ADHD and College | ADHD Information

I'm increasingly more and more aware of the possibility that I might have ADHD. I'm failing horribly at all my classes and, its not because I'm not smart. Its not being able to pay attention, being distracted all the time, procrastinating, not being motivated, or getting started, forgetting assignments, losing pretty much everything, and doing things on a whim that I shouldn't  be doing.

But anytime I mention it to a professional, they give me a "Depression" speech. First it was a physician at the health center on campus. When I found myself repeating all my mistakes from last semester, I went to a psychologist on my own. After 3 sessions, she says "Depression" and then we talk for the rest of the hour about Bull$h!t. I haven't gone back.

She didn't take me seriously. And yesterday, I found this article about diagnossis of ADHD in Adults.


Something that striked my interest:

    "AD/HD cannot be diagnosed accurately just from brief office observations, or just by talking to the person. The person may not always exhibit the symptoms of AD/HD in the office, and the diagnostician needs to take a thorough history of the individual's life. A diagnosis of AD/HD must include consideration of the possible presence of co-occurring conditions."

Of the three visits I had, one was spent with me explaining why I was there. The second I took a test the whole time. And the third was the last one where she metioned "Depression." It wasn't till the end of the meeting when I point-blank asked, "Drepression? I'm not depressed. I'm not sad! What are we going to do about it." and she said, "Nothing. I don't see the need for medication at this point. Its just a wait and see." I haven't scheduled another appointment.

    "Although different clinicians will vary somewhat in their procedures and testing materials, certain protocols are considered essential for a comprehensive evaluation. These include a thorough diagnostic interview, information from independent sources such as the spouse or other family members, DSM-IV symptom checklists, standardized behavior rating scales for AD/HD, and other types of psychometric testing as deemed necessary by the clinician."

She didn't do any of that either.

    "The single most important part of a comprehensive AD/HD evaluation is a structured or semi-structured interview, which provides a detailed history of the individual. In a "structured" or "semi-structured" interview, the interviewer asks a pre-determined, standardized set of questions, in order to increase reliability and decrease the chances that a different interviewer would come up with different conclusions. This allows the clinician to cover a broad range of topics, discuss relevant issues in more detail, and ask follow up questions while ensuring coverage of the domains of interest. The examiner will review the diagnostic criteria for AD/HD and determine how many of them apply to the individual, both at the present time and since childhood. The interviewer will further determine the extent to which these AD/HD symptoms are interfering with the individual's life."

Nor that.

I think I might need a second opinion. I honestly don't believe I'm depressed. I am open to the possibility that it is a co morbidity, sure. Wouldn't you be upset if your were screwing up your college education for no fault of your own?

The only person I've ever met with the same problems like me has ADD. She has lots of trouble too, but she does very well when she's on her medication.

How do I get a doctor to take me seriously??
How do I find a GOOD doctor?
Luvmykids0239606.3390625Welcome bloo. I understand your dilemma quite well and there is a light at the end of this tunnel. If your not doing well in college it certainly isn't your fault and I'm glad you recognize that.  Many ADHD'ers don't do well in college if their symptoms are not being effectively managed or treated. Constant failure could indeed bring on depression but sometimes a depression disorder could look like ADHD. I suggest that you get assessed by a psychiatrist. Only then will you get an accurate diagnosis. ADHD could be the underlying reason for depression when its gone untreated but I agree that you need to get a definitive diagnosis. A psychiatrist has the credentials to make a differential diagnosis. If possible, try to get a  recommendation to a good psychiatrist. Good luck and please keep us postedI was diagnosed in one session... sort of ..

A few years ago I went to a psychologist at my school because I had depression and anxiety, and because I wanted to have something to fall back on in case I fell apart again and ended up on academic probation like the previous semester.  I was told that if I had sought help then I could have deferred my grades or something. Anyway.. so after seeing the psychologist I saw a doctor in case medication might be needed.  The funny thing is I had gone to her one time a couple days after doing ecstasy and was like "i think something is wrong with me, as it was kicking in I felt this weird clarity..like some kind of fog had cleared.. I felt very relaxed.. like I could deal with things better"  I described to her that I felt more "normal" or balanced.. it was just an immense feeling of relief. Of course then it became more than that and I was totally high..  but looking back now I realize that the feeling I got 'going up' on E, is the same feeling I get on Ritalin... that relaxed balanced feeling.

After this experience I thought I had depression.. and needed anti-depressants. However, the doctor didn't really think I needed them because she thought I was really good at analyzing myself and figuring things out, so she thought I would get out of it. And when I told her about the ecstasy experience she just said that it was just drugs and that of course people feel good when they take them.

Anyway, so that was 3 years ago.. I ended up dropping out (again) and going backpacking for 10 months.. then I came back and thought I should give school another try.. (3rd times a charm!).  I was really into my courses the first semester back and I did really well.. then I ended up getting depressed for various reasons over summer.. mainly boredom. When September came around I thought that school would make me happy because it would keep my mind busy... but i just wasn't motivated... I felt like I had used up all my motivation the previous semester.. and my mind wanted to move on to something else.  I felt so restless.. like I wanted to jump out of my skin. I felt like something was rising to the surface.. and l was realizing that something was very wrong with me. I thought had atypical depression or that I had social phobia or that I was a rapid cycling bipolar (I'm a psyc major so of course I tried very hard to diagnose myself).

The first week of school I saw the intake person at the counseling center (it was the same guy I had seen the first time in '05.. I remember he said he was concerned I might be manic because of how fast I was speaking) and I just told him the same sort of thing.. that i felt anxious and depressed. Again he commented on my fast speech... but didn't mention mania.

So off I went to the doctor, the same one I had seen in '05 as well.. because this time I was sure I needed some kind of medication. When I arrived the first thing she said as she was looking at the intake counselor's notes was "So you think you might have ADHD?" And i was just like "What? I never said that? Is that what it says on there?" She became kind of flustered for a sec was like.. "oh yeah..it does", I guess she thought that I had suggested it to him.. but I didn't.. all I thought was wrong with me was that I was anxious and depressed..ADHD was the last thing on my mind..at the time I thought only kids had it.. and besides, I could always focus on stuff I found really interesting (obviously I didn't know about the hyperfocus thing at the time). I don't really remember the whole conversation now but I remember saying something along the lines of "I can't seem to stick to anything, I get bored so easily, I'm always moving and changing jobs and starting and stopping school, i need something to calm down, I'm thinking a million thoughts at once, I feel like there is an accelerator in my head and someone is in there flooring it"

I guess in that 2 years she had learned more about adult ADHD and she was able to spot the symptoms. I didn't get medication right away.. and she didn't really officially diagnose me.. she just had a strong suspicion. Also, I had gone to 11 different elementary schools and moved many many times and changed cities. So I hardly have any of my report cards or anything from my childhood..so a history check would be a bit hard... though I remember getting in trouble a lot for being disruptive and talking too much.. and just other impulsive things.

I took some quizzes online and read about adult ADHD and realized that it was describing me perfectly. I never knew that my bad temper, my talking too much, my crazy mood swings, and the fact that I get bored easily were all related to one underlying condition. I just thought they were just personality quirks.

Well long story short ..or should I say long story not way way too long, I've been on Wellbutrin for the last 9 months and it's helped.. especially with the mood swings. Ritalin would be perfect along with it.. but it has rebound effects.. and when it wears off I feel empty and not myself. I also tried Dexedrine, which is better because it doesn't affect my mood.. but it's too harsh on my body.

So yeah... even though I haven't gone through the proper diagnostic procedure.. I am quite certain that I have ADHD.. and after lots of reading and observation I'm sure both of my parents have it too.

I think it can be diagnosed in one session.. if the doctor is well educated on ADHD they should either be able to spot the symptoms in the person's behavior and/or their story.

Sorry about the length! I know ADHD makes it painful to read long things.. and if you read really slow like me, then it's even worse.

  Maybe it's my ego, but I am utterly infuriated I don't have a psychiatric degree  at this point; not just ADD but bipolar and schizo.  I think I could do a ****ing better job than most doctors.  It really ticks me off they have a ten million dollar education, and can't do the slightest ***ing thing to diagnose or help anyone.

I utterly disagree that ADHD cannot be diagnosed in one session.  To me, the nine freaking symptoms in your first paragraph are UTTERLY conclusive to diagnose you, nevermind another whole HOUR just to pry you to make sure about them!

I walk into a doctor and can list in fifteen minutes multiple examples of all the major symptoms and highlights of personal stories that I think blow away a lot of average ADDers.  I don't care who the heck you are, there is *nothing* left to tell after saying "I hit the exact same detour sign four times in a row in three minutes", and "I'm often four hours late to a three hour frisbee game."

You find a good doctor by logging onto all the doctor-finding sites, calling every one with a high rating and making an appointment, then if that fails you try every other doctor in your area.  Your entire life is worth that.