Adult Attention Deficit - Experience

Ron

Ron

Dum Spiro Spero
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Apr 16, 2005
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Sharon, SC
Reaching out to the collective knowledge base for some advice.

Anyone here have any experience with adult ADD diagnosis, medication and response?

Ive joked for years that my ADD kept me sane as in my job I constantly have to bounce between 15 "fires"...but here lately seems my joking may become reality. In the last month alone there have been a handful of times I can sit down to do a simple computer task and just cant focus and turn a 15 minute task into 3 hours later and still finishing up.

I had largely wrote this off as getting old and being less productive until earlier this week I was in the office with a colleague and we each had to complete the same task on two separate but similar projects. I sat down and was done in 15 minutes while I watched this guy struggle through the problem for an additional half hour after I was done. Yet put us both in an office for 8 hours and he will generally produce more than I. So its not an ability or competency issue (honestly I wish it were those would be easier to handle) its a focus and motivation issue.

Even now I sit here typing this thread when what I really want to do is head home. Standing between me and home? A 5 minute report I need to knock out but have been putting off since 12:30.

This is starting to really bother me and I have been contemplating going to a doc and asking for ADD meds and see if they help. But I hate medication, I wont take pills for a headache..or allergies usually and generally avoid doctors like the plague. The fact that I am thinking about it is a pretty key indicator to be honest.

But something is going on. I have trouble remembering anything, heck even sitting down to watch a TV show unless I am deeply interested I cant focus on enough to follow plot lines.

Ive been almost zombie like all week missing turns and day dreaming while driving.

So anyone have anything useful to share or just want to pick on my post feel free.


Heck maybe I just need to go wheeling more, maybe thatll solve it.
 
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My step-daughters both have clinically diagnosed ADD (one actually is ADHD - HUGE difference). The medications ADHD are essentially a speedball to non-ADHD people. Are you more focused when you have caffeine? My ADHD step-daughter is NIGHT AND DAY different when she doesn't take her medications. She usually takes it at the same time each day and I can tell if she has skipped within minutes. The other one is not so easy to tell. She has to skip for several days to notice a difference, but it also takes about that long to get her back on track.
 
that is what we call "your job is boring" and you need to make a change..

as you said when challenged you can get it done with no issue.. which means you are not be challenged enough..

and you said you want to leave and go home.. well what is at home that you would do that interest you more them work?

before you take drugs look at the things that keep pulling your attention away from a project at hand and see if you can change your focus.
 
BRUISER said:
that is what we call "your job is boring" and you need to make a change..

as you said when challenged you can get it done with no issue.. which means you are not be challenged enough..

and you said you want to leave and go home.. well what is at home that you would do that interest you more them work?

before you take drugs look at the things that keep pulling your attention away from a project at hand and see if you can change your focus.
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This is the thing. I LOVE my job, I LOEV what I do.
I will procrastinate and do things I hate instead of doing things that I enjoy.

Its not as simple as "your job doesnt challenge you"..though there is an element of that I suppose. But unless I am going to job hop and career hop every 3 years eventually every job gets routine in some ways.
 
Put the bong down?

J/K


Have you tried meditation & mindfulness training?
 
Black Bear said:
I have similar issues. Lack of focus at work and chores is terrible.


Mangler, why did you ask about caffeine?
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Since the medication for ADHD is like a speedball, caffeine will act as a mild replacement to the medications. If you find yourself being more focused when heavily caffeinated, it's possible that you actually are ADHD and that the caffeine is masking it. Again, I am not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

We figured out the caffeine thing on a beach trip when she forgot to pack her medications. I would make espresso in the morning to get motivated. She tried one the second morning and she was a LOT mellower. Without anything, she is like a bull in a china shop. After two double espresso's, she was tolerable. Me, on the other hand, would have been like a bull in a china shop.
 
drugs dont fix problems.

sucks thats all doctors will try first.

sounds lame but id try a therapist way before medication.

With your back round in sports, I would try to get out and be physical more then your current schedule is allowing.

a good sweat always helps me out alot! when i was on crutchs from my hip i couldnt focus on tv or video games. doctors wanted to drug me up but i cant stand pills.

so I bought a bow and learned to shoot, it helped me alot with being able to.relax and get anything done.

screw doctors numbing you from the problems.


hope this helps
 
Do something outside of work to break the monotony. I can tell a huge difference between when I get to go to the gym and workout or put in 10+ miles after work on the bike a few days a week vs when I cant. It used to be the same way after I went back to college when I was able to work in the shop and prep the rig for a trip. I'd knock out my class work simply so I could make more time to be in the shop. Some times it was the other way around, but that was my release from work 40+ hours a week and 16 hours of classes my last two years in Boone after I went back to school. When Im in the gym, on the bike or in the shop I can just completely shut everything out and forget it.

Now I handle accounts for a few different companies trade show programs and spend a LOT of time at the computer planning/scheduling logistics, handling inventory and prepping their exhibits when I am not traveling to supervise their shows. The first two parts allow for lots of ability to goof off on sites like this. Its way easier for me to get motivated to do work in the warehouse to pull/prep a shipment than it is for me to sit at a computer all day setting up shipments, creating quotes and invoices etc. When I go through spells where I can't get to the gym, ride or just do something outside of work that takes my focus completely away from everything else, I can notice my motivation to do the computer AND warehouse work slacking. Mainly because in my mind, without those extracurriculars, all I feel like I am doing is working.

Each person is different and you may not need a change, but just something that allows you to completely focus on something else so when you go back to work its different and keeps you engaged.
 
I find my focus and motivation are not that great when something else or several things are on my mind or worrying me. When I was younger and more carefree I was much more focused and motivated to do a lot more than I seem to do now. I also have a lot more to worry about.
 
Cory said:
drugs dont fix problems.

sucks thats all doctors will try first.

sounds lame but id try a therapist way before medication.

With your back round in sports, I would try to get out and be physical more then your current schedule is allowing.

a good sweat always helps me out alot! when i was on crutchs from my hip i couldnt focus on tv or video games. doctors wanted to drug me up but i cant stand pills.

so I bought a bow and learned to shoot, it helped me alot with being able to.relax and get anything done.

screw doctors numbing you from the problems.


hope this helps
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See this is my general thoughts and attitude as well. But I'd counter by strep throat is cured in a week with meds, uncured it can kill you. There is a reason life expectancy is at an all time high.

And Ive heard what Mangler said before about caffeine, and I have noticed when I am drinking more caffeine I am better focused...a while back I was takinga supplement that was designed to aid in cutting weight and I was a laser that month or so...that shit made me just burn through work...but I didnt "feel normal" either.
 
Ron said:
See this is my general thoughts and attitude as well. But I'd counter by strep throat is cured in a week with meds, uncured it can kill you. There is a reason life expectancy is at an all time high.

And Ive heard what Mangler said before about caffeine, and I have noticed when I am drinking more caffeine I am better focused...a while back I was takinga supplement that was designed to aid in cutting weight and I was a laser that month or so...that shit made me just burn through work...but I didnt "feel normal" either.
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I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd put odds on you actually being ADHD. Sounds VERY similar to Amanda. She is the life of the party when un-medicated. The whole reason she would not take her meds was that they made her "not feel normal". Thing is, her "not normal" is our "normal". I don't know that I'd worry about seeing a doctor about it for a formal diagnosis, but I'd try an occasional Red Bull, Double Shot of Espresso, Monster, or similar if you are feeling scattered.
 
Let me be the bringer of good news. What you have is an overactive mind. It is in fact a sign of great intelligence and creativity. Don't take drugs, whatever you do. If this was a medical marijuana state I'd say go get a prescription of it and use conservatively. And no, pot is not a drug and WILL increase your concentration tremendously. I am blessed with this so called ADD and I've learned to embrace it. Best of luck to ya
 
Ron said:
See this is my general thoughts and attitude as well. But I'd counter by strep throat is cured in a week with meds, uncured it can kill you. There is a reason life expectancy is at an all time high.

And Ive heard what Mangler said before about caffeine, and I have noticed when I am drinking more caffeine I am better focused...a while back I was takinga supplement that was designed to aid in cutting weight and I was a laser that month or so...that shit made me just burn through work...but I didnt "feel normal" either.
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the drugs your talking about dont cure anything

if you start taking them you will always take them

medicine is one thing.

drugs are another the fact the anyone would endorse them for someone under 18 is a huge problem to me.

thats numbing the problem.
 
I have been afflicted with the laziness/ not applying myself/ poor performance/ disinterested syndrome for quite some time. Not long ago I decided to try to fix the problem. I read ( read: listened to) Daniel Amen's book: Healing ADD. There's very good info within about the physiological causes of different symptoms and simple ways to address them.

I personally thought the book was a bit trumped up, but it made self- diagnosis seem fairly difficult. I just picked out activities that would be be beneficial to my life either way. Am I more focused? A bit, but I also am in great shape and eat a bunch of bacon... life's pretty good.
 
^ that's going in the right direction. Keep it simple. Its not wise to rely on medication or professional help. While they can help you a little, the cure is always within YOU. its your brain, you know how you want it to work and ultimately you are the only one that can fix it.
 
Why are you so averse to taking medicine? I'm the complete opposite with medicine. I carry a back pack with me almost everywhere I go that has a handful of different things in it to keep me going depending on my need.
 
Ron said:
but I didnt "feel normal" either.
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Then I suspect you won't be happy on meds.

Rich Q posted some thing to FB the other day about "This is what it's like to have ADD/ADHD". I read it. Sounds like it's total bullshit to me.
 
There is a huge difference in "medicine" and "drugs". A medicine is what can be found naturally on planet earth that in raw or near raw form can be used to cure that which ails. A drug is pretty much anything a doctor is going to recommend to you. Its not a cure you're prescribed, its a life long, sign on the dotted line dependency to crap made in a meth lab not ever intended to cure anything. The earth provides herbs, plants and necessary nutrients for human survival and is the only reason we are still on this planet and have been for tens of thousands of years. We as humans are not yet qualified or educated enough to fully understand how to biologically alter plants or minerals to be what the pharmaceutical companies claim this garbage is. Not yet anyways.
 
I hear what you are saying but some of those meth lab drugs keep me functioning on a bad day.

I do not have ADD or ADHD, but if i did I would take drugs if they helped.
 
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And sometimes we get it right. And then there's the other 95%...
 
If you need some drugs, I know someone that can get ya what you need ;)

Call Bri, all she does is psyc med management depending on behaviors and how each drug affects each patient so they are "normal" and can focus yet not feel like crap each day
 
I have been ADD/ADHD for 52 years. Diagnosed around 10 years ago.
Aint so bad.....Look i see Jimi Hendrix.
Now, it keeps me driven,focused and successful in life.
:beer: is my only medication. And NC4x4!
My opinion only.
Later,Paul...
 
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