just diagnosed, but it felt weird how it happened….

[billd]

I’ve pretty well known since I saw “ADD and Loving It” last fall. My mother has it, my son was formally diagnosed nearly 20 years ago and put on “meds” (but I can’t recall what as he lived with his mother)

Everything fit – I maxed out every test and every bit of info. The online test here was pretty solid. All symptoms fit like a custom made glove.

So I spoke with a counselor here who I found out has ADHD. He suggested some medical professionals – but it was either going to take months to get in, or they didn’t take insurance and the cost was nearly $500 for a visit. I took a chance and called our family doctor and arranged a visit. He chatted, asked me some questions, took notes, gave me a test (which I aced, solid “3s” through-out) and said yes, you do have ADHD. He asked why now I was seeking help since I lived with it for as he called it “5 decades”. I said because I was uneducated, and put it off, and now I feel there is hope, and explained how my wife complained, and it was impacting my work in a huge way.

He said being in my 5th decade of life he would not give me any stimulants – afraid of heart issues, etc.

He did put me on Strattera and said to come back in 4 weeks to see how things are going.

I’ve only taken it for 2 days……. and wow am I glad I take it just before bed time. It makes me SO tired, I want to nap within an hour of taking it, and almost feel “out of it”, light-headed, etc. Even now 12 hours later I can feel the “weirdness”. It’s like I took a lot of drugs for a bad cold or something. A bit “loopy” or like maybe 1 glass too many of wine.

I say “weird how it happened” because frankly, he was pretty quick to agree that I had this……… didn’t argue. (he did mumble wow and a few other things while scoring that test)

I guess I’m just musing and talking and thinking aloud, but welcome comments, too – otherwise it would be silly to post in a forum!

Our family doctor is probably late 30s, a DO, nice fellow.

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[Anonymous]

One thing to keep in mind is that side effects do change with time, and can often improve as you get used to a medication. I have recently been started on meds for restless legs, and I was wondering how I would be able to cope at work (I do night shifts) because they made me so drowsy, but by the time I had been taking them a few days, I found the drowsiness wasn’t so bad and I tolerated it just fine during my night shifts.

Good on you for seeking help rather than just putting up with things. I hope the meds work for you. Good luck

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[billd]

thanks krazykat (aren’t all kats a bit krazy?)

I was almost, well, got defensive when he asked since I’d been “living with it all these years.. why now”.

I thought – if you had severe back pain that nearly crippled you, caused you to have trouble working, getting things done, and you went 50 years thinking it was normal – in part because that’s what you always heard “oh, that’s just Bill being Bill”, then suddenly someone comes along and says, no, that pain is caused by xxx and we can fix that now”, would you not jump at the chance?

I figured that one day it could kill me, too. (VERY accident prone, speed a lot, take risks in cars)……… best do something about it now that I suspected I knew what it was and knew what to ask for treatment for.

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