Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I read a common theme here--we're all a lot smarter than we have anything to show for, and that's heartbreaking--so much potential gone to seed.
My niece was diagnosed in her late teens with ADHD; she is now an adult who couldn't concentrate throughout high school. She was first prescribed Adderal but she also has clinical depression and that medication made her even more depressed. She has taken Vyvanse for the past 3-4 years and says she couldn't concentrate without it.
My niece was diagnosed in her late teens with ADHD; she is now an adult who couldn't concentrate throughout high school. She was first prescribed Adderal but she also has clinical depression and that medication made her even more depressed. She has taken Vyvanse for the past 3-4 years and says she couldn't concentrate without it.
Oh, that's great to hear that she found help. I had depression on top of my ADD in high school and I could barely function--in fact I dropped out of high school b/c I got so tired of struggling my way thru each day and no one had any idea back then of what could be wrong so they just blamed me. ADD was practically unheard of and even depression was thought to be rare. Like I said--so much potential gone to seed and I'm glad that people are now able to get the help they need.
I've just bought a book that I'm highly excited about. It's called The Mood Cure and while it's mostly about depression, it also has some great advice on natural supplements for those with ADD as well. (And we often do suffer from depression even if we don't know it.) I've started on one of the supplements that she recommends and it seems to be working well--almost instant relief actually. Link: Amazon.com: The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions--Today (9780142003640): Julia Ross: Books
One of my sons has ADHD, the other Autistic, and my husband has ADD.
After months and months researching online for something natural, I found that Omega-3's work wonders in both my son and husband.
As for my son, he also takes something I found on Amazon. It's called BrightSpark, made by NativeRemedies. I swear it works wonders on him. I don't know if it's for adults, though, as he is totally hyper and out of control with his ADHD. BrightSpark calms him down, but doesn't zombie him out like some prescription meds I have read about. I know that NR makes a lot of natural, homeopathic "medicines" for all sorts of things, worth checking out.
One of my sons has ADHD, the other Autistic, and my husband has ADD.
After months and months researching online for something natural, I found that Omega-3's work wonders in both my son and husband.
As for my son, he also takes something I found on Amazon. It's called BrightSpark, made by NativeRemedies. I swear it works wonders on him. I don't know if it's for adults, though, as he is totally hyper and out of control with his ADHD. BrightSpark calms him down, but doesn't zombie him out like some prescription meds I have read about. I know that NR makes a lot of natural, homeopathic "medicines" for all sorts of things, worth checking out.
I'm not an apologist for the pharma industry, but I work with many kids with AD/HD every day and I don't know a single one who is zombie'd out from taking the meds. They really do help and this is from someone who seeks a natural solution to almost everything. Actually what works best for me is a combo of natural remedies along with a half dose of adderall xr.
i take thyroid medicaton, but latelyy have a foggy feeling the whole day long, can hormones, i am 45 and thyroid contribute to a add feeling. Also feel down and low for last 3 months, no energy
If your doctor has prescribed thyroid meds for a problem with your thyroid, AND you're feeling foggy, then you probably need your thyroid meds adjusted. Has nothing to do with ADD though, so no worries. A simple quick blood test and accurate interpretation from a *knowledgeable* primary physician, OR endocrinologist or ENT doctor can get you feeling normal again in around 10 days.
By knowledgeable, I mean a physician who is already familiar with you and your medical needs. I don't mean some stranger you've never consulted with before who has an extra diploma on his wall.
On topic: After over 40 years of being the "different" one, but never thinking there was a medical reason to get checked for it, I learned I have ADD. Not ADHD; there was never any hyperactivity involved. Full on large scale ADD. Most of the meds given to kids and adults are effective on ADHD. Not so with ADD. Prozac, Adderal, Anafranil, etc. etc...all can make an ADD adult feel "zombified." It doesn't mean they're wandering through life oblivious. It just makes them FEEL like that's what's happening.
I was totally cognizant of what was happening from the moment I woke up to the moment I fell asleep, my day was crisp and clear to me, there was no fog. However, it *felt* as though it was happening to someone else and I was merely observing it from an entity that existed inside my body.
So I was observing myself being me. But I was disconnected to it. I took meds for 6 months, had one med change during that, and finally said to heck with it and tossed the script.
After all these years being "me," I finally decided that I like being me. I've learned to live with me, and I've learned how to get through most obstacles in life, and how to avoid most of the ones I can't get through.
I take no medications at all for ADD. Not natural, not unnatural, no special diet, no treatments, no biorhythms, no meditation. I just accept that I'm me, and my brain is hardwired to think differently from you. I'm intelligent, I can hold my own in a conversation as long as there aren't too many other conversations going on around me. I don't own a cell phone because I can't handle the distraction away from whatever is going on when the phone rings. Since there's really no one I'm interested in talking to while I'm trying to pay the grocery clerk for my weekly groceries, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything at all.
When I'm walking, I'm observing EVERYTHING. I don't miss a thing. I see the hawks flying overhead, the kid about to come out the just-opened front door of the house on my left, a tree branch broken and dangling precariously overhead, the smell of Mrs. Criscuolo's marinara wafting from the house on my right, and the three ambulances 5 blocks ahead of me, their lights flashing to indicate that whatever's going on at my destination, might require me to adjust my goals of picking up a quart of milk there.
People who DON'T have ADD - generally don't notice all of that stuff going on, simutaneously, and process every scrap of information congnizantly and intentionally. People who DON'T have ADD, are not capable - not hardwired - to do this, as a natural result of simply existing inside their own skulls. It's a skill, for people who don't have ADD. It's a natural consequence of existence, for people who do.
And since -most- people don't have it, -most- people think there's something "wrong" with the people who do have it. So they insist that it's a disorder and needs to be treated.
I say - it's the ones who don't have ADD, who have the disorder. It's called "I'm not capable of paying attention to more than three pieces of data input at once."
I'm going to add a new post to address the other aspect of this, since the last post was so long: the whole "Attention" part of ADD. Remember when you were young, your mom might have kept harping on you to pay attention! Over here! Eyes on me!
Well, when you have ADD, you -are- paying attention. The problem is, you're paying attention to a lot of things, and your brain doesn't know which things to stop paying attention to. So your brain gets confused. It mixes up the signals, it's not sure which things should have priority and which shouldn't.
It's a filter. Your brain has a filter. People who don't have ADD, can easily filter all the "data input" to determine priority of that data. People who do have ADD, lack that filter, and take it all in at the same time and jumble it up.
If you live with it all your life, and you're *paying attention* to yourself, you ultimately learn how to create an artificial filter. It ends up being more of a barrier, than a filter. You have to say "okay - 3 pieces of information, no problem. Take a left, tell my sister (who's sitting in the passenger seat) yes to the question she just asked, and turn on your left turn signal." But four pieces of data "the song just changed on the radio to something I can't stand" immediately puts you in a bad mood. So the answer to that would be an extreme: turn the radio off. OR, tell your sister to stop talking to you while you're driving.
That's the typical response for someone with ADD: they can only take in so much data, before they have to very abruptly make a change in their perspective. If they don't know that they need to change their perspective, then something has to give. And that's why they seem to not be paying attention. They ARE paying attention. But they're paying attention to SO MUCH STUFF that their minds can't distinguish which things they really -need- to pay attention to, and which things need to be ignored.
I have ADD very severe. I often am amazed that i have managed to hold down a job, and somehow, managed my life. You learn to live with this, and adapt your life style. I have learned to try to simplify my life. Because you need to with ADD.
I've always wondered if I have severe ADD. I have always struggled with classroom type learning, even though I have learnt from "doing". I cannot remember the names of characters in films unless I watch them several times. I get easily distracted and have been unable to get much of an education as I struggle to learn the conventional way.
If there is a magic pill, I may just take it. Being without a university degree is tough in a country that requires them even for low paid clerical jobs.
I have ADD very severe. I often am amazed that i have managed to hold down a job, and somehow, managed my life. You learn to live with this, and adapt your life style. I have learned to try to simplify my life. Because you need to with ADD.
I have a friend with ADD who also holds a responsible job and is the main breadwinner in her house and takes care of her family, including a handicapped son. She can be annoying as all get out sometimes because I'll be at her house and we're talking and then she'll get up to go to the kitchen and the next thing you know she's gone outside because she saw her garden and decided to pull weeds or something. Then I have to decide if I'm going to just leave and wonder if she'll eventually remember that I was visiting her, or follow her outside and continue the conversation. But, it's obvious she's in a constant state of distraction, and so it's amazing she gets done as much as she does.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
