[lynn09]

Hello, fellow ADHD/ADDs! Back in 2000, my psychiatrist at that time told me that I was probably dyslexic and ADHD/ADD as a child, and was still both to some extent even though I had developed my own coping skills and techniques over the years in order to function, work full-time to support myself, etc. At the time, we were focusing mainly on the physiological and psychological effects of a series of severe allergic reactions (SJS) the previous year to every single psych med my doctors had prescribed in an effort to alleviate at least some of the symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder associated with my yet undiagnosed and uncontrolled immune-system disorder, the symptoms of which had been escalating over the decades, as well as the stress of being disabled by it all and dealing with everything on my own since I lived alone and had no family in the state, so no assistance or support.

So, yes - I have known since 2000 that I have always had some degree of ADHD/ADD, but hadn't thought much about it since I've been preoccupied with finding appropriate treatment for my immune-system disorder and getting my abusive family members out of my life once and for all. Anyway, I decided the other day to take the PC ADHD/ADD quiz (the 24-question quiz) - WOW! What a shock! I scored 74 which indicated definite ADHD/ADD and the recommendation was that I seek immediate treatment. I realized then that most of my ADHD/ADD symptoms have been mistakenly attributed to my Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD (physical/psychological child abuse) in the past. What an eye-opener!!

But, it explains so much about the difficulties I have experienced throughout my life with school, work, personal relationships, etc., despite my high IQ; why I have always required a lot of silence and solitude, and have to completely shut down and withdraw frequently; why I've always had difficulty sleeping; why I was ususally bored to death in school and at my jobs; why I couldn't handle working full-time AND maintaining personal relationships or going to school at the same time; why TV and radio commercials, loud noises (music, TV, banging, screaming and yelling, etc.), personal calls and/or conversations while at work, constant interruptions, being in large, noisy crowds, etc. - basically, why anything that distracts me and breaks my focus and concentration just drives me up the wall!!! (I also scored "severe" on the Anxiety Quiz! Guess I'll have to spend more time in that Forum, too! )

Even though I'm 60 y/o now, this is new territory for me. It's good timing, too, since I'm in the process of switching my Medicare Advantage Plan and searching for a good Pdoc and T; hopefully, I can get with ones who are experienced at treating adult ADHD/ADD (plus everything else ). Since I am allergic to most meds and numerous other chemical and environmental substances, I don't know if I'll be able to take any of the recommended ADHD/ADD meds some of which are also used to treat depression and I've had allergic reactions to already - we'll see - keeping my fingers crossed..

Anyway, I would really appreciate any guidance, information, tips, cautions, coping techniques, etc., that any of you who are more experienced at dealing with ADHD/ADD symptoms would be willing to share with me. I'm good at doing my own online research if it's on a topic of interest, but there is no substitute for input from those with personal experience. Thanks! lynn09

Hello, Lynn. Hope something good comes out of this. Good luck.

P.S. - Do you need a ladder for the high IQ?

[lynn09]

Thanks, Byz! Already good has come from this knowledge - a whole new understanding of myself, and a more accurate and comprehensive perspective on my life and the ways I see and interact with others and the world in general. BIG "light-bulb" moment! No need for a ladder - I might fall off and damage some of those brain cells - I'm going to need to use all that I have to adjust to this new reality at this late stage in life. lynn09

[lynn P.]

((lynn09)) - I wish I had some personal advice in this area to offer. Would you be able to take any medications for this? I think the best place to start would be natural methods. I hope you find others who'll share some of their own experiences. Best of luck.

[lynn09]

Awwww...My Good Friend (((lynn P.))) Thanks for stopping by my thread, and for your words of encouragement.

As they say, knowledge is power - this knowledge has answered many of the "whys" that I've been wondering about my entire life and, oddly enough, has relieved some of my anxiety! I want to gain as much knowledge and understanding about this condition as possible so that I can develop techniques and skills to deal with it appropriately whether or not I'm able to take meds, and so that I can better empathize with and effectively support others who are similarly afflicted.

This is a huge shift in perspective - my view of myself, my life, others, and the world in general is very different today compared to just a few days ago. Again, WOW!

Hoping you are taking good care of yourself! lynn09

[Merlin]

I agree, there is a lot of benefit in just know that there is a cause for your abnormal behaviour, that isn't a fault of yours.

[Vita]

Oh, I really know the feeling, Lynn09! 3 years ago, at 55, recollecting innocent remarks from colleges I thoght og ADHD, and a psychiatry researcher agreed, To get meds, I had to go through official diagnosis by a pmed.
What a relief from embarrassment over low grades, inefficient paper working, messing - all you list up.
And I saw I had every reason to be proud of my achievments. High IQ has made it possible to work my way.
I think we who have lived with ADHD for a long lifetime in fact know a lot about coping.
I can not tell how presetly, but when possible, I will share
Coping well, nobody cuold have discovered my problems

[sane1logic1]

It was in 1998 I received an expert report on suspected ADD among other specific learning differences. (I had been a very dreamy child tending towards hyperactivity in middle age.)

I now think a degree of PTSD has exacerbated that.

Since my GP prescribed an anticonvulsant for short absences that I had continually experienced causing strain in keeping up with events, plus nerve pain, it has lessened to a degree but not gone away altogether.

[lynn09]

((((( Merlin, Vita, sane1logic1))))) Thanks so much for your input and support.

Merlin, I agree - there definitely is HUGE benefit in knowing the cause for certain abnormal behaviors, especially when struggling with things that trigger those "bad message" tapes in your mind - hearing my abusive family members telling me that I'm stupid, worthless, lazy, incompetent, irresponsible, and especially how hated I am by everyone who has ever known me; and the tapes of all those throughout my life (childhood friends, classmates, co-workers, husbands, boyfriends, etc.) who have told me again and again that I'm just "too different."

Now I understand why I've had such tremendous difficulty adjusting to being disabled - it took me out of the highly-structured work environment that had made it possible for me to function efficiently and effectively (often to the consternation of my co-workers, although my bosses loved that I was a "workaholic"). I understand now why it has been so difficult for me to deal with the chaos of the legal, medical, and financial nightmare that my abusive family members have created for me - why, despite my intelligence, skills, and experience a variety of areas (legal, medical, business, etc.), it has been so difficult for me to research, assemble, and organize all of the information I need and to determine the best approach to straighten out the mess they deliberately created for me - why I become so overwhelmed and shut down whenever I try to work on resolving this complicated situation - why trying to deal with this triggers my PTSD, severe depressive episodes, anxiety attacks - why I have had problems with insomnia my entire life and experience it at least 3-4 nights a week now - why I get stuck in particular thought patterns and perspectives - why I'm having difficulty choosing a new Medicare Advantage Plan, and finding a new primary care physician, other medical specialists, and a new Pdoc and T - why I am so distracted by everything in my house when trying to work on such things since work and home were always strictly segregated before - why I have to meticulously plan out every little thing well in advance, even just to go pick up my mail or go to the corner store to pick up a jug of milk - why I'm SO uncomfortable in social situations, especially in large, noisey crowds of people, parties, etc. (input overload) - why I HATE sports and sporting events (because of the noise) - why I could never adjust to being married or dating AND working full-time because I was too distracted by the presence of husbands or boyfriends in my home and life, and even having roommates drove me up the wall - why I have always preferred to go places alone, such as art gallerys, museums, plays, concerts, shopping, restaurants, etc., because I found the presence of another person too distracting and i couldn't really focus on and enjoy the experience if someone was with me - why interacting with others a lot is SO exhausting and draining...and the list just goes on and on and on and on......

I was doing some reading about ADHD/ADD and learned that stimulants are used to treat it in some patients. That's when I realized that all the years I worked, I was a heavy-duty regular coffee drinker, all day every day. When I became disabled, I stopped drinking coffee and switched to tea (for my health). Even though a cup of coffee and a cup of tea contain approximately the same amount of caffeine, I've read that the tannins in tea block the body's caffeine receptors so you don't get the same stimulant effect as with coffee. I also know that I did not have as much trouble with insomnia during my heavy coffee-drinking years as I do now - I have to wonder if the stimulant effect of the caffeine actually helped me function to some extent despite my ADHD/ADD all those years.

Sorry to ramble on so, folks - guess I just needed to get this out - get it expressed - it's like I lived in one world for 60 years, and I'm now in a completely different world - a completely different realm of existence - and I'm still in shock! Thanks for listening. lynn09

[Vita]

You are welcome, rambling helps a lot. I have done my lot (in Norwegian) and am a lot more content with life now. It is an odd experience, discovering a new perspective on oneself. I did not know there coul be other ways to perceive and act upon the world - no previous experiences or reference to normality (whatever that is).
Starting on meds - did not really want to because psychotropic sounds creepy - made life so much easier.

[eskielover]

I don't have any words of wisdom to provide to you about ADD, but you provided me an interesting point about your being allergic & having bad reactions to all the meds you have been given. I have had the same problem & never thought of it possibly being an immune-system disorder. Seems like every med I take I have a bad reaction to or at least the most obscure reaction that only a small percentage get according to the ....antibiotics, asthma meds, AD's & almost everything else.

Thank you for the insight.

[lynn09]

Thanks (((Vita))) - I so hope there is a med I can take - I've struggled with all of this so long, and it would be so wonderful to be able to function at a higher level without all the "static" - it's exhausting!!

Hey, (((eskielover))) - Definitely get an appointment with an immunologist and get checked out. It seems that once an immune-system disorder gets started, it just continues to escalate. If you are not doing so already, you should probably be wearing a Medical Alert bracelet or tag of some sort and carrying an Epipen, too, in case of emergencies.

Take good care, Friends. lynn09

Hello, lynn09. I hope all gets sorted so you may reap the benefits of the discovery.

[eskielover]

I had a medical alert bracelet but just never got around to putting all the information on it....took up more room than was available...

Interesting, one of the things that I have a bad reaction to is Benedryl. My orthopedic surgeon prescribed it to me after my knee reconstruction.....after they had opened up the cast (way before arthroscopic surgeries were done for that), & put betidine on the skin before cosing back up the cast.....that burnt my skin in the hot summer weather.....when they changed the cast a few weeks later, my skin was all burnt, but he had to put another cast on, so gave me the benedryl for any itching since I couldn't scratch inside the cast with the incision there. I took the pill before going to bed & woke up a little later gasping for air......seems it was starting to close off my breathing. I looked it up many years later when the internet became a reliable source of information & sure enough......that was one of the rare side effects. That was many years before I started having more & more negative reactions to meds. Almost every AD had a negative reaction of some sort. From just stiff joints to actual parkinson's like symptoms....let alone the more common types of reactions.....then anything that caused migraines was the start of migraines when I had never even had a headache before in my life.

Only medication I'm on now is pain med for the constant migraine & lucky found the one I can tolerate for many years now (since 2003). That is the only reason I haven't pursued going to an immunologist. Just another Dr on my list of "need to see"......left all Drs behind when I moved across the country except for being lucky enough to find a wonderful pain specialist to carry on with the prescription I was getting before I moved.

The body is a frustrating thing the way it reacts to things that most people don't react to......grrrrrr.