I understand entirely what it's like to have ADD. I wasn't diagnosed with it until late in college - when I was growing up, I had my mother to constantly crack the whip over my head, so to speak, so my inability to concentrate never really interfered - although my teachers spoke to me numerous times about my inability to stay organized, my inability to pay attention in class (i was always reading or my thoughts were bouncing around, etc). It wasn't until college when I didn't have that person standing over me that I realized I had a problem. I've tried a variety of different medications and here's my take on them:

Adderal - nightmare for me. first pdoc (soon changed!!!) put me on way too high of a dosage and i got addicted.
Concerta/Ritalin - what i'm on now. i HATE it. it works really, really well but the side effects (nausea, shaking, lips drying out, irritability) are awful.
Strattera - never tried it. my sister did, though, and it made her throw up all the time and completely sedated to boot.

Is there anything else out there for us? I hope so! Meanwhile the best I can do is try to manage my symptoms one day at a time. Hang in there, though - having ADD is tough but i always say it makes us more interesting people!

Anna

some of it's magic
some of it's tragic
but i had a good life all the way......
~jimmy buffett