Posted by Cybil on July 17, 2000, at 10:52:30
In reply to Re: BROWN ATTENTION-ACTIVATION DISORDER (BAAD) SCALE, posted by noa on July 17, 2000, at 7:00:28
Hello previous posters to this thread (SaraT, S.D., AndrewB, CarolAnn, SadSuzie, Noa)
I think you may be able to count me in as an undiagnosed ADDw/o 'er. Subsequent to some replies on a previous post, I explored stimulant augmentation to my Effexor XR 150 dose. It was in doing this that I looked into the possibility of ADD without hyperactivity: it seemed to explain a lot of my symptoms, although in keeping with Noa's point, I am not completely sold on it as my diagnosis because I did very well in school (although high IQ can mask ADDw/o for quite a while) and the SRRI's do seem to help me quite a bit.
One great site is well maintained full-time by "Bob", an ADD'er who'd previously done Bob's Little Corner of the Web. It has lots of good links, one of which is ADDmirable Women, a great site with an egroup I've joined:http://add.about.com/health/add
It was through ADDmirable Women's site that I found out about Sari Solden's book, "Women with Attention Deficit Disorder", subtitled "Embracing disorganization at home and in the workplace". Very interesting book, highly recommend if you think ADDw/o may fit you. (CarolAnn, a sidenote: in the book and in the egroup's postings, the capacity for intense hyperfocus seems to be a hallmark for these women, the only problem being consistency and duration :)
My apprehension with this whole ADDw/o path is what to do next. It seems like neuropsychological testing for ADD is very expensive and not even always accurate, especially for ADDw/o'ers. I'm very scared about starting stimulants, and it doesn't even seem like how you respond to them provides a certain diagnosis (i.e., I get calm and focused instead of jittery and wired, I therefore have ADDw/o). I know they're also used in AD therapy without an ADD diagnosis--I'm really concerned about tolerance, withdrawl effects if/when I go off them (weight gain, etc.). My boyfriend is well read on AD's and meds (he's on Prozac 20mg for anxiety) and argues that EVERYONE would feel better on stimulants. He also said that once I start taking them I'll never want to stop. I also got very anxious (panic-attacky and insomniac) when I tried Wellbutrin [300 mg, divided doses] last Fall.
Any advice?
Thanks,
Cybil
poster:Cybil
thread:40588
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000717/msgs/40741.html