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agnoscet….
hahahahaha!! I can’t even tell you how many times I hear that muffled sound while I’m driving with my kids in the van. I am slowly not feeling as guilty about it as I once did, but I just say politely, “I’m sorry guys, but can you please explain and help me understand?” instead of saying, “I didn’t hear a damn thing you just said because my brain is a million miles away right now”. I remember as a kid when my mom would attempt to talk to me about deep-seated things, I would be off in la-la land, and I would try to answer with a yes or a no, and sometimes I would get it wrong, and the tone of her voice when I got it wrong shot me back to reality real quick!!!
@jenetically….
thank you kindly for that reply. I have read it over a million times to let it all soak in. I have tried also to live by that rule of “good enough”. My hubby is a neat freak, and so it creates issues sometimes, but he’s still here after 10 years and I haven’t changed a bit!! lol. I don’t want to spend all my free time cleaning my house and for what?? The ppl who I associate with and my friends understand who I am. I figure if they don’t like my house for what it is, then I guess we aren’t meant to be friends. It is what it is. I have 3 small kids, plus I work full time, and I have this weird thing with laundry that I won’t let anyone wear the same clothes twice without washing them first. It creates a ton of laundry for me, but I don’t care. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to let that one go. Ocassionally I will let someone use a towel twice, if the kids have only used it for 2 seconds, but even then I am acutely aware that its a used towel. I wonder if ADD is sometimes associated with OCD?? I’m betting it is. Thanks again.
Has anyone read the book by Dr. Gabor Mate called Scattered Minds? It is amazing and it was the first book or the first little bit of information which lead me on my ADD journey. I found myself in this book.
Again, thanks everyone for being you. I love this little place I have found.
always,
g
REPORT ABUSEYou guys rock!!! Never ever before have I felt so completely understood……what a major difference it makes to know that I am not alone in my struggles……and the things that I am afraid to admit are right here on this page!!!
I stopped over at a friend’s house tonight on my way home because my hubby was there, and this friend’s mother is someone I know I could never ever be. Not that I wanna be someone else, but I mean…..seriously. She wakes up at 4:00, takes the dogs for walks, cleans her house, makes lunches, and then goes to work. Then, she comes home, cleans again, and I don’t mean clean like what I do with a broom and a dustpan, I mean like “clean” clean….lol. She cooks all these amazing suppers, and she is always offering us food, drinks, whatever……you name it. Plus, her house is so neat and tidy and clean that it just makes me feel even more like…..UGH!!! Why can’t I do that?? Yeah, ok, I know……I work full time and I have 3 kids under the age of 7, and I hate cooking, and I am unorganized and lack the skill of prioritizing…….bet seriiously!!!
Whew…..anyway…..look at me I’ve gone off track……Thanks again everyone!! So glad to be a part of this!!
Always,
g
REPORT ABUSEHi Carrie…
I too have an AWESOME husband, who totally gets me, and although he does get quite frustrated with me sometimes, I am completely convinced that there is no one else in this world that could put up with me as long as he has (10 years). Our children are the most forgiving beings on the planet!!
I havent been on this site for months, mainly because I too have been in denial. I bought the DVD, I watched it, I cried, and was so relieved that there were other people like me. Then, I decided I wanted to go off my meds, as I have a long-held disposition that I don’t want to take pharmaceutical medications. Let’s just say that lasted about 2 weeks, and that was 4 months ago, and it’s taken me about this long to get back on here and realize that hey, I am who I am, and I have ADD. I might as well get as much support as I can, and try to support those who might feel like I do, and did. I truly hope that more people take the time to learn about this disorder, open their minds and forget about everything they;ve heard about ADD, and instead of looking at us like scatter-brained forgetful nimrods……seeing us for who we are: truly passionate, intelligent people, who have tons to offer in this world but with a totally different and unique approach.
I am very cautious who I tell, who I choose to discuss it with, because at this point in my journey it is still so easy for me to be influenced by others’ opinions. I watched a documentary called “Marketing the Madness”, and although fascinating, it lead me to believe that the companies who make my meds are lying to me and that there really is nothing at all “wrong” with my brain that needs a mind-altering med to “fix” it. Now, I can speak from both sides of the fence. I have gone without my med, and it may just be something I take forever. I hope not, for health and side effect reasons, but for now its working for me, and I feel a sense of peace I have never felt before in my life.
Always,
g
REPORT ABUSEI would love to…..I’m in a little tiny rural town about 2 hours east of Toronto……but I would drive there. Of course, I would need my hubby to drive therefore he would have to join us.
REPORT ABUSE I can’t handle the chaotic-ness of the city….especially downtown.
Hi roachella…
Hope things are going better for you now. Being aware of my behaviours does make it more frustrating…….because yes, as you say, we’re trying to change them and then when they come up and completely take over it just feels so hopeless.
Life is a journey……..and as long as your’re trying to make it better…….and you’re doing the best you can do……than what else is there? I say that’s pretty awesome!!!
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I take a fish oil vitamin with the brand name Genuine Health…it’s called Omega 3 Joy. Genuine Health makes a few different formulas with the Omegas in it…..but I have found this one to be the most effective.
That being said, however, I still take Concerta and at this point in my life will not be giving it up anytime soon.
REPORT ABUSE In my humble opinion, fish oils (especially Omega 3’s) are very beneficial for anyone’s brain. But for it be as effective as the pharmaceuticals……I believe the amounts we take now (about 1200 mgs/day) is likely not nearly enough. If you ever do find your research and an alternative treatment…..please post your info. I’d love to know.
Thanks everyone! @ Roachella….I like what you said about looking at reorganizing the house as an ongoing project, rather than something which has a given amount of time to complete. I am going to try to look at my projects like that…..and maybe that way I won’t feel so driven all day to get them done…..and then hopefully be able to stop and smell the roses. I also really like using fake cuss words…..we do that a lot around here!!
We usually use “Oh, pickles!” As for a counselor…..I had one for about 6 years….he took me through a lot of yucky stuff from the past……and actually is the one who did the very first ADD assessment with me. But when I enlisted the help of my coach….I had to choose between my counselor and my coach (for financial reasons) and the coach won. I know that my counselor will always be available if I choose to contact him again. The good news of today is: I finally got my hubby to sit down and watch the Totally ADD dvd with me….and he said it really opened his eyes. yay!! We have a breakthrough!!!
Thanks again everyone.
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Hi Larynxa…..thanks for all of your info!! I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions…..
I have found this site to be awesome and it assures me that I am not alone in this!! I thought I’d post a quick update…..
I visited my psychiatrist yesterday, who confirmed that concerta should ONLY be taken in the morning, and definitely not in the afternoon. So instead of taking 36 mgs at 9 and at 5, I am now starting 54 mgs of the Concerta in the morning, and the Trazodone only if I need it. I also was given one of the Co-Pay assist program cards from Janssen-Ortho. So instead of paying 125 dollars, I only had to pay 65!!! That was awesome!!!!
Anyways, I hope that this works out better for me; my psych. seems to think so. Her words were “…..you will sleep better and your symptoms will be more leveled out throughout the day. ” I am going to try for a while to go without the Trazodone and hope that I don’t need it, because I do not like the after-effects of it. If I still end up with trouble sleeping….I will certainly take your advice and ask for a referral to a sleep disorder lab. Thanks again!!!!
REPORT ABUSEThanks guys…..
I have been cutting the Traz in half……as I have a tendency to stay up way too late and still have to get up with the kidlets. It still helps, and I feel less drowsy in the morning. I made the horrendous mistake of forgetting to take my 2nd Concerta (I remembered at 6:30 but decided that was a little too late to take it) and it was a very bad night. I was flying off the handle and so tired and dragging my feet. My poor children…..! Anyway….to describe my sleep issues a little more…..
The 2nd dose of Concerta gives me a wonderful boost of clarity and focus and energy (but does not take away my procrastination or distractibility) in order to cook supper, prepare kids for bed, etc. I take it usually at 5 p.m. If I take it earlier, the initial effect wears off too soon and bedtime becomes a nightmare. By 8:30 p.m., I am very exhausted after a long and busy day. By 10 p.m., however, I am wide awake. My coach and I came up with a plan to take the Traz at 10, go to bed, read, and then I’ll fall asleep at a good time. That was last Friday. This is a week and 2 days later, and I still haven’t gone to bed at 10.
I usually go up to bed sometime between 11-12, then take my Traz, and then read, and then fall asleep probably usually closer to 12:30 or 1. My kids are early risers and are almost always awake sometime between 7-8 a.m. So, (hey, look at those butterflies!) to get back to the point, I fall asleep rather easily, once I get there. I wake up usually ever 2 hours or so, and sometimes am able to go right back to sleep and sometimes I am not. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and feel like I didn’t really sleep at all. I will wake up at 4 quite often and feel tired but also wide awake, almost as if I didn’t really sleep yet. This was all before I became desperate and asked for something to help me sleep……..the trazodone has taken care of waking up in the middle of the night…….but I just feel that there is another answer. I don’t know….maybe it’s just wishful thinking. Perhaps I’m prone to sleep issues forever……and in reality, even long before I found out I had ADD, I had sleep issues. People always said to me….well the good thing is you’d be a good midnight shift worker!! So not true……I tried that (twice!) and totally and completely burned out both times. To wrap it up……I am seeing the diagnosing psychiatrist again on Tuesday…..and hope to clear some of this up.
To N……I do have very visual lucid dreams……and they almost always involve people and houses. At times, I have to remind myself that it is not true, and it didn’t really happen. But this is not from meds…..I have always had those. The meds for me have helped with the chatter as well, but I still have problems with procrastination, distractibility, disorganization…..who knows? I’ll keep you posted on the journey. I am only about 4 months into this whole world of ADD…..so I’m still learning and probably always will be!!
Cheers!!
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