[Bill]

@larynxa Yes, Wellbutrin is used as an antidepressant, but we need to be clear that it’s not an SSRI. It works on the dopamine system, not serotonin. Ritalin also works on dopamine. That’s the chemical link.

Wellbutrin is used to help in smoking cessation (approved by the FDA http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC314381/ i.e. not off-label). My understanding is that it helps with impulse control, also helpful for ADHD.

I do not have comorbid depression. I know because my first diagnosis, many years ago now, was depression. I was on antidepressants for a couple of years, without success. I just have ADHD.

My experience for the past several weeks has been that the combination of Wellbutrin and Ritalin is much more effective for me than just increasing the Ritalin dosage.

Anyone else on this combination?

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[Bill]

Good question, MarieAngell. It’s not that something specific happened. I have looked at ADHD coaching before, but I’m skeptical (and cheap!)

I spent a fair amount of time googling Bonnie and found someone who has been doing this a long time, had put good resources out on the internet and whose price was affordable.

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[Bill]

“ADHD causes restlessness, mood swings, impatience and an inability to deal with stress”

hunh?

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[Bill]

I’m a big fan of MyLife Organized. It’s the only to-do list that I have stuck with. I use it mostly on my PC, but the actual to-do list synchs with my smartphone.

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[Bill]

I have added another free specifically designed for the busy, restless mind here: http://totallyadd.com/forum/topic.php?id=3026

Bill

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[Bill]

Update – I am continuing to use MLO and have now purchased it for my PC and smartphone. I am a consultant and project manager (perfect ADHD career choice, I know!) and really need to juggle multiple projects for multiple clients, as well as remembering the milk.

It has a LOT of features, but what I like is that I can just get the stuff into the package any which way and then organize it later. So, I set up the task on my phone when I think of it, and organize it when I’m back at my desk.

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[Bill]

Has anyone else combined Wellbutrin with Ritalin?

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[Bill]

Hi Amy,

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I’m interested in the other products out there (particularly while I’m still in the 30 day free trial period!)

Bill

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[Bill]

A couple of months ago, I attended a lecture by a Toronto psychiatrist on ADHD at the Toronto meetup. He was very critical of both the number of over-medicated and undiagnosed kids. He said that the poster child for ADHD used to be the boy who couldn’t sit still. What he has found is that it’s more likely a smart young woman who does very well in high school, but whose life falls apart in university, when she no longer has the support of a highly structured environment and clear expectations. That was exactly what I experienced. I was awarded “Best Graduating Student” in high school and then got 30% on my first mid-term exam. The psychiatrist went on to say that he had found Ritalin to be effective in only about half of his adult patients, but when he combined it with Wellbutrin, it worked for the other half. I talked to my doctor about this idea and she agreed. It has made a profound difference in my life. I hope it’s not a forever thing, but right now, it’s really helping me control my focus.

I noticed a difference after about 3 days, which surprised me, since the rule of thumb for antidepressants is at least 2 weeks. But the psychiatrist also said that when combined with Ritalin, the Wellbutrin increases impulse control, instead of acting as an anti-depressant. After being on this combination for a while now, I was back for a check up. The doctor said, “Your blood pressure is down, your weight is down and your resting pulse is down. You must be doing something right.”

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[Bill]

Hi Everyone,

Been a while since I posted here, but I installed a new organizer a little while ago and it’s the only one that I have gone back to and continued to use. It’s called My Life Organized http://www.mylifeorganized.net/

My problem with to-do lists is how they keep growing. I would see one thing and that would spark two or three others, until the whole thing got overwhelming. What I like about this system is that you enter everything, organized however you want. You then assign contexts (like work or personal) to them and rate them on importance and urgency. The system then creates the to-do list. The power comes when you filter the list by context, so that you see only the work items or the personal items. Then it’s not so overwhelming.

As was said above, the trick is to look at it every day. I’m still working on that!

Bill

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[Bill]

Stress or anxiety can worsen this issue, making it harder to find that word. Just being worried that you won’t find the word, paradoxically makes it harder to find. If there is an emotional issue tied up in this problem, it may need to be addressed separately.

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[Bill]

The ADHD way to do laundry. I typically do the laundry over the weekend. My rule is that every time I walk by the laundry room, I have to move the laundry to the next step, i.e. fold it, transfer a load to the dryer and start the next load. Over the course of the weekend, the whole laundry gets done. I can’t tell you exactly when, but it all gets done. It does seem odd to others in the family that I will go to get something simple, like a light bulb, and not come back for 15 minutes, but they have gotten used to me.

I do my ironing while watching the TV. That way it’s fun, because I don’t allow myself much TV time.

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[Bill]

Yes, I had an epiphany a little while ago. Over the past decade, I have been chasing diagnoses (originally diagnosed as depressed) and treatments, going to see counselors and reading books. Someone online was pushing me to try something “new”. I searched for it on this web site and found a discussion where a lot of doubt about it was expressed. I couldn’t help thinking, “Here we go again.”

Instead, I decided to take a big sheet of paper and write down everything that I KNOW about how I act, think, believe and behave. It wasn’t a long list. It came down to ENFP (Myers Briggs), ADHD, and a desire to please people. I mapped out all of the things that flowed from those core traits, the good, the bad and the ugly, in the context of my life. Then I looked at what I needed to compensate for weaknesses.

I realized that ADHD was there, but it’s not the thing that’s ruining my life. It’s actually fairly easy to compensate for with medication, technology and self-awareness. It was actually my job that needed to change and for the first time, I know myself well enough to know what will work and what won’t.

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[Bill]

My experience is similar to ipsofacto’s, except that the vehicle for me was hypnosis. In practice, meditation, guided visualization, mindfulness and hypnosis overlap to a large extent.

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[Bill]

EJ – Marriage is a VERY stressful time for so many people. This may have NOTHING to do with your ADHD, and everything to do with the pressures on two people about to make a commitment for the rest of their lives.

I was married 26 years ago and I remember the drama before my wedding like it happened yesterday. My first argument with my fiancee, almost asking my best man to step down, drama around who’s invited to what and what everyone is going to wear, etc. etc. etc.

You and your girlfriend need a moment to breathe. You need time to cool off and re-think things. Consider postponing the wedding, whatever you have to do to take the pressure off. Remember the wonderful qualities you saw in each other.

Start it off by being frank about who you are. If I were you, I would forget labels like ADHD and talk about yourself in simple terms. If you have trouble talking about feelings, say so. If you are the person who SHOWS their love instead of talking about it, say so. But above all, listen to her, not just to her comments about you. You actually might not be her real concern. There may be something else that is really worrying her. In my case, my fiancee’s issues were more with her future mother-in-law than her future husband. Do what you can to be on her side, so that it’s the two of you facing this challenge together.

Bill

PS Real life does have happy endings. We are still married, despite the pre-wedding drama and my ADHD.

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