33 Year Old / Anger Mgmt. ++++
- Symptoms: Excessively negative, angry, high risk prone, extreme need to go go go (leave town weekly with necessary finances or considerations),argumentative/confrontational w/ friends, loved ones or complete strangers, has a Bachelor’s degree with no real life plan (struggling to figure out what to do career wise for past 3 years, post B.A. degree)
- —docalison2200
Accidents/Tickets/Inattentiveness
- My daughter is now 29. She was always hyperactive and preferred doing cartwheels to socializing. She would do her homework, but not turn it in. Yet she would ace the tests. At 16, she totaled her car. At 29, she has totaled another car. Multiple speeding tickets have been had and she has missed multiple airline flights. She cannot handle money and I have credit card companies calling me weekly. She has since stopped using credit cards. We are always arguing because she is so unorganized and argumentative. I went to a counselor and he suggested that she may be ADHD. With this knowledge, maybe I can be more understanding and point her in the right direction.
- —Guest tc
Failure After Failure...After Failure
- I have the inattentive form of AD/HD, and was diagnosed three years ago at the age of 37. Little has changed since then. I have been struggling on and off to make my way through university since first enrolling back in 1987. Once again, I find myself on the academic precipice--falling behind, procrastinating, on the verge of flunking out. It is a very draining experience, living with AD/HD. The one positive aspect of it is the abundance of creative ideas my daydreaming mind can generate in a short period of time. The drawback? I seem utterly unable to follow through with 99% of those ideas. What I would give to be able to have something to show for all of the imaginative potency AD/HD bestows. To complete a short story or a sketch--something that many without AD/HD perhaps take for granted--would mean the world to me. And to make it through an entire school term without once again screwing up, losing focus, crashing and burning? :-( Right now, I'm at a loss.
- —Guest Dawn
2 Daughters with ADD/ADHD
- Noticed problems with both my girls at different ages, but can look back and see the problems were there much sooner. My older daughter has managed hers well with Adderall and completed her 4 year degree. My younger daughter is still struggling. She joined the military (she disclosed her ADD to them but had been off meds for a year) and did fine until she was injured after basic. She is in medical and basically has to sit all day which is wearing on her. She also has difficulty with relationships and frequently ping pongs back and forth between two fine young men. I continually worry about her in this "do nothing" environment. We are just waiting to see what happens next.
- —AKCFINK
Impulsive Behavior
- My husband and I realized our son had ADHD when he started preschool. He couldn't sit still during circle time and had problems with listening and being impulsive. He would grab toys from other kids, etc. He is now 12 and still has difficulties but takes Concerta which has made a huge difference. He has gotten picked on at times by other kids but has maintained a couple of close friendships. One of the biggest difficulties as a parent is the belief by other people that ADHD isn't a real condition or that it is somehow caused by poor parenting. My point is that as we grow older we are motivated sometimes through a semi-traumatic, embarrassing experience, to OVER compensate for shortcomings. I have seen several ADD folks keep very neat offices.
- —Guest JJ's Mom
Trouble Sitting Still
- My 11 yr old has the same problem and once up she forgets what or why she did get up. Great distractibility. She hates being on meds because it controls her so much and she wants to be free. I see the intensity she feels too on meds. Sigh.
- —Guest amber
Too Hot In Kitchen
- Well, I got a call from my boss today, saying she just didn’t think it was working out for me as a kitchen aide. The last week was hard and frustrating for me. I just seemed to not know what to do next. I don’t think my meds are working properly. Guess I’ll see the doctor. I’m not that upset because I did try as hard as I could and that’s all I can do.
- —Guest valeriejc
ADD
- My son has ADD. So everyone thought that I was making excuses for his laziness. I noticed he was different in first grade but my friends who were teachers all told me not to worry it was normal at that age. He was second born but different than his brother. People told me not to compare. Finally, we had him tested in 7th grade. I felt he was relieved to know there was a reason for his differences.The first thing was he lost everything. He could never finish anything. He would be sitting in his pajamas waiting for us to tell him to get dressed for school. He forgot things all the time. He never had a school uniform that lasted a semester. I had to buy two of everything. We wanted to buy him the same things as his brother but were resigned to the fact he would lose them. We tried to let him be independent but had to check behind him if he had forgotten anything. He was smart but could not memorize anything. So we had to change the school system to suit him.
- —shellymum24
It Makes Sense Now
- I am 38 years old, just realizing I have ADHD (primarily inattentive). In my prior job in an office, I would just sit and stare at my computer screen for hours, unable to get started on my work. I thought I was just lazy, but no matter what I tried I could not force myself to do my work. I never had problems in school because I enjoyed the work (although I had trouble getting started when I didn't). My main problem though is social skills. I cannot focus on what someone else is saying and also come up with a response. So I have a hard time making conversation and keeping friends. It takes too much energy! I don't like being in a large group of people--I zone out or focus on one person and don't hear other people talking to me (my husband often thinks I am ignoring him). I also have problems with impulsivity and organization. I spend money without thinking about it, and so I often don't have money. No matter how hard I try, I cannot keep my home (or office) organized.
- —Guest Carrie
Father and Son Have ADHD
- Our son was so energetic as a baby/toddler. He laid on the floor and kicked non-stop before he could walk, so I put jingling footies on him. He was very dependent on me till he was 6 or 7. Legos, legos, legos. He loves to build and create. I call it hypercreativity. Besides Legos, family time enjoying nature really gets him in the zone. He is now 9 and finally goes a day here and there without hitting his younger brother. We tried all the stimulant meds, only the non-stimulant seems to help without the side effects of anger and self-deprecation. He hasn't gained weight in over a year. In fact, he lost 10 pounds, but the doc says that's okay. He makes two B's every school year, the rest are A's. He really tries and wants to obey. His dad is an artist. He has ADHD too and has recently accepted this, as well as medication for himself. They both are very intense, emotional, talkative and dramatic. We have fun together most of the time.
- —vickiesteward
Basic Training
- I was always a bit slower than my friends, but it was not until I joined the National Guard and was taking basic training that I realized I had a real problem. I had trouble marching, getting the rifle exercises right, and was almost recycled due to my poor performance. It was several years before I started reading about ADD or ADHD. There was so much controversy about the medications that I never tried seeing a doctor or getting any help. Although I managed to hang on to a job until I retired, it was not easy. Mainly, I stayed to myself and tried to keep out of situations that I knew I could not handle, job wise or socially. I have always had severe insomnia, so worked night shifts to solve this, but now that I am retired, I just sleep late. One reason I never tried medication is that it appears to be akin to amphetamines, and the last thing I needed was something else to keep me awake. I have tried alternative meds such as fish oil, St John’s Wort, etc, but with no luck.
- —kennie62
Adult ADHD
- I am a 54 year old lady who never was actually tested for ADHD, but it’s very apparent that I've had ADHD all my life. I learned self help goals and routines to help control it, until MENOPAUSE! Now I feel out of control - Not able to: organize, remain focused, unable to engage in projects and finish them in a timely manner, speak and do things w/o thinking about what I am engaging in to the point of becoming accident prone, way to emotional, unable to remember period. My doctor tries to say it’s depression. Grr! Remember going through all of this as a young gal; that part makes the only sense. No one is really listening to me. I’m going to an endocrinologist. I have hypo thyroid, ADHD & menopausal symptoms. I am an internal mess. I am unable to take replacement hormones. What I have learned through my research is that ADHD and menopause together make it more difficult for women to experience their menopause. Is there anyone out there that is in the same boat as me?
- —Guest spunky
ADHD Symptoms
- When Daniel was born for 30 days/nights he would not want to be put down on his bed. I had to carry him all night, and my wife would carry him all day. As Daniel grew, he could never sit in one place and loved to watch TV. He was attracted to everything moving, and couldn't pay attention to anything, except me. I was his mirror. As Daniel grew up, he got more naughty and very angry if he did not get his way. When Daniel was 5 years old, he banged his mother on the eye so badly that she had a black eye, and everyone thought I did that to my wife. When he went to school, in the 1st grade, he would never sit down and always ran about in class. His 2nd grade teacher guided us to check him for ADHD/LD. Daniel was checked and was found to have ADHD and LD.
- —NoelDSouza24
Monica
- My son was diagnosed at age 5 after being very disruptive and not being able to cope with people around him and being fearless and not worried about dangerous situations like jumping off a tree. They decided to put him into a special preschool where they monitored him and counseled him and gave him extra attention on speech therapy and gross motor skills, etc. When he went into grade 1 we put him into a special school and started him on Ritalin. The problem with this was he didn’t eat much during the day but once it wore off he couldn’t eat enough and the side effects were awful in that he was very angry and hated himself. In grade 4 we took him off the Ritalin for we also noticed that if we took him off during the holidays he would have withdrawals and headaches. We started him on natural pills, Omega Oils. This made a huge change to his temper and he has no side effects. He is now in grade 7 and doing very well and is involved in sports.
- —Guest mvisser
My Story
- When I hit bottom this year with bankruptcy, and the inability to focus or remain organized at my job, I knew that something was up. Actually, I have known that I was different most of my life. Although I breezed through college and graduate school, I never felt as if I fit in socially (even though I was a cheerleader) and I reacted to rejection from friends and family with tears and anger. My first marriage ended after ten years; I chose impulsivity over practicality and logic. The red flags were there, and he ended up being abusive. My second marriage ended in divorce, and I met the love of my life..or so I thought. Our relationship ended, and I have not trusted or loved another man since. My finances dwindled away from spending money on my children, and I could no longer keep up with my house payment. My house was never perfectly straight, and I remained unorganized. Organization of my life and relationships still elude me. Not having a support system is the worst part.
- —Guest airhead1
