Diagnosed ADHD inattentive type, and depression. Dont know what to do now.

Hey all,

On monday i was re-evaluated and put back on ritalin and welbutrin. Three months ago, i was put on concerta and zoloft. The combination was very bad, and i layed in bed angry, not knowing why. I really wanted back on what i was on, but i am in the military, and that wasnt possible, well it was but at the time i was lied to, so i went 3 months crawling back into the abyss i was once in.

My marriage is failing, work is so/so, and i gained all my weight back that i had lost.
My wife is once again understanding, but i dont know how much of me she can take.

I also dont know if i agree with my diagnosis. But i deploy on the 4th so im stuck with my current situation for the next 6 months.

I dont know how to deal with the changes, or how to maximize my gain of being medicated. The part i dont like, is i am a face to face kinda person, and the only counseling i can get is online, not like this forum, but i need one on one help, all i want is to get my life to where i know i can be, and move on.

My job fails to accept my diagnosis, and treats me the same. since i can manage to do a lil over standard as a normal without meds, they think that is all i am capable of.

Well, thanks for listening to my story, ive read quite a few on here, it helps.

Hope the ritalin and welbutrin get you back out of the abyss, at least a bit. The concerta and zoloft don't sound like they were fun. At least now, taking the long route, you know a bit more what works/doesn't work and can block some lies.

What diagnosis would you "like"? I imagine depression can cover a lot of ground in many directions.

My sister-in-law claims my 66 year old brother (was Army major, thrown out for alcoholism at year 19 (thanks to two tours in Vietnam, etc.) so didn't get squat/"retirement") has ADHD. I wonder if he and I might have a touch. All these things have a continuum on them though so hard to tell what's where and who's diagnosing what for whom.

Good luck with your 6 month deploy/marriage problems.

Have you taken any college courses while you've been in? I highly recommend my school, http://www.umuc.edu It is probably 1/4th-1/3rd military or former military/dependent types taking classes. Might help focus and self-esteem? Just working with others in the classes helped me with my own personal problems in the sense that if one can work logically at a class and figure things out and how stuff works one can do it in other parts of their life.

thanks for your post...

There isnt a diagnosis that i "like" but it just seems thrown at me. They dont like to hear about the depression, i have to bring that up everytime.
There are also issues that arent covered in this tonic i have,
such as short term memory loss, more the retention of specifics of recent events, and the causes such as three major traumatic events in my life, and 2 head traumas.

One post i read was refering to a diagnosis being the "fix-all" or one pill that will fix it all. I would say i am still in that light. I am understanding now to take control and realize that it is beneficial to accept the changes as they occur.

I guess more then a "cover-all" diagnosis, i am worried about how to start therapuetic help when my only way to communicate is email primarily.

There are therapists who can talk to you over e-mail. I am currently talking over e-mail to someone just because of where I live. I'm not a doctor, but have they ruled out Post Traumatic Stress, from what I've heard some of the stuff you are talking about could fall under that.

Also, sometimes ADD can cause short term memory loss -- so see if the aderall can help that at all.

Importantly, don't be ashamed of ADD or depression or anything else. It's not your fault. You didn't cause it. It's a hormonal imbalance and should be talked about just like anything physical a doctor might treat.

Good luck!

I also have ADHD with a few other dx's. My DH gets very frustrated with me as well. I also take Wellbutrin XL and Ritalin LA for the ADHD. It helps me tremendously, and if I miss the meds once- boom! I'm in a loop full of trouble. The meds for me make a world of difference.

Support is very much needed. If your marriage is suffering due to the illness, then therapy is needed. My illness has stood between me and my DH. It almost cost us to lose our marriage. It was not just the ADHD, but more than that. Other avenues as well combined. Needless to say, against my DH"s wishes, he went into marriage counseling. Going against the grain for him was the best thing he ever did for our marraige, himself, and me as well. It salvaged our relationship. He came out gleaming a winner, and so did I. We now have thrived for our setback that we had during that time with my illness. My meds were tweaked some, and that too, also helped. I received individual counseling too, and that helped as well.

Therapy can be done through e-mail if you request it to be done that way under circumstances. Their job is to help family relationships, etc.

Hang in there with the relationship of your wife. Do not give up.

As to the memory issues. I too, have those really bad. It can be med related along with the illness combined.

Take care

JR

I was digignosed as a child and have been living with it ever since. I am not sure which adhd i am. I know I am going to be talking to someone about it soon. As far as I know I was never on any meds and are on meds for depression due to loosing my kids when I delt with cps. Know I am just figuring to get myself back to normal as can be if I am going to need to get on meds for my adhd(add).

You sound a lot like me. I've also been diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type, and depression. I'm a 4th year psychology major and recently I stumbled across Atypical Depression. It fits my depressive symptoms really well and is the most common subtype of depression, and yet I had never heard about it in a psychology class and it's not in any of my psychology text books. You may want to research it to see if it fits your symptoms than a standard diagnosis of major depression. Diagnosis of atypical depression requires the ability to react positively to happy events, unlike regular melancholic depression, but as soon as the positive stimulus is removed the depression comes back. It is a more chronic and debilitating form of depression, because although you are still able to feel euphoric at times, the depressions are deeper, almost like bipolar, but you never reach the level of mania. Atypical also requires having two out of these four symptoms as well: Excessive sleepiness (~10 hours a night), excessive hungriness (I dont have this but I do have the other three), feelings of heaviness that last for an hour of more a day (feeling like you can barely move), and high sensitivity to rejection (innapropriate feelings of guilt/embarassment/failure/etc.)
Atypical Depression is more common in people who tend to be more right brain/creative types, and women, but this doesn't necessarily have to be the case. It also tends to start earlier, in childhood or teenage years.
This may not be you, but I though I would share because our diagnoses are so simular and my recent understanding of Atypical Depression has helped me understand my depression much more. There are different medications to look into, diffrences in personality issues to those with "typical" depression, and dealing with it involves a different approach than with more traditional depression.

Whether or not this was helpful, I wish you the best of luck from the bottom of my heart in overcoming your depression and the frustration that comes with both depression and adhd.
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Oh, I feel the cosmos