Possible adhd?

Here are the problems I am trying to work out. Unfortunately when you take those "tests" you want to answer what ever sounds best. I guess it means I'm a procrastinator because some times I sit there think "well sometimes, not always" and never know what to say. I'm afraid if I go to a doctor I'll answer the question wrong because I'll do the same thing. Here's the scoop:

When ever my kids are home I'm a mess. I feel so, how can I explain it, 'stalled', that I don't want to move. My over active 8 year old constantly talks while the 3 yo tears up the house. It gets so messy that dealing with it is almost impossible.

My husband drives me nuts when he's home. We live in a 2 br apartment with 3 kids so it's not enough room for every one. I just want to be alone sometimes and I can't but no one seems to care at all. Not that I could go and do anything by myself anyway, work has been so scarce that we do not have any money, not enough to do anything anway. Not even enough to seek any treatment.

But here's the problem. I'm smart, I'm a computer tech and I develop websites. I'm horrible at math because it simply confuses me and it's even worse when my kids are around. I can't keep a thought in my head unless I do it over and over again because I'm so busy thinking about every thing else and when I do try to focus I get distracted about NOTHING!

My marraige is in the trash. No, I'm not the only problem. He's a pain too. He's unambitious and seems to think the household chores are my duties. Well, if they're mine - go out and find a job to support the family and stop relying on me to pay for everything! I have for years you know.

HELP! I can't afford insurance, I work part time and my husband is too much of a loser to go get a real job with real income and insurance. I haven't been able to find steady work for over 2 years in my area. What do I do?

Hi Welcome to the Forums, you at the right place for advice, although I don't really know what to say wxcept that I am adult ADD/ADHD and I know that being easily distracted can be a problem, at times for me I have to shut off the tv wile I am on the phone, due to my inability to concentrate.

Some of what you are explaining (I am no expert) sounds like it could as well be signs of depression, depression can cause one to feel hopeless or irritable.

Please keep posting and I wish you the best in dealing with this difficult situation at home.

Take care and Best wishes

KRZYKRIS

If you think you have totally gave up, you haven't, because you are here!

hello, thanks for the reply. I don't feel hopeless, it's more of an overwhelmed feeling. I know there's always hope in something. I do have symptoms of PMDD where it's on for 2 weeks and off for 2 weeks but that doesn't explain the difficulty in concentrating - I don't think.

I am very well aquainted with that overwhelmed feeling. I have three kids and live in a two bedroom house also, and until my oldest one recently got old enough that I could step out by myself (like to run errands or go for a walk) without dragging all the kids with me, I had a constant sense of feeling tied down, trapped, and sometimes almost like I couldn't even breath. It took a DCFS social worker coming to my door and telling me that my daughter was old enough that I could leave the kids home sometimes (because a neighbor reported that I was mentally unstable) before I could start to have a little bit of freedom. If you could get your husband or a friend or someone to watch the kids for you regularly so that you can have a break, even if you just go for a walk, that would probably make a big difference. Being able to go for a walk by myself was strange at first but it realy helped me to feel less trapped.

Difficulty with concentration can be a symptom of depression or of PMDD. I have some trouble with concentration too - mainly it takes longer than it should to read material for my classes. I've mostly associated that with depression, but that doesn't go away when my other depression symptoms mostly do, and my sister (a psychiatrist) says that I might have some ADD also. She suggested a new drug called Strattera for that, but I haven't tried it. It sounds like a good drug - if you can go to a doctor you might ask about it.

Developing websites is a good skill. If you find the right clients you can do pretty well with that. You could also sit down with your husband and spell it out for him that you need something to change. If he is willing to make some effort to help you, that's wonderful but if he totally refuses then maybe you need to think about why you're staying with him.

Does this help at all? Keep talking to us - just being able to communicate with someone helps to fight the isolation. That was another thing that has helped me a lot (getting internet connection and making some friends on-line). Best wishes to you!

<font color=green>"Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible" Carl Jung</font color=green>

Hi... my first time in this forum... just wanted to agree with Rapunzel... what good thoughts!

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