I start counseling next week

[Scruffy]

As a child I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed ridalin, and I'm pretty sure I now have adult ADD. Now that I have decent medical insurance I can get tested and diagnosed, and hopefully start some sort of treatment. I'm worried drugs may be my only real option.

ADD impacts every aspect of my life. Relationships, work, recreation, everything.

I have a plenthora of major and minor symtoms, which I didn't realize were due to ADD until a few years ago. I thought I just had a bunch of unrelated problems.

I have:

-History of not living up to potential in school or work
-Short attention span, unless VERY interested in something
-Easily distracted, tendency to drift away
-Trouble listening carefully to directions
-Skips around while reading, or goes to the end first, trouble staying on track
-Tendency to be easily bored (tunes out)
-An internal sense of anxiety or nervousness
-Impatient, low frustration tolerance
-Frequent, impulsive job changes (in my case, VERY frequent)
-Poor organization, trouble maintaining an organized work/living area
-Chronic sense of underachievement
-Mood swings, prone to depression
-Trouble sustaining friendships or intimate relationships
-Lack of talking in a relationship
-Avoids group activities
-Tendency toward addictions (food, alcohol, drugs, work)
-Switches around numbers, letters or words
-Frequently feeling tired
-Poor listening skills
-Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started
-Chronic problems with self-esteem
-Work or schoolwork deteriorates under pressure

Ugh. I'm screwed. The only ADD symptoms I dont have are:

-Poor handwriting
-Turn words around in conversations
-Frequent Search For High Stimulation (bungee jumping, bar fights, ect)
-Verbally abusive to others
-Lying or stealing on impulse
-Frequent traffic violations
-History of bed wetting past age 5 (whew)

[Jade]

I have:

-History of not living up to potential in school or work
-Short attention span, unless VERY interested in something
-Easily distracted, tendency to drift away
-Trouble listening carefully to directions
-Skips around while reading, or goes to the end first, trouble staying on track
-Tendency to be easily bored (tunes out)
-An internal sense of anxiety or nervousness
-Impatient, low frustration tolerance
-Frequent, impulsive job changes (in my case, VERY frequent)
-Poor organization, trouble maintaining an organized work/living area
-Chronic sense of underachievement
-Mood swings, prone to depression
-Trouble sustaining friendships or intimate relationships
-Lack of talking in a relationship
-Avoids group activities
-Tendency toward addictions (food, alcohol, drugs, work)
-Switches around numbers, letters or words
-Frequently feeling tired
-Poor listening skills
-Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started
-Chronic problems with self-esteem
-Work or schoolwork deteriorates under pressure

Be sure to take this list with you to therapy. Some of the things you mention can also be indicative of a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder.

[Scruffy]

Be sure to take this list with you to therapy. Some of the things you mention can also be indicative of a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder.

Good idea Jade, thank you!

[theseed]

Scruffy, you may want to ask about Strattera, it does have that Zombie kick like the other ADHD drugs (I think).

It takes time to kick though, days or weeks.

Behavior modication and self-management training might help. Also, I think group counseling will work better here--like an ADHD support group.

[spiritmech]

Good luck. That sounds like no fun at all. I'm currently on medication for depression (non-bipolar).
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