ADD at my age? | ADHD Information
I was dx at 7, I am now 36. Have it, had it, will continue to have it. It will be with me forever. adhd and life go on for me.hi susie
read around on here. we all write about how we feel. and we always write about how we think. and then we all reply with how we agree and feel the same way. so much support! research as much as you can. read the words written by someone with adhd and see if u feel the same way.
i know when i began to question myself, i started researching adhd on the computer and got 'stuck' for a week just so focused and curious. then i found this site and read things people wrote. i thought to myself 'my goodness he has moved into my mind and posted my thoughts and secrets'. but maybe i can relate to everyone so well and i just relate to them too? or am i looking for an excuse as to why i am messy? so i had my normal perfect sister read something i wrote in my journal about my thinking process and feelings. she said "what the $&%# is wrong with you susan???"
and thats how i knew i should call the doc. 
susie - spend some time here and you'll see the same thing as you. A lot of "I'm 36 (30,31..70 whatever) and just diagnosed with ADHD. It all makes sense!
You're on the same track as most of us. We muddle through life until either a major trauma hits that makes us scream for help- or you luck into a chance meeting with someone who mentions you seem to have ADHD. Either way glad you are here!!
Even just knowing a lot of life's miseries were not your fault helps. I know it took a lot of baggage off my mind when I discovered it.
Good luck, keep exploring and keep us posted!!
i believe the vigor and unburdened lifestyle of youth allows us to go undiagnosed. we may be troubled, but still rushing headlong into the waves.
when the trials and responsibilities of life mount, and we have all those other adults with their lives to compare ourselves to, we can notice where we struggle differently.
when i was younger, i had more energy and time to overcome or ignore my difficulties. of course, i spent a lot of time and energy being real angry and short-tempered over the struggles that should not have really been struggles.
it was not until i got to the age of 40 that i was just sooooo tired of all the flakiness, forgetting, failure, feeling like a fake, fervently fixing f**k-ups of all flavors, and all.
that's when my search lead me to adhd. the symptoms fit me like the pair of shoes i have not yet found.
i never believed in adhd 'till it was the only thing that described me. been through all that depression stuff too.
i was depressed b/c i could never succeed at much of anything. it's a bummer to be smart, aware, quick-thinking, and all, and still be such a constant failure in life.
so, at 42, i start anew.
I am interested in if any one else has had this same thing happen to them? I really just cannot believe that I could be ADD. Here is my story .....
In my school career, I was a great student, honor roll, etc. I did have to study A LOT (re wrote all my notes). I just thought this was what everyone did.
After college, I married and began teaching. I also returned to school to get my masters. It was then that I first realized that I was not as organized as I was in high school and college. Five years later, I had my first child and was diagnosed with post - partum depression. I took anti - depressants on and off until my second child was born - six years later. After he was born, my life began to seem to spiral out of control.
I finally decided to see a psychiatrist after my OB had changed my anti - depressant several times with no sucess. After several different anti-depressants with the psychiatrist, she shared with me that she thought I could be ADD (listening to me talk, family history). My doctor attributed it being realized so late to the fact that as my responsibitlities became heavier, I could not keep them in order as well. I really had NO responsibility in high school and college.
I am now on Adderall and it seems to get me up and going and more organized. It also has helped with "depression" I felt. Has anyone else had this happen this late? - after school, working, etc. I would have never DREAMED that I could be ADD and do so well in school.
Except for the master's degree and the kids, you just described my life.I'm 32 and was diagnosed as an adult. I've struggled all my life to stay on
top of things, but never realised I struggled more than anyone else. My
brother also has ADHD, but has had more tangible "problems" - failed out
of college his first time, then went to another college where he's been an
undergrad for...7 years now? My problems have always been less tangible
- I'm kind of high-strung and stressed out, but still I work very hard to
project a laid-back image to the world, so even that doesn't come across.
I finally had to get help because the stress was killing me. I was still
staying relatively on top of things, but it was much more of a struggle. I'd
wake up with heart-pounding anxiety & just go over & over all the things
I had to do - deadlines that would be missed unless I pulled (yet another)
all-nighter; bills should have been paid day before yesterday; oil should
have been changed last week; and I still haven't found time to adjust
those photos I took at my uncle's wedding.
You get the picture.
I think you're dead-on about the responsibility thing. What's the worst
that can happen if you blow a deadline on a paper in high school? You'll
get a bad grade - no big deal. The responsibilities that come along with
being an adult have so much more tangible consequences - and the
pressure can be overwhelming.
(Oh, and I'm new, too. Nice to meet you.
)
Thanks again! How well "Omalley" described it - I also felt like "a part of my brain was taken out". I was the same with appointments. Never had to write them down. Then could not even remember where I was supposed to be - with whom I had an appointment. Then, on top of that, was late. I used to NEVER be late for anything - was usually really early. I also felt the hopelessness. It is a horrible feeling.
Thanks for the support. It is so nice to talk to people with similar stories and experiences.I wasn't Dx'd until my mid-40's and it was part of trying to find the root cause of chronic anxiety and depression.
Good news is, the meds have helped greatly, as well as the web sites and support groups. The only down side (for me) is that it was just the top layer of some other problems.
But like I told someone, having ADD dx'd and treated now helps me focus on being focused ;)
When I read this post, it felt like you had crawled into my brain and wrote MY story. I was diagnosed this summer at the age of 35 while trying to help my 2nd grader who has ADHD. Needless to say, it explained my entire life. I had always thought I was just mental and now I know there's an explanation.
I was a serious underachiever in school all my life. In hindsight, I wish someone would have noticed but as a girl, I guess they just thought I was lazy or it was my impoverished environment. I was in the advanced math class in seventh grade but got pneumonia and was home for the first two weeks of school. When I got back to school, my teacher sent me to the lower class because she didn't even want to give me a chance. From that point on, I was tracked into the lower-level math classes for which I didn't even have to study. Talk about a blow to the self-esteem. All through high school they'd put me in the advanced classes and then move me back because I was getting C's. Then, I'd ace the lower-level classes because it was too easy. I skated through college and grad school doing nothing, studying nothing and just plain going on my 'smarts'. Two independent professors told me I wasn't PHD material and I just looked the other way. After my diagnosis, it was like someone turned on the 'I understand!" lightbulb. I'm absolutely NOT grad school material. Grad school involved working, studying, researching, and pretty much being totally self-reliant. That's a bad thing for ADHDers.
As far as organization, etc. All through high school and college, organization was NEVER an issue. I could remember every appointment, test, due date, etc without even writing it down. Then, after I had the kids it was like someone took out part of my brain and replaced it with depression and hopelessness. I couldn't remember anything and I turned into the absent-minded professor meets sybil. I was a mess and it's been a long, long road back to something more sane; a road filled with mis-diagnoses and missed clues. It was hard on me and hard on my hubby. The great thing is that it helps so much knowing what we're working with.
Keep writing... we're just like you and understand better than anyone ever will!