[g.laiya]

larynxa, though i usually enjoy reading your comments, this time you have really upset me, and i feel the need to “speak up”.

perpetuating the stereotypes that all chiropractors (or homeopaths or naturopaths) are “quacks” or “fraudsters” is just wrong, and being lumped in with “the weird looking guys in infomercials” is personally offensive.

how about all actresses are airheads and sexually promiscuous, or people in theatre are flakes? accountants are boring, fast food workers are stupid, construction workers are crude? programmers are nerds, politicians philanderers, police are corrupt, factory workers are lazy, ….how do you feel about those? how about adders are lazy or stupid or just making excuses for bad behavior? i don’t like those either!

as a chiropractor, i am a physician licensed to practice in the state of california (you know – the state with all the fruits and nuts), to diagnose and treat patients, with a scope of practice that includes ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies such as blood,urine,and stool analysis as well as the more typical imaging and neurodiagnostic studies, and many more less typical studies. additionally, i have taken post-grad classes to further my knowledge and training in a number of subjects, including nutrition. in fact, i am about to start a practice that focuses on “science based nutrition”, utilizing extensive lab testing and analysis (including looking for evidence of heavy metal toxicity) to make recommendations for nutrtional supplements and lifestyle changes in an effort to improve health, function, and quality of life for people. i’m planning on being my own first patient with this program, and will also be doing testing on my son (who has signs of add, on top of being “on the spectrum” with aut), but hope to help many, many people achieve significant positive changes in their overall health and vitality.

when reading your posts, i usually find you strike me as being very bright and well educated, but this last post painted quite the opposite picture. i believe my original assumptions are still true, so wtf? what’s behind all the hate(or perhaps just lack of respect?) larynxa?

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[g.laiya]

that is a very good ad/hd metaphore!
i took 1 semester of german as an undergrad student – many moons ago! but i didn’t remember the meaning of “gift”. makes me wonder what the root of the english word gift is…and are they connected in any way at their roots?hmmmm….

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[g.laiya]

ashockley, i can relate all too well. i’ve even lately found myself procrastinating taking my add med in the mornings (when i’m not scheduled for a morning clinic) so i can prolong that semi-awake directed-dreaming /daydreaming in the morning.

watch out for the ambien. years ago i took it. sometimes it would help me sleep(when taken at high dosage), but all too often it did not. and when it did not it had an inhibition dropping effect similar to alcohol, combined with memory loss of much of the time the drug was active. i had one guy decide he didn’t want to get involved with me because of things i talked about while “under the influence” (but didn’t remember even having received the phone call). after that happened i decided to turn off the ringer on my phone if i had taken ambien and was in bed trying to sleep. even that didn’t work though, because i would hear the answering machine and pick it up then…it’s really a horrible feeling realizing you’ve had completely uninhibited conversations and can’t remember what you said or even with whom.
i also received many “surprise” packages in the mail with items i had ordered in the wee hours, but didn’t remember ordering.

and sdwa, i also do that sometimes, find myself in tears from emotions – whether happy or sad – as i’m immersed in a very vivid story that is completely in my own mind, my own creation. i’ve never shared that with anyone else….i continue to be amazed at how much i have in common with so many people om this site, when for so many years i thought i was alone.

once again, thank you rick, ava, jimi…(there are others i’m forgetting -really sorry -no offense intended!) for this site, and all you have done and continue to do….and to all the great members here, for sharing your stories,your compassion, and your nuggets of wisdom and humor!

(((group hug!)))

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[g.laiya]

this guy, know you are not alone, and there are people who care, including members in this community, as you’ve seen.

i understand slipping into despair when it seems like you just can’t seem to get a break, and you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders.

but please believe, it will get better.

and your little girl counts on you for your unconditional love, and to be an example of resiliency. show her that no matter how hard things get, you will always be there for her, to love her and help guide her through her life. your love, compassion, emotional support, and care for her are vital to her well being, now and always.

if you don’t have family or friends you can count on to help, try reaching out to your religious community for suuport – even if you are not an active member of an organization or very religious, you should be able to find some support and guidance.

look into support services through the government and also through the school system. in my area they have services for very low income families including day care/pre school programs and free meals at school for those who qualify. if you are having trouble securing a job due to your ad/hd, perhaps you would qualify for some type of disability support income as well as other services/support. check every avenue you can.

check out all the tools here on this site that can help manage your difficulties. it’s trial and error, find what works for you.

it’s a very dark time now for many, but hope you can believe, as i do, that better times are ahead

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[g.laiya]

kc – lmao!

i’m glad that a few laughs were shared….

i still haven’t gone to the dentist, knowing i had the more pressing financial concerns of eight days of hanukah for my kids, followed by my daughter’s 5th bday celebration to plan and pay for.

but while investigating the cost/possibilities of taking care of my dental issues, i did stumble on some info that i had known about but sort of forgot, which is that there are dental schools not too far from us that do work for a fraction of what you pay for services at a private practice. so i’m going to look into that. i had been wearing my night guard when i had to be in public, using the excuse that i had been so stressed, and clenching my teeth so hard i’d been popping my repairs off and cracking my teeth (this is true)….unfortunately, wearing it during waking hours starting tearing up my cheeks……….i really need to get this taken care of soon…..

i don’t want to go back to my regular dentist. ever since the original doctor(who had been highly recommended to me, and was wonderful) sold the practice, it hasn’t been the same. i always get the feeling like they’re trying to sell me things/services that are beneficial only to line the pockets of the owner, not what’s in the best interest of me or my dental concerns.

and i have a history of horrible experiences with a few different dentists….which adds to the procrastination, which is already such an issue with me….

but, larynxa, you do have a way of motivating 😉

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[g.laiya]

wish i had a great answer for you, but here goes…

when i go through rougher spurts, i use more alarms/reminder timers, try to write more notes – and stick them in my pocket so i don’t lose them (and at some point i’ll find them hehe), try to get adequate sleep, try to avoid adding on any additional responsibilities(if possiible)……you can also try taking a walk/doing yoga/pmr to help calm the mind.

and when all else fails, take a deep breath and remember, “this too shall pass”

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[g.laiya]

hmmm, anyone else think something is odd here? am i just being paranoid after seeing so many spam posts?

anyway, ashockley, the answer is, more or less, ” e. all of the above”.

bill also has a good idea re the pmr

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[g.laiya]

been there!….except i didn’t have the fortitude like you to continue at the same school until graduation…actually never completed ungrad….but did accumulate many credits over the years at various schools, and eventually found a grad school program that didn’t require a bachelors, one i thought i could do well with, and i was able to complete, and only 2 trimesters late – yeah!

don’t stress about not being on the traditional 4-year path – honestly! take it from a professional student

let’s hear it for the non-traditional, winding path, ad/hd , multi-major/multi-interests students! woop! woop!

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[g.laiya]

well, pps have very good points!

i wish i had been diagnosed and gotten treatment/guidance/tools by the time i was 27! really, count yourself lucky to find out now, even though to you it may seem late, or how could this be? and so forth…..it is a process, coming to terms with all this – i’m still working through it and trying to figure things out (i was just diagnosed in july, right before my 48th bday – yikes! huh!)

re the physics class: as tiddler said, sooo much depends on both the individual teacher(and if you click with their style of teaching) as well as the class focus/slant. my experience with physics, the first time i took the courses they were part of an accelerated program pre-grad school. amazingly, i got a “b” the first term and a”c” the second. i say amazingly because not only did i hate, dread! the class, but within just a few weeks i felt i had no idea what was going on in class. the teacher was brilliant….at physics…but did not know how to teach it to us. to be honest, the only reason i passed is that i didn’t do quite as horribly as much of the rest of the class.

fast-forward to post grad school classes, i was taking some classes for fun/interest…thought the description of this particular physics class sounded actually interesting,and wanted a review of physics, so decided to take it. i loved that class! an amazing teacher! from the first day of class i found myself saying ” so that’s what he was talking about!”…a lot. i got an “a” in that class, but this time it wasn’t because i was doing less horribly than the rest – this time i actually understood the teacher and found it interesting. what a different experience!

now i know it’s not good for any of us to dwell on the past, and wonder what if..? and , if only….but i’m going to visit the idea briefly, now, to give you my perspective. yes, i wish i had been diagnosed earlier! wish i had medication, and therapy, and tools, and a wonderful coach like i have now. would my life have been different? most certainly! better? gd knows! would i still have bounced around more than 6 schools during my undergrad years, never completing any program? possibly. would i have bounced back and forth from dean’s list to academic probation throughout grad school still? possible as well, but i’m guessing my work would have been at least a little more consistent if i had been receiving appropriate treatment/tools back then.

what i’m trying to get at is don’t discount the idea of treatments and tools to help you, including medication, because of some outdated stigma that’s made it’s way into your mind. if a second opinion / diagnosis would help you process your situation and needs, then do it! i had sort of a second opinion built in because i initially sought eval and treatment with a psychologist, not psychiatrist, but he wanted me to also be seen by an md. he said – and i agree – that i would do better combining meds with therapy – for me therapy alone would help(i have a lot of issues besides the add) but it wouldn’t be enough ( to compensate for the deficiency of neurotransmitters in my brain).

well, food for thought

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[g.laiya]

hi kristya! i also take a combo of the xr and the ir adderall. i think i started sometime in september? i have had similar experiences, though only one incidence of dizziness…and that had happened to me before – way before taking any meds. overall my experience is that it is helpful, sometimes more sometimes less. if i haven’t had adequate sleep or am very stressed(more than usual) it can feel like it’s not working at all.

had an experience last month that really shook me. had been feeling more groggy than usual for a few days, also more scattered and all, and then one morning i was so tired that when i got home after dropping my son to school i konked out on the couch i think as soon as i hit it. didn’t take my morning med at the ususal time so i could sleep in, and didn’t have alarms set because i wasn’t working that day. i woke a few hours later, still super tired, but took my med hoping it would help me function. i promptly fell back asleep…..and didn’t wake again until 5 pm! and only then because husband had just returned with our 2 boisterous kids. i took my ir then, even though it was late, hoping to be alert and together enough to help my son with his homework. i had a bite to eat, made sure his homework was complete, got him ready for bed…..and went back to sleep! the next day , though i didn’t pass out all day again, i still felt tired and “out of it” all day and night, despite taking my meds. the following day i took extra med(more ir) because i needed to be alert (didn’t trust that the other parents would be adequately vigilent about monitoring the kids in the pool) and i was ok. actually by the evening i felt better than i had in days.

and then i began to really worry – had i developed a tolerance to the med already? is that even possible in so short a period of time?

well, i told my psych about what happened. he said definitely not a tolerance issue, but sounded more like a prodrome of a bad flu. sure enough, days later – after caring for my son who was sick with some sort of upper respiratory bug, it hit me, and hit me hard. and while it was quite uncomfortable at times, i was relieved that it wasn’t an issue with the med.

the point being, the med can only do so much, and it’s effects are very much affected by your circumstances – sleep/health/stress/diet/…

also, from what i know, the active chemical components-including the isomers- are the same for the xr and ir, it’s just the xr is coated for different time release in order to achieve longer and more level blood levels. just the same, i also feel i do better with the ir, i’m guessing probably for some period the blood levels go higher than with the xr that i’m taking, and think other factors may influence this too….which may mean i’m not on an ideal dose of the xr, but don’t really want to go higher with the xr if i can avoid it, and also don’t really want to have to worry about remembering to take meds even more often than i do now if i switch to all ir

i don’t know if this helps, but at least you know you’re not alone

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[g.laiya]

yep, magnesium stearate is listed as an inactive ingredient. i’m wondering now if/how much of that is bio-available, and if it is, is it enough to create a change in symptoms if your body is mg deficient? that would be a trip if all these years i could have just added some mg to my diet instead of polluting my body/mind with a mutitude of various headache meds…..

i really have to go for a blood test…….

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[g.laiya]

sorry ali – you’re not being thick – i tend to abbreviate and/or not include important relevant information in my “conversations” – i gotta work on that.

asd is short for autism spectrum disorder – referring to people who fall (have been diagnosed) “somewhere on the spectrum of autism” – like ad/hd, there is quite a large spectrum, with diverse presentations.

hypermobile, i was referring to joint hypermobility. women generally tend towards some more than men, and that joint laxity increases considerably during pregnancy due to the hormone relaxin (in preparation for labor and delivery) and then returns to their “normal” following birth. an example to help explain, for most adults, when you fully extend/straighten your arm, it appears there is 0 degrees/ no angle at the elbow. if someone has very tight joints, or there has been an injury at the elbow, the person may not be able to fully extend to 0, and with some visible degree of flexion at the elbow at full extension that would be less than normal mobility, or a hypomobile joint. but if a person fully straightens their arm and the extension goes beyond straight and the angle created is in extension, that joint is hypermobile. if that type of hypermobility is seen throughout the body, more or less, then the person is considered to be hypermobile.

a couple of years ago, i was goofing around with my kids chasing them around the hallways in a medical building following an appointment, when i suddenly and uncontrollably went flying forward, breaking my fall with my hands and arms. to this day i can’t explain how it happened….but anyways, a few weeks later i went in to one of my dr.s requesting xrays of my elbows. he did a quick exam, and said he didn’t see any need, as i displayed full range of motion. i had to explain that the apparent normal range he was seeing was quite abnormal for me, as i’m usually well into extension when i extend.

my son is even more hypermobile than me. when sitting and leaning back, resting his weight on his extended arms, his elbows get so hyperextended it freaks out his father and he makes him change positions!

and ipso, that makes me wonder if perhaps magnesium is used as a binder in adderall, and provides some additional , even if unintended , benefits? i’ll have to look into that! i’ve been wondering why i’ve had this wonderful “side effect” of virtual elimination of severe headaches since starting adderal, when i had suffered for so many years almost daily .

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[g.laiya]

there is only one thing i can think of that hasn’t been part of my “disease called more” – though it’s the one thing i wish i did do, even if on the side of excessive, and that is exericise.

otherwise, yep, i’ve been a big-time self-medicating stimulus and/or numbness seeking machine most of my life.

also, i’ve been to a few anonymous-type meetings, most recently “underearners anonymous”….and i completely agree with robbo on that i think there are many adders (diagnosed or not) who end up at these meetings….i think there’s a lot of crossover.

though i’ve definitely made some improvements since first finding this site, getting diagnosed, starting with treatments/tools, i still have a long way to go to get to a balanced, peaceful,more healthy and fulfilling life.

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[g.laiya]

hi! i don’t know of any researched/scientific study linking ad/hd, but i do have all 3…sort of.

i have a sub-type of asthma, exercise induced. i also had a paradoxical reaction to terbuteline(sp?) – a medication that was used primarily as a broncho-dilator for asthma patients but was also used to stop pre-term labor – the reason i was given it…..and it caused broncho-constriction/difficulty breathing/asthma-like symptoms. very scary -i think they stopped using that med because too many incidences.

anyway, history of migraines too, worst in my 30’s and early 40’s, but were improved during pregnancy(s), and, interestingly, virtually eliminated since starting med for ad/hd…..which leads me to think there very well could be a connection there!

it’ll be interesting to see others experiences/any other connections.

another connection i was wondering about but had not gotten any responses – is there increased incidence of hypermobility with ad/hd? my son and i are both hypermobile, i have a diagnosis of add, and i suspect he also has it, but currently he has diagnosis of asd.

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[g.laiya]

i found this post searching for information about other’s experience with tolerance. i remember having read a bit about this before even being diagnosed, but didn’t remember specifics. really i’m just not sure what’s going on with me. i’m taking adderall, not vyvanse, but am having difficulties again, especially in the morning.

basically i started adderall in august, after a few adjustments felt i was more or less satisfied. it made a huge difference in some ways, for example, the first day i was on the adjusted dose of 2caps of 20mg xr to be taken around 7/730 am, i was awake, alert, and able to function about an hour later…..for the first time in my life! i didn’t have the motivation i was hoping for right away, and procrastination is and was still an issue…but somewhat less..but definitely improvements – far less “multiple exits” from home, less missing exits/turns/signs while driving, improved emotional regulation while the med was active, and virtually no side effects or ones that were easily dealt with. later added 20 mg ir for afternoon so i had better coverage. so all in all was wanting to stick with it.

later, i found other positives starting to kick in, so was happy about progress that i was making in sort of spurts. though not very consistent, i was definitely functioning better overall. i also discovered the negative effect of increased stress on meds effectiveness, which for me makes it feel like the meds aren’t working, or to a much lesser extent.

i accepted that that’s just the way it is, and just did what i could to compensate – setting more alarms and such, trying not to take on any more than i have to….trying to maintain as much peace and calm as i could muster…and it would pass.

but then came another wrench in the works. a few weeks ago i had a sudden fever and chills, some nasal congestion and a little sore throat. nothing major,and the fever was gone by the next day.decided it was best to take it easy for a couple days anyway, as i was feeling really tired even though now i just had the residual congestion.

the problem is, that increased fatigue didn’t stop. i sleep right through the regular phone alarm that used to be sufficient, have to really drag myself out of bed to get my son to school, then pass out when i get back home.i set my “med alarm” for later so i can get a little extra sleep, but then find it hard to even get up just to take the med. on a few occasions i took an extra 10mg ir, which helped a lot temporarily. yesterday was really bad. after i took my son to school, i konked out on the couch. fortunately my husband and i were both off so i didn’t have to go to work, and he took care of the kids i did wake briefly to take my med i think around 10 or 11 am, then fell back to sleep until around 5pm – not even waking to eat or toilet – highly unusual for me. even in my pre-med days when i would all too often “nap” huge portions of my life away, i would still get up to eat and go to the bathroom. anyway so took my ir med then, even though it was a little late, because i needed to work with my son on his homework, and knew we had much to make up that was due today.

today i decided i’d take my regular morning dose at 8:30, and if by 9:30 or 10 i wasn’t awake/alert i’d try taking a 10mg ir, as an experiment. so it did help, still feel a bit fatigued, but at least didn’t sleep the whole day away, and was able to have a phone conversation with my boss while clear-headed.

now, while i don’t think it’s a big deal to add 1 more 10 mg tab to my daily meds, as in perhaps the dose i was taking before wasn’t quite ideal (which i sort of suspected anyway), on the other hand considering that it could be a tolerance issue (could that happen so fast?!) it does kind of freak me out. is it possible to develope some tolerance after so short a time? just a few months? or are the medication effects also so changable from just a mild infection?

anybody else have some experience and/or knowledge about this?

i will be seeing my psych in about a week or so, but hoping for some feedback from you guys before then.

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