16 replies to this topic

[Melchoire]

The reason I ask is because for the past 2 years or so I've found that it's getting increasingly difficult for me focus on a single thread of discussion. My mind constantly wanders and I find myself getting distracted by the most ridiculous things.

Just today I have a job interview. You can gather that it was a situation that required all my attention but at a few points during this interview I found myself thinking about something totally unrelated while the interviewer was talking about something else. For example he was asking me about how I go about learning about new technologies(I think) and I was wondering what I should have for breakfast tomorrow Thankfully I recovered from it, I replied with, "Could you be a little more specific?"

Later during the day I had a meeting with my proff. and my project group for one of my classes...this was even worse because no one was really engaging me...so about 30% of the time I was completely zoned out.

When I'm trying to study or do my h/w is when I'm at my worst. During a span of 4 hours where I'm supposed to be studying, about 2 hours of it is spent with me being distracted by some side project/task. For example, while I was doing a math question(that would've taken 15 mins at the most) I decided to try to write a program that could solve it for me. I spent close to 40mins writing the program and debugging it. >_<

So is it possible to develop ADD this late in your life(21) ? And how do you decide if you really have it? I'm guessing it's not a diagnosis you can make yourself but the signs seem to be pointing at ADD...

[likerobots]

like all mental .. complications, it's possible to get ADD at any point of your life.
do you find it hard to sleep? i know that's a complication of ADD.
i know Yung has ADHD, he's got it posted on his about me. maybe you can ask him how he got diagnosed?

[Persuasion]

Does anyone take Adderall?

[Melchoire]

I've been seen by army for ADD but i refused to get treatment so it never officially went into my records. I cant focus on anything, its hard. yes, it is possible. for awhile i was taking a work out supplement and it would focus me in for awhile, but 80 bucks for 40 servings was pushing it.

its not all that bad, yeah it sucks but the perks is we have some of the most unique personalities and we are more spontaneous in my personal opinion. signs you have it are more going to be brought up by your closest friends, ask them if they think you may have it, they see you from outside point of view.

i personally have short term memory loss and add, so yeah. someitmes i'll talk about things that i totally have no memory of, and i do dumb things regualary, people have told me they should make an animal documentary and just follow me around and watch me do dumb things lmao. that no sane person would do. but its all fun.

if you think you have, it, get checked by a doctor some people really prefer medicine. I dont want anything to do with medicine.

I guess my symptoms aren't as intense as your's. My main problem is the focusing although my short term memory is not the best either (but this could be a result of heavily smoking pot for 4 years). I try my best not to show signs of it...I don't come right and out tell someone "Sorry I totally zoned out..." I just nod and keep going I figure it comes off as kinda rude. So if I were to ask my friends I doubt they would have noticed anything out of the ordinary...

Personality wise I wouldn't describe myself as being spontaneous, not noticeably at least.

I heard adderal is the drug of choice for treating it. I would really really hate to take addy all the time. I think it would do more harm than good...

[likerobots]

yeah, dexedrine (adderal and ritalin) are addictive and often misused recreationally.
but i'm sure you knew that already.


In other news, i was in the hospital in a unit with a child that was 7 who definitely had ADHD.
it was an interesting time. he'd bounce off the walls at 7 in the morning, have energy all throughout the day, scream and shout and make noise.
he was annoying as hell but just so adorabl e:(

[Melchoire]

like all mental .. complications, it's possible to get ADD at any point of your life.
do you find it hard to sleep? i know that's a complication of ADD.
i know Yung has ADHD, he's got it posted on his about me. maybe you can ask him how he got diagnosed?

I don't have trouble sleeping. I have a fucked up schedule; my usual bed time is 3am but that's only because my classes always start late. Once I get a job I'll adjust to normal hours...

I have a friend with ADHD, but like I said the main symptom is the lack of focus. I don't have any hyperactivity...

yeah, dexedrine (adderal and ritalin) are addictive and often misused recreationally.
but i'm sure you knew that already.


In other news, i was in the hospital in a unit with a child that was 7 who definitely had ADHD.
it was an interesting time. he'd bounce off the walls at 7 in the morning, have energy all throughout the day, scream and shout and make noise.
he was annoying as hell but just so adorabl e:(

I've tried dexedrine too...I really dislike amphetamines all together.

[Salamanda]

I was 'diagnosed' with ADHD and Bipolar when I was younger, all I remember was filling out a questionaire. Seriously.
Then I got put on a plethora of Geodon and Adderall which was HELL.
I strongly advise you not to see a doctor about it, which may seem horrible to say but in my personal experience, I wish I never had.

I've stopped taking bipolar medication and now all I take is Adderall. I swear by the stuff even though every great once in awhile I get depressed as fuck and can't sleep for days.
10mg shouldn't make much of a difference for you and is worth a try if you know you need to sit and focus for a few hours.

[likerobots]

I was 'diagnosed' with ADHD and Bipolar when I was younger, all I remember was filling out a questionaire. Seriously.
Then I got put on a plethora of Geodon and Adderall which was HELL.
I strongly advise you not to see a doctor about it, which may seem horrible to say but in my personal experience, I wish I never had.

I've stopped taking bipolar medication and now all I take is Adderall. I swear by the stuff even though every great once in awhile I get depressed as fuck and can't sleep for days.
10mg shouldn't make much of a difference for you and is worth a try if you know you need to sit and focus for a few hours.

hm, it might've been the geodone, is it similar to lithium salts? i know that lith and bipolar medications are reallly rough.
Doctors don't ever really "force" you to take meds, do you?

[Melchoire]

I was 'diagnosed' with ADHD and Bipolar when I was younger, all I remember was filling out a questionaire. Seriously.
Then I got put on a plethora of Geodon and Adderall which was HELL.
I strongly advise you not to see a doctor about it, which may seem horrible to say but in my personal experience, I wish I never had.

I've stopped taking bipolar medication and now all I take is Adderall. I swear by the stuff even though every great once in awhile I get depressed as fuck and can't sleep for days.
10mg shouldn't make much of a difference for you and is worth a try if you know you need to sit and focus for a few hours.

I'd like to totally avoid adderall =P My mind always feels so dirty when I'm on it...

[Salamanda]

hm, it might've been the geodone, is it similar to lithium salts? i know that lith and bipolar medications are reallly rough.
Doctors don't ever really "force" you to take meds, do you?

You can't just quit Geodon, I did fine until they upped it for the 3rd time, then I started turning into a vegetable by 3pm so I had to gradually come off it.
I was a kid, it was my parents decision and not mine in the first place anyways.

[havocide3]

I'll do the same things. I've actually been sitting here thinking about writing a 2 page completion paper due in 9 hours (Gotta love intro-level required gen-ed curriculum), but instead I've been screwing around on the internet with my assignment sheet sitting right in front of me.

I'm on Adderall on an as appropriate basis. Usually 4 days a week for school and avoid weekends since I do have some drinks and to minimize a tolerance. If I have a hard time focusing in the AM, I'll take it before lunch so I'm not up all night. Since it's an amphetamine, it's a stimulant. It's also an appetite suppressant. Your body may say you're full and you don't want to eat, but I find I get REALLY tired if I don't eat which makes sense because your body then has to burn fat to function.

Honestly, doing 45 minutes of cardio a day helps my attention span (and memory). Before you get adderall from your doc (if you can... they're becoming more stringent due to the misuse/resale value), I suggest doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 4x a week for a few weeks and see if it helps you. Working out raises your dopamine levels naturally, where as amphetamine salts raise them chemically.

[Melchoire]

I'll do the same things. I've actually been sitting here thinking about writing a 2 page completion paper due in 9 hours (Gotta love intro-level required gen-ed curriculum), but instead I've been screwing around on the internet with my assignment sheet sitting right in front of me.

I'm on Adderall on an as appropriate basis. Usually 4 days a week for school and avoid weekends since I do have some drinks and to minimize a tolerance. If I have a hard time focusing in the AM, I'll take it before lunch so I'm not up all night. Since it's an amphetamine, it's a stimulant. It's also an appetite suppressant. Your body may say you're full and you don't want to eat, but I find I get REALLY tired if I don't eat which makes sense because your body then has to burn fat to function.

Honestly, doing 45 minutes of cardio a day helps my attention span (and memory). Before you get adderall from your doc (if you can... they're becoming more stringent due to the misuse/resale value), I suggest doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 4x a week for a few weeks and see if it helps you. Working out raises your dopamine levels naturally, where as amphetamine salts raise them chemically.

I work out 4x a week. But usually late at night around 10pm when my attention isn't required anymore =P

I took this quiz and scored 60.
http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

It categorizes it as "moderate ADHD"...

[havocide3]

I work out 4x a week. But usually late at night around 10pm when my attention isn't required anymore =P

I took this quiz and scored 60.
http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

It categorizes it as "moderate ADHD"...

I sent you a pm. Try and work out in the mornings if you can.

[likerobots]

*melancholy sigh*
in my experiences, self-diagnosing is way too easy.
I've wrongfully self-diagnosed myself with bipolar, BPD, NPD, and even ADD in the summer time
(the last one was just a teensy bit because i actually wanted the amphetamines..... anyway ...)

Contrary to what Salamanda suggested, I think your best bet is to go in for an evaluation. you may be able to cope with the ADD with a doc's suggestions, they may suggest therapy (i'm not sure if they do for ADD), and most psychiatric doctors i've seen also often view medication as a 'last-resort' kinda thing.
Even so, you should be able to refuse medication (I'm under 18 and i'm completely in charge of my own medication; my parents didn't know i was on them for the first few weeks)

[Kauvara]

Yup, and I refuse to take any pills for it. It drives my boyfriend nuts because he'll be talking about something and will have to repeat himself because I totally missed what he said because something he may have said or something i might have seen caught my attention and I start thinking about that instead. I always have a lot of trouble sleeping, too.

I notice it gets pretty bad when I'm on Neopets, I'll be chatting with my guild, then I'll halfway price my shop, start a game of KQ, halfway set up my Habitarium, maybe price a few more items, I'm just all over the place. Like you, I have a pretty hard time reading through entire threads as well.....I'll get like halfway through a post then go do something else.

When I'm cleaning the house, I'll start sweeping the kitchen or something....I'll see the trash, put the broom down and take all the trash out of the house. I forget that I was sweeping so I start dusting, halfway through that I see the broom and ditch my dusting job to go back to that. It's madness.

Thank god now that I'm older I work from home, I work MUCH better by myself where nobody can distract me. I still have problems focusing, but if something is REALLY important then I try to focus as hard as I can until it's done.

[namida]

The reason I ask is because for the past 2 years or so I've found that it's getting increasingly difficult for me focus on a single thread of discussion. My mind constantly wanders and I find myself getting distracted by the most ridiculous things.

Just today I have a job interview. You can gather that it was a situation that required all my attention but at a few points during this interview I found myself thinking about something totally unrelated while the interviewer was talking about something else. For example he was asking me about how I go about learning about new technologies(I think) and I was wondering what I should have for breakfast tomorrow Thankfully I recovered from it, I replied with, "Could you be a little more specific?"

Later during the day I had a meeting with my proff. and my project group for one of my classes...this was even worse because no one was really engaging me...so about 30% of the time I was completely zoned out.

When I'm trying to study or do my h/w is when I'm at my worst. During a span of 4 hours where I'm supposed to be studying, about 2 hours of it is spent with me being distracted by some side project/task. For example, while I was doing a math question(that would've taken 15 mins at the most) I decided to try to write a program that could solve it for me. I spent close to 40mins writing the program and debugging it. >_<

So is it possible to develop ADD this late in your life(21) ? And how do you decide if you really have it? I'm guessing it's not a diagnosis you can make yourself but the signs seem to be pointing at ADD...

I'm 22 and in my opinion everybody has a bit of ADD...i did test on the net and in turns out i have a mild form...but like sorrownighshade said...it makes us ...I wouldn't say special but more interesting. My boyfriends finds it funny and adorable when i zone out and do something stupid....which usually results in a mild injury.

[Dollars]

I got 11 on this quiz and was diagnosed with ADHD young in my life, and honestly, when I went in to be tested, I don't see how they were able to make a determination in a few sessions. I think people are often misdiagnosed with ADHD. But I guess that doesn't really answer your questions.