MY PARENTS KNEW?!?!?! WTF?!??! | ADHD Information

Parents associate adhd and mental problems with bad parenting, so they will fight it. You have to see where they are coming from and reassure them it is not their fault. Tell them you love them and have some lighter issues to deal with and leave it at that.. I had very new age parents that seen hyperactivity is not from bad parenting in the 1970's and got me the help I needed...

It has been my brother who it giving me the ADD is an excuse crap---over diagnosed crap-----He will be the first to tell anyone who will listen that he just does not understand me---that of us kids(the three of us-I am the oldest) I am the smartest and most talented-but have made the least of my life. He often says he just does not understand how I can have the ability to do what ever I would want to do --and have no motivation----duh!!!!

Does he not realize that it is more rediculous to beleive that someone who is smart and talented would chose to live an unproductive--depressing---stressful life??? That that person would just find some excuse to live that way??? I am doing so much more since getting help---I am hoping this new understanding of myself will help me be more productive---none of us suffering from this are sitting back saying --look at me I have ADD so I want you to just accept my problems because I can not help it----most people improve once they know their problem----It is not an excuse it is a reason---and part of fixing something that is not working right is to know what needs fixing!!!! I lived for 9 years feeling hopeless and depressed because I had no idea what needed fixing in order for me to function like I should. Now I know and that in its self has been motivation.--The adderall seems to helping too!!!

Does he not realize that it is more rediculous to beleive that someone who is smart and talented would chose to live an unproductive--depressing---stressful life???

CANT AGREE MORE.

HOW OLD IS EVERYBODY. 31 HERE

Wow. The idea that our parents could have done something to help, or that knowledge of their 'issues' could have led sooner to a solution is mind boggling. The only consolation I can see is that now we can make sure our kids (if we have them) don't have to suffer because of our ignorance or unwillingness to consider possibilities.

I'm 48, and my mother committed suicide when I was 17 (1974). At that time I knew she was on valium and elavil and god-knows-what-else. No one talked about it, no one really discussed why, after her first suicide attempt a year before, she had to stay in the mental health wing center. No one told us what was wrong with her, even when we asked. Depression was such an unmentionable condition that no one was willing to keep us informed, even the doctors. (remember, there were no privacy laws at that time). But she was very bright and had a flair for decorating and drawing....and she liked adventures and travel.

I also remember that her mother was in the 'state hospital' for two years at one point. Why? Who knew? I was only told that her behavior at times was kind of erratic....she would impulsively go to NYC to shop, behave irresponsibly, forget her children and leave them places. But she was creative and artistic and made jewelry, which I still have today. She traveled and studied art, and....well, all I knew was that she was kind of nuts.

So I went through hell most of my life with depression....after spending years unsuccessfully to change myself, focus more, motivate more, work harder....beat myself up. Then, spending years trying different meds, talking to shrinks, barely getting through my life....And now only recently is ADD even considered as a possibility! From what I've read, the signs were all there, the problems in childhood, etc, etc. And maybe my mother and grandmother suffered the same way.....they may, in fact, have had ADD....with depression being the 'presenting complaint'.

Well...I'm venting. I can only hold on to the fact that....if it were 25 years ago, I might have killed myself, 75 years ago, I might have been put in the 'State Hospital'. If it were 125 years ago, I might have been locked away for good. If it were 500 years ago I might have been stoned to death.

We are all just links in the chain of human evolution. Personally, I think it's worth talking about. If people hear it from just us, they might still be skeptical. If they continue to hear it from us, from others, from the media....someone somewhere will not so soon dismiss the idea that there is a problem, and there is treatment.....and that person or their child will not have to go through what we did.

Joyous5638570.3631828704i AM 32

You know what I beleave you are right----kinda of sad for others who have come befor us----we may be angry for being diagnosed so late in life---but hey at least we are getting help now---And can maybe "live" the rest of ours lives. And as you said our children-----they have even more hope.

im 31 yrs old and have been dx w/ adhd since HS

it mae college a major struggle, though i graduated.

Started a biz afterwards which was hammered by adhd related problems. finally said enough is enough & found a Dr.

Now on 72 mg concerta daily. Time is well managed, jobs executed, customers etained & profitability up!!!!!!

I can not confront parents w/ this issue , as I know they chose to deny my ADHD. Watched me struggle & donned me a slacker. Now that I have taken "secret" measures they see the improvement , their only comment is "about time."

Clearly the improvement is attributable to the medical treatment. I chose to keep this my secret, but burns me up. Who knows were I would be today if this were taken seriously?

What miffs me is, how a parent can ignore proffessional device.

btw Dad is a pharmacist & mom anurse practioner

Don't jump to being too harsh - there are a lot of people who believe Ritalin or any medication is a very bad idea for kids and there is a lot of ritalin is child abuse! SHOUTING out there.
My own parents would never, believe I was adhd - slacker lazy fool, yeah. I would never tell them.

I have encountered many medical professionals who do not believe ADHD is real, or if they believe it exists, think it is very rare. They are taught that if you can't prove something scientifically, it does not exist.

In my lifetime I have seen depression move from the "just snap out of it or we will institutionalize you" stage to being a treatable illness. I remember a friend of my grandmother's whose daughter was put in institutions and given electric shock treatments. The doctors would tell her that her daughter just liked feeling sorry for herself. I have never known anyone as depressed as she was. They did try the meds that were available back then but they were little more than placebos. Even as a young child I could see that she was very bad.

I've seen a lot of medical advances, but that is the one which comes to mind as being most similar to our problem. Many mental health issues were ignored or dismissed as someone just wanting attention but are now easily recognizable by most people and taken seriously by medical professionals.

Don't be too hard on your parents. It takes time for anything which affects the mental/emotional/behavioral state of a person to be genuinely accepted. They were not educated in a day when ADHD was accepted. They probably knew something was not quite right but truly believed that a person with ADHD couldn't make it through college. Many people equate ADHD with retardation even in this day and age.

As Resistance said, even if they did suspect it, their fear of Ritalin and what was available when you were a child may have kept them from a diagnosis and treatment they felt would harm you.

Why not tell them why you are having so much success now? Do it in a non confrontational way. Explain that you always did your best but just could not get it together until you had a diagnosis and were put on meds. It will help to educate. If they refuse to take you seriously then, that will be the time to feel hurt and angry.

You know, I can't understand parents. My mother was the ringleader of the "Why are you so lazy and stupid camp". So much so that it took a buttload of alcohol for me to get up the nerve to call her one night and tell her I thought I had ADD at 31... (had been dx'ed with it, but figured I'd start off with "I thought".)

I figured that she'd berate me as lazy and stupid again, but she said, "Oh well sure, I mean it was pretty obvious..."

WTF?

Then I tell her I'm trying some meds for it, again expecting her to rip my head off. I said they'd put me on a drug called "Wellbutrin" "Oh I've been on that for years!" Plus she's on Prozac, and Xanax apparently quite frequently... And has been since we were kids!

This pissed me off for several reasons. 1) She HID all this from me. If I knew my mother was taking SSRI's and other forms of medication like that, I'd have known that at least SHE suffered from a chemical imabalance and I would have been more willing to believe I did too and maybe sought help earlier.

2) By hiding it from us, she just helps add to the stigma of actually using the meds.

3) If she'd only told me this ten years ago I'd have respected her so much more. Woman's just plain wacko and I've often very bitterlys aid she wasn't doing enough to try to fix her problems. But now I see she has been, she's just been hiding it. (Psst Mom clearly the meds ain't working too well, you're still wacko.)

Just drives me nuts. Parents!

true they were educated in a time when "stigmas were reality"

though perception is reality now matter whose perspective.

father actually owns 3 pharmacies & mom is a nurse practioner w/ a legal ability to prescribe. I am sticking to my guns & will never bring any aspect of the issue up to them.

As far as "being hard on them" , i am not confonting them or asking any ?s

I do remeber being brought to some type of shrink in HS, under the guise it was her job to help me pick a college. BS i see motives clearly now. Perhaps being in their respective fields they asw ADD meds as street dope.

Funny thing is in college roomeate was on DEX, I would help myself & performance was spectacular, took me a while to remember the "visits" in HS.

messy locker lost papers half assed work etc

loosing everything that was not nailed down. When ever i lost my keys, wallet, drive lic etc. they knew I was looking for something, Dad "look in your ass where ya got your head son , then laughs" always loved that. One day I just looked at him said its not funny its really hard , shook his head in dismay.

These are two very productive educated people who are nationally recognixed in their fields.

A couple times in adult life mom said "maybe you should talk to some1" dad was around shook his head & said "f-that", (keep in mind these people built careers on patients) my reponse was always, "now way mom thats for nut cases"

Pop would nod in agreement.

back to my point Im taking this "secret treatment" to the grave.

Oh yeah , feel so arrogant reply to my own posts.

ANXIETY, i have a very intense contracting biz. making piles of $ finally got it together after treatment. referalls all over town

ADHD ruined first couple of years in biz dont get me wrong made decent $, but now that Im on top of game kickin a**.

Doc feared i had anxiety probs, as i confided a fear of voice mail & letters to him. God knows how much Biz was lost. Now that being treated. anxiety is gone actually most voice mails are Thank Yous from customers,

geez i was a mess.

oh btw no more buying clothes fri sat night cuz laundry wasnt done, saves a few hundred a month. LOL

paying cash for doc visits & meds as I want no record of psyche treatment (no

offense) runs about 6oo month, well worth it in gained production revenues.

Now how do i tell fiance, i 'm m getting psychiatric treatment?

(no offense) guess Im dragging some of my parents "values" (above)

honestly im still not comfortable being a "pysche patient" but my life has greatly improved.

[QUOTE=Davidornado] [QUOTE=rayray812]A GIFT??? BS!!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]
Newbie. Young newbie. Wait until you find your own rythm, and stop walking to the beating of a different nORMals... i.e. exploit your strengths, cope with the rest...

Oh, and take your mxRxs... [/QUOTE]

A GIFT??? BS!!!!!!!!!!!

its an obstacle to productivity & fruits of labor!!!!!!

I am 34 years old now. I was never diagnosed even though my parents knew something was wrong with me and chose to just call me lazy. I am hoping to get treatment soon. They threatened many times to take me to a psychiatrist and never did 8(Neither ADD nor ADHD existed when I was a kid.

It barely existed for adults when they dx'd it in me in 1996...

I would tell my parents. Let them talk about it, and remove some of the mystery, myths and mysconceptions re: AD/HD.

My position is a very vocal: There is nothing wrong with being AD/HD. As a matter of fact, I do not suffer from having ADHD, I enjoy every minute of it. It's the NORMALS around me that suffer from my ADHD... b/c they don't understand it!

I have drawn a line in the sand, and will not let society push me, or us, around with their ignorance anymore. This is not a stigmata we have to hide... Fat people are seen in society. Blind people are seen in society. Paraplegics, quadraplegics, sexually disoriented, revolutionaries, etc., are accepted in our society, WHY aren't we?

I am NOT ASHAMED of ADHD. It is part of me. It is who I am. Train me, drug me, guide me, harness my energy, but DO NOT diss me! I AM NOT PSYCK!!!

Why are we mistreated? B/c they are afraid of us. Why are they afraid of us? B/c they are ignorant. Why are they ignorant? B/c the accepted, proven, progressive diagnosis is too new for society, and the word hasn't gotten out. Anything not understood is not accepted... Ask a black person in the South. Ask a Muslim in California. Ask a Chinaman in Japan. Ask a gangbanger in L.A. ASK ME, an ADr on Earth.

Look, all, at the history of ADHD. Do you know why the West Was Won? Not only b/c of the restlessness of the ADHD, his impulsive exploration, distracted solutions resulting in inventions, BUT also 'cuz we were persecuted off the Continent, forced across the Ocean, sentenced to Botany Bay (yeah, that's why we get along so good with Australia), hounded across the plains, over the mountains, until we (in USA) hit the Great Pacific Barrier. This is our last outpost, there is no more West. This is our line in the sand, our Operation Rescue, Operation Pacific Shield. Unless you want to take Asia. But that ain't gonna happen, cuz we've run out of Guns, Germs, and Steel. Sooo, we take a stand. Stand here. Now. For ourselves, for our fellow ADrs, for our children, and for their future. And once having taken our stand, STAND.

There will be casualties; I am one. Check my other postings. But it has been worth it. How many Einstiens have you nurtured today? There will be collateral damage. Ask my wife. But don't just look at the challenges, Society is VERY good at pointing them out to us. Let's remind ourselves of our abilities.

Properly harnessed, we kick as good or better than anyone out there...

Yes, w/o proper handling there is a price we pay as ADHDrs, although the benefits can be nice, too. However, it is extremely unfair to future ADHDrs for the uneducated to truncate their opportunities early in life.

The more people out there see how screwed up society has handled AD/HDrs in the past; the more vocal we ADrs are about it, the easier it will be for our successors in the future to succeed...

If one is truly AD/HD, then medications REALLY work. There are enough qualifying tests now to assure a school teacher is not misdiagnosing her student, and if a child were to have not only the medication, but an ADHD EXPERT teaching them and coaching them, we'd turn out 4 - 6 % of our population as Einies, Eddies, Frankies, Glories, Barbies, Tories, etc.

One of the most unfair things in my life was not being diagnosed until I was 42. Instead, they kept throwing me in jail, in hospitals (not the pshrynque kind: the ER kind), separating me, dissing me, firing me, ostracizing me, black sheeping me, suing me, chasing me, black balling me, etc. I had to take the challenge and show them, but it takes too much time, which I do not have enough of now... At least, thank God, I'll live to 200, so I'll get to make up for some of the lost time...

Sooo, come on, join the battle.

Let's not be selfish about our giftings. Yeah, find mitigations for the liabilities, but get out there and use the MIND God has blessed you with! Bless Him, bless others, bless society, and yes, bless yourself! But get out there and use it. Don't hide it under a bushel.

What are you going to say at the end of your life? I took my ADHD and hid it in a field, buried in a hole. Or:

I took my ADHD, studied it, worked it, and invested it in LIFE where it returned 10, 100, 1000 fold!

Go get 'em, young sters!
[QUOTE=rayray812]A GIFT??? BS!!!!!!!!!!!

its an obstacle to productivity & fruits of labor!!!!!![/QUOTE]Newbie. Young newbie. Wait until you find your own rythm, and stop walking to the beating of a different nORMals...
i.e. exploit your strengths, cope with the rest...

Replant your farm, and harvest vegetables instead... or make freakin' lemonade!!!...

An obstacle to some is the defence of others...

An obstacle to defence is offence...

Parents may not have wanted to medicate you due to saftey concerns, and the information and understanding back then was not what it is today.

DAVIDORNADO.....

Thanks for your encouragement, and Strattera information. I do feel better since I wrote that....and as you seemed to catch, I have a way of forgetting that "this too shall pass".

I've gotta tell you that, in spite of myself, your beginning to grow on me. Not like a fungus or anything, but for an 'ornado, you do take the time for others' problems.

Send me some of that energy man!!!

rayray,

I hear you. Apparently your parents are in denial. I grew up in the same kind of home and know what it is like. Their kids have to be perfect and if they aren't it must be the kid's fault, so "we will just ignore it and punish them and someday they will grow up."

Maybe you are right and you should just let them think they were right all along and you decided to grow up.

You have a large family here and we will always be supportive! You are not alone in this, I promise.

Post deletedThorns4Life38729.0092939815 [QUOTE=Joyous56]

DAVIDORNADO.....

Thanks for your encouragement, and Strattera information. I do feel better since I wrote that....and as you seemed to catch, I have a way of forgetting that "this too shall pass".

I've gotta tell you that, in spite of myself, your beginning to grow on me. Not like a fungus or anything, but for an 'ornado, you do take the time for others' problems.

Send me some of that energy man!!!

[/QUOTE]

Ode to Joy:

"Why Thanks!"

A poem, by David Ornado

I wish I had some of that energy tonight. I went out and poured you another, Sis. :) , and another, and onather and therona adn eronath dna spd emt o, pp...

And now I'm passing out of tirednesses. So, I'm gonna crash, and I'll most likey see you in the morning...

BTW, I've got something for that stuff growing on you you mentioned. Except I forgot what it was.

Yours truly,

Davixd
� Davidornado38579.8655787037

There is loads on this forum that reminds me of the "good old days".

Don't kick the Mum's when they're down, though!

I am ADHD and have one son (now 20 and diagnosed) with ADHD and one son (22 and undiagnosed) with ADD. I have just made my appointment to see a Doctor on 30th August to start the ball rolling to get diagnosis for myself. Now I understand more, have read more and listened more, I know I have failed both of my son's whilst they were growing up. However, trying to help them when I never even knew what was wrong with ME, didn't help. I am estranged from my Mother. I know she also has ADHD but I can't forgive her. I'm older and when growing up, ADHD was unheard of. Very, very bright but shows inability to concentrate. Disruptive during class. Always shouting answers out before the question has been finished. Just some of the many, many lines my teachers said about me when growing up. She would just lock me away as punishment. I don't want to go down the "feeling sorry for myself" route because my life as it was then, is no more but just remember. ADHD is in our gene's and it has to come from somewhere. Denial is so much easier!!!!

get him help now!!

OWN DRUMMER?? not for me

CONFORM
PRODUCE

REAP REWARDS

otherwise, y try to get w/ the program?

like it or not we are part of society

I dont care, only intrested in my goals &quality of living.

In fact im sitting here wondering y im typing on a pysche board perhaps i just say heck w/ this pysho babble take my meds & produce..

but then again its nice knowing im not the only 1

oh jeez

look at subject heading...

Topic: MY PARENTS KNEW?!?!?! WTF?!??!

we've slaughtered this 1

lol

[QUOTE=rayray812]

OWN DRUMMER?? not for me So you are willing to be a puppet? Or maybe you're adhd isn't so bad ADDerall...

CONFORM Sooorry, my pegs doesn't fit their whole...

PRODUCE That's what I"m talking about! Fruits and veggies...

REAP REWARDS Your way, my way, or the highway...

otherwise, y try to get w/ the program? Let them get with mine (program)...

like it or not we are part of society But we can swing it our way, then... ADD a little flavor to it...[/QUOTE]

ADDerall, 80% of society is influenced by the remaining 20%, which should equal 100%, but the top 20% of the 20% isn't influenced ADDall. We're the ones that Won The West, and set up our own societies.

How many AD/HDs have held top spots in American History? Oh, lets see: Ben Franklin, Tom Edison, ZZ Top, President Lincoln, Mr. Packard (or was it Mr. Hewlitt?), Davidornado, That ARtist guy, That Mother Gal that looks like Madonna, others have ADDed to it, go check some threads...

David....you obviously are having a pretty positive experience with your ADD these days.....optimisticaly multitasking up a storm, being productive. That is really wonderful, and I hope I get there someday.

Right now, I, at least, am feeling very bummed about the situation. I was recently diagnosed, taking Strattera (which is doing nothing), sitting at my desk trying to concentrate on piles of dumb boring paperwork. Actually, I've been more depressed since being on the Strattera....and being diagnosed.....and I'm feeling like getting drunk....only I quit drinking 9 months ago.

I'm having a pity party...poor me, pour me, pour me another.......

[QUOTE=David's Response to What Joyous56]

David....you obviously are having a pretty positive experience with your ADD these days..... Remember, I've been at this for 49 years, and dx'd for 8 years, so I went through what y'al are going through, just forgotten about it...

optimisticaly (I always have been, to a fault, b/c missed reality a few times) multitasking (it's an adaptation of being ADHD, and allowing how you are (distractable, impulsive) to be employed in a positive way (I do several things at a time, and allow a certain reserve for impulsiveness: e.g. no more than 0 expending w/o asking someone-- a few hours a day for smelling the roses...) --- it drives people around me nuts, except for my clients, but it works for me), up a storm ('swhy David-"ornado") being productive (really that's a result of doing alot). That is really wonderful (thanks! You are wonderful for encouraging my abnOrmal behavior!), and I hope (hang on to hope, that's a good thing) I get there someday. You will. I have a lot of faith in ADrs. A lot of us have changed the world, and accomplished alot, even though some of it wasn't that socially acceptable... at the time... or even now, come to think of it... they say ADrs either end up famous or in jail, or both... I guess I've been both, eh? (in my circles as a melonhead I'm famous, at least in the Americas)

Right now, I, at least, am feeling very bummed about the situation. Hey, who wouldn't? You've just been certified brain challenged... but remember, it's the nOrmals' interpretation of what's nOrmal that you're not... and why can't something not nOrmal be FANTASTIC, GREAT, and what I think they are afraid of most, SUPERIOR?

So, go get depressed, (don't do nut'n stoopid), but get over it. You have, you are, and you always will (gotten over it)... I think it's nOrmal, to feel what you're feeling at first, but don't stay there, okay?. Remember, tomorrow the sun also rises, and that's a happy thought! Along with the challenges of having AD/HD, there are some uniquely strong and effective benefits...

I'm successful today, b/c I've learned what my weaknesses are, learned how to cope or mitigate them (like let someone else do the details; or let someone else run the company) and focus on my strengths (like let me talk, or let me convince people [the charismata of AD/HDrs], or let me invent something, and let someone else commercialize it]. Just yesterday I convinced a grower to spend 28,800 dollars, of which I keep 3,600. I ran up my company once to over a million a year, then bankrupted it. I've been fired soooo many times I can't remember (see, that's a good thing (not remembering) from a normally bad thing), so this time I 1099'd a career (kept a small business that I hire someone else to run), and am averaging ,000/work day in sales. Just find what makes you tick, then tick,tick,tick,tick,tick,tick,tick,tick, and let someone else talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, ... or v.v.

I was recently diagnosed, taking Strattera (which is doing nothing), Stratera is a non-stimulant. Instead of stimulating the production of norep, it appears to reduce the metabolism of norep. Most ADrs respond well to CNS stims like ADDerall, Ritalin, or some others. Ask your Dalk if you can supplement with a CNSS, or switch altogether. If he says no, get a 2nd opinion. It's taken me 8 years and at least 18 different med trials to at least be on the ones that work for me. The only time I switch now is when Dalk comes up with a new one he wants to experiment with. I like to experiment, too, 'swhat I do, so I let him, but am very cautious...

sitting at my desk trying to concentrate (tough without meds) on piles of dumb boring paperwork. Can you let someone else do it? Find what ticks you on, and do that. Art? Writing? Talking? Lots of careers that fit ADrs. Actually, I've been more depressed since being on the Strattera (some anti-Ds do cause more depression-- be careful, see below... good thing you are not a boy) ....and being diagnosed.....and I'm feeling like getting drunk....only I quit drinking 9 months ago. Wow! Great! It's easy to quit drinking, right? I've quit about 13 times...

I'm having a pity party...poor me, pour me, pour me another....... hang tough, you'll survive. You ALWAYS have, you know.... pour me one while you're at it...[/QUOTE]

Here's some be carefuls regarding strattera: I'll highlight some for your ADHDness.

SIDE EFFECTS:
Stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, constipation, fatigue, loss of appetite, dry mouth, dizziness, trouble sleeping, menstrual cycle changes, or mood changes may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

Tell your doctor immediately if any of these serious side effects occur: decreased interest in sex, difficulty urinating. (Rarely it messes up liver function)

Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: weight loss, decrease in sexual ability (e.g., impotence, ejaculation problems), unusually fast heartbeat, severe headache, blurred vision.

Atomoxetine has very rarely caused very serious liver problems. If you notice any of the following highly unlikely but very serious side effects, seek immediate medical attention: yellowing of skin or eyes, dark urine, severe stomach pain, "flu-like symptoms (e.g., fever, chills, unexplained fatigue). If you experience any of these symptoms ask your doctor about whether or not you should ever take atomoxetine again.

The following side effects are associated with Strattera Oral:

Common side effects:

Inability to have an Erection

Severe

Pain During Periods

Severe

Feel Like Throwing Up

Severe

Indigestion

Less Severe

Incomplete or Infrequent Bowel Movements

Less Severe

Low Energy

Less Severe

Loss of Appetite

Less Severe

Cough

Less Severe

Throwing Up

Less Severe

Stomach Cramps

Less Severe

Altered Interest in Having Sexual Intercourse

Less Severe

Problem with Ejaculation

Less Severe

Infrequent side effects:

Depression

Severe

Outer Ear Inflammation caused by Allergy or Infection

Severe

The Flu

Severe

Irregular Periods

Severe

Problem with Periods

Severe

Dizzy

Severe

Fever

Severe

Chills

Severe

Cannot Empty Bladder

Severe

Easily Angered or Annoyed

Severe

Mood Changes

Severe

Nightmares

Less Severe

Excessive Watery Eyes

Less Severe

Sinus Irritation and Congestion

Less Severe

Dry Mouth

Less Severe

Enlarged Prostate

Less Severe

Muscle Pain

Less Severe

Drowsiness

Less Severe

Excessive Sweating

Less Severe

Involuntary Quivering

Less Severe

Rash

Less Severe

Weight Loss

Less Severe

Head Pain

Less Severe

Sinus Headache

Less Severe

Gas

Less Severe

Diarrhea

Less Severe

Numbness and Tingling

Less Severe

Runny Nose

Less Severe

Rare side effects:

not digging up skeletons here but, as i look further back i was doing poorly in elememt. school, one day parents told me i will be starting a private school after the weekend, i think they thought this was the cure, so obviously the were tipped off by proff. but rejected the ADD notion.

my uncle is a shrink spent a day w/ him in NY, told that i was helping him study for his exams, now i clearly see he was testing me, as a week later i was in private school.

2 proffessional opions voided by parents

later in HS i was brought to a "lady, who helps pick good colleges" I bought into it & realized years later she was a shrink, who selected dumby schools for me gave me ADD dx again

parents ignored it again

3 proffesional opinions voided

in my adult life i saught my own treatment & it helps

Thanks guys! Just out of curiousity, when going through the diagnosis process do you see your MD first and then get refered to a psych or do you call the psych yourself, or does it just depend on (stupid) insurance? I've got to do something soon. I was driving last night (not paying the slightest bit of attention to road signs)and gott lost and wound up in a different state. Impressive, I know.

i think if i pulled my pants down for the ppl. i work with, i might get sued.

happened to a guy knew socially yrs. ago.

if i could surround myself with ppl., i would try for a team that 'gets' me.

sadly, i have a real hard time being around ppl. for very long. i find them overwhelming.

I'm 46 been diagnosed since april and am taking adderal. I feel like I'm now free to live my life.

My creative flow has been stiffled by the stupid rules the non gifted paranoid so called normals have tried to make me live by!

In India they would think I'm only one step from enlightenment! I could stay up late talking with Eienstien, Edison, Churchill, Robin Williams and others. The normals can't do that but they can do paper work like nobodys business.

One of the Dr.s involved in my and my sons life has ADD. Its amazing to see how his office runs. It's like a finely tuned swiss watch because he has been lucky enough to find an organized person to run it thats not uptight and anal. She seems to "get" him. It's obvious to me and him that if it were left to him the practice would be a disaster, even though he is brilliant.

It's all about the team you surround your self with.

It's all about the team you surround yourself with.

I'll say it again It's all about the team you surround yourself with.

They have to get it. You have to be able to trust them. Be willing to "pull your pants down" and let them see you.

If you think its a curse it will be if you think its a gift it will be.

I'm still trying to get over being called lazy and if you would just try.

I'm very smart but 1 hour of paper work for the "Normals" is about 3 weeks of paralizing agony for me. I will be forzen and unproductive because of it.

If you protect me from the paper work I'm in the Top Producers and the top 10% in my field. I "see" things others don't I am truly gifted just not at following the stupid rules. Never could and now I never will.

My parents didn't know and they still don't understand the damage. My ex-wife will never understand the damage she has caused my boys and that's something I'm dealing with.

I as a parent have had a breakthrough recently by reading Dr. Hallowell and understanting my gift. My 17 year old and I have gon from limited conversations to 3 and 4 hour conversations in the last month or so. He lives with me full time and he sucks at organizing and cleaning. He however is very gifted in many other ways. He's a great cook and very smart. His score on the PSAT was 211 in the 98% bracket, and since he's lived with me full time he has not made his bed once!!! If you want to find him try Barnes and Nobel where he will be reading about black holes and string theory, but don't ask him to do any paperwork or bed making cause he really struggles with that.

I'm rambling here so I'll stop now.

Let it go... forgive your parents or not it only affects you.

[QUOTE=bigshooter]

I'm 46 been diagnosed since april and am taking adderal. I feel like I'm now free to live my life. Free! At Last! Thank God Almighty, You're Free At Last!!!

My creative flow has been stiffled by the stupid rules the non gifted paranoid so called normals have tried to make me live by! Free advice: stupoid describes the para-nOrmals, who are the missing link. We call them Kno-nADDs sometimes...

It's all about the team you surround your self with. Yes.

It's all about the team you surround yourself with. Yes

I'll say it again It's all about the team you surround yourself with. Yes

They have to get it. You have to be able to trust them. Be willing to "pull your pants down" and let them see you. Yuck

If you think its a curse it will be if you think its a gift it will be. Yes

I'm still trying to get over being called lazy and if you would just try. Yes

I'm very smart but 1 hour of paper work for the "Normals" is about 3 weeks of paralizing agony for me. I will be forzen and unproductive because of it. Yes

My parents didn't know and they still don't understand the damage. My ex-wife will never understand the damage she has caused my boys and that's something I'm dealing with.

I'm rambling here so I'll stop now.

Let it go... forgive your parents or not it only affects you.[/QUOTE]

The greatest damage to me comes from my ex.

Problem is I cannot forgive her yet.

It's just too fresh.

She has

ruined

life.

She will regret the day she rejected me.

All she saw, all she wanted from me, all her dreams, will now belong to another woman.

The one who accepts me for who I am, and follows through with her agreement to balance my abilities and weaknesses.

[QUOTE=annidagostini]

I am glad that all of you are posting one here about your problems with parents - I can see how your posts will help people on here to take the steps to help their children to cope with these issues. Obviously, left alone, life is hard. If you have touched one life to help a child, then your post was worth it!!!

My parents were very good ones. They knew nothing about ADD or ADHD. They thought I was wonderful! The worst thing my dad did was to call me slow as molasses in January. and I think he said I did something stupid one time. That is all I can remember.

Still, ADD affected me and my life - so whether you have crappy parents or great loving parents - ADD and ADHD messes with you. - We all just need to stand together and take a bow for how well we've made it through so far.'

[/QUOTE]

My parents were very loving too, even though my dad is an alcoholic; they wouldn't have had any idea about ADD. I don't think they had any idea what to do with me when I started having problems...but, it may sound weird, I'm kinda glad I found this out on my own and I'm helping myself now in my own way. It makes me feel like I can trust myself and my instincts about what I need, not what others think I need.

Wow. So much has happened since I last wrote. I finally got my diagnosis at the end of November and have been taking Concerta since then. I am in a great position that through my husbands work, I am a private patient and which has sped up the process dramatically. My son also has his appointment coming up in January and he is actually looking forward to it which is great news. The Doc has put me on 18mg of Concerta which really doesn't touch the issues I have but as we are technically still under British medical guidlines, he has to do it that way. Going to try 36mg next month and see how we get on. I have also been seeing a psychiatric nurse who has made such a difference to my world. She has taught me how to file things away in my head and made me understand that a lot of what has happened in my life, actually wasn't my fault (some of it could have been avoided, though!) and that the guilt that haunts me isn't justified. All this with the support of an amazing husband, too.

The future's bright!

I'd go straight to the pshrynque.
I went to a marriage counselor b/c we thought it was our marriage.
He said I was the wildest ADHD he'd ever seen.
What does that mean?
So I went to therapy, and do drugs.
And get fricked and fracked by society.
Becuase I don't understand their system.
Mine works just fine, thank you.

It is so refreshing to be on this site and hear so many stories similar to my own.

As a child I did all kinds of stupid things like jumping off of the roof of the house to see if I could make it to the tree branch(I did a couple of times), and riding my bike down hills at breakneck speeds until I wrecked (all the time). I seldom had clean clothes to wear because I just couldn't clean my room and my mom refused to wash my clothes unless they were sorted, in a basket, and in the laundry room (whats the big deal with sorting anyway?). At school my parents got (and chose to ignore) comments such as your daughter is easily distracted, constantly out of her seat, not working up to potential, and she rarely turns in homework and when she does, it is the wrong thing or incomplete. In middle school and high school it was much of the same story, though by high school I had learned strategies to blend in or at least not be noticed. I guess I always figured that there was something was wrong with me but that nobody would listen and help me get help for it. This is just the condensed version of my life birth to 18. I could probably write an entire novel (if I could focus for that long) about my adhd.

I didn't really learn what adhd was until I was in an undergraduate education. As the professor lectured I thought "hmmmm this sounds like my life." The next time I was home I told my mom (a teacher) about the lecture and how I identified with most of it. Her response was something to the effect of "If you would just try harder......" She told me that adhd was an excuse and made me feel like I was less of a person for even thinking about wanting to try meds. So I just kinda dropped it and continued living in my own personal hell. Maybe thats a bit strong but I just felt so alone (and still do most of the time). I guess that feeling comes from trying to hide and deny everything that has been inside of my head for so long.

Now I am now 24 and a teacher of at risk high school students. In many ways I can relate very well to my students and their dislike for school. Who would have ever thought that the kid who hated school would end up being a teacher. I love my job (other than the part where I haven't been able to find the top of my desk since about the second day of school).

I am currently pursuing a graduate degree in education and have encountered a professor who has adhd. We have really hit it off and she has become a mentor for me. We have talked at length about my adhd and she has encouraged me to seek formal diagnosis. I won't lie-I'm scared to death. I don't know where to start. Should I start at a regular doc and then get refered to a psych, or should I go to the psych without seeing the regular doc first? I feel like a diagnosis would bring me releif, but also make me even more aware that I am different from everybody else. I don't know about meds. I know all of they types and side effects and stuff, but I'm not totally sure that I want to be on them. But I just want my mind to stop thinking so fast. I want to stop loosing my car keys so often (the jeep dealership is on a first name basis with me-of course I would buy the car with the security chip in the key that costs 75 bucks a key to remake and can't be cut at someplace normal like walmart). I want to be able to sleep at night. I want to be able to have a complete conversation without forgetting what was said at the beginning. Does anybody feel me? Or have advice? Sorry this was so long!

I wish my world worked as fine as yours, dave.

Unfortunately, the rent needs to get paid. And if not, my baby and me and my hubby are on the street.

I'll take those meds, please.

sonya_h38720.5459953704

I had someone tell me Se is full of kids who are there cause of behavior problems only. I say forget those who are uneducated on kids/adults with disorders. The thing that needs to happen is getting them educated on disorders and how they effect someones life.

Therapists we need your help on this. Dr.'s same here.

ray ray.

I had to double check to make sure I had not written this post.

Your situation sounds almost exactly like mine.

My mom and dad new since I was in middle school that i did have ad/hd.

They knew it caused my problems in school. They knew it would lead to future problems. They knew that I would be impulsive with sexual urges. They knew all of the problems.

They "diagnosed" me on there own. (don't even get me started on that. what if they were wrong? what if i had a brain tumor, which, incidently, runs in our family?)

yet what did they do? they decided that if they punished me and harped on me enough, then it would go away. it's hard for me to believe that of all they knew of ad/hd, they didn't know that punishing me all the time would not work. they took the lazy, cheap way out. (my dad told me that he didn't wanna take me to see a shrink, cuz it was too expensive. he did have health insurance, so "?" )

I dropped out of college twice. I am 24 years old, on the verge of bankruptcy. I eloped with my husband after 4 months of knowing him. (LUCKILY, he's a good guy.) After a moment of passion, I ended up pregnant, with my beautiful 6 month old. When he was 3 months old, after another impulsive moment of passion, I had another BIG pregnancy scare, but greatfully, it was a big negative.

Although, things in my life did not turn out nearly as bad as they could have, (honestly believe some one up there has been looking out for me,) so many things about my life could have been better. like, a wedding. a house to live in. (we live in a hotel.) my husband has ad/hd too, contributing to our issues. but at least we understand each other.

k, rambling now. need some sleep.

kinz40

Go do it now. Start with your Doctor and take it from there. I was 40 when finally diagnosed this year. I can't say that all your problems will be solved by taking medication and know that a few problems have developed since I started that will need monitoring but all in all, my head is clearer and my world a better place. I dont take mediaction when not working but i am one of the lucky ones. I have a Doctor who listens. He allows me to try different dosages of medication and find out what works best for me. He told me at my last appointment that I "had found fame" This year in the UK, Adult ADHD/ADD has finally made it to the new edition of his "psychiatrists bible". He doesn't profess to know enough about the condition to understand it fully (only his second case, ever) but has gone out of his way to find out what he can about how it affects my life. I guess the key is to get a good team, around you. There is a better undertsanding now that the condition doesn't leave you as you grow up and that society is now more accepting, of it.

One thing that has changed in my life since taking medication is that I sleep all night now. I haven't had a full nights sleep since, well actually, I can't remember. Now though, I have more full nights that I do wakeful ones.

Please, please don't leave it as long as I did before getting treated. As much as I've learned to shake the guilt off (It ISN'T your fault!!!) I do still have regrets about the people I have hurt and the carnage I've left behind in my 40 years on this earth. There is an answer out there and you have every right (and deserve) to be able to go and look for it.

Hope this helps.

Wishing you peace and happiness during the Festive Season.