Posted by Sara T on July 11, 2000, at 10:58:22
In reply to Re:augment?ADD?SueG,Janice,CarolAnn,Sarah,Renee?, posted by KarenB on July 9, 2000, at 23:50:21
> SueG,
>
> Quotes from you:
>
> >>...and the ability to concentrate has increased.
> >>...I really want to change careers and begin studying but i am really afraid that i'll start and won't continue because i don't have the motivation/drive and i'll lose interest. I have done this with a lot of things in the past.
> >>...I seem to get bored easily and i lose focus easily. I don't know why - I know i have the ability but i start to question myself when this happens.
>
> Hey all you ADD women,
>
> Wow, does this sound like ADD, without hyperactivity and the resulting depression from a lifetime of misdiagnoses, or what?? I could be wrong but to me, this has ADD written all over it. What do you think, Janice, CarolAnn, Sarah, Renee, others?
>
> Sue: Check out www.CHADD.org, follow the links and take some tests. You may be surprised at what you find.
>
> Have you had problems getting to bed at night but then can't seem to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, YOUR WHOLE LIFE? Did you get in trouble for "daydreaming," even in second or third grade? Have problems with those really looooong Algebra equations? Reading music? Do you get "lost" in your own house, suddenly realizing that you have five or six unfinished tasks going at once, because you keep getting distracted? You run out the door to buy milk and your husband says, "Don't forget the milk?!" Test with a very high I.Q. but have only mediocre grades to show for it? Get completely overwhelmed (not panic attacks) in a department or clothing store and finally go home, exhausted, accomplishing nothing? Any of this sound familiar?
>
> Another great article is on differentiation between ADD and Bipolar. Go to www.addclinic.org and find the article entitled 296 vs 314. You may see yourself there. I found an article there...or on one of the links which was a test specifically for teenage girls. I could identify with the symptoms they listed - it was like going back to my childhood and saying, "THAT'S WHY THAT HAPPENED!!!" What a revelation.
>
> My change in diagnosis from Major Depression, to Bipolar Disorder to ADD, innattentive type without hyperactivity has certainly been a revelation to me. I am on new meds and the past few days have been an encouragement. I feel good - REALLY good in a natural, unwired, unzombielike, unsleepy kind of way. I am trialing 100mg Adrafinil (wakefulness, motivation and brighter mood) 2x a day, plus 10mg Adderall 2x a day (energy and focus) and just 5mg of Zyprexa, at bedtime and lunch has helped with racing, scattered thoughts, "broken record" type obsessing and irritability. I DO feel good...and it's been a long time coming. I only pray that it continues (oh pleeeease...). In three weeks, it will stand the ultimate test: PMS/PMDD (also known as "PMS from hell"). If this combo still works during THAT week, it's a bonafide miracle. I believe in miracles. How 'bout you guys?
>
> I have a GYN appt. this week, to check into hormone therapy as well. No human being should have to endure once a month INSANITY. And I mean COMPLETE MELTDOWN. This past week, I felt like my 2 year old at 5pm, when he hasn't taken a nap all day. We call that "baby meltdown," around our house. You mommies know what I mean.
>
> KarenJust my 2 cents worth. I think everything Sue G. describes falls within the ADD experience, as well as depression. I think its worth pursuing. I think it was a great relief to me to find out about my own ADD, although my pdoc has said he thought it was mild and intertwined with depression and anxiety, but all that's commonly comorbid with ADD.
But no matter what you want to call it, augmentation to treat all of the symptoms can be a good thing. Its worked for me. I now take Zoloft and Metadate (extended release of ritalin).
Drugs , however, aren't the total answer, it also takes developing new ways of coping and recognizing your maladaptive habits.The two books DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION, authors Hallowell and Ratey, WOMEN AND ADD, by Sari Solden are great books. Also, YOU MEAN I'M NOT CRAZY, LAZY, OR STUPID, by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo is an excellent source book. There's tons of info on the web too.
Good luck with your trials,
Sara T.
poster:Sara T
thread:39920
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000708/msgs/40058.html