Attention Deficit Disorder anyone?

I've had it since I was a kid...I still have it...anyone else in the same boat?

Just wondering.

I have it.  I'm surprised that more people haven't replied.

hey sabbott516...are you on any kind of medication? I've been trying to manage it myself but I just can't seem to pull it together as well as I thought I would...lately I've been thinking of getting myself on concerta...I was put on Ritalin some time back but had awful side effects with it....

I am almost 54.  They didn't mention ADD when I was in school.  I never could pay attention in class, and I had trouble finishing standardized tests in time.   In college, I would always buy tons of books, since I could never pay attention to the professors.  I did ok, studying on my own, where I could go back and reread things.  As an adult, I can't watch movies, because I become distracted and lose the plot.  My husband gets frustrated with me for not paying attention.  I always leave early to go places, in case I get lost from not paying attention.

I seem to have managed ok without medication, but I am not hyperactive, as many kids are today.  I just have an attention deficit.   I may not have as severe a problem as you do.  The best thing is probably to see a doctor or psychiatrist.  Ritalin is a strong drug. 

I have it to, I also cant watch movies   My wife hates watching with me ,because I ask 1000 questions .

My husband has ADD and dyslexia.   It's a little.... different... to be around him sometimes - especially when he's tired.  ADD is really part of his genius, though.  It's like his mind moves so quickly and he makes these connections between things that are completely unrelated on the surface.  It's a really inspiring process to watch.  

Day-to-day life is tough sometimes.  He has to keep lists to stay on track.  We keep notebooks in every room in our house so one is always nearby.  Something as simple as cleaning the livingroom has to be broken down in steps (e.g. dust tv stand, dust end table, clean tv, straighten sofa cushions, shake rug, run vaccuum). 

He constantly misses turns whether on streets or into parking lots.  I can't list the times we've careened into a parking lot because I waited until the last minute to say something and by then he had "forgotten" where we were going. 

He can't plan a trip or organize an event or run a meeting.  He teaches high school English and his students sometimes take advantage of how easy it is to lead him off-track.  

There are so many other things I could list.  It's frustrating for him but he keeps a sense of humor.   I have to keep a sense of humor too - I can see it in his face when I'm talking and he just "checks out" of the conversation. 

jpoage, that is my life , to a tee!!! i get lost  all of the time .my wife has to make mea list in order, on what needs to be done ..i hate that ...my mind runs so fast in too many directions and i cant get anything done ,,,

Original Post by jpoage:

My husband has ADD and dyslexia.   It's a little.... different... to be around him sometimes - especially when he's tired.  ADD is really part of his genius, though.  It's like his mind moves so quickly and he makes these connections between things that are completely unrelated on the surface.  It's a really inspiring process to watch.  

Day-to-day life is tough sometimes.  He has to keep lists to stay on track.  We keep notebooks in every room in our house so one is always nearby.  Something as simple as cleaning the livingroom has to be broken down in steps (e.g. dust tv stand, dust end table, clean tv, straighten sofa cushions, shake rug, run vaccuum). 

He constantly misses turns whether on streets or into parking lots.  I can't list the times we've careened into a parking lot because I waited until the last minute to say something and by then he had "forgotten" where we were going. 

He can't plan a trip or organize an event or run a meeting.  He teaches high school English and his students sometimes take advantage of how easy it is to lead him off-track.  

There are so many other things I could list.  It's frustrating for him but he keeps a sense of humor.   I have to keep a sense of humor too - I can see it in his face when I'm talking and he just "checks out" of the conversation. 

 That describes my son to the max, he is a teenager and will not take meds anymore, i have started giving him coffee in the morning as i hear this helps focus. 

I'm alot like Jpoage's hubby in that I make lists for everything too, and I keep a whole stack of notebooks and calenders...obsessed with having calenders taped up everywhere to remind me of important deadlines. I space out ALOT, as a kid teachers have always called me lazy and daydreamy eventhough I had a high IQ for my age. Some not so very nice people have called me weird to my face quite a few times in my life, so I've managed to stay away from building close friendships. I have a mad ass mind and sometimes I love it, though I'm hating the symptoms of not being able to control this beautiful, crazy-busy mind. I'm also extremely messy, I am obsessed with being organized although I'm a FAR CRY from it. My room and bag pack look like a tornado's  hit it, and I've changed majors at Uni atleast 5 times (which is why, I, at 24 am still studying) because I was so fascinated with so many things, but at the same time I get bored too easily. I've misplaced and lost various objects (3 handphones!) so far, so I tend not to take too cash with me when I go out. I haven't learnt how to drive, simply because my dad fears me losing focus on the road, then things could get really dangerous. I fear for my future alot, like I'll never be able to settle down or something. I can't say I hate having a 'busy' mind, because I love it, I 'hyper-focused' when I was writing my novel, and managed to finish over half of it in less than 48 hours...that's a whole lot of writing, I barely ate, slept and didn't even shower during that duration of time. Don't ask me where the dang book is now, after finishing half of it I just lost interest somehow. Then there's the thing with music, I can't listen to the same song for over a minute, and movies are great when it's a movie which has concepts I'm particularly interested in...otherwise I don't really do movies. And that's how the dice rolls for me. I need to get it under control. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one.

I'd say I've developed quite a talent in hiding my ADD from the public eye, I've turned 'pretending to listen' to an art...I've become so damn good at it that people can't even tell that I'm not paying attention to half of what they say. My reading is so much better than my listening though...it's almost like there are huge cottonballs stuffed between my ears and my brain, and my brain wants to stand on its own or leave my body because it's too full and heavy and busy to cooperate with the rest of me.

I have it but I am anti taking drugs for it. It is something I try to control on my own but it can be quite a challenge at times. My mind is always racing. I zone out constantly. I fidget in movies. I drive my boyfriend crazy sometimes. I find that certain hobbies help.. although I have to be careful because before I know it, i'll have started 10 different things and then of course I don't finish anything. Coffee was mentioned.. I don't know if that's suggested for only children but I find a cup of coffee in the morning definitely helps calm me down.

I have recently been diagnosed with ADD (I'm 22) and am taking Ritalin for it, which has totally transformed my life - I can concentrate, think straight, focus on one thing, no more mind running crazy on me. Although I wasn't diagnosed as a child my diagnosis was like a lightbulb going on. Like, AHA! My weird habits and behaviour suddenly made a whole lot more sense.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

I have recently been diagnosed with ADD (I'm 22) and am taking Ritalin for it, which has totally transformed my life - I can concentrate, think straight, focus on one thing, no more mind running crazy on me. Although I wasn't diagnosed as a child my diagnosis was like a lightbulb going on. Like, AHA! My weird habits and behaviour suddenly made a whole lot more sense.

I had a FREAKY experience with Ritalin, I felt like I was dying when I took it...it's like the whole world pulled a fat cord off my brain and everything went too quiet...then my pulse started racing...spooky...I asked my mom to watch me as I was falling asleep incase I ended up dead, imagine a grown woman having her mom waiting on her till she falls asleep lmao...honestly, spooky....I'm talking to my pscyh and might try Concerta or Adderall instead. I tried doing it the drug-free way, I swear, but I'm 24 and I just can't afford to mess up my life anymore just because this brain won't calm down. I do take alot of coffee, 3 cups a day, it used to work good and I feel more alert after having a cup of coffee before my lectures, for eg. Sadly it doesn't really work anymore. I just hope I won't have to stay on meds forever, I hate the thought of that as I've always been anti-drug taking for it like sarah_b.

btw merylwhite1, checked your profile and saw that you're in malaysia, who's the psychiatrist who prescribed you the ritalin? I'm in kl btw that's why I'm asking :p

Original Post by desert_rose:

btw merylwhite1, checked your profile and saw that you're in malaysia, who's the psychiatrist who prescribed you the ritalin? I'm in kl btw that's why I'm asking :p

I'll PM you

Original Post by romeopassalacqua:

jpoage, that is my life , to a tee!!! i get lost  all of the time .my wife has to make mea list in order, on what needs to be done ..i hate that ...my mind runs so fast in too many directions and i cant get anything done ,,,

Obviously I'm not a professional, so take my statements here with a grain of salt.  They are based on our experiences and I have no idea what I'm talking about really.

 You know, sometimes you just have to accept things and do the best you can.   You can't live like people without ADD.  That doesn't mean that your life can't be as good, because it can.  You have to learn to work around it. 

Have you tried developing routines?  He has a routine for most daily things - getting ready for work etc - and his mind can be 1000 miles away but his body just does what it needs to do.   We also assign specific chores to days.  For instance, on Tuesday we do yardwork and it has become a routine.  If we just left it up to him to do it one day a week, it would never get done.  

Currently we're working on "designated areas" in our house because he's constantly losing things.   When he unloads his pockets before bed, pocket things go in a specific area.  Glasses and cellphone have specific homes, too.  Before leaving in the morning, he runs through a checklist to make sure he has everything. 

I've realized that since being his wife, I've become sort of "hyper-responsible".  I always know where his things are, our plans, things we need to get done.  I don't smother him or hover over him but I pay attention.  In exchange, he makes me laugh harder than anyone ever has.  It's a fair trade, I think. 

Original Post by varcourt:

 That describes my son to the max, he is a teenager and will not take meds anymore, i have started giving him coffee in the morning as i hear this helps focus. 

 

 Does the coffee seem to help?

My husband tried meds when he was nine or so but they just didn't work for him.  It may be a harsh lesson, but his parents taught him that the world would not make concessions for him and that he would have to learn to get along.  

I wonder what resources are available for people with ADD who don't want to take meds.  We've always just used trial and error and a sense of humor.

I was never put on medication because my father was against it and got that in my head that the family wasn't looking out for me.  I wonder if school would have been easier though I was a good student (4th in my class) I had to work incredibly hard while the others seemed to have it so easy.

I get really scattered without lists and routines.  I zone out sometimes but it gets worse when I don't take down time and just relax so I have to schedule breaks in my day.  It's a little easier now that I'm working from home and can just make my schedule to suit me.  When I worked retail it was a nightmare because hours were never the same 2 weeks (or days even) in a row.  I was in the military for a while and that structure was such a great environment for me.   So I just remembered some of the rigid scheduling I had then and used it to keep me on track at home.

Original Post by desert_rose:

I'm alot like Jpoage's hubby in that I make lists for everything too, and I keep a whole stack of notebooks and calenders...obsessed with having calenders taped up everywhere to remind me of important deadlines. I space out ALOT, as a kid teachers have always called me lazy and daydreamy eventhough I had a high IQ for my age. Some not so very nice people have called me weird to my face quite a few times in my life, so I've managed to stay away from building close friendships. I have a mad ass mind and sometimes I love it, though I'm hating the symptoms of not being able to control this beautiful, crazy-busy mind. I'm also extremely messy, I am obsessed with being organized although I'm a FAR CRY from it. My room and bag pack look like a tornado's  hit it, and I've changed majors at Uni atleast 5 times (which is why, I, at 24 am still studying) because I was so fascinated with so many things, but at the same time I get bored too easily. I've misplaced and lost various objects (3 handphones!) so far, so I tend not to take too cash with me when I go out. I haven't learnt how to drive, simply because my dad fears me losing focus on the road, then things could get really dangerous. I fear for my future alot, like I'll never be able to settle down or something. I can't say I hate having a 'busy' mind, because I love it, I 'hyper-focused' when I was writing my novel, and managed to finish over half of it in less than 48 hours...that's a whole lot of writing, I barely ate, slept and didn't even shower during that duration of time. Don't ask me where the dang book is now, after finishing half of it I just lost interest somehow. Then there's the thing with music, I can't listen to the same song for over a minute, and movies are great when it's a movie which has concepts I'm particularly interested in...otherwise I don't really do movies. And that's how the dice rolls for me. I need to get it under control. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one.

I'd say I've developed quite a talent in hiding my ADD from the public eye, I've turned 'pretending to listen' to an art...I've become so damn good at it that people can't even tell that I'm not paying attention to half of what they say. My reading is so much better than my listening though...it's almost like there are huge cottonballs stuffed between my ears and my brain, and my brain wants to stand on its own or leave my body because it's too full and heavy and busy to cooperate with the rest of me.

 It makes me really sad that you don't build close relationships.  Sometimes you have to trust that people will be kind until... they're not.  I don't know if that makes sense.  

My husband has that crazy, whirled mind, too.  He's brilliant and a talented writer.   He's also really messy - his papers are always coffee-stained and strewn about.  I've tried to develop an organization system for him after finding some of his writing at the bottom of a box almost destroyed.  He can't get organized himself but if I create a filing system for him, he can use it.   

Original Post by jpoage:

Original Post by varcourt:

 That describes my son to the max, he is a teenager and will not take meds anymore, i have started giving him coffee in the morning as i hear this helps focus. 

 

 Does the coffee seem to help?

My husband tried meds when he was nine or so but they just didn't work for him.  It may be a harsh lesson, but his parents taught him that the world would not make concessions for him and that he would have to learn to get along.  

I wonder what resources are available for people with ADD who don't want to take meds.  We've always just used trial and error and a sense of humor.

 so far for his first two or three classes he says it helps, after that he is not so sure.  Since he is only 14 i am not real thrilled giving him alot of coffee, but next week i will try a full cup.  Your hubby's parents were right, but the schools here just are no help in that area, rather than help him (he is also dyslexic) they make modifications, now he is in High school and has to learn how to manage kwithout so many mods. 

Meds have not worked well for him either but working with him at home does seem to get him thru without failing.

What were we talking about?