Newly Diagnosed Seeking Guidance | ADHD Information

It sounds like you have the symptoms of inattentive ADHD.  The medications can make some people with pre-existing anxiety, more anxious.  Sometimes a lower dose is better as the anxiety symptoms diminish.  It seems that this is what has happened with the Vivanse.  Is your memory still better though your focus is still not 100% on the Vivanse? 

The medicines will only help you to start on the road to attending.   You will still need tools to actually get the work, that needs doing, done.  I find that I have to play a game where I memorize things using a silly rhyme or something (neumonics).  Having VERY short term goals also helps me. (Get through this chapter and make a yummy English Muffin,  do this part of the project and go for a walk, etc).

There are some good books on working with our type of brain that are helpful when you are in school.  I love this book called Learning Outside the Lines: Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You The Tools by Jonathan Mooney and David Cole.  I just checked and Amazon has it for 4.50 and it really is worth every penny.  It will give you the behavioral strategies that you will need to succeed.

Good Luck!!  Tess  http://primarilyinattentiveadd.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for replying!

Well...The best thing about aderrall is it did allow me
to focus enough to get my organization skills revamped.
It kindof put me over that little threshold of
"disorganized and anxious" to "organized and...only a
little anxious" which is just becoming habit now.
Whether it is just the negative side effects of aderrall
diminishing or my Zoloft stopping them (or both) I am no
longer paranoid and feel crazy on it (since yes I do/did
have many anxiety problems). However the crash is just
awful, which is why i switched to vyvanse. My vyvanse   
prescription is very low right now (20mg...which is
roughly like 5-10mg of aderral...so ive heard) so I'll
see how that goes.

Thanks for the answer...was just surprised at how hyper
the aderrall made me. It wasnt at all what i was
expecting. And right after i hit "Post Reply" I'm
amazon-ing that book...I've got a couple already but it
never hurts to read more!

Cheers!Hi!
First of all...I hope I'm posting this in the right
place...I never use forums : P

I'm currently a 22 year old male college student who was
diagnosed 5 months ago with General Anxiety Disorder /
Depression / ADHD. Apparently this has been going on for
a while now even before I started college. My last 4
years of it have been awful...terrible moods, inability
to focus and being worrysome about things i shouldnt even
be that worried about. Now since this is an ADHD forum
ill stick to that.

My main problem is focus. I'm not hyper or find myself
not being able to sit still...however...my mind is always
racing. It doesnt matter what im doing or where i am, i
always feel like I have 20 TVs playing in my head. It
can be anything from what i have to do the next day, what
ive done, or just random things like song lyrics, or
stupid ideas....basically anything. This really hurts
when it comes to studying or completing anything. I
cannot focus for the life of me. I'll studying for about
an hour...and then get so distracted by ANYTHING that i legitimately feel ive studied the right amount.
I also have a TERRIBLE memory. Taking language courses
is HORRIBLE. It's frustrating after IQ testing knowing
I'm in the 98% but memory testing shows my memory to be
very below average.
I started taking medication 4 months ago. Aderrall. I
started with 10mg (i think?) and stopped at 20mg taken in
the morning. Later a 10mg IR was added to my day in the
evening. I became paranoid. Very paranoid. Checking
side-effects nonstop, taking everything people said as
negative...it was awful. Stopped taking it and was put
on prozac. Prozac stopped the negative side effects from
the aderrall. was no longer paranoid but really was just
hyper. My memory was better, I was more talkative, but i
still wasnt able to focus well at all...i was just WAY
more awake and shakie all day until i crashed hard at
night. Soon...the prozac caused hypomania...so i stopped
and was put on Zoloft a couple weeks ago. The zoloft has
been going MUCH better than the prozac except for mild
insomnia.
I am now on Vyvanse 50mg. I definitely do not feel the
hyperness like the aderrall...but also no added
focus...however its a small dose.

My main question would have to be...does Aderrall
normally make someone with ADHD very awake and hyper? I
feel like thats the opposite effect. Most people I know
who take some sort of ADHD medication say they are able
to really focus on tasks...and block out distractions
easily. This has never happened for me and as of right
now im lost as to what to look for when taking
medications for my diagnosis.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.   :)