used to take me about half the day before I would begin to feel like I was out of that fog and other things could make that feeling last even longer (ie stress, diet, amount of sleep, etc.). In addition, if I wait to take the meds, I still fell like I've been hit by a train until the meds kick in - I have a very hard time getting up and the heavy fog is there upon rising. The meds seem to kick in the neurotransmitters or something and the difference is quite pronounced for me. It blows me away that I've spent my entire life struggling with this and within a half hour of taking a small dose of adderral I feel like a new person! It's amazing!

In addition to the meds, diet and exercise and sleep patterns can make a big difference. Have you and your doctor discussed this at all?

MM

Hi there biscuit,

Like Glen, I spent my younger years absolutely unable to concentrate on anything and stumbled through life for years. And, like you said, it seems like you can't experience or enjoy a special moment when it happens. Also like Glen, things were a little better in my early 20's; at that time I was able to turn everything around by changing my diet and sleep habits.

I really hope things get better for you, and, you're definitely not alone!

Greg

 

 

Am I tired all the time?

Never.

When I'm awake, I have energy to spare. I have to take prescription sleeping pills just to keep my doctor happy. And some of them didn't work. Like the butterfly one.

I do sleep every night, though. Once in a while, about 10 times a year at most, I'll pull an all nighter. The longest I've been awake w/o medicinal assitance is 42 hours. The Boots in Iraq have done 100 hours on Provigil, though.

Once in a while, about every few weeks, I'll sleep about 12 to 16 or so hours on a weekend day, such as a Saturday or Sunday. Yeah, duh! I mean a/b the such as part. I'll sleep about 8 - 10 hours straight, then take two or three naps for the balance.
YES!!!

biscuit, everything you said in your first post describes me to a T, although i can be hyper at times, too...  and what you said in your other post about the vision thing... i have that almost all the time too!  i was starting to wonder if the vision thing had something to do with wearing my contacts vs. glasses.  i notice it most when i'm driving.

i was dxed 6 years ago, but before that they thought it was depression.  i think i took every antidepressant they made at the time, and nothing really worked.  i had my thyroid tested several times.  after my regular doc messed around w/ ADs for about a year and a half, he sent me to a psychiatrist who dxed me after a couple of months.  lucky for me, the guy's wife (who also works in the office) specializes in kids w/ add, so he actually knows a thing or two...

oh... i forgot... i wanted to add that taking ritalin, then concerta, helped A LOT with that.  i actually felt AWAKE... and when i'd think, "i need to wash clothes," i'd actually get up and DO it.  unfortunately, no health ins. = no meds, so i'm back to the fog for now.
lilo38600.5602546296

.......................buscuit, I'm just too damn tired to answer your question.

 

 

 

 

Davidornado - Nah, really?!?  You're never tired?  I would NEVER have guessed. 

Biscuit - you're definitely not alone.  My regular doctor wants to diagnose me as Post Partum Depressive when I'm NOT depressed.  He doesn't believe in Adult ADD so he doesn't want to concur with 2 other therapist's diagnosis of me having Adult ADD with Anxiety.

I relate to your symptoms.  I just had a full blood checkup done to see if I have any Thyroid issues or Anemia (for my tiredness).  Nope, all 'normal'.

My pharmacist says that my Prozac should give me more energy but considering I've been on it 2 months now and I'm not having that much energy, I guess I'm not going to be lucky there.

Basketcase-- I have been on Cymbalta for only about a week, I haven't felt a change yet (hopefully I will, but probably not since NOTHING else seems to work)