need advice

[sb12]

Hi everyone,

I recently started to think that maybe if I get treated for ADD my life would be better. I always knew I had it when I was younger I used to wonder how other kids weren’t looking around the room and were able to finish their papers in a reasonable time I always did good in school but never knew what was going on I always had to look at other peoples papers to figure out what we were doing was right out of time on tests and just filled in anything because I’d been daydreaming but school was easy because I was relatively smart and after a few years of floundering because my attention I figured out cooping skills and got straight A’s through college.  So anyway I had depression and anxiety for a long time.  I have started thinking maybe that anxiety was due to the attention since  I always felt like a deer in headlights when people talked to me because I never knew what they were talking about.    So I’ve been on Prozac for maybe four years and my attention has improved . For the first time in my life I’m able to listen to lyrics of a song or have a conversation that last more than a few minutes where actually listen to the people I don’t have to constantly flick channels I can just relax and my brain doesn’t jump around so much. I also don’t zone out like I used to .

This is so boring I know no one’s gonna want to read it . Anyway I’m tired of being such a procrastinator. I’m procrastinating right now actually.  And I have a complete inability to organize things like I just don’t understand organization it’s very scary to me to.  Also I’m always late for everything because there’s always just one more thing I have to do and prioritize poorly, and I lose everything all the time, everything.  My five-year-old doesn’t have these issues and she reminds me of dates when things are due and where my stuff is . And it’s starting to make me feel really crappy . Anyway I don’t know if I’ll be able to be diagnosed and possibly get medication if my thoughts aren’t as scattered or zoned out as they used to be because of the Prozac.  I don’t know if I should try going off of it- I know I should just see a doctor and I am on Tuesday I just don’t know what my best course of action is . And just because I’m seeing the doctor on Tuesday doesn’t mean that they will necessarily know the best course of action either, I put much more stock in people who deal with it every day than in people who have studied it.

Also will ADD medication make my brain be better able to organize things? And remember dates, and not be late for things , they seem like all behavioral things. Doing all the research I’ve been doing on this has made me feel really really crappy about myself by the way . Usually I just ignore all this stuff, thinking about it really stinks .

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[That Guy with ADHD]

Hopefully you have your answer by now and can post on your progress.  Although  I am just starting out on my ADD journey I feel that I need to do it “by the book” starting with my doctor and psychologist to treat my depression and anxiety.  We have also discussed my ADD and are working on getting an official diagnosis.  I find the “do it yourself” route rather daunting as I have no idea where to even begin.  I have read through articles and blogs and even a book and some videos but I can’t pick just one so I do none.  I have looked at eating protiens for breakfast and reducing refined sugars.  I am also trying to work on my sleep habits even though falling asleep never was a problem but I am so restless in bed my wife and I sleep apart.  As for medication I hope to be on some ADD meds soon.  I hope that if I can get my brain to settle down I will be able to focus better and less inclined to make impulsive decisions that end up creating hurt and hard feelings.

Regards

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[jeanne]

To sb-12,  I wouldn’t just stop taking Prozac without talking to your doctor first. Some folks have terrible problems when they do.

To That Guy With Add, You are so lucky to have a doctor AND a therapist that you can work with you have no clue how lucky you are.

I found out not only about myself but about ADHD too while researching different mental problems looking for something that would answer why my brother was so “out there”. When I ran across ADHD I looked at the quiz to see if it applied to my brother. I got 9 out of 10 on the standard ADHD test. I was floored. I started looking into everything I could find to make sure this was correct. I even went to forums like this one to see if others were really having the same problems as I do and if they were getting diagnosed. Unfortunately it seems that a very high percentage of folks are having trouble getting the diagnosis. I went to my doctor of 20+ years and he blew off the notion saying that ADHD was a fad and diagnosed me as manic depressive. He’s had me on Xanax and Prozac for 20+ years and has never changed anything until that day. Due to the high rate of abuse the clinic that I go to has stopped giving patients Xanax in leu of a lesser medication that isn’t as addictive. He also prescribed a manic medication that struck fear into the poor pharmacist at WalMart. The guy’s eyes widened and he stepped back from the counter like I might jump over it and assault him or something. I never took the meds which the forst thing on the fact sheet said “Warning! This medication can cause a rash that can prove deadly resulting in death.”. Hence why I didn’t take it. So, I went to another doctor at a small clinic in another town to be told that there was no way I could be 55 years old and just finding out I had ADHD. So, here I am with no diagnosis still considered a dingbat by anyone that doesn’t take the time to get to know me. I am currently in search of a reliable physician that didn’t stop his education when he or she got her license. I should have known something was up when my old doctor said there was no cure for Hep C when I had been virus free for years and he should have at least had that in my chart. I broke my back 3 1/2 years ago and he asked me why I was using a cane for God’s sake. So, on the hunt I am. It appears that I will have to go to a major metropolitan city to find a doctor as these rural docs have blinders on. It really sux having to start all over but whatever it takes (even driving 75+ miles) I’m gonna do it to prove to myself at least that I’m not a dingbat.

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[That Guy with ADHD]

I do consider myself fortunate that I have a doctor who believes in ADHD.  I had been so worried that I would come up against the same thing you are going through.  I was prepared to “go it alone” if necessary and start treating myself.  I am doing that now, actually, by cutting down on my caffeine, eating an ADD friendly died, taking suppliments, getting more active…  I don’t think you can go wrong with doing that.  Along with my counciling for depression I’m also trying to do some reading about ADHD but for me that is a big problem.  I have trouble reading so I find it hard to get anything from a book.

I wish you all the best in your search for an understanding and knowledgeable doctor.  Maybe someone who is just starting their practice?  Mine is relatively new and she’s very keen to help me.

Richard

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