[Buz]

Hi Palma

Check out these Vancouver links if you have not done so already;

http://www.addcoach4u.com/adultadd.html

http://www.vcn.bc.ca/chaddvan/

At the first link, you can request a list of ADD practitioners in the Van area. I’m on Van Island, and had to travel to Victoria to see a psychiatrist with an interest in adults with ADHD. My GP is not an ADD specialist, but was open to listening once I had done my homework. Took a few months research and another few months to get an appointment, but things are working out well now.

Good luck!

Buz

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Yup, open the envelope you have to deal with the contents. Don’t open the envelope nothing to deal with.

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

So where can I find my cookie?

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Louie, I love that bit about wanting to be in radio. Is there a community or campus radio station where you live? Selling insurance is not be for everybody and pragmatically speaking you need the income right now to support yourself and family. But if that creative spark was with you as a boy, you can bet it sure is still there and wanting to poke through. You are bending over backwards making a living, but it may not be nourishing you spiritually or emotionally.

I am in an administrative job too; actually quite good at it but……..(ADD right!). As I have begun working with my ADD I have noticed the right brainer, creative boy come shooting out the bottle; I’m writing poetry, stories etc. Next month I start a poets group at an art studio I helped set up……..with a view to doing something on community radio. Hence my interest in your comment. So yes, like you I have a pragmatic side in terms of generating income to support a family, but who knows where our creative sides can take us, especially when it is nourishing the spirit! And my family is happier because there is a tempestuous artist in the house replacing the overtired, overwhelmed, over extended administrator. Good luck brother, I hear you.

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Dex hits my anxiety spots too. It is a different kind of normal I agree.

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Big Time! considering our minds are whiring at heck of a pace, trying to put things together, figure things out, multi tasking the multi tasks. It’s cognitive fatigue, not the same as running a 10k. It was as if my brain continued to whizz even through sleep. Now I’m taking meds I have to say I sleep like a baby at night!

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

I agree with Ivriniel. After 4 months I’m just beginning to get the meds ‘right’, but the real nut to crack is lifestyle changes, including extricating oneself from the chaos! I get my meds covered and the psyciatrist is covered under our provincial medical services plan. So it is a good investment for me to pay to see a counselor, who can help with lifestyle changes, stress management, weird thinking etc. But it is a very personal thing as Ivrinel says. You will find yourself building your own team.

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Take a look at this site -it might be helpful:

http://www.aadd.org.uk/index.html

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

I’m trialing meds right now with a psychiatrist. Firstly I took short acting Ritalin (actually the generic version methylphenidate) twice daily. Took me a few attempts to set a therapeutic dose that suits me. Once I got that bit sorted the benefit was I could more or less predict when I was going to be at my best in terms of calm and focus. Same thing with the short acting Dex, the difference being i do not get the same calm with Dex but it helps me be more action orientated – I get things done at work!

I’m now trialing sustained release methylphenidate (the generics) I’m really not sure they are much an improvement over the short acting version. Next up is the Dex spansules, which are sustained release. Then I have to make a decision about how meds fit into the overall treatment plan. I have not been introduced to Concerta or other brands as yet, so cannot comment on those. Good luck

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Yes indeed! I have always referred to it as my ‘polar bear syndrome’ Like that you have a wild animal in you too…..!

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

Curling!……. seriously, when I get off the ice I feel great. Could be the physical workout from all that sweeping or, having to focus that bit more to make the cunning shots or, maybe the social contact. Likely a combo of all these. Worth a go!

REPORT ABUSE

[Buz]

I just read you post and it sounds just like me (right down to the ‘one on the way’!) I’M in BC on Vancouver Island. To shorten the story, I did the leg work phoning around different psychiatrists offices, but no real joy finding someone who sees adults with ADD. Then I visited a forum like this and asked around until one name came up several times. I phoned him up and caught him in his office! I had already done some assessments with a counselor and had read ‘delivered from distraction’ (written like it was my biography). So when I went into my doctors and asked for a referral I made sure I was well informed and heard. I did all his assessments and sure enough came out ADHD ‘combined type’ with co-existing depression and anxiety. I am now at the stage of trialing meds … which help.

That does not help you find the right person in Edmonton, but I guess my message is don’t give up the search for good help…its not necessarily immediately obvious where to turn, but it exists.

Buz

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts