Adult ADD - McKinney,TX

I am right there with you, I self medicate with video games and caffeine .
My house will never be clean because it is so overwelming. I am the definition of scattered brained.
I've tried the medication route, I kept forgetting to take it.

Oh yeaahhh meds slower your immune system, I guess that is why I am never sick. :(

About the most encouraging thing I can see is people don't know I have ADD unless I tell them. :) I am also the first person you go to if you want to make sure things get done and done right. In other words it is very manageable.

Loving M, I have it and I found Happymom's comment far more offensive. You can't have ADD and not know you have the capability to annoy at a level no normal person can. :) Oh if you need me to explain the diet/natural people are just one more person saying this is within our control, it is not. It is not sugar or anything in our diet, we cannot make it go away if we just try harder, we have a disorder!

How about driving to my daughter's school and ending up at the grocery store and not knowing why.
Driving off the road to see a herd of cows and rolling down the windows and mooing at said cows, from the ditch.
Having 15,000 projects started and none finished, like my son's room, which has been half painted since last August.
Running into plate glass windows because I was looking at the tv in the mall, seriously. My kids call ADHD --- ADOS --- attention deficit ooooo shiny
Not being able to focus on what people are saying for more than a few seconds. My mind wanders when I listen to people
Try teaching Algebra and Pre Algebra, or Grammar, thank goodness for short lessons and jingles.
Going to Girl Scouts on the wrong day, four times this year.
MIssing dr's appts all the time
I spend hours playing a stupid bubbles game in my phone.
Impulse buys are really hard,
I tend to act first and think later.

You are not alone. But until my son was diagnosed I thought it was just how most people saw life, my dad is ADHD, my son, my daughter, my hubby to an extent.
Organize what you can.
Have a place for your keys, always put your keys in that spot.
Learn to shovel when people come to visit, dishwashers are great for hiding things.
Are you sure it's ADD? Did they check thyroid activity? My thyroid is out of whack and the symptoms you stated are all related to that for me.
My ADHD gets me in trouble on days when there is a great big woodpecker in the church yard. Woodpeckers are so cool, in CA I would watch the peacock.

May I suggest the book, "You Mean I'm Not Crazy, Lazy, or Stupid,"
http://www.amazon.com/Stupid-Self-Help-Attention-Deficit-...

And http://www.additudemag.com/

Sending coffee and hugs :-)

ETA I was recently diagnosed with ADHD-c. The diagnosis is a lot for me to digest. Mostly I feel upset that I didn't know sooner. For so long I felt different (I am) but I thought if I just tried harder to fit into what I think 'normal' looks like, that I could achieve it. I can't. It was like trying to tear down a wall with a feather duster.

For me it's been helpful to know the ways that ADHD-c creates difficulty in my life (and find ways to work around those difficulties). More so, it's helpful for me to understand how my brain disorder is an asset. The way I think can be VERY frustrating and exhausting, but also wonderful and exhilarating (keeps me up at night it's so exciting!)

ADHD/ADD isn't bad or wrong. It's just different than neurotypical. And that's okay. It takes all kinds for this world to run and evolve.

I've not yet tried any Rx for ADHD yet. My psychiatric nurse practitioner started me on an SSRI a few months ago which has helped me with anxiety and sleep. I use caffeine and nicotine (both stimulates) too. We'll see. I have a long path ahead of me and I'm not sure where it goes just yet.

Best of luck to you. You will find your niche!

This is most likely a condition called adrenal fatigue. It is caused by low hormones. It has simply been relabeled ' ADD' several years back.You will notice 30 or 40 years ago there were no such cases of 'ADD'. But we did know what hypoglycemia or hypo/hyper-thyroid or Addison's was and that was a typical diagnosis. Adrenal fatigue will cause all those listed problems you mentioned, which typically have a root in blood sugar problems because adrenals control blood sugar... and if you look up hypoglycemia, and adrenal fatigue,and Addisons syndrome on the web, you will probably notice that you have alot of other health symptoms on the lists , that you may not have thought were related. Many ADD medications actually alter adrenal hormones, and increase cortisol, and mess with/increase serotonin, most people dont know that. Depression is a typical sign of an underlying adrenal disorder which also affects thyroid. Depression, Skitsophrenia, Bipolar, Aspergers,Autism, ..and even thyroid Issues, all have ROOTS in an underlying adrenal /hormonal problem.

Cortisol is a stress hormone released by the adrenal gland. When something is stressful, the body is suppose to pump out more cortisol so that you can 'cope'.. When someone is in adrenal fatigue, there is not enough hormone coming out of the gland so the person will easily feel overwhelmed, aggitated, unable to handle events that should not seem that stressful, have crying jags, and can even become manic,perpetually swinging from good moods to bad mood quite quickly.Some have a 'nervous breakdown'. Memory issues are always a problem in adrenal disease. Short term memory loss especially, and the ability to recall the names of things you use every day. That is because the lack of blood sugar to the brain, and in some people also a lack of oxygen to the brain due to low blood volume.

There are TWO ways the amazingly complex body communicates with itself- the pathways of the nervous system, and the hormonal pathways. These two systems control -every function- in the entire body. They also cross paths, so if there is a lack of proper hormones , theer will be central nervous system dysfunction.

Gail
11 year medical researcher.

Hi - not to nitpick, but because you're going to be living with this, it may be helpful to know that "ADD" is not used as an acronym anymore. The newer term is ADHD-i (for primarily inattentive, vs. -c for combination or -h for primarily hyperactive).

My husband and oldest son both have ADHD-i. My middle son is starting to display some symptoms of the primarily hyperactive type. My oldest son may be starting stimulant medication soon, which is the most effective type of medication for various types of ADHD that are not complicated by other mood disorders. Stimulant medication enters and exits your system quickly, so unless you have a heart condition or some other complications that would prevent you from taking a stimulant medication, that would probably be the first thing to try in terms of medication. My husband has tried a variety of stimulants, but he also has cyclothymia (mild bi-polar depression) so for him, the mood stabilizer that he takes for that works best without complicating things with stimulants. There's a lot of trial and error involved with figuring out what will help you, but keep at it.

My husband and son definitely function better with optimal diet, nutritional supplements, and exercise but those are expensive, time-consuming and not a cure. My son gets lots of support at home and school, and my husband has me to worry about the details at home. At work, he has to establish routines and never veer from them in order to stay on top of things. Because my son has lived with this diagnosis for half of his life (dxd at 7, now 14) he is very open about his limitations and strengths and takes things in stride. He jokes about his "ADD in action" moments when he forgets things, loses things, gets lost going from one room to another. He uses his cell phone to set alarms and reminders for himself.

Now that you know what you're dealing with, I hope that you find relief and support. Perhaps engage your husband or an organized friend to help you organize your important things in a simple way that works for you. Both my husband and son are very visual, so I use lots of color coding and don't hide things in bins or behind closed doors. Everything needs to be out in the open otherwise it's out of sight, out of mind. If, with the help of a friend or your husband, you set up an area that works for you (maybe a desk, or a spot where you keep your calendar and bills, etc.) TAKE A PICTURE of it when it's organized the way that you like and print the picture out nice and big and put it somewhere you can refer back to for when things get out of place and you get overwhelmed and can't remember how to put things back to where they worked for you.

Wow, I'm sorry I don't have any adivse for you. I just wanted to point out that I think Cheryl is being completely insensitive. As if you don't have enough on your plate, you come here for support and get ridiculed by a fellow poster.

I hope you can get the medication you need (either natural or Rx) to give you some peace and help you organize your thoughts and life so you can provide a stable home for your kid(s). They will benefit most from your treatment of ADD, as I'm sure they need your patience as well as your assistance in remembering school work and activities. Your kids will need a parent who can handle their stuff on top of your own.

I applaud you for seeking a diagnosis as an adult. I think a lot of adults ignore it or think it's only a kid thing, and don't take the steps you have to help themselves. Cheers.

Hi! Please try something natural before medication, or along with medication! Medication slowers your immune system. You can check it out here: http://igreennutrition.com/health-issues/attention-defici.... Fantastic information! Try to contact them, I'm sure you'll be happy!
wishing you loads of luck!

I dont think it's a disorder that requires medication.
I think it's a person being "who they are".
I think society, as a whole, is unaccepting to people being who they are.
The happy, carefree people that do what they want to do when they want to do it, and live in the moment are looked down upon and labeled.
It's ridiculous.

im not sure if i have it or not, but i am distracted very very easily. Sometimes with me it helps to have more than one thing getting done at once. Its sorta of a I'm bored with this, but then i move on to something else productive.. i learned that trick in public school.. but it took a couple years to figure it out right.
I hope this helps... Just try to find things that occupy your mind, like music that takes your mind elsewhere, or a tv show or movie, that isn't completely interesting, but kind of interesting just enough to take that nagging "I'm bored!!" feeling go away.
hope this helps

I understand 100 percent.
There is a book I read a long time ago. The author's last name was Nadeau. I can look it up for you. I highly rec it. Our library has it.
Depending on your age, peri-menopause can be a whirlwind, too.