Re: when is it too late to do start therapy for ADD??

[Anonymous]

I have a cut-to-the-chase solution that may be illuminating for those who are reasonably certain they have ADD or ADHD and can’t get the treatment they need. This solution is for someone who wants to try medication. It took me almost eight years after I first suspected I had ADD to request medication. I regret every minute I waited. When I got to the point of requesting medication, I was so exhausted with ADD that I could barely get up in the morning. I simply could not cope anymore.

1. Take responsibility for both the diagnosis and the outcome. I do not recommend self-diagnosis, but I had no other option at the time.

2. Try Dr. Jain’s virtual diagnosis and/or the 100 questions in Dr. Hallowell’s book Driven to Distraction. Both are excellent. I like Dr. Jain’s a little better as he pins down the “restless” part of ADD which I have to an extreme and never noticed as I am not hyperactive; my tells are the tapping foot, twitchiness waiting in line, impatience while driving and so on.

3. If the results of either or both are conclusive to your mind, go to your family doctor with your reasoning well thought out. Please be very respectful of your doctor throughout this process.

4. Here is where you need to be sure of yourself: request medication to test out your theory. I used the following reasons:

– By the diagnostic tests I was certain I had ADD (I repeat, I know self-diagnosis is not ideal, it’s just that there is no one expert who can diagnose it in my community!)

– I asked my doctor if trying Wellbutrin was medically feasible for me. This is your doctor’s decision! Be very careful not to step on toes here. Fortunately my doctor was compassionate and respected me.

– I wanted to try Wellbutrin before Ritalin as Wellbutrin is slow release, does not affect your sleep habits and quite stable throughout the day (i.e. It doesn’t wear off the way Ritalin does). I recommend requesting Wellbutrin first; Ritalin is a street drug and your request may be taken the wrong way if your doctor does not agree with your self-diagnosis.

– My doctor did not agree that I had ADD; she felt that I was too successful in life and had no learning disabilities which so often go with ADD (B.A., held down jobs successfully for long term, no evident hyperactivity).

– I was able to articulate why I was successful in coping so far with ADD: I used a form of mental “Red alert!” to focus myself. It brought up my heart rate, put me into fight or flight and I was able to focus. Unfortunately I had run out of adrenaline, and when I said “Red alert!” to myself, all I felt was, “Yeah, whatever.” And all this strategy allowed me to do was hyper-focus. I didn’t recognize that was almost equally problematic in terms of a life strategy.

– My doctor was not convinced and sent me to a psychiatrist for a diagnosis, which came back as a mild form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She gave me a list of symptoms. She was quite correct: it fitted like a glove. She told me to take the list and think about it for a week.

– When I came back the next week, I explained she was right, but she was zeroing on my adaptation, not my issue. In other words, I used a touch of OCD to get through my day. It gave me a tiny bit of structure that my chaotic life lacked. It took iron discipline for me to get up and out the door every day on time – that was where the apparent OCD came in.

– The psychiatrist disagreed, but based on my end-of-the-rope feelings, she agreed to prescribe Wellbutrin (bupropion – there are several commercial names) and see me weekly to assess.

The outcome was that when I woke up in the morning when I was finally on full dose of slow release Wellbutrin, I cried for the better part of an hour. Why? I could think!!!! There aren’t enough exclamation marks to express what I felt. I could direct my thoughts on command. For the first time in my entire life, I came out of a shower without conditioner in my hair. ADD kidnapped me during the course of every shower. Somehow I could manage soap and shampoo, but conditioner did me in. Every single time I came out of a shower, I ran my hands through my hair, felt conditioner and had to turn the shower back on and get back in. This was my “test” behaviour that validated the diagnosis. I think you need one, although simply waking up without having your thoughts hijacked is probably enough!

One final note: I am both an artist and a writer (professionally). Both IMPROVED after I started with Wellbutrin, especially writing fiction (in advertising I write much shorter pieces). I can now hold a plot long enough in my mind to get it down. The fear of losing my creativity is what held me back from meds for so long; dang! I wish I could have those years back.

P.S. I am now 58. It’s never too late to feel this good!

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