Adult ADHD

[jenzer]

I've been doing reseach, (for me this time!) on ADHD. I started college and am having trouble keeping up (focus, memory, distraction, etc.). My medication doctor wants me to have an evaluation for Adult ADHD. It seems to fit, from how I got through school, jobs I have been able to do or keep, and my daily activities. Have I modified my whole life to deal with this?

Has anyone else been diagnosis'ed as an adult?

 

[smallworld]

Jen, I'm going to move this post to the Watercooler because it's not about issues pertaining to parenting a difficult child.

 

[susiestar]

My MOTHER was just diagnosed a couple of years ago. She takes ritalin, the short acting kind. She has some other health problems and the extended release medications are not something her body can tolerate.

She managed to get 2 kids raised and out of the house (a couple of time, LOL!), get a bachelors, then go BACK to college for a masters and phd in her late 30's. It was AFTER this, and after she saw the HUGE difference ADHD medications make for Wiz (her oldest grandkid), and for my bro that she talked to her therapist and doctor about adult ADHD. She has the inattentive type.

I think she problem has Absence Seizures (ADHD can be diagnosis'd when the person really has this - it is seizures that are just "blanking out" as my daughter describes it), but I truly believe she has ADHD also.

I was very skeptical at first about this, but she is happier, healthier, and seems to feel better since the treatment with ritalin started.

anyway, it truly IS possible to work to modify your life to compensate for ADHD, then discover as an adult that medication and other interventions can make things MUCH easier.

 

[Marcie Mac]

I had the official diagnosis a few years ago, but knew from research on my difficult child that I had it. The psychiatric doctor gave me a TOVA test, which confirmed it, along with learning disabilities and the posibility of having petit mal seizures

I opted NOT to take medications for it - even though I drive people nuts when I hold a conversation with them cause I switch subjects at rapid speed as stuff that pops into my head shoots out my mouth. I have a job I like, and am able to hyper focus on it, and after all these years, it is a part of my personality. and outside of work I have found ways to compensate.

Marcie

 

[gcvmom]

There are lots of bright, successful people functioning in this world with ADHD. Many of them simply learn to adapt over the years to their own unique way of doing things in order to succeed. Whether you choose to pursue a diagnosis and treatment for yourself is a very personal decision. For some people, getting additional support either through CBT or medications or a combination of both can really enhance their life experience. My husband went on medications briefly for it a few years back, and suddenly, all the personal roadblocks that he struggled with over the years were removed! He suddenly "got" many of the non-verbal social cues that he chronically missed and therefore never was able to adjust his behavior. As a result, the promotions he sought were suddenly in his grasp! People began noticing that he was more effective at his job, and his people skills improved exponentially. And when he finally chose to go off the medications, he now had a real experiential yardstick to measure future experiences against and was able to function better overall -- because he'd finally had a taste of what it was like to be "normal", for lack of a better word.

If you're dissatisfied with how things are going in your life, then this pursuit may help things improve for you. If you're happy with yourself and the way things are going, then I'd say leave it alone, you're doing just fine.

 

[KTMom91]

My Hubby was in his 40's when he was diagnosis'd. I was attending a seminar in San Francisco re: ADHD in Children to learn more about Miss KT, and Hubby went with me. He drove me nuts throughout the whole thing whispering, "I did that. I was like that. That sounds like me. Oh, wow, I used to do that. Honey, did you hear that? I was like that." No, I didn't hear that...STOP TALKING TO ME!!!!

Anyway, I had encouraged him to start college, and he wasn't doing well, and before he became completely discouraged, I convinced him to be screened at school. And, as we suspected, he has ADD. He takes Ritalin, short acting, and it has made a world of difference. He graduated with highest honors, Dean's Medal finalist, has a great job, and more confidence than ever. He never thought he would amount to anything, and never understood why he felt that way.

 

[ctmom05]

I was in my late 40's when I was diagnosis'd ADD. I wasn't surprised, nor was anyone else.

There are the usual attention and focus issues, as well as a few other traits that get in the way of living life in an orderly, logical away. All this sometimes gets in the way of keeping things on an even keel with adult friends and family members.