honestly i do not know what it means to be able to focus!  someone said if you can read a book then you are focusing....i dont read much anyways so that wont work for me.

ok...but how do you tell if you are focusing, if the meds are working?  i can take my meds and feel really happy, if i am tired they wake me up till they wear off, other then that i am just not so sure here.

how did you know the meds were working?  what tell tell signs did you have that said "ah haaa"!!!

i need to know what to look for so it dont pass me by! 

At first the changes were subtle.  I would find myself coming up with a spontaneous plan of action before I began a simple tasks, like getting ready for school and planning my day.  Before I would just start things randomly and proceed inefficiently.   I seemed to be able to spontaneously rehearse the steps of how I was going to complete the task before I got started.  

I really noticed this new ability of mentally rehearsing and planning with school.  I could memorize large amounts of information by rehearsing the steps in my mind.   

Also, when someone would give me some information such as their phone number I would immediately and without effort rehearse the number in my mind in order to memorize it. 

My reasoning and problem solving ability were very much improved.  I went from failing physics to having it be my favorite subject.   I was able to hold information in my mind long enough to solve the problem. 

Also, I have much better sense of time.  Instead of having to rush everyday to get to work I seem to always have a little time to spare.  I am much more efficient.  I get the same things done in half the time.   There are so many subtle things that have changed in every aspect of my life.   Maybe I need to write it all down before I start to believe I'm cured.

Medications that have helped me the most have been imipramine, zoloft and Wellbutrin.  I could see that the stimulants worked, but the longer lasting medications have helped me the most.   Zoloft and Wellbutrin are smooth and last all day, and I want to feel normal and clear headed, not high. 

I noticed about a half an hour after I took my first pill (which at the time was Rittalin). I was watching a movie with family. Someone came into the room and started talking and started a conversation with them. I hadn't even noticed that they came into the room until after they said my name to grab my attention. For the first time in my life I didn't know everything that they had said, when the person had come into the room, who was leading the conversation and what was going to be said next. I was just watching a movie...

Paul