Late diagnosis | ADHD Information

You just outlined my life before college nearly hehe :) I think i'ts silly that you put "highly creative" as a symptom ... I think that a lot of people w/ adhd are highly creative b/c they need to work w/in their affinities unlike the "normal" peeople that get stuck doing the junk work we can't hehe .... That wasn't meant as an offense to you of course :) ... But, really, I went to a seven sisters' school for college so i'm obviously not dumb and I think that your symptoms may go back to age 6 but you might just not know about it.  For women, we may be hyperactive but we're also shy ... that's the adhd girl and why she tends to remain undiagnosed ... we are shy, and are able to hide our problems by eeking through good grades.  But, even though you did well, how much of the information did you retain after high school?  I know that for me, history in college was super hard for example bc I got A's in high school but none of the info had gone into my long term memory

Back to you, I don't like the "all about me' adhd mentality ...

Go get diagnosed.  Doctors are NOT that strict about diagnostic criteria.  You say you think you have adhd and you will be put on meds.  That is the way they work.  Try concerta first -- least side effects.  If you try adderall watch out for tics forming b/c they can be permanant (speaking from personal experience and eyes that won't stop twitching when i'm anxious ... ) ... Good luck!

if a personn does not have the hyperactive side then it is called ADD.

I am impulsive,inattentive ADD.before the concerta i had the energy of an asthmatic ant going uphill carrying heavy shopping.nothing hyperactive about me.

i did the minimun at school to pass the grades,could have done better was my special name,never cheated thought.it did not help that the teachers knew i had an above average IQ,but i just was not interested in making an effort.

i only got diagnosed after my son was diagnosed with ADHD.and i fought it all the way,i actually went to see the specialist to prove i did not have ADD.To tell the truth i only took the concerta so i would know what my son would have to go through in a couple of years.i sacrificed myself as a guinea pig

well,after taking it,i was like oh my god,what a difference,no more daily headaches,no more mood swings,did not need to go back to bed in the afternoon,did not set fire to the kitchen and actually remembering what i did the day before.

my advice go to get a proper diagnosis but don't expect the meds to be a miracle cure either,they help but you also have to work at it.

It's actually only called ADHD now by the DSM .... ADHD with or without hyperactivity ... DOnt know what they were thiking when they thought that up b/c ADD and ADHD made more sense right?  i am in britain,here they still call it ADD.I wasn't meaning to be rude or anything Scotmama ... Do you all use the DSM, I'm curious 

I suspect I am ADD after reading the book You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy.  But my early elementary years were not plagued with poor grades and I am not hyperactive.  The symptoms I do have are highly creative, intelligent, very impatient, very impulsive, serious daydreamer, lifelong disorganization, lifelong lateness, many unfinished projects, love affair with all things new and always have a million projects going.

In primary education, I was a passive but sneaky student who knew how to play the 'teachers pet' role to the hilt.  But I always managed to make As and Bs through cramming or cheating.

Does that make me not ADD since I don't have those symptoms back to age 6?