Help me focus

[Anonymous]

I’m 50 and kind of tired of just always being slighty out of control. Does anyone know if there is a med I can take that just helps me to be focused so I can stop jumping from one thing to another and get something done? I’v never taken any meds and have never wanted to.

I have anxiety every day and I’m tired of that tight feeling in my chest…does it have to be like this everyday? I do have an anxiety med that I occasionally take but I have found myself taking it more and more.

Anyway, for others who have tried meds, is there anything that I can take daily that calms me down and makes me feel normal with out any side effects? Tall Order I know, that’s why I’ve always just suffered through the day and never taken anything. I fact until yesterday, I wasn’t even willing to admit I had ADD, but duh…I’m in the club solidly!

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[Anonymous]

My kids have taken concerta and it helped them a lot with the anxiety end of things as well as helping them focus. I was on ritalin, both regular and SR as a teenager and as an adult and it also helped with all the symptoms. I found out I have narcolepsy a few years ago and the medication I take for that also works for my ADD. We also had allergy testing done by a physician certified for environmental medicine. We found out we’re allergic to the 7 “hidden” food allergens: Dairy, corn, egg, wheat, yeast, soy and coconut. We’re also allergic to glycerine which is considered a chemical allergy. Once all these items were out of our diet, my kids found they did not need the high doses of concerta anymore. Good luck to you!

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[Patte Rosebank]

@Giddygoat, the thing about medications for mental conditions is that they’re never one-size-fits-all. What works for me may not work for you. And even if the med does work for both of us, it would probably be at different dosages for each of us.

The only way to find the right med & dose for you is through trial-and-error, under close supervision of your doctor/specialist. During this time, you should keep a daily journal of which med & dose you had that day, how it made you feel, any side effects you noticed, and if there were any external factors that may be affecting how you’re feeling. For example, if you’re writing a final exam that day, you’ll probably be feeling way more stressed and unfocussed than if you were spending the day on a nature hike with your best friends. After a couple of weeks of trying that med & dose, you’d meet with your doctor/specialist and, based on your journal, the two of you would determine if you need to change the med and/or dose, or perhaps add another med.

@fidgit4, was that allergy testing done with blood samples? If so, you should be aware that it does not stand up to proper scientific testing, merely to anecdotal evidence from people who found that it worked for them. Furthermore, there’s a difference between a “sensitivity” (which is what those blood tests found) and an “allergy”. A sensitivity will make you not feel so well. An allergy will cause your body to react so strongly that it can put you in the hospital, or even kill you.

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[Anonymous]

Larynxa, the allergy testing was NOT done with blood samples. We actually go to an ENT who specializes in environmental medicine.(this is in the States, I don’t know if it would be called something different in Canada) The testing is also different from the testing we had done at the allergist we went to before. What the ENT did was intradermal testing. This physician also believes strongly in patient education and holds classes for his patients. You are absolutely right about the sensitivity vs. the allergy. There are ways to determine which it is.

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[Anonymous]

My 12 year old son takes adderall. It seems to work for him. Believe me, I think about popping one just to see what happens.

Although I can appreciate the “idea” of keeping a journal and tracking myself on a specific medication, its just seems overwhelming for me. I have never been able to consistently write anything down or find it later. I start but it never goes anywhere. I realize that this cop out could cause me to struggle with finding the solution, but with work, 4 kids, special education for my 12 year old, looking for a new job, selling my house and moving all at once the thought of keeping a journal on top of it all just makes me say. “aaaarrrrrrghhh” I have a lot on my plate right now, so stress is high in general.

Doctor Question: Do I need to work with a psychiatrist or can I use my regular MD and work with him on this.

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[dspicelady]

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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