New to this board | ADHD Information
Hi, been lurking for about 2-3 weeks so I said it's time to say hi and introduce myself.
I'm 28 years old, and I just found out I have Severe ADHD a month ago, had it my whole life, my background is Turkish so my family doesn't believe in this, even though I think some family members have it.
It took me to drop to my lowest level in my life to relize there was something wrong, I lived a rough and crazy life with lots of ups and downs. I hardly went to school, never did homework, but was always a good test taker so that's how I got by, I droped out of highschool on my senior year to take the GED, went to about 4 different colleges majoring in something different. I had a awsome paying job at a Multi-Billion Dollar Insurance company where I had it made, but I got bored of the job and quit, thinking so high of myself that I can get any job in the world, I went unemployed for 2 years.
I've been smoking Marijuana for about 3-4 years now, didn't know why I needed to smoke everyday, couldn't go a single day without it, till now I relize that I was only self-medicating.
Doctor gave me Ritalin to take, 10mg 2 times a day. 10mg does nothing, maybe the first 3 days, I've incresed on my own to 4 times a day, still nothing, I am seeing the doctor tomorrow, and going to say to increase my dose to 20mg 4 times a day, cause I can't suffer taking a low dosage, I feel like I'm coming off the drug without even it coming up.
Anyway I will make this a new stop of mine and hope I can learn more about what I have, I still have doubts that this is a real thing, it's like giving Lazy people an excuse. I guess I'll believe it when I find medication that works.
**T**
The first thing you will need is more self discipline than the average person. You need to put yourself in the frame of mind that you can fight yourself and win. After that, the right medicine can take the edge off of the effort that is required. To get the right medicine though, you will need the right psychiatrist.In my opinion, anyone who prescribes Ritalin as a first choice, is probably out of the loop when it comes to ADD. You should really try to find someone who's on the up and up.
[QUOTE=floofthegoof]The first thing you will need is more self discipline than the average person. You need to put yourself in the frame of mind that you can fight yourself and win. After that, the right medicine can take the edge off of the effort that is required. To get the right medicine though, you will need the right psychiatrist.
In my opinion, anyone who prescribes Ritalin as a first choice, is probably out of the loop when it comes to ADD. You should really try to find someone who's on the up and up.
[/QUOTE]
It wasn't my choice to get Ritalin, actually he started me out Straterra for the first 2 weeks and that did nothing, and then he gave me Ritalin, the doctor seems to be up to date with ADHD when he was explaining it to me, I made sure before making the first appointment. The only drawback of this whole thing is, I"m going to be broke by the time I find the right meds, but I see these meds as an investment, since life is all about money, at least for me, cause I don't care about anything else, I can make money if I"m up and focused, I was always the brains of the family, but the lazy person who doesn't want to do anything.
**T**
What do you want money for? Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. That's like a car mechanic who only cares about about acquiring tools, but doesn't want to fix cars. "An air powered socket driver! ahhhhhhhhh."Don't expect miracles from the meds. If it's not helping you then you should, you'll have to actually, do it without them. Taking enough Ritalin to kill an elephant won't make it more effective. Meds won't give you a purpose, nor will it give you self discipline.
Doctor gave me 20mg of ritalin today to take 2 to 3 times a day, I was giving the option to try concerta or adderall, but was going to stick with Ritalin since I do feel a little better, no need to switch yet till this become ineffective.
**T**
Hi T and Welcome.
I understand about looking at the dr. and meds as an investment. Me too (both in my career and personal life) . It has been VERY expensive since I work for myself.
I guess we are all different in what motivates us. In "What Color is Your Parachute" the author mentions that for some people it's money, for others it's location, or status, or an specific interest, etc., etc., etc. I happen to agree with that.
If I'm in a situation that is counter to what motivates me (for whatever reason), I am the worst person on the team, sooo...whaddya gonna do? <shrug>
If by chance you're still using pot, maybe it's confounding things? I'm real careful about the substances I put into my body, even food wise, because it all affects me quite a bit. It's hard to find the right combination.
Ritalin was pretty harsh for me because it would spike up really quickly and then leave me extremely grouchy when it wore off. Adderall is smoother, and I have heard that Concerta is even better because of it's very slow, steady release. I am going to ask to try that next time.
Discipline and organization are beyond challenging for me. However, give me something I'm charged up about and I am like a dog on red meat. I should probably switch careers and become a detective or something.
Anyway, welcome to the boards. Look forward to hearing about your progress and things that help you.
bb
hi t and welcome!
sometimes i feel i identify with all the posts on the board and i just get in a tizzy thinking which one to reply to.
but having read your post and the replies. i feel i needed to respond.
i,m not sure if self-discipline actually comes in to it.
i do know that being honest with myself about self medicating and being utterly desperate for something to work makes me monitor myself perhaps obsessively to make sure that i know if the drugs are working or not.
i don,t know if you are still using or not but please, it is possible to let go and trust the drugs, give them a good try out. i know it takes time but the end result is worth it if you want it enough.
maybe it is not your time yet to let go but keep posting here and reading and you will work things out in the end.
never be ashamed - it is a long hard road and guilt only makes it longer.
hope this makes sense. just keep on going whatever!
take care,
jhaz [QUOTE=jhaz]hi t and welcome!
i do know that being honest with myself about self medicating and being utterly desperate for something to work makes me monitor myself perhaps obsessively to make sure that i know if the drugs are working or not.
i don,t know if you are still using or not but please, it is possible to let go and trust the drugs, give them a good try out. i know it takes time but the end result is worth it if you want it enough.
maybe it is not your time yet to let go but keep posting here and reading and you will work things out in the end.
never be ashamed - it is a long hard road and guilt only makes it longer.
[/QUOTE]
I like your post.
Welcome T! Floof, I know what I want money for: so that I can do what I want with my sense of exploration and discovery and hire someone else to do the day-to-day tedious part of life like housework and paying bills.
Now you're talking boggled! Ahhh, the dream of every ADDer.T, you need to teach us how to make money, cos most of us here have no clue.
I would look into a non-stim, like strattera, if I were you....I believe you mentioned trying it first, but perhaps you should stay on it for a little longer or adjust your dosage slightly. It seems as though you have a tendency for "personal med regulation" and possibly an addictive personality which could lead to many problems on stims. Good luck and keep us posted
Ritalin is very weak, or my body just needs much more, 20mg only lasts 1 and a half hour TOPS, I've been taking 8 a day, that's 160mg, no fast heartbeat, no side effects, actually I feel great, very very calm, focused like I never was in my life, work has never been better, and I get things done.
I would love it if I can stay on 8 a day, but don't think they are allowed to give that much. I'm going to test out Adderall hopefully and maybe that will last longer which will require me to take less throughout the day.
**T**
You are right that sometimes we just need a break!
You may want to consider getting an anti-depressant from your doctor instead of weed. I personally do not think smoking a small amount of pot once in a while is a terrible health risk. But you always risk the potential legal complications (getting busted, dealing with criminals, etc.).
The prescriptions may not be any better for you (who knows), but they are legal. One less thing to worry about.
#1 - Medication will not fix the problem, but it may help control the symptoms and help you to cope with day-to-day demands.
#2 - You may want to try Concerta as it is a formulation of Ritalin in a time-release form. You only have to take it once a day.
#3 - You should not take any more than is being prescribed. If you feel like you need more, tell your doctor about it.
#4 - Hopefully you are no longer toking. You really should stick with just the prescribed medication for a time to see how it works. If you get high or drink, it is tough to tell what is working.
#5 - continue to educate yourself regarding ADHD. There are a lot of non-chemical things you can do help cope with it also.
I still think you need a better psychiatrist T. It sounds like you may have some anxiety issues as well. You may need a carefully coordinated combo of medicine. For the ADD part of your medicine, the effect will be subtle. If you need to feel more 'calm' that sounds like you may need something else.All the ADD meds I have tried have actually put me on edge a bit.
Well, last night I was guilty of smoking weed. My roommate had it and offered because I couldn't sleep (insomnia). I haven't smoked weed for probably 6 or 7 years (and I only did it a few times). Since I gave up drinking (because of alcoholism) everything was just building up and I was feeling more depressed and anxious do to my rescent start of adderall (which seems to be nothing but side effects for me). I know people should not have an output into drugs or alcohol. Seriously though, it drowned away the side effects, I was laughing and had a good time. It also put alot of things into perspective when thinking about things in that state of mind. This morning I feel great. In noway am I advocating the use of illegal drugs but needless to say, I feel 100% better today and am happier. Sometimes we just need to laugh and have a good time.
I've tried everything possible to help myself get by, I didn't touch drugs till I was 25 years old, and when I did, I thought the whole world was on drugs cause I actually felt normal, calm, and focus.
I don't do any hardcore drugs anymore, except for smoking weed at nights to help me sleep, been thinking of trying to get zanax as a substitue for weed for night time.
I also have to quit cigarettes before I quit anything else, since I smoke a pack a day, I feel cigarettes is doing the most damage to my body.
I've been taking the higher dose of Ritalin, 20mg makes me calm, but only for 2 hours, then I need another one, been taking 5-6 a day with no side effects, no fast heartbeat, I guess that's how much I need for this to be effective at this time, I'll talk with my doctor this week and probably ask to switch to something longer lasting, Concerta or Adderall.
**T**