Posted by katekite on July 19, 2002, at 15:11:07
In reply to Re: Is this ADD? » Kari, posted by ShelliR on July 19, 2002, at 10:54:39
For me, diagnosis of my ADD only occurred because of it being worsened by approaching menopause (which it turns out does not necessarily change periods right away). I think I have had ADD all along but somehow coped better than at the moment. I'm told that it will most likely get better now that I'm on hormones but that it could take a while.
Thyroid and ovarian conditions and Cushing's syndrome can all cause attentional problems, slow thinking or thinking with a lot of 'static'. However, anxiety and depression are supposed to be able to cause the same thing so it can be very hard to know if the beginnings of a hormonal problem could exist. If you have any physical symptoms at all such as decreased ability to exercise, that could be hormonal you could check it out with an endocrinologist.
The other thing I have heard people with a single diagnosis of ADD say is that it always is much worse if they do not have a lot of external structure: for example working with a set-in-stone schedule is good for them. Some women are only diagnosed when they quit working to raise a family and find they can't organize on their own. So life changes can really make a difference.
Some people also find ssris like Paxil make ADD worse. Though occasionally people say the more stimulating ones like Prozac actually help it. So meds can contribute.
I agree with ShelliR that trying a stimulant to see if it will help is not wrong if your doc thinks its safe (ie not likely to be bipolar, etc). My pdoc did tell me that most everyone finds stimulants in general help improve focus, even if they do not have ADD -- so that diagnosis should be made from a whole clinical picture and not only response to meds.
I have some mild ocd like things like pulling my hair out in times of stress, and sort of obsessive worry if I'm at all in a negative mood. Normally I also find it hard to change tasks -- I'll promise myself to just email for 1/2 hour and then somehow still be doing it 2 hrs later even though I really don't want to be. It creates a sense of frustration and anxiety. I found these things were remarkably helped by Ritalin. These are all things that can fall into the category of self-control or impulsiveness and stimulants tend to help impulsiveness. For more classic compulsive symptoms I have heard stimulants can sometimes make it worse by allowing someone to focus even more on it. It would be hard to know until you tried a stimulant. Ritalin is supposed to be the least anxiety-provoking but it is very individual.
OCD and ADD coexist more commonly than would be expected by chance.
Hope that helps some.
kate
poster:katekite
thread:112896
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020718/msgs/112912.html