[janiedough]

So, I have gone through four phases so far with this whole ADHD thing.

Phase I: ignorance/bliss (childhood to about 21 yrs)
Phase II: denial (21 yrs to 23 yrs)
Phase III: acceptance (23 yrs to 24 yrs)
Phase IV: doubt (24 yrs - present)

In Phase I, I knew nothing of ADHD. I have never even heard of it before, or if I did hear about it, it didn't concern me. I was just a weird kid with strange habits that I thought made me unique and thus were cool. I didn't talk to people a whole lot.

In Phase II, I started to talk to people more often. Eventually I had a bf. After dating for over 2 years, my bf insists that I have ADHD because I act just like his cousin who has been diagnosed with it when he doesn't take his meds. And other reasons, according to my bf, include me not taking turns talking, getting caught up in things so much that I don't recognize him talking to me or trying to get my attention, zoning out a lot mid conversation, going off on tangents frequently, etc.

In Phase III, I began having difficulties with working. I could not focus anymore. As much as I tried forcing myself, I could not. I would keep micro-sleeping frequently as I forced myself to continue working. (I have had the micro-sleeping thing happen before in boring high school classes, thus my reason for intentionally sleeping through the boring parts of my classes. I got away with it because I had good grades - only got in trouble once or twice that I can remember). I started to believe my bf that I could have ADHD now that I was having serious difficulties and struggling. It took another 8 months before I got a diagnoses and medication, though. The medicine (stimulant) helped me significantly. I feel so much better, and more relaxed, after starting it.

Now that I am doing better, I don't think the problems are that noticeable and a recent visit with a psych doctor made me question my diagnosis, which leads to Phase IV. I still have problems with recalling memories right away which is probably why she didn't suspect it. (I was on my medication, and all of my memories of problems due to ADHD were stored away at the time of the visit).

Now, does this sound like anything familiar to anyone? I want to know if I am doing the right thing by taking medicine for ADHD. I am actually quite afraid of stopping it, though would like to eventually. Last week, I was unable to get my prescription filled in time due to my doctor being on leave, and went 3 days without it. During that time, something scary happened at night. I repeatedly woke up not being able to breathe when lying on my back. Each time I woke up was scarier and scarier because I was in sleep paralysis looking at my bedroom but unable to move and breathe (jerking my neck violently in my sleep-mind is what allowed me to "snap out of" the sleep paralysis - it didn't jerk in real life, though). Sleeping on my side helped me stay asleep, but hurt my back. This happened for 3 nights in a row. It stopped happening once I resumed my medication, and I was able to sleep on my back again.

Has anyone else heard of this happening before?

[NoId]

There was a girl in my highschool who was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. She would wave her head around when she walked. Like she was scanning the hallway with her brain.

You can rule that out anyways.

[NoId]

You don't have anything more archetypal? Try eating a full Irish breakfast and repeating everything I say. You obviously have attention deficit disorder. Everybody has attention deficit disorder. You want to have attention deficit disorder don't you?

[alwaysin6thgear]

I personally haven't had the type of sleeping issues you describe after not taking meds for a few days. Any sleeping issues I have are usually related to when I took my med's. There have been times that I was involved in a situation that was outside my normal routine that required a lot of focus and attention and I would adjust my med schedule to accommodate the situation I am in, which usually fell later in the day or early evening. Taking my med's late in the day or early evening really messed up my sleeping schedule, but that doesn't happen often. You might want to try this, try not taking med's on a single day 2 or three times during a month. Usually pick a day where you have nothing important going on that requires a lot of focus or attention. I usually pick one of my days off when I'm just doing my own thing, going for a hike, shopping ect. Doing that avoided running out before my next Dr. Appointment. From what you describe you do have ADD/ADHD, symptom's vary and each persons symptom's are unique. From what you describe about your behavior after taking med's tells me that you do have it. Because if you didn't you would be getting the "speed" like effect from stimulant ADD med's. As for the opinion from above from "NoId", Everybody DOES NOT HAVE ADD, everybody forgets, everybody gets distracted, everybody has trouble concentrating or focusing on occasion. The difference is that in the ADD person these are not just occasional issues, these are issues that occur numerous times a day to the point where it effects our quality of life. ADD is not something you view, it's something you experience, and everyone's ADD is different. This quote came from a well known Doctor ,who is ADD and writes books on the subject and specializes in treating it, he was trying to explain to a young kid who just got diagnosed what it's like to have ADD. He said " The brain of someone with ADD is like a Ferrari, very powerful, but has brakes that came off a bicycle. One of the issues with having ADD is actually accepting that you do. There is a lot of ignorance about ADD, usually that comes from people who don't have it. What you should do is educate yourself on it, the resources are endless. Most of the negative information about ADD come from people who don't have it or come from religious organizations such as Scientology which is very anti-psychiatry, anti-medication and anti-pharmaceutical industry. You also have people that are just anti-medication for their own personal reasons. You have med's that made a big difference so there is no reason for you to stop, however, med's are not the only thing in the treatment of ADD. But the key is to educate yourself, everyone's ADD effects them differently. I didn't get diagnosed until later in life, not much was known about ADD when I was a kid. Someone like me was always considered stupid, lazy, unmotivated, nut, the list goes on. After lots of medical research it was discovered that people with ADD/ADHD were "wired" differently, we processed information differently. When I got diagnosed I also was told that I had an extremely high IQ. I always knew I wasn't the person that people described, in fact I now realize that I am a lot more intelligent than the people that used to call me stupid. Try to avoid comments from people like NoID and others alike. There are several good ADD related pages on Facebook.

[janiedough]

I usually don't mention anything about ADHD to anyone unless it somehow comes up in conversation or they ask me or tell me that they have been diagnosed with it. Often times lately, whenever I catch myself having a really good and interesting/long conversation with someone where I feel like we are on the same wavelength, it will turn out that the other person has ADHD too. I don't know if I ever met anyone without the hyperactivity part. It really just feels like a different way of processing information to me, and if we lived in a world where the people considered "ADHD" were the majority, things would be much different. This is a bit philosophical and I haven't verified any of this. It is just my intuition. Honestly, if I had the choice, I would choose to be me and ADHD rather than not. I find it to be like a superpower when I have the right tools and environment to satisfy my hyperactive needs. I also wish the name was different because I don't see it as a disorder. It is just that people don't understand that not everyone is the same. Some people think about things in different ways, even those considered "normal." I really do wish the name were different and that it would be accepted as a good thing because my opinion is that the reason for it being considered a "bad" thing is only due to culture restrictions. I know that not everyone with ADHD is affected by it the same way, so I could be wrong. It would be interesting to hear other's opinion on the matter though.

[janiedough]

Originally Posted by NoId

You don't have anything more archetypal? Try eating a full Irish breakfast and repeating everything I say. You obviously have attention deficit disorder. Everybody has attention deficit disorder. You want to have attention deficit disorder don't you?

I am kind of confused by what you mean, especially the irish breakfast part, lol. If you're asking if I want to have a disorder, the answer is no. But... the thing is that the attention deficit disorder thing isn't just an archetypal thing, and from the research I did on it, there are many different types (If I had to put myself on there, I would say that I'm at 25% attention deficit and 75% hyperactive). I don't care if I have it or if I don't, though I probably do. My main concern was if medicine is doing me more good than harm. I know that my reaction to it isn't normal since I feel relaxed rather than hyper when taking it. My reaction to alcohol also isn't normal (reason that I stay away from it) because I gain tons of energy and get super hyperactive, so much that people comment on it (I was literally running up and down the stairs one time).

When I say weird, I mean that I do things that people give me weird looks about like constantly moving some part of my body and almost always needing to have a secondary activity to help me focus on anything I find boring. I even went to great lengths to be able to listen to music during classes that I wanted to be able to pay attention to in high school by sneaking a cd player in my bookbag, cutting holes in my jacket pocket to put the cord through, and keeping my hair long to hide the earbuds. I'm not sure if you are just venting or what, but I don't think I am trying to make something out of nothing here. I'm merely seeking support from people with similar circumstances. If you are just venting, I hope your day/week gets better soon! (I am being genuinely sincere)