[Geoduck]

@distractedmomma,

To get back to your original question,

YES! Actually, somewhere on this site is a post that links an article about ADHD and over-eating or losing weight, or something. I can’t find it, right now, but dig around for it. It might even be a blog post.

However, it is absolutely a normal human thing to do, to snack all day and not eat 3 meals. It’s some sort of thing that Europeans came up with that has us eating 3 a day. It was considered “civilized.” In fact, when they came to North America (post-Columbus- the Vikings had been here many times before), and they started “civilizing” cultures that were eating just fine without them, they taught them to eat 3 a day, and dispense with the snacking, except for “tea,” like how the British do.

Simply put, the body was not designed for 3 large meals a day, but rather more like 6 meals. However, good luck convincing your boss that you need 3 lunch breaks. So we are kinda stuck in that pattern. I keep trying to switch over, but the cultural schedule keeps throwing a wrench in it.

You can, however, put good snacks wherever you can, like nuts, fruits, dried fruits. That should satisfy the snacketies. I do have a bar of chocolate for those extreme times, but I eat one or two squares (that took a long time to develop that habit- better quality chocolate helps. It’s more expensive).

Also, be patient with weight loss. In our culture, we are used to instant results. Your mind lives in our culture, and your body bears the punishment for it. It doesn’t go by our timeline, but it’s own. You didn’t put the weight on in five days, it won’t come off in five days.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Yeah, you gotta be not a dude, I suppose. LOL!

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

I took a couple of different anti-depressants. One I was given when I was specifically searching for help with ADHD. She didn’t believe I had it, and told me I was depressed.

That was paxil, then zoloft. Neither had an effect on my symptoms (because I wasn’t depressed, darn it!).

After giving birth to my 3rd child, I was legitimately diagnosed with severe post-partum depression, and took Lexapro.

At first, I actually had relief from some of my ADHD symptoms. I definitely, within a shocking 15 minutes, felt differently. Lexapro works faster than the aforementioned drugs, though, and everyone said that was normal. After the initial few days, I can’t say my ADHD was affected. However, it kept me not-depressed for the next few months, while I struggled with PPD.

I mention this because depression symptoms can mimic ADHD, sometimes. What I felt relief from may have been depression symptoms. At the time, I had not been diagnosed with ADHD, although, it had been suggested by that therapist. So it’s hard to say what was what, without a doc observing me for ADHD.

Who knows? Basically, though if you feel better, and it’s keeping you functional in a good way, stick with it.

Although, I think that there are some anti-depressant/ADHD drug combos out there. I have no idea for sure, though.

Oh, I’m just soooo helpful.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Pretty sure the reason my dad did so well in the Marine Corps was because of the structure. Also, a high level of adrenaline rushing activity, and a willingness on his part to jump into a situation (impulsivity).

Really, it’s a perfect fit. Unfortunately, I thought I read on one of these forums that the US Army is screening out ADHD people. That’s a mistake on their part, if that is truly the case.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Eye doc and regular doc are going to hate me. I’m bringing a stack of these abstracts to my amblyopia appt. and my adhd appt.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

AGH!!! I knew I posted about this before, just not sooo long ago…

Who needs a dissertation topic in either opthalmology or psychiatry? Cause I got a couple and have no desire for further schooling…

Okay, so I saw a post on treatment for adult amblyopia, which led to adult brain plasticity, which was previously thought NOT to be a thing until recently.

So it looks like there is hope for us amblyopia sufferers (amblyopiacs???). Anyhow, A study on brain plasticity was done regarding Prozac, and how it may be re-wiring the brain, and that’s why it works, and also that re-wiring of the visual cortex was helping vision problems, as well…

Which brings me to my new and updated question…

If there is a link between amblyopia and ADHD, as has been theorized by another doc in CA (See above link), could the treatment be the same for both, in the form of prozac?

Also, could my adderall be improving connections because of the brain plasticity? The abstract I was reading suggested that it was particularly the noradrenaline and seratonin (<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3223381/#B44&gt;) that was making the connections possible.

So, if my Adderall works via adrenaline rush (is noradrenaline present in adderall? I’m making that possibly huge assumption), couldn’t that work for my amblyopia, if treatment such as patching was done at the same time? Also, if some sort of retraining therapy was done for my ADHD while I was on Adderall, instead of in place of Adderall, would there be more success?

Have studies been done on things like biofeedback being done while on meds, vs. instead of meds? I’m unfamiliar with anything besides biofeedback, but I’m sure there has to have been other sorts of therapies over the past couple hundred years for ADHD or mild retardation, or bad moral fortitude, or whatever the terms were before ADHD (seriously loving the ADHD term after reading Rick’s blog, this week).

Any clue here?

Also, could a lack of adrenaline be part of the problem with my amblyopia, as it is with my ADHD? Is that the missing connection? The CA researcher never wrote me back on that one.

Sorry so lengthy and disjointed, I had coffee after I took my adderall, which really just nullifies the adderal, because I get coffee hyper. Never had that problem before my meds. Too much of a good thing, I guess 🙂

Man, I hope this makes some sense. Oh, and I may be mixing up like 3 different studies.

Any thoughts here would be appreciated.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Holy crap!

My adderall must not be working. I’m totally having the opposite effect. Well, at least my sex drive hasn’t increased because of adderall. Is this a brand vs. generic thing???

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

I’m not a veteran, but am the daughter of a career Marine, with PTSD and ADHD. He is really the poster child for both, I swear.

Get help now. My father was a bear to be around, and still is. I love him dearly, but almost cut him out of my life, at one point, before I truly understood what was causing him to be such a bear.

For you and your family’s sake, get help. Having been through PTSD myself, I can tell you that there is help for this disorder. There is also help for ADHD. I found a good set of practitioners who have helped me come a long, long way. The PTSD, especially.

But still, get help. It is totally worth it. You can learn to deal with it, just as you can with your ADHD. You will NOT regret it. If the VA doesn’t help you, check your local area for low-cost psychiatric services (usually a non-profit group will have something in your town). If you can’t seem to find these, call your local hospital and ask for a reference. They do exist, even here in the States.

 

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

I am soooo being a dude in the next life. This just isn’t fair, you know.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Actually, my post partum depression meds, Lexapro, did seem to actually help some of my adhd symptoms. Did wonders for the ppd. The adhd symptom releif was short-lived, though, and at the time, I didn’t recognize them as adhd symptoms. The anti-depressants continued to do their job for the ppd symptoms, and worked well for the next few months. Going off of them was miserable, though, and I don’t recommend that sort of drug when adderall is available, which contrary to popular belief, is not as horrible to discontinue.  In fact, it’s hard for me to remember to take the adderall, because I have no ill side effects when I don’t. I could have destroyed Tokyo with my Godzilla personality when I went off of Lexapro (I went off the wrong way on the advice of a bad therapist. Don’t do that.).

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Damn. This must be an ADHD site, because these posts are hella long. LMAO!!!

I can’t read through all the posts, so I’m saying this without being sure what everyone else told you.

1. The war on drugs is a joke, and may be causing more harm than good, by scaring the people who need stimulants, out of taking them. Talk to a qualified doctor. You would be taking small amounts, not snorting huge amounts, which is what people who abuse the medication do. Put it in perspective, it’s all about dosage.

2. Follow your gut instinct. Get that second opinion. People with Hi-IQ’s also have symptoms of ADHD, but not necessarily actual ADHD. If you started taking meds for a condition that looks like another condition, the meds would make things worse, not better.

My daughter has a stellar IQ, and I have ADHD, and while we both exhibit the same symptoms, our management of those symptoms are entirely different.

Of course, it is entirely possible for you to have ADHD and a Hi-IQ- this is called “Twice gifted.” Then meds would help.

3. College sucks muchly, even more if you are ADHD. If you have finally decided that you are indeed “twice gifted,” get the help you need, and if you are American, get a 504 designation to your doc, and bring it to your school administrators. There are special allowances, through the Americans with Disabilities Act (504 plan is under this), that will help you through school. They can include earlier registration, more time on tests, and the ability to get help for that class with which you are struggling right now.

That’s all I know. Sorry, wish I had time or the attention span to read up on all that, guys. Kids screaming, so even without ADHD, I’m a lost cause. LOL!

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Adderall is dehydrating. That could be why you have issues with your tongue. Definitely drink tons of water while taking it.

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

YES!!! That’s why we <3 you guys!!!

I’m sick of people telling me about my meds and “alternative” treatments that are no more than snake oils, or a helluva lot worse than my prescription medication, in the first place. I wanted real information and I stumbled onto the video on PBS, then went to the site from there, and found real ADHD people with actual solid information. Found it here, then went to a doc and got medication and support that worked (and still works).

Okay, what were we talking about??? Change??? It is inevitable. Just relax and roll with it. Plus, just wait until all the tweaks are out. I’m sure everything will be fine.

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

Okay, got distracted by the Think Geek banner ad (unicorn meat in a can? Getting that for the middle daughter), then the computer graphics card hiccuped, then I had to reboot, then I got distracted by the game on my ipod…whew…must have ADHD… LOL! Anyway, back here and ready to respond:

Actually, it was an honor to serve this group in this capacity. I’ve received so much from this website, I can’t even begin to repay you all. From the first email exchange I had with this site, I was immediately surprised how intimately involved you, Ava, and everyone else were with this site. You didn’t just make a couple of films and a funky site and leave it at that. You are a constant presence here. You really do care…’sniff!’ You put your blood, sweat, tears, and probably a lot of cash, into this thing and it definitely shows.

What was amazing to me is that you all actually wanted and invited our feedback as users. You didn’t just make sweeping changes, hoping for the best. You all took the time to read our feedback, and take it to heart. I loved watching the project develop and can’t wait until it releases.

Thanks again. I’ll stop gushing now

REPORT ABUSE

[Geoduck]

I dunno. I’ve seen a lot of articles saying that if this thing or that thing isn’t treated, your child is more likely to be a criminal. One friend told me that she read something about people who had hearing loss and didn’t know it being more likely to go to prison.

My take is that if there is something wrong with you, no matter what it is, if it goes unaddressed, your life will be more miserable than if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity, resources, and good sense to deal with your problem, no matter what it may be.

In my friends example, however, they studied hearing loss in a prison population vs. a regular city. My question was that maybe the hearing loss was caused by something in the prison (loud work areas, bad acoustics), or maybe something in their lifestyle they were doing before prison (loud music). Studies are just that. Some of them need much further study.

But really, it’s something somebody says about damned near everything. It’s why I stopped reading parenting books. I got tired of reading that my kids were going to prison if I didn’t do things the way each book said to do them. Anyway, that makes me leery of stuff like this.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts