Hello my name is Sandy and I am a 45 year old with sever ADHD. If your Dr does not want to consider stimulant meds than find another one,preferably a psychiatrist with experience treating adults with ADHD. Dont get discouraged just take it in stride and find a Dr. who will work with you.Good luck.

Hi Dennis,

I am 46 yr's old and I have severe ADD.  I wasn't diagnosed until about 9 years ago.  Growing up, attending college, working, etc., I knew something was not right but always thought I was simply just not as intelligent as others.  I attended the University of Virginia (excellent college & reputation), just like high school and everything else, I knew it was more difficult for me and I had to study much longer than others.  I would literally highlight  everything in my books many colors.  I would start off reading and felt everything was important, plus I couldn't remember what I had just read, so I had to highlight about 90% of all words yellow.  Every time I picked up the same book, I would read the yellow highlights and then use a different color to highlight about 60 to 75% of the yellow making it a strange color, and so on and so on.  No one wanted my books b/c of the mess I created in all of them.  I often felt like I was just dumb, often sad b/c things were much more difficult and challenging for me, and I would even cry and ask the Lord why?  Why did He ever allow me to be accepted into a school that was out of my league?  I could not stay focused and had severe memory / concentration problems.  My last year there, I made all A's & B's! It wasn't until I was about to graduate that I realized I really wasn't the dumb person I had thought.  Then, I started in the real world of working, no way to keep a job if you can't remember what your told to do and much more!  I remember often getting up from my desk to go and use our copy machine and before I got there, I had already forgot what it was that I was going to do.  God forbide anyone stop and ask me a question when I was about to do something, b/c if they did, it made it even more difficult for me to get back to what I was doing.  I was very good at covering things up and learned to be very creative with how I often had to respond to questions & more, especially when it was about a previous conversation with a co-worker or boss.  I have a son who has severe ADHD & more.  While trying to support his needs and get him good quality care, I realized I too needed to be tested for ADD or ADHD.  I guess it was just a coincident that I had been working in mental health for years and still had not been able to put it all together for myself.  I have tried most of the medications there are for ADD, and I have always gone back to Adderall.  Currently I am taking 60mg am and another 60mg at noon.  I have taken higher doses and sometimes feel I need my dose increased, but I know there are also risks with taking any medication, but especially when taking too high of a dosage.  There has been some contraversy in the media about stimulants, especially adderall.  Some studies made comments about possibility of long term usage causing heart problems.  I had an echocardiogram (?) done on my heart about a year ago and the results were all normal.  I continue to struggle with my ADD and have developed an attitude to just do the best I can, go with the flow of things, accept I am different as far as my style of thinking, and be very careful when making decisions that affect not only myself but my entire family.  I may have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do particular jobs, but through experience I have learned my ADD affects my work and as a result I know what I can and can't do, therefore; even though I may have wanted to be an adminstrator or the top dog at some company, I know for sure my inability to concentrate and remain focused would lead to a termination.  ADD affects all aspects of a persons life and it's important to know and understand this.  We have to learn how to cope by being creative and planning ahead.  We cannot use it as a crutch, we have to remain optimistic and cont. to set high goals;  and also remember it is different for everyone and some have more limitations than others.  We are who and what we are!

I'm very wordy and detailed oriented, cannot help it, so sorry for going on and on.  My ADD is so severe that when I do get very stressed, it is even much more difficult for me.  I was convinced about a year ago that I may have early alzheimers disease.  My wife even made comments about my memory and often wanted to know what was wrong.  Of course that didn't help the matter.  I was tested for alzheimer's disease by a neurologist and was told it was just from being overly stressed.  Often, I still cannot recall the name of a movie I have just watch and on top of that, after watching a movie and then later seeing previews to it, I could not tell you if I had ever watch it let along what happened in it. 

Because of my long history of dealing with memory / attention issues for my son & myself, the medication changes, issues with physicians, and knowledge from social work / mental health employment, I recommend the following:

*Be very careful when choosing a good physician.  I believe it is better to see a psychiatrist who specializes in dealing with ADD / ADHD, rather than a primary care physician.  Once you get the right medicine and things are going well, then a primary care physician could possibly replace the other. 

*Also, don't believe everything you read or hear about a particular physician.  My wife and I felt like we were ready to just give up on our son ever getting any better.  If we had not been close, I don't believe our marriage would have lasted.  When our son was just 6 yr's old, he had already been seeing a psychiatrist for a little over a year.  We were so stressed & desperate for help.  There was and still is a particular physician who always had big articles in the local newspaper about his work, specialty, etc., providing the best treatment, care, medications, etc. for ADD / ADHD.  We took our son to him and as a result, our son ended up on a childrens hospital psych unit for a little over a week b/c he had been overdosed by a combination of too many medications.  This was just befor Christmas and I had noticed he was walking diffenently while shopping at the mall.  At first I thought it was just for attention and after just a couple of minutes, I knew something was wrong.  I had to carry him out of the mall b/c he could not walk at all!  After his short stay in the hospital, we did not ever return to visit the quack physician and returned to my son's previous doctor.  My son is now 21 yr's old and still sees the same physician.  I know his work is good, and we have an excellent relationship.

*You are the only one who really knows how the medication is working for you.  No two patients are alike just like with any other disorder. All medications do not work the same for everyone.  I know exactly what I need and I am always very up front about it with my doctor.  Physicians are very careful when prescribing stimulants and they should be.  Not all physicians would prescribe my current dosage, and to think that I have even been on a much higher dose. 

*Adderall is great! Without it I'm lost.  I have tried the extended release, it was okay but I like the standard and the generic form does well for me.

*When trying a different medication, you must give it some time, plus environmental factors can play a big role in your decision process.  When a person is stressed or has too many things going on in their life at the same time, it's difficult to know how a medication is really doing.

*These are just my thoughts, my intentions are to just provide you with information, not to persuade you to follow my suggestions nor recommendations.

I wish you the best in your journey and I hope things go very well for you.

twin4life

9/23/08 6:41pm

Hi Dennis,

 

If it weren't for Adderal we'd be divorced!!!

 

My husband has ADHD. He too was put on Ritilan in elementary school. He said he spent most of his elementary years in the office.  The teachers wouldn't give him a chance. Unfortunately once he was labelled it stuck. But as long as the office kept him busy helping out with coping, stapling etc. he was content.  Then his 6th grade teacher looked at him as a chalenge. She saw thru the problems and set out to prove to others he was worthwhile. He then was put in a remedial math class in the 7th grade. And, once again he was blessed with another teacher who saw his potential. They both knew he just needed to be chalenge and kept busy and he wouldn't disturb the class. His math teacher gave him a trumpet and a tennis racquet and told him to try them out and when he was done with them, just to give them back, no questions asked. He never returned them. He went on to earn full ride scholarships to first, a Jr. college and then a private college where he played on both tennis teams. When he finished college, he could have gone on to become a professional tennis player or trumpet player.  He credits both those teachers for saving his life, literally. His family told me that had it not been for those teachers, he would have been behind bars or dead by the time he turn 21. He went on to teach tennis professionally to other kids and thrives on giving kids the ability to channel their energy creatively. It's been over 25 yrs since he began teaching and still loves it every day.

 

We are now proud parents of a son who has just started college and struggles with ADHD, Depression and Anxiety. Our daughter just started high school and suffers from ADD, OCD, Depression and Anxiety and I suffer from a combination of them all. We are all on various medications and found that they all work differently on each of us.  We have all been on med's for years and they need to be adjusted from time to time. We continue to see our phycriatric ever few months for follow ups. 

 

Life is a constant battle to live with ADHD and deal with life and the communities in which we live in. So many people don't really understand it or don't believe it really exists.

 

My husband didn't even believe he had ADHD or his son. He was against taking our son to see a pyschiatrist for evaluation. He just thought he was overly active and needed stricter disipline. We fought about it constantly.  I knew better. I believe if it weren't for Adderal, our son would have committed suicide before he finished high school. In the 4th grade I began noticing him enjoying less and less of the things he used to love. I took pictures to document his facial changes over that year because everyone told me I was nuts. Finally one day he broke down and told me he couldn't go on. He had put on a front for so long and could no longer focus at all. He said he'd sit in class and watch the teacher's mouth move and not hear anything.

 

I called the school psycologist and he recommend a fantastic psychatrist. He said he specialized in ADHD and I should do every thing posible to get in to see him. The doctor was not accepting new patients. I pleaded with the appt. scheduler and finally got in. He saved our sons life and eventually talked to my husband about it.

 

Our son talked to him about his dad and we realized my husband could benefit from treatment as well. With proding, he agreed to try Adderal and it was like night and day. Over night he became more patient and understanding, the agruing subsided and life was so much better. He realised that he worked so hard being patient with his students that by the time he got home, he had nothing left over to give. We truly feel that if he hadn't gone on Adderal, we'd be divorced by now. We just celebrated our 20th Anniversary. And, although everythings not always perfect, we have the desire and patience to work through everything.

 

My husband has experimented at times with not taking his med's. He thinks becuase everything is going so well, he can control his frustrations on his own and no one would know the difference. The kids and I can tell right away if he hasn't taken it and he's put in a stressful situation,  and we call him on it. He's always amazed that 99.9% of the time we're right, he hasn't taken his med's.

 

So, keep trying, don't give up. If it doesn't feel right and the doctor's not listening, move on. Life is too short to be unhappy.  I always say, it's the Quality of Life that counts - Not the Quantity!!

I am in the process of having my son tested for ADHD(16yr). He has had symptoms since birth? and I've always been persuaded to not put him on drugs, that he is only borderline, if that and the drugs would have worse side effects than dealing with his LD and symptoms. He has just been put on Stratterra and it's not doing much for him either. He is calmer and more layed back, but it isn't helping him focus, concentrate or with his distractions/organization, etc. at school. He's gone from 25mg to 80mg as of yesterday, which has only been about 4wk. I have heard really bad things about the side effects of Adderall, Ritalin, etc. He has experienced difficulty in sleeping and a mild lightheadedness ea. time his med is increased but goes away in about a week as more meds get in his system. I've expressed my concern with the other drugs to my dr. and she seems to be listening and trying to put him on what I'm comfortable with. I think if you just explain to the dr. that this med. isn't working for you and that Ritalin did years ago, they would listen. After all, you're not trying to get them to add anything, just change what you're on. They say that if a drug is going to work, it will very soon and if it isn't, you may as well try something else. From what I can tell, all the drugs are very similar in what they do, but affects different parts of the brain. I'd definately voice my opinion...it's your well being and that's what the dr. is there for. Only you know how you feel and if it's working. Good luck!

This is not to imply that the doctor you have is inept, only that he is not the right one for this particular situation.  If necessary, call the Outpatient Psychiatry unit in your local hospital (University Hospitals seem to be always on the ball about new meds) and schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist who treats adults with ADD.  These doc's are specially trained to help people manage ADD with medication and therapy.  There you will find doctors who definitely believe that ADD is a real disorder and one that responds to medication.  Best of luck!  Things will get better - you just have to be persistent until you get the help you need.

By the way, my husband and son have ADHD.  My husband takes meds, and my son seems to muddle through, not wanting to take any meds (he is 20 years old and thinks he is invincible).  Things are better with the right meds.

I am a single father with a 10 year old son who has ADHD and is showing mild symptoms of RAD(Reactive Attachment Disorder). When I was married we adopted him at 21 months old from Russia and have no knowledge of his background. We are no longer married and I now have my son full time 24/7 so I completely understand what you are going through.

Yes there are challenges every day. Yes there are days where it seems like it appears as if nothing was learned or we are going backwards in the learning development area and yes at times it is very frustrating.

   There are days when I absolutely refuse to give up. (I think you know what I mean). There has never been a day where I did and there never will be that day. I am very strong willed, positive and like others keep researching in hopes there is something that will make his life just a little bit easier therefore making my life a lot easier.

   I very close friend of mine shared something with me that helped me tremendously and kept me away from the anti depressant drugs. I have shared this with others and now they no longer feel the need to use those. I always wanted to, and still do, try to find ways where my son will not need his medications and I have heard of a few success stories. My son does not like taking his medications but he does realize how beneficial they are in helping him stay focused and in control.

   After I started using this all natural, organic system (which is the easiest thing to do and tastes great) I immediately noticed the difference in me and started to do some research on how it might affect my son. I met another man, Peter G, who told me his son had suicidal ADHD and in 5 days of using this system, his son was no longer suicidal. My son is not suicidal but I was very interested in the other positive effects such as better energy and focus, control, better sleep, better thought patterns and a more positive outlook on life. I started my son on this program (he still takes his meds) and amazingly in 5 days he was a different person. At first I really didn't believe it so I gave it some more time and the results were consistant.

    I am so excited that there is something out there that is all natural and really works. His teachers, therapist and doctor all notice a major difference.

     He now is the kid at school that the other kids want to know. I hear boys and girls, even the ones who are not in his class all calling his name to say hi or goodbye. They want his acknowledgement. He now even has a "girlfriend" and does not care what others (bullies) say. He defends others and I am very proud of him. He even has befriended a boy with special needs who the bullies just mistreat terribly and he is picked on for that. I tell him he is doing the right thing and he knows it because he feels good.

     What I have learned and been given is a GIFT!

I share this Gift because I have been blessed with it for me to give to others. This worked for me and my son and I have seen it works for thousands including people with Downs Syndrome. I have seen things that could be classified as nothing short of a miracle.

If you are interested in learning more about this I will be more than happy to share it with you and anyone you think might benefit from this too.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me through email then we can set a time to talk. There is too much info to type.

Harry Diamond

applebarnharry@gmail.com