The Forums › Forums › Medication › Help me focus › Re: Help me focus
Giddygoat- No expert here, but……most MD’s don’t have the time to really hear what your telling them, although yours might be fantastic. Not sure where you are located. How long it takes to see a psych doc may play into your decision.
Something docs consider when starting meds is “what works for family members?” Considering the fact that ADD has a major genetic component, this can mean that the structural deficiency may be similar in family members. This may not be the case, but can be a good starting point.
I started to take the same meds that my daughter found helpful. Our doses are different, (maybe because I’ve got years on her and a few coping strategies under my belt), and our “challenges” are different, but the meds seem to help us both.
As far as a journal….forget about it. If you are having trouble even conceiving of a journal, then put it out of your mind. Should you choose to try meds, you will know whether or not you feel better, worse or nothing at all. It does take time, and dose adjustments, and you might need to have others you trust watch you and give you feedback. I found that stressing out over whether or not to take meds was so much worse than any side effects of taking the meds.
While my doc and I were deciding, I did take one of my daughter’s pills. That was the day I knew I was going to say yes to my doc. I told him what I did, and instead of judging me he asked how I’d felt that day. When I told him I was able to keep a single thought in my brain for a whole 30 seconds that day, he just pulled out his script pad, while we both had a chuckle. Now I am in no way advocating anyone, anytime taking anyone’s presciption. I am just sharing what I did and how it helped me. I still have a long way to go, but definitely am going in the right direction.
On a side note, I had never been able to journal. I found it tedious, could never write fast enough, and when I re-read something I wrote it never made any sense. Now that I am on meds, I do write in a journal, it started as alot of bitching and complaining and has progressed into contructive analysis. I don’t write everyday. I just find it amazing since it was something that I never thought I would ever do.
I wish you all the best. The decision-making process is brutal. Just breathe. And know that either choice you make regarding meds is not absolute or irreversible. Hopefully, you can eliminate some of your stresses just knowing that.
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