[anniea]

Impulsivness and agitation YES!! Antidepressants are a godsend for me. On Prozac now but took two others that I have spaced the names. Impulsivness more ritalin.. and meditation/mindfulness. Watching my sensory overload also is a trigger for aggitation.. even at home with tv/ dogs/ cats/ computer.. uuuuggghhh… I degress.. just remember DON”T EVER just STOP medications..

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[anniea]

Welcome newbies… I too am a little playful and I am happier when I can just be ME… The other day I brought a client into Physical Therapy.. the PT told me I could stay… instead of waiting in the waitning room… So I found a trampoine to bounce on.. (What a kick..hadn’t done that in years.. PT was ok with it.. said “You must have a 5 yr old inside that likes to play”.. duh…

When I was dayshift at the Nursing Home, I sang all the time, or whistled.. especially when I was STRESSED.. which was most of the time.. but I wasn’t the only nurse that did that so I wasn’t totally odd.. It was the dancing to Lawrence Welk and passing pills that usually got me noticed.. I mean really doesn’t everyone waltz when they hear waltz music?? If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of the revolution..

Fun makes work bearable…

TTFN Annie

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[anniea]

I love the adhd tax idea. I had a HECK of a time when I was younger with library books. The librarian actually snarled at me for being late yet again.. and I very politely told her I probably financed a whole row of books in the years I was late.. grrr.

After I had my girls I had to limit the number of books. I had to have a spot for MY books so I would remember where they were to return (especially if they were for a paper).. I got better but let me tell you they have books on tape, and videos/movies.. We had to really pay attention to where we put them.. We would take them back as soon as we were done with them.. That helped some.

We hardly ever LOST books forever… I did have to pay for a couple but not many. Now I buy books at second had book stores If I can. I have had to do a moritorium on books several times.. and to take a box of booksback to the bookstore before I brought anymore home.

I have used the post-it idea.. with mixed results.. I am fortunate to have the library very centrally located so I could run whatever by and drop it off in the slot… ( one good thing about living in the Montana “outback”.. ) Limit the number of books.. that way you get to go to the library more often.. and pick up the other books you wanted to bring home the last time..

I still have to pay fines, but the women at the library know I have ADD and I don’t mean to be a flake.. at least they don’t snarl at me.. I usually make a joke out of it.. “well how much do I owe you this time?” Only use it for movies and books on CD for traveling for now..

Thanks for the topic.. Annie

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[anniea]

Hello all,

glad to revisit this topic. My mom had a GREAT saying… MY HOME IS CLEAN ENOUGH TO BE HEALTHY AND DIRTY ENOUGH TO BE HAPPY.

I grew up with clutter, papers, stuff in the basement, you know.. (Dad was ADHD probably)… my mom was his secretarty/coach…. We always had fun with my parents, camping, and they supported anything we wanted to try.. me and my sisters more artsy/fartsy and my brother more athletic.. My Dad managed to write, submit and defend his thesis for his Masters in Education. He had to work at focusing, but he did it. When I realized everything they did.. I was/am truely in awe of them.

So when I had my girls, I have clutter, but no filth (there is a difference). I figure the dust is protecting the surfaces of the furniture. I have been working on the clutter, and it gets better, for a while.. I try to be gentle with myself, as I am only one person.. we always have a box in the dining room for give away. This is for everyone to contribute to… we take it in every couple of months sometimes more often.. depends on if the tidy bug has hit.

MED BOXs I RESISTED for years… I am a nurse, and I set them up for mentally ill clients… and I am NOT mentally ill… until my gimpy friend told me she had one and to quit whining and just do it… shoot… it works.. I hate when she is right.. I wasn’t even 50 at the time. Now I can tell how I have been with taking the supplements and ritalin and anti depressants very importnant.. and how many times in the week I missed them, which helped me see when I missed more than I took how my weeks went.. I am a hard sell really.

KIDS are only little for such a short time, so buy more underpants, and when they are old enough to do their laundry I was off the hook for their cloths. and they can do towels and sheets… The house can wait… fun with the kids is important.. as long as there aren’t vermine, and bugs cohabitating in the house… ( I personally will not tolerate that).

I ate better after I had the girls I ate more regularly and a balanced diet and everything.. it helped like crazy.. but now I am back to meat and potatoes… and cereal for dinner sometimes.. PROTEIN really helps like crazy for focus.. hey eating regularly is the first step..

CHANGES HAPPEN BUT not all at once, and NOT OVER NIGHT… two steps forward, one step back.. breath.. eat, sleep, there is always tomorrow to do different.. gently, one day at a time please.. A SANE MOTHER is a good thing…

Just what I am thinking today anyway.

Thanks for

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[anniea]

TooFat… I love how you think… thanks..

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[anniea]

Abby, I read the long post all the way through, but had to stop and walk away several times because it reminded me of my friend and I. We have been friends since 7th grade.. we are in our 50s now.

We have similar upbringings (alcoholism) and we both went to counseling to shed light on our demends from the past. We have told each other hard truths.. and the friendship survived..amazingly… I have gone 6mos or more with out talking to her when she has been too mean or rude… It is good to take breaks and work the anger and sadness through on my end. then whatever caused the blow can be talked about without so much blame and emotion.. That is how I see this friendship working..

She came into some money though when her Dad passed away, and she has gotten hoytie toytie.. obnoxious.. and mean… My sister had to remind me she was ALWAYS like that but is MORE SO NOW… it is good to have someone to ponder things with who knows both parties and can be honest.. so, I had to take more time to regroup. I decided IF I go back it will be on my terms… I do NOT talk to her every day (like we used to) let alone every week now. I did miss her, but we were tooooo co-dependant and I was not aware until she got so dam mean…and accused me of being a gold digger.

It has been 4 years, and I am still at arms length, but happier. I still love her, but don’t run every time she asks me to… I cant.. my family comes first..and I am happier… She still thinks everything is about money….?? which it never was cause neither of us had any.. but.. we have talked about it some, but we aren’t as immeshed and that has been good for me.

I just see this as another period of growth in this relationship. I just talked to another on of her friends after I visited her for the weekend, and she gave me some in site.. so I am taking this to consider . We both KNEW we are goofy and outcasts when we were younger but she got less goofy when she got this money…as I see it.. but.. we aren’t friends anymore…we are family, and you don’t give up on family… and that old saying of we have to stay friends we know too much about each other… it is one day at a time… period… life is good..

I guess the point of this is that you can have long term friend ships… I have… It does take work… soul searching and compromise.. space and love… oooohhh I sound so philosophical I can’t stand it!! Thanks for the ponder space… A

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[anniea]

YES!! Go back, .. I was given a second chance at a nursing home I worked at, and it was wonderful, until MY boss was fired, and her relplacement was wacked… but I felt wanted, and vendicated somehow… I loved working there, and would go back in a second, if they would have me… Sometimes people see things that aren’t there, and make trouble when there isn’t any…

For whatever reason, you now know more than you did before this incident, so you have that too.. Everything happens for a reason, and we learn from everything if we pay attention..

Just my thought on this for now… good luck.

A

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[anniea]

o O OOoo I went to a Psychiatrist in another city hour and a half drive… she agreed with the ADD diagnosis, and THEN decided maybe I was Bi-Polar… so I took meds for it for 6 mos… I slept great..but it was the Ritalin that was working… I am NOT Bi-Poar… and no longer take that med… I am back on my antidepressant, and doing pretty good. Course I am not working in that High energy, incrediably over stimulating job either…

Keep researching Dan, and write stuff down so when you go into talk to the “professionals” you are organized, and have your ducks on leashes… just a thought. Annie

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[anniea]

Well, those fill in words can be amusing for my family, and a sense of humor is essential..

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[anniea]

This has been happening more often lately. I seem to do this when I have wwwwaaaayyy to much running around in my head.. and if my partner tries to fill in the blank it pushes it further away..if I can take a deep breath or two and blank my mind, it comes back faster. It is also a good indication that I need to just go breath and relax a bit. Tooo much going on, slow and steady wins the race.

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[anniea]

I remember walking around in that half sleep stage. I do not like it. Mostly when I was working nightshift, and trying to keep up with kids in the day time.

A bedtime ritual helped me. I started it without really realizing it. PJs, hot chocolate made with milk and Ovaltine, reading a bit maybe, listening to tv for a while maybe. A friend told me about Calms Forte homeopathic over the counter and that works great for me for extreme days. I took my antidepressant at night, too.

I just had one of those REALLY tired days this week. I slept on the couch most of the day. Woke up in the evening, did a few things and went to be after midnite. You got to remember we run in high gear a LOT, so as the same friend reminded me That stress is like a slow leak on a battery, sometimes you HAVE to just sleep and recharge. Headslap duh inserted here. AND it is OK to be tired…AND it is OK to sleep and catch up… I am feeling much better today..

Now I have to get dressed and get on with the day… I think I need a list today and may need a star chart on occasion for those HARD days!! : >

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[anniea]

JimC thank you for your post..excellent.

I am a RN. My first job was dayshift at a nursing home. There were many areas of this job I could do well: Chaos, multiple problem sloving, very physical running up and down halls all day, crisises every week (usually). This was the job I had when I got diagnosed. I LOVED that job/nursing home. But the sheer volume of noise and non ADD people I worked with and the repetative boring stuff (passing meds) wore on me. The medication helped a lot, but still I would sleep two hours after I got home every day. I have done several jobs as a nurse. Been fired from most of them, but not because of my nursing abilities…its the stupid paperwork/deadline stuff..

I too come from an ADD family. My Dad..add… was a school teacher Industrial Arts, my Mom was his “secretary”. He got his Masters, and even wrote a thesis.. Ran the Adult Education program in town for years, wrangled budgets, was a union lobbist, no doubt could not have done this without Mom. They were a great team. Not always pretty, but they made it work.

To think ADDers can’t DO something is ridiculous… we just need a good partner to help keep us on task, and help with the boring stuff. Some coping skills, medication, meditation, (a coach?) It is finding the right “fit”. Takes trial and error and PAYING ATTENTION to what WORKS FOR YOU.

If I love what I do, and make enough to pay all the bills.. I am a success in my world.

Thanks eveybody, I love this site, here I am not weird.

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[anniea]

I started on an antidepressant (for years) before getting diagnosed ADD.. and started generic Ritalin sr.. I find the ritalin actually helped with the anxiety attacks I would have sometimes. That “spin” I get into sometimes and can’t get anything done. Don’t discount the stimulants all together… keep an open mind. and journal.. : )

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[anniea]

Carl, The game guy is right, but the med Ritalin SR worked great.. it took a month or a little more to get the dose about right. The job I was working at the time was ridiculously over whelming (day shift charge nurse at a nursing home).. It was also a bit complicated cause the MD that perscribed it lived in a different town 1 1/2 away. She increased the dose by the smallest amt she could then wanted to see me every two wks for a check in. This wasn’t always possible.. she also thought I was Bi-Polar.. and was skeptical of the diagnosis.

After I left that job, the meds worked even better cause my life was more manageable, and I can take the Ritalin SR ( generic) and get stuff done! I LOVE IT. It isn’t speed, it helps my brain work better.. I don’t see the MD in the other town now, my primary care provider and I work together. She wanted me to try something different last month…but the thought of starting over is NOT appealing..and the generic Ritalin still works for me.. so if it ain’t broke don’t mess with it.

Good luck with your med journey..it can be really wonderful. You do have to become more aware of how you are feeling, so that is good too. Not always easy but WORTH it!!

This website has been a god-send too… before I felt like the lone stranger… Now I check in and read stuff and realize I am just right, no matter where I am. Annie

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[anniea]

No-dop.. Take a break and come back.. taking care of yourself is the first order of business always.. I am looking for an avatar.. none yet… want my own identity too.. couldn’t imagine someone duplicating..how rude… Hang in there..

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