35. Male. Recently diagnosed. | ADHD Information
Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum. And fairly new to the diagnosis of ADHD.Last November, I called my new company's Employee Assistance Program for some career management counseling. This has since turned into a long journey for me. When I told the woman on the phone that I needed help organizing my time, that I frequently get up and walk around in the middle of work...that I have a bunch of half-finished projects...that I can't do something for more than 10 minutes without checking email or getting on the internet, she asked if anyone had ever asked me if I had ADD. I said no, because no one had.
She referred me to a book called "Driven to Distraction." And it was like someone did a living autopsy on my brain. There were something like 60 symptoms, of which I experienced 50.
Well, after getting officially "diagnosed" by a therapist, we thought maybe medication would help me. He referred me to a psychopharm guy, who, in turn, saw some red flags for bipolar disorder.
That was scary to hear those words..."bipolar disorder." The idea of ADD was refreshing to me. It explained a lot. Like, why I could never get through a book because I had to re-read every page 3 times before ingesting it. Or, why I couldn't pay attention in school. Or, why I went through so many jobs. Or, etc... But bipolar disorder? That signaled worse times ahead, not better. I was scared sh*tless.
So I went for a 3-hour neuropsychological session, which was grueling. But after it was all said and done, I was diagnosed with ADHD of the inattentive type. Negative on the biploar issue. Thank God.
But something else cropped up during the testing. Turns out, I am a borderline genius. I don't say this to toot any horns. I say this because I lived 35 years thinking the exact opposite. I thought that I had to work twice as hard as everyone else for average results. But I'm smart! It was right there in black and white in the test results. ADD made more sense than ever.
So, now I'm on my third medication in as many months. We started on Ritalin. I saw some incremental results, but it didn't have that dramatic head clearing effect that a lot of people experience. We ended up increasing it to 30mg 2X a day (i'm a fairly big guy...208 lbs), and at that dose I ended up just feeling jittery all the time. On to the next med.
Next, was Adderall. That drug sucked for me. Right away, my wife saw me get really irritable. I couldn't sleep. I felt strung out all the time. It was gross. I got off that pretty quickly.
Now my doc has me off the stimulants and on Strattera. Not seeing much in the way of results yet. Been taking 40 mg 2X a day for close to a month. I see him again on Wednesday, at which time we will decide to up the dose or move on to something else.
It's frustrating to not have the drug that works yet...that treating ADD isn't an exact science. But the way I figure it, It's taken me this long to find out that I even have a condition, I can put up with a few months of trying to find the right medicine.
Sorry for the boring story everyone. But it's kind of a watershed discovery for me. If anyone has had a similar Rx story, let me know what you discovered. I'd love to hear from you.
Welcome to the board.
Cant give you any enlightenment on the meds............sorry...........you are doing what we all do, try and wait and see, then try again....wait and see.......it's discouraging, but once you find that right combo..........you will be so happy! Every medication, every delivery method of every medication, each dose...... all different. You just never know what will be right for you. Keep trying.
[QUOTE=OMG I'M ADHD?]Now my doc has me off the stimulants and on Strattera. Not seeing much in the way of results yet. Been taking 40 mg 2X a day for close to a month. I see him again on Wednesday, at which time we will decide to up the dose or move on to something else.
It's frustrating to not have the drug that works yet...that treating ADD isn't an exact science. But the way I figure it, It's taken me this long to find out that I even have a condition, I can put up with a few months of trying to find the right medicine.
Sorry for the boring story everyone. But it's kind of a watershed discovery for me. If anyone has had a similar Rx story, let me know what you discovered. I'd love to hear from you
For starts I think you said you weighed over 200lbs? If so you probably need 100mg of strattera per day. I'm only 132 lbs and opt dose would be about 70mg [though it doesn't come that way]
I'm trying the strattera myself and although it got rid of the morning blues and I feel a bit happier it hasn't done squat for the focus and increased the fidgeting [which is going down again now, thank the stars] *sigh*
I'll let you know because today I'm going to "up" it another 40mg.
It's not a "boring story" it's OUR story
We're in this together, all of us.
"WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE" should be our theme song
Keep us posted!
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My husband just got jittery on quick release ritalin as well, but LOVES concerta. He had a sample card for a free month, and did very well on it, but when we went to fill it with our less than optimal prescription coverage, it was an outrageous price out of pocket so he is using dexedrine, which helps him, but not as much as the concerta, BUT has a generic version that is more affordable. He is living for the day that concerta finally goes generic, and is planning to pounce on it.
So, even though the ritalin did not do the trick, you might want to consider the concerta, or the ritalin LA, which are 2 different delivery systems of long acting ritalin.
Hi and welcome! I'm curious which of the neuropshyc tests were conclusive that you had adhd (I was tested too and the sustained attention exercise (forget the name for it, but it was 15 minutes on the computer responding to simple, boring prompts). Also curious what a "borderline genus" IQ score is, since I too was tested for IQ at the same time.
It certainly must be a relief and a revelation for you, and I hope that you can find some meds that help. As I found out, the meds help but it's folly to expect too much of them--they assist and enable but certainly don't cure!!
Hi John. I can't tell you what tests diagnosed what. But here are some of the tests that were mentioned as showing some signs of ADHD:
Stroop Test
Tower of London Test
California Verbal Learning Test - Second edition
Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure
NEO Five-Factor Inventory
There were at least a dozen other tests. The whole process took over three hours. It was exhausting.
I never got an IQ score, just some results that put me in the "superior" ( 95th+ percentile) range. My understanding is that ADHD was determined because, while I scored really high on some verbal and spatial tests, I scored really low on processing speed. The gap was too large between the two.
As for the meds, I'm certainly learning there isn't a cure-all pill for me. Right now I'm combining Strattera and Concerta and it seems to be having some effect. The bigger thing for me is the big picture of medication, healthy living (sleep, diet, exercise), and techniques to keep me focused and organized.
Thanks for asking, John.
Cheers.
OMG I'M ADHD?39241.8402199074I am on here for my 10 year old child, but i also have the same symtpoms as an adult. I managed to keep a job for 16 years doing something that I really loved doing on no meds. After my son was diagnosed i realized I have what he has. I am hyper always cleaning always doing things none stop. I think as adults we can't change who we are only embrase the gifts we are given. Don't try to change yourself for anyone. you are who you are, and if some can't appreciate that, then it is there own problem. You have to find what works for you ofcourse, but don't change your personality for your income I know when my child grows up he will be the best politcian. He lets everybody do his dirty work. that is who he is and as much as I hate cleaning his room and he does pay for bad things he does. I know that this is his what his gift in life is. Everyone of us has a GIFT, I wish I had the book in front of me ,it is very inspirational for adults as well as children. I do struggle with anixiety, but I know that I am who I am, and if someone wants to change that that they have no business being in my life.