Am I crazy or is this ok? | ADHD Information

[QUOTE=blackbunny]

I gotta break this down...

Ugh...let me vent for a minute... Maybe I am just being crazy again.

Ok so I have suspected for a long time that I might have ADD. I am 22 years old and the problems have been causing me a lot of trouble with school and my personal life- getting easily upset and offended, constantly forgetting to do simple things like close doors, constantly getting tickets (I am very impatient), impulsive behaviors, blanking out a lot and daydreaming. I also suffer from organizational problems. And although I got a 1400 on my SATs yet my grades are very inconsistent..Straight A's in hard classes and B- , C in easy ones. It is very difficult for me to focus without becoming all air-headed.

There can be more than one reason for this. Without an assessment of *why* this happens you may have attention deficits for any number of reasons.

Anyway, I am convinced that I have ADD since all of my symptoms seem ADD. I often have to ask my professors to repeat things in lecture because I zone out,,its embarassing. Well anyway I have been seeking treatment since I am going into my 5th year in college (I was supposed to graduate this year but took a year off after getting burned out!) I have been trying to find a doctor to test me. I found one that "would be able to see me" and she didn't have any openings until the middle of July. So I thought, what the heck it would not hurt to go be evaulated by a psychologist and get some counseling to see if it would help me with organization. Big mistake.

First of all, I went there to get tested and the psych didnt even give me any tests. First he gave me an article on ADD and exercise, and Im like thinking i workout and eat right already, thats not the issue here. He then asked me some questions pertaining to ADD which I answered honestly and then he started asking me questions about my personal life..I mean things that had nothing to do with my ADD suspicions...like how do I feel about "boys" I'm like I am 22 lol not 15. He also would ask me the same thing over and over which indicated to me that he had a memory problem (he looked to be in his 70's).

He has to ask you those questions. He can't make a diagnosis of ADHD if he suspects that there is post traumatic stress disorder or a number of other stress-related factors from childhood. He would not be doing his job if he did not try to find the reasons behind the struggles you are experiencing.

I told him about my short term memory problems at home and at school and he said "1 3 5 7. what numbers did I just say?" So naturally i said them back to him and he told me I had no memory problems. I was like WHAT?//? what about the times that i go places and forget why i went there, blanking out on tests etc. etc.

This can be caused for many different reasons. You are trying to convince him and yourself that this is the diagnosis. Yet they can also be the symptoms stemming from other causes. That does not mean his diagnosis is accurate--only that your may not be, either.

He told me he thinks I have severe anxiety and I have fear in my life. "What are you afraid of" Im like I seriously doubt I have anxiety since I am not anxious. Then asked me if I have panic attacks, heart palpitations, ect and i said no, to which he responded 'you have anxiety without the symptoms' and Im like what!?!? Next he tried his hardest to make me believe that i suffer from depression. Im like I know what I feel like and I dont have feelings of hopelessness. He suggested I come back in a week and let him perform hypnosis on me and I started laughing.

He may believe you are not remembering something traumatic. However, it is my belief that even if something DID happen, then there's no point pushing it, you will remember when you remember.

You also need to realize that you may see yourself one way but the way you actually 'present' to others [particularly professionals] may be very, very different. He may be catching onto something that you, yourself do not necessarily percieve.

I told him that I was going to be honest with him, my copay is and I dont have that money to waste for someone to tell me I have problems that I know I dont have...this is the kicker.... he told me how much his salary is, and that he does not do his work for the money. "Do you see my point?" I'm like actually no, what does that have to do with my ADD and you trying to make me imagine things about myself, when you dont even know me?

Anyway, I have talked way too long but does anyone see this as strange on his part, or am I just being overly sensitive? This is really starting to discourage me. I just wanted to see if I actually have ADD and I think finding out is better than not know.

His assessment may, or may not be accurate and I would encourage you to seek another opinion. However, if the response is similar I would suggest that they are seeing something you do not.

There's SOMETHING going on for you, that's for sure and you'd be wise to find out exactly what is going on and what treatment options are available to you.

[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=dizzyblonde]

The ranting of a 44 year old women with adult ADHD

I live with it everyday

I have books all over the place which I never read. I can read but for some reason, I get lost along the way.

This is the ADHD but I don’t want to admit this.

Sometimes I think that I have a severe mental problem but I know that I don’t because I don’t feel mental.

I can’t hold down a job for very long. I always start off liking the job just fine and it seems that somewhere along the way I just fall out.

What is wrong with me?

Today I feel really fat

I have not exercised in 5 months. I used to exercise 4 x a week

Why did I stop

I feel so tired all the time

I am not depressed, I am really pretty happy. I have the world by the balls and feel like I am caving in

I have hardly any friends and the few people who like me just seem to want something from me

Are they using me or should I just take it as I am helping them out and then they will help me out? It usually seem that I never get anywhere. Think of each mistake and learn from it. Okay, everyone takes from me and gives me nothing back in return.

Well, not that it is nothing but just not enough?

I will finish this another time............................

[/QUOTE]

Read your post *again* Dizzy.

Really READ it.

What does it seem to be telling you?
I'm 22 also! I was just diagnosed with ADD a couple weeks ago, thank GOD I did not get your doctor. I luckily graduated....but the last semester was due to the pity of my profs, and the whole last year totally drained me!

Please get a second opinion, I went in for depression, I sounded just like you, and my doctor sent me out with a diagnosis of ADD. It might help to go ask your parents what they think, because if you have ADD you've had it forever, and they will remember you as a child, which will be a lot more objective (hopefully).

While all of your symptoms can obviously be from a different problem, as others have pointed out in this thread, please don't let the fact that you are intelligent (1400 SAT) interfere with a diagnosis. Perhaps you got good grades in high school and middle school, and that masked the problem, but it might be so much harder now beacause of college! Good luck!!

Hey, how about this;

Go in and tell him you think your bi-polar and its causing you anxiety. Give him the impression that you know better than anyone how you feel and your mind is made up... Now TREAT ME FOR BI-POLAR OR I'LL TAKE MY 40 BUCKS OVER TO THE CHEAP LOCAL 'DOCTORS ARE US' CLINIC!!!

The way I figure it, this doctor is probably more than likely a human. He has confidence in his knowledge and to have a nut come in and tell him he's wrong, he will most likely set out to correct your erronious thinking by suggesiting you may have ADD/ADHD, then tell you "I got more money than carter's has liver pills, I'm doing this because I like it". ok... your the doctor. ADD/ADHD it must be.

I am guilty of the same thing. I repaired heat/AC units and when my customers thumb their nose at my diagnosis, then go further to tell me they know its something else, I would laboriously set out to prove them wrong. That ain't being good natured, its human nature. One time the customer was right but I flat out lied to avoid the humiliation and told him I was right, charging him half as much for the repair of faulty wiring I claimed after sneaking in the part he suspected was the problem and repairing the wiring as well.

Well there's always two sides and one never knows, Marko. Thanks for your honesty about CYA over the heat/AC units

For starters, clients/patients often present in ways they honestly don't see and when you spend years in the field you sometimes see things they don't.

On the other side of that is LISTENING to the person because sometimes they ARE right.

That's why it's important to take a pro's opinion into account [because they see these traits every day] but also to get a second opinion if necessary.

What I'm seeing in your post Dizzy is a lot of incongruity which is why I suggested you really, really read it through.

EG: "I feel fat today. I am really tired. What's wrong with me?" then saying that you're happy.

That's why I'd suggest a second opinion but be prepared that another pro may not see it as ADHD either. There can also be ADHD with other factors. Reducing the other factors [such as PTSD] MAY reduce the attention inconsistancies, or it may not.

Ugh...let me vent for a minute... Maybe I am just being crazy again.

blackbunny39228.4515277778I know it's hard not to feel discouraged but please.. seek a 2nd opinion.

Not all Dr's are very knowledgeable on ADHD, and if he's that old he may not be up to date (and it doesn't appear he is). I do know that when I was tested they also had me repeat numbers back to them.. but more than once and sometimes I did fine, and the more numbers they added and faster they went the more I fumbled. Once isn't enough to say you don't have a memory problem. I was also told that I had Anxiety.. well.. yes, I do have it but w/o severe panic attacks (I get mild ones). However, Anxiety is very common with ADHD. Not everyone that has ADHD has Anxiety, but it is very common to have both.

It's frustrating to find the right Dr that will listen. I struggled too with the testing process, and even had a hard time with my Psychiatrist on meds at first but now he's helping me. Don't give up! Keep us updated.

The psychiatrist can perscribe meds. What meds do you want?

Psychologists do testing. The Psychiatrist can recommend you to a pschologist for testing.

Reseach the DSM IV, and diagnose yourself for ADHD. Rewearch the meds, and see what you want to try first.

Why do you want to be diagnosed ADHD? Then you have to be careful filling out employment forms. Any MD can perscribe the meds for ADHD.

Have you tgried Magnesium and B6? Tested better than Ritalin.

What would you like to change in your life?

Psychologists are for non med treatments and psychiatrists are for med plus other forms of treatment, as well as determining co-existing conditions that may need treatment for ADHD treatment to be successful. As Shawn has said, don't give up. It can take time to find a good fit in a doc.

That doctor outta retire! lol yes yes get a second opinion it will be worth your while.

My family doctor whom I trust recommended a Psycologist that she trusted evaluate my son and me.

A regular MD can diagnos you as ADHD too.

If you have a family doctor talk to him/her and get a referral to a qualified DR. in this area of mental health.

I sure hope you find your answers. Good luck.

The ranting of a 44 year old women with adult ADHD