[MJB124]

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 6 or 7 but my parents didn't believe in medications... so I was never really treated. Luckily, I was motivated to suceed in life, despite feeling like I had to work 500 times harder than my peers... of course I struggled a lot through high school. I got offended once when a math teacher asked me if I had ever heard of a disorder called "ADD"... because I didn't want to be different or have a learning disorder. I just remember all my life know that I thought differently than my peers, but didn't understand why. Why in first grade all my classmates had these nice organized desks, while mine was just a bunch of papers crammed into the cubby... why i couldn't keep a locker or binder organized the way my classmates seemed to easily do... how everyone in the class knew to bring in something the next day but I had absolutely no recollection of it being mentioned... Despite all that, I'm currently an RN in an ICU and in grad school.

As an adult, I've come to terms with the fact that I still have ADHD and I always have... I hear people say often "oh, I have that too"... and it almost annoys me, because it just seems like I suffered a lot growing up and currently with just feeling different... this was mentioned to me a few times when I was younger... but now as an adult working in a fast pace environment it's even more obvious... people state that I seem too relaxed, slow moving, that I don't seem like I hear people when then talk, that I don't communicate well enough, that people can't read me, that I seem to isolate myself at work and be in my own world... Almost a year ago I started strattera... it seems to kind of clear up some of the fogginess I had... but I still seem to day dream a lot... I still seem to kind of be slow to respond and react and seem to not have the appropriate physical and expressive reactions for all situations. I feel worn out and tired a lot. Sometimes I'm not even sleepy. My ex boyfriend would comment that I yawned a lot and repeatedly. I was wondering if this sounds like I have whats being called sluggish cognitive tempo or concentration deficit disorder? I just recently heard about it. I see my psychiatrist at the end of the month and I'm going to ask him about it... I always seem to downplay how severely my symptoms affect my life when I talk to him for some reason. I just want to feel normal and didn't know if anyone else with this problem had success with any medications. I started zoloft a couple months ago and i think it may have worsened some of the symptoms. I sometimes will miss doses of the zoloft and strattera due to some GI upset it gives me, so i don't know if that is messing me up as well.

[Skeezyks]

Hello MJB124: I'm sorry you are experiencing this difficulty. But kudos to you on your professional accomplishments! I don't know as there is much of anything I can offer with regard to the specifics of your post. But I noticed no one had replied to your post. So I thought I would.

I've never been offered a diagnosis by any of the mental health professionals I've seen over the years. So I don't know what mine would be. But you mentioned feeling worn out & tired. This is certainly something I have always struggled with. It seemed like, no matter how much I slept, I would still be dragging the next day. And if I was in a particularly stressful period of my life, I would have difficulty sleeping at all. Plus now, as I'm aging, being able to sleep at all is becoming more-&-more of a challenge. In my case, I think a lot of this is related to the high levels of anxiety I have always carried around. I would presume that, as an RN in an ICU, there's quite a bit of stress in your life as well.

You mentioned you sometimes miss doses of medication. That is certainly something to be avoided to the extent possible, of course. I'm no longer on med's of any sort. But when I was, if I missed a single dose, it didn't seem to have too much effect (although I would notice it as the day wore on.) But missing doses more than just once in a while would certainly be something to be concerned about, I would presume.

I do have to say that I had to chuckle a bit at your comment about downplaying the effects of your symptoms on your life when you see your psychiatrist. This has always been a problem for me. Any time I would see my pdoc, or a therapist, no matter how I was feeling inside, I'd just reflexively slap a smile on my face & say everything's okay. Somehow I just simply couldn't manage to do otherwise... & I still can't.

Anyway, those are my thoughts with regard to your post. I hope your upcoming appointment with your pdoc goes well.

[-jimi-]

I have ADD but if SCT would become a diagnosis I would get that one. Irks me though, makes it sound like I'm a slug or something. Bleh.

I actually like it better to say I am hypoactive. The same condition can sometimes give opposite symptoms and still be the same, sort of. Some people are hyperactive, I am hypoactive.

When I think of it, I also dislike the term ADD, since it is a school diagnosis, like how well can you listen to your teacher. When in fact ADD is about executive functions. I'd rather have it named after that instead.

I take a long time processing things, I do things quite slowly and tire easily. I'm not sure my brain is sluggish though, it really does not feel that way!

[MJB124]

Originally Posted by -jimi-

I have ADD but if SCT would become a diagnosis I would get that one. Irks me though, makes it sound like I'm a slug or something. Bleh.

I actually like it better to say I am hypoactive. The same condition can sometimes give opposite symptoms and still be the same, sort of. Some people are hyperactive, I am hypoactive.

When I think of it, I also dislike the term ADD, since it is a school diagnosis, like how well can you listen to your teacher. When in fact ADD is about executive functions. I'd rather have it named after that instead.

I take a long time processing things, I do things quite slowly and tire easily. I'm not sure my brain is sluggish though, it really does not feel that way!

I didn't notice really that i did things slower than other's.... other people have pointed it out... that I seem to move slower and react slower.... that my pace is just.... slow. People some times think I'm too relaxed, don't care, or lazy because of it. I also think people think i'm not smart some times. I don't know if that's reality or just me having low self esteem though...

The weird thing is, I always had a issue with learning and paying attention, but the same problem that caused me to always be moving and running around when I was younger.... and made me always want to talk and be the center of attention growing up... is what makes me move slow and isolate myself now... But interesting enough, i just heard of SCT. But, I always thought I moved around so that i didn't fall asleep and figured that was a way of compensating for it as a kid... and thats how SCT is described. I just thought this was a thing that all people with ADHD experienced, I did realize it was only some people who had this kind of experience.

[-jimi-]

The idea behind ADD/ADHD and why stimulants work is that they speed up the brain, and even ADD/ADHD is a result of a slow brain. Not sure if that is based in science though.

All people within one diagnosis will never report the same thing. Like, I don't misplace things. I do pay attention to details. I do pay attention to the one I'm talking to. But I have other issues that are from ADD.

I'm not really sure SCT exists outside ADD/ADHD or part of it.

[Umpulsive]

Originally Posted by -jimi-

I have ADD but if SCT would become a diagnosis I would get that one. Irks me though, makes it sound like I'm a slug or something. Bleh.

I actually like it better to say I am hypoactive. The same condition can sometimes give opposite symptoms and still be the same, sort of. Some people are hyperactive, I am hypoactive.

When I think of it, I also dislike the term ADD, since it is a school diagnosis, like how well can you listen to your teacher. When in fact ADD is about executive functions. I'd rather have it named after that instead.

I take a long time processing things, I do things quite slowly and tire easily. I'm not sure my brain is sluggish though, it really does not feel that way!

Thanks Jimi,

I was also diagnosed with ADHD-PI and I also prefer to say I am hypoactive.

Sluggish and hypoactive are synonyms.

Hypoactivity also makes more sense to me, when I say I was diagnosed with plain ADHD-Primarily Inattentive (without hyperactivity).







Umpulsive