[yellowfrog268]

So I finally had my evaluation with a pdoc today. I arrived at his office totally frustrated because despite my best efforts, I got lost trying to find his office. I live only one town away and I left an hour early. I had prepared with directions and I used the GPS on my phone but still got hopelessly lost. I even called him because I feared I would miss the appointment. I did not want him to meet me in this totally frustrated state but...

So after talking for a while he tells me that he believes that I do have ADD but with generalized anxiety disorder as well. We talked about medications and he wanted me to tell him which bothered me more, frustration and anxiety (very prone to that), or the difficulty in concentration and getting motivated. I told him that both sets of symptoms are equally troubling. He did not want to start me off on two medications at once so we are starting with Strattera.

Is anyone else on this forum struggling with episodes of high frustration and anxiety along with ADD? To be clear, the frustration is episodic not continual and will escalate to flat out anger. If so, what are you doing about it? My pdoc is being very cautious with meds and I appreciate that but like he said, there are two issues with me. He did say that because I have had untreated ADD since childhood (I have actual documentation to that effect) I am now dealing with 35 years worth of poor coping skills and bad memories which surface whenever I feel frustrated or stupid.
Anyone else stuck with having to manage these two issues?

[Maus5321]

I do struggle with something similar to what you describe. For me though I am kind of a mixed bag. I went and seen a new place my former doctor referred me to because she dropped off the radar and is no where to be found. They want me to go take all these crazy tests and get an official diagnosis. Such as take an ADD test, OCD test, anxiety test and whatever else the test giver guy may decide. But they were not very good listeners. Least the person I saw. So I have set up an appoint with the specific doctor my doctor had referred me to. They said I could see someone else I said not this time. I want to see specifically this person and hope she is receptive like my former doctor was. The last person at the place I talked to I wanted to punch in the face in my fantasy lol. They were so frustrating. But that is beside the point. I do struggle with it. I have been told I have GAD,depression, ocd like tendencies among other stuff. I but I have not been officially tested according to this place so they basically say it is all hearsay until I get officially tested for a bunch of stuff. So after I get working and get some income. I am gonna go get these tests they want done and see what they turn up.

[montanan4ever]

My inability to focus and the overall feeling that my life is an endless juggling match make me VERY anxious. Better focus = better functioning = less anxiety.

[Maus5321]

seems to me kinda how add works though. I remember in the past some doctors I had seen trying to treat the anxiety/depression or whatever they saw. When I found my doctor who thought I had adhd and treated me for it. A lot of my anxiety and depression actually got better. So they are all intertwined. I think in adhder's

[Miswimmy1]

I have both anxiety and OCD.

Because of that, I was also put on strattera because the stimulants can raise anxiety. Usually, you treat one thing at a time and once that is under control, you can tackle the others. I got my anxiety under control and then switched to focalin for my add, which is a stimulant. Things are going fine. I guess talk to your pdoc about whatever one is impacting your life more- the anxiety or the add- and then treat that one first. treating both at once can get dicey

[Maus5321]

For me I went and talked to my doctor. I told her the add was more detrimental to me at the time. So we tackled it first and the anxiety got better to at the same time. I take a stimulant medication but it did not make my anxiety higher. Might just be luck of the draw.

[montanan4ever]

I get a tiny bit of increased heart rate and maybe a bit of jitteriness when I have to take a second dose of Adderall, but other than that, it doesn't affect my anxiety negatively at all.

[growlithing]

Originally Posted by montanan4ever

I get a tiny bit of increased heart rate and maybe a bit of jitteriness when I have to take a second dose of Adderall, but other than that, it doesn't affect my anxiety negatively at all.

Same. I have problems with anxiety along with my ADHD. Adderall doesn't affect my anxiety except for that one time when I grabbed the wrong bottle (I'm on 45mg so I take one 30mg pill and one 15mg pill but I accidentally
took two 30mg pills). 60mg was not fun at all.

"Usually, you treat one thing at a time and once that is under control, you can tackle the others"

That is true. Since my OCD is under control with meds and therapy, the ADHD will be treated. I think the ADHD is treated last because stimulants can cause higher anxiety and anxiety is treated first because anti anxiety meds don't make ADHD worse. But I don't know i haven't noticed.

@yellowfrog286, I think strattera shouldn't be used as a first line of treatment for you. Stimulants work for 9/10 people (thats a lot) and strattera works for like 6-7 out of 10 people. If he's afraid that a stimulant will worsen your anxiety and he's using strattera instead then why not treat the anxiety at the same time? Your pdoc isn't making any sense.

@Maus5321, Unless you really aren't sure whether you have ADHD, OCD, etc I wouldn't take those tests. If you feel anxiety, treat it. If you have adhd symptoms, treat it. It's just a waste of time and money if you already know and you're being treated for it and the treatments work in the first place. My psychiatrist doesn't care about labels he just treats the symptoms so I can get on with my life.

[Maus5321]

Originally Posted by Alonewithmycat

"Usually, you treat one thing at a time and once that is under control, you can tackle the others"

@Maus5321, Unless you really aren't sure whether you have ADHD, OCD, etc I wouldn't take those tests. If you feel anxiety, treat it. If you have adhd symptoms, treat it. It's just a waste of time and money if you already know and you're being treated for it and the treatments work in the first place. My psychiatrist doesn't care about labels he just treats the symptoms so I can get on with my life.

I am sure I have ADD and my doctor agreed before she disappeared on me. She told me exactly you are saying. That testing is a waste of my time and money. But what am I to do. The place I am going to now. Well at least the person I saw last time. Said I had to do it. I had 3 months. They never told me what would happen if I didn't. But it seemed like they were going to discontinue my adderall if I didn't get the test done in 3 months. But I have gotten so much better with it. I am hoping the person I am going to see next time is a lot better and more understanding. The person I see next is the person my last doctor was referring us to see before she disappeared.