ADHD/ADD... Does anybody else here have it?

I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I have ADD. Yikes... I when I was actively teaching I felt it was my duty to specialize and help my adhd kids or the ones with those tendencies. I did not learn that I had it until I was older. In my 40's. I just thought there was something off about how I would procrastinate and had difficulty staying on task. I struggle with things like keeping the house clean and I have to edit my writing on boards like this because I jump around so much. I bet when some of you read my post you are wondering why does she jump around so much. Now you know.

I follow a gal online who is a organization specialist and she has ADHD.

If you know somebody who has ADD or ADHD I hope you show them this post. I am shocked at how far we have come helping people with ADD to clean our homes. It is amazing.

I was mis-diagnosed with it, but later found out it was something else. I take meds for that, and they work. The ADD/ADHD meds did not work, and actually made things worse.

I managed to get through school, and earn a university degree in spite of the difficulty concentrating.

I do tend to procrastinate, but when I am up against a deadline, I seem to do my best work. The pressure seems to cause me to focus like a laser beam. When the proverbial $--- hits the fan, I seem to shift into a higher gear.

ADD/ADHD often has comorbidities, one of them being anxiety when you have no reason to be anxious. Do you have problems with that?

CD

Hey CD,
I have had ADD my whole life. When I was diagnosed with it I felt so relieved. I did not know why I had such a hard time focusing on task. As my journey began an ADD diagnosis was still in it"dark ages" stage. Research and coping skills were primitive. I had the honor of seeing a well known brain research doctor in my area. He took many pictures of my noggin. LOL My husband and kids and my mom supported me the whole time I was being diagnosed. She realized that she had it too but was never formally diagnosed with it. We tried to go back and think of all our family members who had symptom and yep the signs were all there. My cousins had it too. My cousin had it too. It is very prevalent in my family. One of my sons has it. He was formally diagnosed and my cousin to whom I refer, both her sons have it. Both were formally diagnosed.
I used to work with a really cool special ed teacher one of her students would come to my classroom everyday to be around all of the "normal" kids. I got pretty close to her and we had many enlightening talks. She helped me by teaching my lots of coping skills for my ADD. She and I both helped my son with his ADD proclivities. Her famous saying is this. She heard it all through her education by many profs and docs. "We" all have something. That means everybody on this planet has some kind of learning disability or mental insufficiencies.

CD wrote:

"ADD/ADHD often has comorbidities, one of them being anxiety when you have no reason to be anxious. Do you have problems with that?"

I have anxiety too but it has to do with depression not my ADD. I think that you are correct about them existing "at the same time".

You have to understand that ADD/ADHD are in shades not black and white. No two people have the same ADD experience. Mine is extremely light but still there. I don't take meds because they don't get along with my physiology. LOL I just gut it out.

mseaglecook said:

I have anxiety too but it has to do with depression not my ADD. I think that you are correct about them existing "at the same time".

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Anxiety disorders and clinical depression often go hand-in-hand. They are often treated with the same meds (SSRI). You can have both, or just one of them, but my understanding is that they are both closely related from a physiology position. I'm not a doctor, I just know what works for me.

The meds used to treat ADD/ADHD are not something I'd recommend to my friends, so if you can cope without them, do that.

CD

I and my doctor don't do meds for ADHD. I gave them to my son and wow he could concentrate beautifully. The side effects and what it does to the body are just not enough for me to take the risk. He and I took the meds for a couple of months and it was just not for us. I am not knocking anyone who takes them. They are just not for us. I am also not a fan of SSRIs. They have way too many bad side effects. Everyone can cope with these problems you just have to work at it. You have to be very self-aware, know your strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly. Also one thing I learned if more than one person is telling me I am acting stupid. Then ding, ding, it is time to look at myself fearlessly, figure out what I am doing wrong and do a serious reset.

All part of being a human being on planet earth.

I thought I would post a picture of an ADHD brains so people could see the differences in a normal person and an ADD person. The normal brain is on the left and ADHD brain is on the right.

mseaglecook said:

I and my doctor don't do meds for ADHD. I gave them to my son and wow he could concentrate beautifully. The side effects and what it does to the body are just not enough for me to take the risk. He and I took the meds for a couple of months and it was just not for us. I am not knocking anyone who takes them. They are just not for us. I am also not a fan of SSRIs. They have way too many bad side effects. Everyone can cope with these problems you just have to work at it. You have to be very self-aware, know your strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly. Also one thing I learned if more than one person is telling me I am acting stupid. Then ding, ding, it is time to look at myself fearlessly, figure out what I am doing wrong and do a serious reset.

All part of being a human being on planet earth.

I thought I would post a picture of an ADHD brains so people could see the differences in a normal person and an ADD person. The normal brain is on the left and ADHD brain is on the right.

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I have been taking a low dose of SSRI for over twenty years for an anxiety disorder. It is hard to "cope" with something that you can't comprehend.

I do not like taking meds for anything. But, when I started taking the low dose of SSRI, it was an amazing thing. For me, it was a "Wow, so this is what normal feels like" kind of feeling. My family, friends and coworkers noticed a difference, too.

As much as I avoid meds, sometimes they are what you need.

CD

caseydog said:

I have been taking a low dose of SSRI for over twenty years for an anxiety disorder. It is hard to "cope" with something that you can't comprehend.

I do not like taking meds for anything. But, when I started taking the low dose of SSRI, it was an amazing thing. For me, it was a "Wow, so this is what normal feels like" kind of feeling. My family, friends and coworkers noticed a difference, too.

As much as I avoid meds, sometimes they are what you need.

CD

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Oh CD,
I am so glad that you were able to overcome your anxiety. What an accomplishment. I know you are proud of yourself too and it has made you into such a strong together person. I love a good success story.

I know I yap yap about meds but that is not to say that I don't think people should take them when they are needed and that medications are bad. They are not. They help many people improve their quality of life. That is the most important thing.

dragnlaw said:

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Well... a bottle of wine is a form of "medication."

CD

oh dear, then I'm on very heavy medication, but I'll take it.