My T keeps bringing up ADD

My T has ADD and takes meds for it, so maybe he is projecting and there is nothing to it but...

I have had a really "different" life--mental hospitals, shock treatments, psychotropic meds,pretty severe psychiatric symptoms, never had a full time job, on disability for mental illness for 25 years...

Could ADD be the reason? Or more of a reason than you'd think? I, personally, have never considered that ADD could cause someone to be so severely debilitated as to have had to lead a life like this. My T says ADD can be mild to very very severe. Am I wrong?

I was diagnosed with "over focused ADD" about 4 years ago (not by the T I mentioned above. I was DX by a neurofeedback specialist who diagnoses and treats ADHD.) I was told that Over Focused ADD is kind of the opposite of what most people think of ADD as. Most ADDs have problems because of their slow brain waves. Mine are very fast. I never "space out". My mind is always very busy. Very.
This "over focused" ADD sounds like a fit. I cannot multi task at all! Because I get so over focused on my thoughts that I can't concentrate on what's going on around me. I can get lost in my head and lose track of time. I cannot turn off my thoughts and just chill.

I have also been DXed OCD, schizoaffective, and bipolar I, schizoaffective or bipolar have been the only focus in 21 years of the last 25 years. Now, all of a sudden new docs are coming up with these new DXes for me. I don't know who is right or if any are or if all are. I don't even know if I should have been DXed ADD based on an EEG. And I have a feeling that having fast brain waves could also be an indicator of other things besides ADD, like schizoaffective, OCD or bipolar...

Does anyone have any thoughts?

I guess anything is possible. If you have a lot of different diagnoses though, I'd be a bit careful, maybe work on one thing at a time, etc. I found this:

http://www.aqeta.qc.ca/english/general/types/24.htm

(it's part of a book by Dr. Daniel Amen; see also: http://www.newideas.net/add_types.htm )

Thank you Perna. I've been to new ideas website, but hadn't been on Dr. Amen website.
That sounds just like me!!!
And this:
·Underlying cause: imbalance between neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine
·Treatment: antidepressants, antipsychotique medication
·exercises

Serotonin, norepinephtine and dopamine? AD and antipsychotics??? Sounds like same brain imbalances and treatment for my DXes Bipolar and Schizoaffective too!!! And the description mentions obsessing and excessive worrying--that's me, and one reason why I've been DXed OCD.
Very interesting! Maybe my new T is on to something?

My first thought (and I may have mentioned this before elsewhere so I apologize if I'm repeating myself) is that there is no such thing as "Overfocused ADHD". I'm sure that the person who diagnosed it was either using it as a descriptor, or was committing malpractice. It is likely he was using it as a descriptor... I hope. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Revised (DSM IV TR), there are THREE subtypes of ADHD (and a fourth category called ADHD Not Otherwise Specified). Unless you are in some European countries where they use the ICD 10.

The DSM-IV TR specifies three major subtypes of AD/HD:

1. Primarily Inattentive Subtype. The individual mainly has difficulties with attention, organization, and follow-through.
2. Primarily Hyperactive/Impulsive. The individual mainly has difficulties with impulse control, restlessness, and self-control.
3. Combined Subtype. The individual has symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and restlessness.

Secondly and just as important, NO, ADHD CANNOT be diagnosed by the use of an EEG (or an EKG, or any other medical device).

There is this quackpot called Dr. Amen who makes a living off of his claims of ADHD that sounds very similar to what you described here (of course charging EXORBENT fees for methods that medical insurance won't pay for; hence he doesn't accept insurance--cash only), but I'm sure there are many people who use his methods to make a buck. I do not have "Slow Brainwaves", just as an FYI... to the contrary, I think very, very fast.

ADHD can be quite mild to very severe. It also needs mentioned that everyone manifests symptoms in their own unique way, and whatever stereotypes you might have been spoon fed by the media or what have you need to be discarded. Have you researched ADHD on your own before?

Some of my favorite adult ADHD sites:

Medicine Net-ADHD Adults

eMedicine Health-ADHD Adults

CHADD-National Resource Center on ADHD

Okay, my honest gut feeling is that you are spending way too much time being told by well-meaning professionals (probably) how much you CAN'T do, and how defective you supposedly are that you haven't even been given a fair shot. What you focus on grows. I think starting freshand getting an accurate assessment by an independent psychologist who has no access to the data that previous doctors/psychologists/therapists have compiled is a good way to begin again.

I also think you should be honest with your therapist and tell him what you told us. Ask him directly if he thinks you have ADHD, and also ask him what else he has diagnosed you with and WHY (the basis for his opinion). The most important thing is how you feel, not the accuracy of the labels we throw around so freely in this society. I'm a HUGE fan of taking control of my own healthcare. It is my life, after all, the same with you.

What is YOUR opinion? How do you feel about all the labels and lack of help thus far?

Dr. Daniel AMEN is a crackpot.

I do not recommend any of his books. He's in it only to make a buck with far reaching claims that are not clinically studied nor peer reviewed (huge parts of the scientific process). Notice he also sells A LOT of stuff on his website.

Bad science is not worth reading.