question about add | ADHD Information

Thank you Gypsy. If you only knew how long it takes me to type a response.

I second that GypsyWomyn. I want to say thank you dvirgo421 for your time and effort to put into words exactly what i think and feel. I know how hard it can be, to put what goes on in your head down on paper.

I am 31, a single mother of 2 boys, ages 10 & 6. I was just diagnosed ADD a month ago while going through testing with my youngest boy. I was given dexedrine, 5mg twice a day to start, now im taking 10mg 3 times a day...as they only last about 3 hours for me, and unfortunately my work day is longer than 6 hours..lol...and all i can say is wow.... it has been a turning point, mind u it may be uphill at times, but for the first time in my life i feel understood. I was excited to find this forum and read some of the postings. It's like all the voices that have been in your head your whole life written on the screen in front of you, only there is someone elses name on the post... does that make sense?

Anyway, hi to all, it is pleasure to be here and i look forward to more great posts.

thanx, nat

For many years I had been on antideppresants..Ever since my child was diagnose with adhd 5 years ago I somehow felt I had add without hyperactivity..about a year ago I decided to stop all meds<antideppresants>..So after a year of no meds I went to a new Dr. I took the add quiz/test. yes I scored very high.So I started on concerta reluctanly.

He put me on concerta 27 mg once a day..I had major problems sleeping,griting my teeth.non stop talking. I'm not a really big talker..I went back today and he change to 10 mg of ritalin xl I think. I havent taken it yet..oh and sonada for sleep

So what I have notice is my depression is gone which confuses me. He said alot of times once they treat the add which is really the problem the depression will leave..I dont really remember exactly how he put it...I guess what he means is the way our brains are wired with the constant thoughts..getting frustrated,feeling worthless because not able to focus,finish life task etc.. causes the depression...Does this make sense?..

So now I'm confused because ...I know the depression is gone I dont have the crazy thoughts anymore or negative talk to myself..

so does this mean if I really had depression before the add meds would not of aleviated it..

does this mean I never really had quote true depression?

maybe somebody could enlighten me..

I'm also feel a little scared taking these drugs because you read so much negative stuff about them...

thanks for any input you can give

Sorry for an typos the spell check wouldnt work for me..

Many times, ADD, without the H (hyperactivity) is diagnosed as depression, especially in women. I'm going to suggest you read Women With Attention Deficit Disorder by Sari Solden.

If the ADD meds took away your depression, obviously it's the ADD that caused the depression. For example, if you take cold medicine for a runny nose, and they don't work, and you decide to take sinus medicine for the runny nose and it works, it's not a cold, it's sinus problems.

Hang in there with the meds. You have to do trial and error for yourself, because different medicines effect different people in different ways.

I hope this answers your questions.

I read an article for my cognitive/affective psych class a month or so ago that said that emotions, contrary to popular belief, do not appear to exist on a continuum but are two different functions with corresponding physical structures in the brain (likely within the limbic system someplace). Once the seat of negative emotions gets rolling, it tends to reinforce itself.

I'm just guessing here but it seems like while the symptoms (the ongoing negative system) may get started for different reasons through different neurological paths, once it gets started, you have depression. And since most systems have built-in feedback loops, the "depression system" is likely feeding back to the system that set it off so that a disruption in that system (different meds for different causes), would end up with the same result.

Obviously, this is only a theory, but it's one possible explanation as to why symptoms may be similar or even identical when the underlying cause is different and responds to different medication. We'd need someone with more expertise than I, like ADHDMD, to come along and verify or refute this theory, but I expect it works something like this.

Thank you guys for all the imput...its does get frustrating sometimes..I wish there was a more clear cut test..Like a blood test that could get a more definitive answers..sigh but there isnt any..maybe someday...

For me I was always a quite and submissive child..never really made any problems for my parents...I struggled when I was in elementary school I used to hit my head againist the wall because I hope the I could kill the dumb brain cells so the smart ones would out number and take over...

I can learn great if something is put in a game format...so challenging...but put me in front of a instructor...and snooze.

I have a degree I dont use..I never got my licensce to practice because I just knew I would flunk the test again...I know alot but have me test and I cant bring it out of my head...

thanks for letting me ramble on

sorry about that I want to make sure I paint a accurate picture..

Lacaza3,

Don't be so darn hard on yourself. You are working with a...an...a...I hate to call it a disorder, a thing--that has been highly misunderstood, misunderdiagnosed (especially in women), and highly criticized. It is real, it can be hard, and it can suck the big one, but you have come to the right place. I sent you a PM with a couple of titles, I really hope you are able to read them and learn what AD(H)D means for you. The book that Junglelilly suggested is really good also.

As for the depression thing, here's my theory. When you go through life feeling wrong, bad, stupid being told that you're bad/stupid/lazy (fill in word of choice), and afraid that ppl will someday see just how out of control your brain (and home) is, it will get you down on yourself. If you are constantly down on yourself, it can seem like you are depressed to others, when in fact your concerns are legitimate. You are different and you think different--but never wrong, just different, and there are many of us out there to say, "yes, I know how you feel (because we do)," or "I've done/said that."

Express your concerns to your doctor, read up on different meds, and go in and check out the topic on "medications", ask questions we'll give you answers and your doctor should too.

Welcome home.

Danielle

[QUOTE=dvirgo421]

Lacaza3,

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Dvirgo...I want to thank you for so often, quit often, in fact.... managing to put into word exactly how I feel about certain things...things I've had difficulty finding the words to explain to myself. There are so many on this board that accomplish that, and I'm forever grateful! Once more, thank you, your theory hits home again!