The verdict is....... | ADHD Information
..... I have ADD.
When he said it, I almost felt the tears come on, just out of sheer relief. I mean, no one wants to have something wrong with them, but it was just an immense relief knowing that this wasn't just something I had imagined or made up. My whole life makes so much sense now.
We spent about 45 minutes together. He asked me a million and one questions. A lot of them were similar ones I had come across in many of the surveys online. His eyes lit up like I Christmas tree when I said I had my teacher comments from my old report cards. He asked questions about school, jobs, social life, depression, social anxiety, OCD, substance abuse, family history, everything.
Then he said that the neurological tests given by many psychiatrists are fairly useless when applied to adults. They are better suited to diagnosing children. Adults can recall and report a history of experiences, whereas with children this is more difficult. He also told me that this sort of testing can cost about 00, because it is not covered under Canadian medical. Why ask the patient to spent that kind of money, when a verbal consultation is all that is really required? It made a lot of sense to me, and I have always suspected those tests would be kind of redundant anyway.
He said, based on my answers, and more specifically on my report cards, that I definitely qualify as being ADD. He said he will send a detailed report to my regular doctor, and will recommend to her that I be put on Ritalin (yikes), and that she monitor me for progress and such.
Wow... this could be a whole new beginning.
Hi,
I tried ritalin and it made me hyper. My Dr. put me on stratera. I just started three weeks ago. I hope you do really well on your medication.
Think of it this way. My mother has to take meds for her diabetes, so if it helps it is a positive thing.
Ritalin has worked out really, really, really, well for me. At first it did make me a little more talkative along with drastically cutting the leg shaking, playing with stuf with my hands, clock watching, desire to just leave work or school. I think but, now it really just seems to help me focus and be still when I am in a situation I have to sit quietly. I interrupt less and at times I actually listen to people rather than just think about what i will say next lol. I was on 30 mg taking 10 3 times a day but now take 20 on days I dont have school and 25 on days I do( I need to be focused later). 30 worked great but I found 20-25 worked about as well and there was no edginess. Maybe part of that is because of the diet changes i made when i started the medicine kicking in and reducing what's need to correct the problem.
It has never interfered with my sleep and between diet, cognitive behavior changes and Ritalin i have made real positive changes in my life....Good luck, I hope you have the experience i have had!
Thanks everyone. Now I get to suffer through the next couple of weeks until I can start the meds. I'm not thinking meds will miraculously fix everything, but I am curious to see how I will feel on them.Okay... I have to ask... what is the < =""> thing supposed to be?
I'd never seen it before I joined this forum!
Just my little
I think that the need for meds depends on how severe the ad/hd is, you know? Like, say for intance, my dad, I feel, has ad/hd...he says that I am just like he was when he was younger. However, my dad is one of those "perfectionist" type of ad/hders, if he does have it, you know: the kind that has to have everthing JUST PERFECTLY SO, and goes BUCK WILD WITH ANGER if ANYTHING is out of place. I have gone into his office, where he has different markers and highlighters lined up for specific bills... and I will move just one, and lay it back on his desk, possible pointing in a different direction, and he will get very angry because it was not laid perfect the way he had left it. He is EXTREMELY MOODY, and absolutely cannot deal with any type of clutter (he will impulsively throw things away cause they are cluttering up his space, and later kick himself cause he ended up needing what he threw away)....BUT his "perfectionismness" makes it so that he keeps all of his bills paid precisely before on-time, and he has IMACULANT CREDIT and has taught himself effective "coping mechanisms" through the years, so perhaps medication would not be necessary for him.....
However, there are people who are literally living on the streets/under underpasses and bridges/inside of cardboard boxes because they have untreated ad/hd, and perhaps cannot hold down a job, and cannot manage to keep their bills paid in order to keep a roof over their heads.....also there are studies done proving that many prisoners also have untreated/undiagonosed ad/hd...perhaps, it is as detrimental to THESE ad/hders to have meds as it is to the diabetics.......
This is how I think of ad/hd....
and that was my 
I'm happy for your relief. See, you're NOT crazy! Sounded like a good doctor, knew what he was doing. 
And good luck with the meds. I know you'll keep us posted.
[QUOTE=caylx2]Think of it this way. My mother has to take meds for her diabetes, so if it helps it is a positive thing.[/QUOTE]
Laura, I understand the similarity you're trying to indicate; however, people with ADHD can and do live without meds. But a diabetic w/o their meds can result in physical consequences such as blindness, stroke or even death. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but we need to come up with a better comparison.
BTW, my mother was also diabetic, had a stroke and spent her last 14 years in a nursing home, unable to walk or talk.
But definitely, if it helps, it is a positive thing. Sorry, Laura, I guess I just take things too literally at times.
Forgive me? I didn't mean to sound like I was criticizing you. 'k? Thanks!GypsyWomyn38428.9413888889GypsyWomyn, While I may be a newbie on this forum, I think you
may have over-simpified in your rebuke which sounded....not
positive. My life experience has shown me that not taking my meds
for ADD/ADHD can have serious physical consequences. I have cut
myself, missed doorways, poured caustic/scalding liquids where they did
not belong, almost been hit by vehicles as a cyclist and pedestrian and
refuse to drive for any appreciable distance without my meds -->
because of the dire physical consequences of my innattention behind the
wheel. Medications are by no means a panacea; but neither should
they be made a pariah.Ghead.
PS to bcgirl1978....congratulations! I still remember how shocked I was when I self-confirmed a teachers diagnosis at age 30 many years back. I read "Driven to Distraction" and it changed my mental paradigm dramatically. < =""> Chris, I definitely stand corrected. It's not been a good day for me. It's also not like me to dispute what others say on this forum. I much prefer to give them support.
I must admit, I have scars from burning myself numerous times, have hit my head more times than I care to remember (hard knocks, but hard head!
), and do see the danger driving can present.
Let me personally welcome you to a great forum!Gypsywomyn, You are very gracious. Happy to be included. Even if not particularly -happy- to be up reading my cognitive science / linguistics at 11:30 my time. Nice to meet you.
ghead.
< =""> < =""> gearhead38429.0214930556Well,congrats on making it through the exam! I know it is tough and thank goodness its over with.
It is a real relief to know, isnt it? It seems like having that concrete diagnosis makes all the difference, because then you know that you can take steps to move forward.
Good luck with the doctor and medication. Hope everything goes great with that.
Hugs to you!
[QUOTE=bcgirl1978]He said he will send
a detailed report to my regular doctor, and will recommend to her that
I be put on Ritalin (yikes), and that she monitor me for progress and
such.[/QUOTE]I forgot to mention that all this will take at least 2 weeks. So I get to suffer for at least that much longer before I can go on the meds!
bcgirl197838429.7054166667
You know bcgirl, the thing I am worst at is waiting for christmas. When my family doctor suggested I had ADD I realised straight away that's what it was, and I was ready to rush out and get on with things right away, because normally if I decide to do something, like make a cake or do a 6 week cooking class, I have to start it that minute, otherwise I'll have forgotten about it by tomorrow and thought of a new thing I want to do instead.
It was agonising to have to wait 6 weeks for the psychologist appointment, then 2 weeks for the test, then 2 more weeks to go back and get a prescription. I just wanted them to give me the drugs right away, but it took 2 months to get diagnosed and on medication.
Waiting is the worst thing for someone with ADD, but I had to keep telling myself I've waited 25 years to learn this, surely I can wait 2 months to get meds. It's so agonising though, so I know what you mean!
Now I am sitting here waiting for 6 weeks until I notice the full effects of the Strattera. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I could clean my house while I was sitting around waiting, but that would be too sensible wouldn't it guys! 