ok, so here's my story. I'm a 30 yr. old female teacher. i've known i've had add since a classmate was diagnosed in the 7th grade. my parents said i was lazy and would do better if i'd set my mind to it. sound familiar? i have an incredible ability to "hyperfocus". I completed an international adoption last year in four months! since parenthood, however, i have decided i would like some medical help with the add/adhd symptoms. my biggest concern was that i didn't want to spend the extra time at work to disguise my disorganization. anyway, doctor one said, "let's try zoloft." i have no idea why, but that went on for about 5 months. of course it did nothing for my attention, but i really didn't care anymore. once i realized how tired i was, i got a second opinion. welbutrin XL. well, it did great with my focus, but about four months in to it (that's now), I'm battling depression and anxiety. i went to the doctor today. he diagnosed me with hypomania. i've been torn up! however, i've been on line every since. I fit absolutely no diagnostic criteria for mania, and only four for true depression. those four criteria just happen to be add criteria as well. (inner anxiety, restlessness, hard to focus, forgetful). what do i do now? doc wants me to stay on the welbutrin, but i think that is the root of all evil right now. he plans on weaning me off and starting effexor after the holidays. Hello! i need some concerta, not another anti-depressent. i've realize that my doctors think i'm crazy, what is one to do?
notcrazy! wrote:
i've realize that my doctors think i'm crazy, what is one to do?
Your not crazy. Your just depending on your doctors to know whats best for you which is very normal when we trust our doctors. You indicate that you were diagnosed with hypomania. Did your doctor indicate that you have bipolar disorder? If so, stimulant medications will escaserbate syptoms of bipolar disorder in most cases. Sometimes ADHD coexists with bipolar disorder. Please give us more info as there is always someone here to help
wow! notcrazy you are thirty years old. You seem worse now then before you started medicine. Im forty and I know my poor son received my trait adhd. It took me seven years to see a doctor for him. He has went threw all the stuff I went thru. I have never taken medicine I have learned to live with it. I read alot and try to control my problems myself. I write everything I do everyday down and mark it off as I go. I hardly ever forget to do things and I have learned a whole lot of organizations skills to help me out. I'm sure medicine would help me but right now my son is more important. This day and age my child has to be able to focus in school or he will never be able to meet his goals in life. I stay home, I dont work out in the public Idid fine when Iworked in the public as long as I had my list. I ran circles around everyone. They loved me because I had so much energy I did my job plus theirs. I was a Bank Operations Officer, I handled every thing fine. You are a teacher, organizartion skills are important! I would find a new doctor and have him get you off what you are on and find something that will work for you to better your problems rather then make them worse. You are having depression and anxiety to me that would be so much more then what you were dealing with. I am not much on medicine for the depression and anxiety I paid 0.00 on a self help program By Lucinda Bassett. She really helped me. Have a open mind! If you dont have the money or dont want to spend the money she also has books out (Life without limits) and (From Panic to Power) Good Luck!ok, so i've been in serious "hyper-focus" mode. i'm willing to accept a depression diagnosis, but not a manic one. yes, i realize that even with a manic disorder, i could live a normal, productive life. i've looked up bi-polar and hypomania and neither fits. i pulled out my old faithful copy of Driven to Distraction by Dr. Hallowell. he has a list of suggested diagnostic criteria for adult add/adhd. a person should fit at least 15 of the 20. i fit 19. i find number 15 especially interesting:
#15 Mood swings, mood lability, especially when disengaged from a person or a project. The person with ADD can suddenly go into a bad mood, then into a good mood, then into a bad mood all in the space of a few hours and for no apparent reasons. These mood swings are not as pronounced as those associated with manic-deprssive illness or depression. Adults with ADD, more than children, are given to unstable moods. Much of this is due to their experience of frustration and/or failure, while some of it is due to the biology of the disorder.
you know, i've always been emotional, but so is the rest of my family. no one in my family has ever been diagnosed with any type of mania (hypo, bi, etc.). all i know in the last few months I've experienced hives for the first time and have had an increase in reactiveness to stress (which manifests itself with tears). i still haven't really been sad. so i'm not sure if i'm really going through a depression. i think it is more anxiety since the tears are usually brought on by my fear that i have upset or offended someone in some way. no i don't have the dizziness, rapid heart beat, etc., but i also don't feel hopeless, sad, or doomed. again, i've always been "hypersensitive", but i think the welbutrin is aggrevating things, not helping.notcrazy, What type of doctor are you seeing? I would suggest you get evaluated by a psychologist that specializes in or at least has knowledge of ADHD. I went through a 2 hour series of tests before I was diagnosed. If you think the Wellbutrin is causing your problems or a exaserbating them tell your doctor you want off now and ask what the procedure is to wean yourself off. You have to remember that the doctors are trained in the diseases but you are the only person that knows yourself and your body better than anyone. Get a doctor that listens to you. -Gettingagrip-You just need to keep checking and looking for a doc who will agree with you and give you a trial of the usual meds. You do not need hours of tests from a psychologist who cannot prescribe meds anyway. Look for add tests, take them, and give them to each new doc you see. Check out CHADD, and other sites, may list docs in your area that specialize in adults with ADD. good luckWell, i'm feeling better. The doctor gave me some samples of welbutrin 150, but didn't want me to change my dosage until after christmas. I disobeyed and went ahead and dropped from 300 to 150 dosage yesterday. I also found my old bottle of Zoloft and started taking 1/2 pill (25mg). I have a 2 months supply of 50mg., so it should last until I talk to the doctor. The only side effect I had from the Zoloft was that I was a little toooooo laid back. Sounds good right now. I have never gone against doctor orders before, but something had to give. I read a lot yesterday and realized that I have been under a lot of stress (even for a non-ADDer) and that is probably the sole reason of my vulnerable crying periods (of course aggravated by the welbutrinxl). I have to take my son in on Monday for a recheck with his ear. I have a ton of checklists to take with me that strongly suggest ADD innattentive type and do anything but indicate any mania (except of course, periods of hyperactivity and difficulty focusing). If I get nowhere I'll ask for a referral to a psyD. I just hope insurance will cover the nature of the visit.
My worry: I was brought up with a, "What will people think?" mentality. My doctor must think that I am an unfit mother that probably doesn't need to be around my first grade students. We were planning on starting the adoption process over again in April. Korea requires a doctor's physical. Hubby says to give it to God and have a little faith. I know he's right, but ADDers AND manics have to have something to worry about, right?
Thanks for listening. My husband gets tired of talking about it, but he tries to be supportive. At least he is on my side. It's nice to find so many people that I can relate to.
notcrazy
I don't think the meds are going to be your only answer. I think you need to get some good Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This is the only way you are going to retrain your behavior and your thoughts. It's imperative you do some therapy in conjunction with meds. Also find a support group.
I don't mean to offend you, but you seem to be in a very self centered mode. Without going into my whole story, I did not seek help until I was 30 years old and experienced much the same as you. If you could try and find someway to help others, volunteering etc.. a need greater than yourself, it possibly could help.
I wish you good luck and hope you get some help before your adoption takes place. You want to be healthy for your child.
taximom
As always, somehow I've been unclear. I didn't say I couldn't find any info on hypo/bi polar mania. I said I didn't fit any of the criteria EXCEPT that what is also on the ADD list.
I also didn't stop the Welbutrin after only a few days. I stopped it after four months. I didn't want to stop any earlier b/c I could really see the benefits in regards to focus/attention. I said that I dropped the dosage a week earlier (to 150 from 300) than my dr. wanted me to. Trust me, I had to. The doctor was afraid that changing the meds too close to Christmas would be devasting. It was a case of knowing my body better. I am convinced that I had too much Welbutrin in my body. Basically, the last four months have been an emotional roller coaster. It's sort of been like PMS everyday with the last two weeks being significantly worse. I say that because it hasn't been an extreme situation, just something that I was totally uncomfortable with. I can not be "little miss irritable" with kindergarteners all day and then come home to a one year old.
I went back on the Zoloft because I know how good I felt emotionally and I was struggling. I have been taking only 25 mg. of Zoloft for almost a week now without the 150 of Welbutrin. I feel like my normal self; I'm happy, I can brush things off (except these last posts), and I can't get a darn thing done.
I actually consider the self-centered comment a compliment. I very seldom ever even worry about myself. I think sometimes it is necessary to take a deep look within for the benefit of those around. I guess that is what I'm doing. I could care less about my ADD tendencies if I didn't have to work a full time job that I LOVE. It's just that too many people depend on me. I am involved with MANY service projects. My passion is local missions. I work at a school that is almost 90% at risk, etc., etc.
That said, I have read that the Effexor is effective with ADD. I am afraid to take it because of the way I reacted with the Welbutrin and I feel SOOO much better with it out of my system. I have a months supply of samples. I need to know who has had success with this for ADD. I am not going to take it until I see my doctor again and I am going to ask him for a referral to a psychiatrist for an official diagnosis. I do actually like the ideal of therapy and I will go to see a psychologist once this is cleared up.
notcrazy!38353.8627662037I've never seen anything that has proven that effexor helps ADHD. A lot of times when doctors exhaust stimulants and other ADHD med options they try antidepressants. Sounds like your doctor plans on trying a bunch of anti depressants on you to see if any of them help.
Effexor is a different class of drug then Welbutrin so you might get different results. I know Effexor was horrible for me, actually the worse medication I have ever taken and we tried a lot before finding something that worked. But of course all these meds work differently for everyone. While I was dying from the side effects you could very well take it and not experience any side effects at all.
I'd say your best bet is to find a knowledgable doctor who is used to treating ADHD and similar problems. Finding what works can be a long process so hang in there when you find something that works it is well worth it.
I also wonder what kind of doctor you are seeing — though I wouldhi folks. this board makes me laugh. i started this thread when i was still on the meds that i suspected were causing most of my trouble. it moved to the next page, stayed dormant a while, and now it resurfaces. i feel like i have to keep defending the medically induced mood that i was in three weeks ago. thanks though, for caring.
i have started two more posts. please read the got adderal one. i would like to have replies to that one.
update for those of you who haven't read the other threads. i have the welbutrin TOTALLY out of my system and i feel great. totally scattered, but great. daycare called me today b/c my son had a fever. i took one look at my desk and went in to major hyperactivity mode trying to get ready for a sub. when i return to work, i will find most of the topping of my desk in a paper box under my desk. that's my nonmedicated way of cleaning my desk. lol.
i'm waiting on insurance approval to take adderalxr. it's pending since i haven't taken ritalin before. my doctor thinks it's just a matter of formalities, but i may have to wait until thursday. the pharmacist gave me three pills anyway. he said if insurance will not approve, i can pay for the pills individually and if they do approve he will subtract it from the prescription. i get to try it tomorrow. yeah.
if the adderal doesn't work, i am resolved to my 25mg of zoloft and will be happy. i have to admit, i'm extremely lucky to have family and co-workers who accept me for who i am. they ALL agree that i may benefit from ADD medicine, but at least they are helpful and supportive. i'm just glad to get that other med out of my system. emotional stability IS NOT something to mess with.
No, emotional stability is not something to be messed with, but it'ssunray,
in response to a pm, i'm editing this post. sometimes, less is more when using words.
Wellbutrin caused agitation and irritability in me. It was an unwelcome side effect. It does say in the package insert that this may happen as well as depression. That was actually a little joke I had before going back to the doctor. "What am I supposed to say, "my anti-depressent is making me depressed?""
For those of you wanting to try this medicine, everybody is different. It might be a great drug for you.
notcrazy!38363.8558333333