[oncamethelight]

after several visits over the past couple months, I was diagnosed today with ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety panic disorder. I will see a DR tomorrow who will start me on medication...
It has been a huge step for me to face this all finally. I am a recovering drug addict with 5 yrs of sobriety and married to vthe love of my life for 2 years. I have avoided therapy for several years because drudging thru stuff would cause me to relapse.
I knew eventually I would need to face it. I have been overwhelmed with emotions today....some happy and some sad....
I have more to add but cant organize my thoughts right now..

[Irine]

Good luck!!!

[RonPSH]

Originally Posted by oncamethelight

after several visits over the past couple months, I was diagnosed today with ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety panic disorder. I will see a DR tomorrow who will start me on medication...
It has been a huge step for me to face this all finally. I am a recovering drug addict with 5 yrs of sobriety and married to vthe love of my life for 2 years. I have avoided therapy for several years because drudging thru stuff would cause me to relapse.
I knew eventually I would need to face it. I have been overwhelmed with emotions today....some happy and some sad....
I have more to add but cant organize my thoughts right now..

You're doing the right thing! The tension of keeping the past bottled up inside you actually drives you towards relapse. Not wanting to face the "demons" makes your mind seek escapes.

Let it all out....all that is in there is unexpressed emotions....let them be expressed and you're on your way to a true healing.

The beautiful dawn of a new day always follows scary darkness of the night....you'll be better than alright, but first the emotional house keeping...

[oncamethelight]

I saw the Dr. on thursday....
he did not prescribe me anything yet but wants to see me one more time first.
he also thinks a lot of my simptoms are depression too. I am confused about that but thats ok. I am going back on tuesday and really hope to start with something.
I am not a very patient person and tend to obsess about things. I just want to feel better. I think a lot of my anxiety comes from my untreated ADHD. I am overwhelmed with clutter in my house and car, my head is like a tv that never shuts off, I procrastinate or totally ignore many things, I can read page in a book, yet much of the time couldnt tell you what I just read........I am so unorganized its driving me crazy. I binge eat. I forget to call my daughters who live hundreds of miles from me and feel like Ive been a terrible grandma because I have missed birthdays. I just cant live this way anymore

[iseekbliss]

Originally Posted by oncamethelight

after several visits over the past couple months, I was diagnosed today with ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety panic disorder. I will see a DR tomorrow who will start me on medication...
It has been a huge step for me to face this all finally. I am a recovering drug addict with 5 yrs of sobriety and married to vthe love of my life for 2 years. I have avoided therapy for several years because drudging thru stuff would cause me to relapse.
I knew eventually I would need to face it. I have been overwhelmed with emotions today....some happy and some sad....
I have more to add but cant organize my thoughts right now..

hi, wow that seems like you are dealing with a lot...hang in there! however, you should also note (and I am only a graduate student, so maybe its not worth much) that the symptoms of those disorders can be very similar. Like PTSD and anxiety panic disorder are both anxiety disorders and they can have similar features. Same with ADHD and PTSD. But then again unfortunantly, people with ADHD are more prone to developing anxiety disorders. Anyway, I just wanted to say that 1) you might not have all 3 of those conditions because they can get it wrong 2) even if you do, you took a major step in getting diagnosed, and that can make all the difference (it did for me) because it allows you to get treatment. 3) there are empirically supported treatments for those conditions, and you can and will get better! good luck!

[AniManiac]

Originally Posted by oncamethelight

I am not a very patient person and tend to obsess about things. I just want to feel better. I think a lot of my anxiety comes from my untreated ADHD. I am overwhelmed with clutter in my house and car, my head is like a tv that never shuts off, I procrastinate or totally ignore many things, I can read page in a book, yet much of the time couldnt tell you what I just read........I am so unorganized its driving me crazy. I binge eat.

My anxiety levels are extremely high when I'm not on ADD meds. It's very hard to filter out all the excess stimuli and it's distressing and stressful to try to compensate for attention problems. The other symptoms you describe sound like classic ADD, except binge eating (to my knowledge, anyway...)

Binge eating is more likely due to depression - so-called "atypical depression," actually. Combined with ADD symptoms that can actually suggest bipolar disorder because bipolar depression is usually more along the atypical lines - but that should be considered only if the other conditions and associated treatments don't seem to help (which is why I mention it.)

Good luck with the evaluation! Frustrating as it may be not to get treatment on a first try, it's a sign that you have a good doctor if they're willing to take the time with you to make sure they're confident in the diagnosis. You will usually get better care that way.

[oncamethelight]

thank you all for responding......
I will see the Dr. again tuesday. My PTSD is a result of a 20 yr marriage to an extremely abusive man. lots of physical and emotional scars. We divorced 4 yrs ago and he died shortly after. He was the father of all my children.
Anyway, I am grateful to be on the path I am on to get better. Just a little scared and skeptical about finding medication thats going to help me. But at this point Im willing to try just about anything!
Because of my addiction history, they told me I wont get stimulants. I certainly understand the logic of that, but then again Im angry too. Im angry at my addiction history! acceptance has never been easy for me, and it just seems like a cruel irony.
So Im trusting that there will be a safe med for me, and I will continue seeing my therapist