I am fairly certain that I have ADD, but have never been diagnosed. I believe it may be causing quite a bit of stress to my marriage, however I can seem to fight it off at work.
What steps do I need to take to get help. Any advice is more than welcome...

If you feel comfortable, please tell us about some of your symptoms. We can not diagnose you, but can give you some idea if your symptoms are similar to any of ours. You should schedule an appointment with your doctor and then see if you can get a referral for a more indepth evaluation.

The whole reason my ADD/HD was diagnosed was because of marital problems too. You are not alone.

- Tim

Thanks for the response. I am 31. I have all the classic symtoms, restlessness, easily bored. I am very intellegent, (supposedly;)) but never excelled in school. My marraige problems stem from me not always being honest with my wife, but always looking for the quickest answer to her questions. I have always had organizational problems, and can usually do well in a single area of my life if I focus all my attention on it.

I am planning on doing exactly what you recommend. Any ideas on what I can expect?

I would get the book "Driven to Distraction". This book will help you in the diagnosis. Either you will completely relate (possible ADD) or you won't (not ADD). In my case, the book could have been written about me (an a lot of others that frequent this site).

You may also find out that you have adapted to the ADD symptoms throughout your life. I have. I am very organized and extremely detailed. Too the extreme! Almost ODC. I had too, otherwise I would have always failed.

Keep us updated.

- Tim

Find a good doctor who specializes in addult ADHD. That's the most important thing. Shop around & ask questions, look for references, maybe join your local CHADD & ask people at the meetings for references. Another possibility is check with your local medical school & see if they have a screening program. I've just done this, I thought it was going to be free but in fact it's $180 for a 1-1/2 hour interview but at least I know it will be the best leading researchers with supervision from the head doctor, etc. Any particular random doctor could be totally clueless or have some wierd ideas, I previously paid $500 fixed fee for a supposed specialist but it turns out he really just works with kids & doesn't believe in using stimulants & gave me a wierd made up diagnosis of repressed anxiety with some attention issues & lame explanations & a prescription for effexor which is nasty stuff.

Good luck.

I just felt I had to mention that effexor can be "nasty", but it has turned my life around. I have absolutely no side effects and combined with my Ritalin I am beginning to feel like I have a life again.

I agree with everyone here, though, that you need to shop around and find a good psychiatrist, neurologist, psychologist who specializes in Adult ADD. I found mine by talking with our child psychiatrist...those in the field tend to be up on who's who, and since this has been a "child" syndrome their are more specialists there. Just an idea.

Good luck.

Kim

Here's another clue about the doc I didn't like: He typed out patient information stuff for his files while I waited on an old fashioned manual typewriter! Ugh. And it turns out he doesn't believe in using stimulants, he thinks norepenephrine has more to do with ADD than dopamine.

I am not really excited about taking medications, but I am curious if anyone can give me a run down of what drugs might be prescripbed and what they do and common side effects. Anything that I should stay away from.

Plus, are there any good websites to find an addult specialist in the Austin Area or if anyone knows of one...

The book that made something click for me was "You mean I'm not lazy, crazy, or stupid?" I honestly never suspected that I could be ADD before reading it.

Personally, I was one of the few not prescribed any stimulant because I have an anxiety disorder that wouldn't be helped by it :) But I took imipramine (brand Tofranil), an anti-depressent, for about 5 years and that worked as a 24 hr a day deal. I was far from depressed, it just happens to treat ADD as well.

You just need to find the right person to talk to. If you see a general practitioner as your personal doctor, they could definitely have some recommendations.

Good luck..

Check out the book _A.D.D & Romance_ by Johnathan Scott Halverstadt. It will give you an idea of whether you have ADD and provide you with some strategies for reducing the impact on your relationship. He works with the Amen clinic, but there's none of that brain scan/6 types of ADHD stuff that some people don't put a lot of stock in.

When I read that book, I found myself identifying with virtually everything that he said ADDers do. That's what lead me to seek diagnosis and treatment. You won't find any symptom checklists or anything, but if you've found your way to these forums, I suspect you're a bit beyond needing them, anyway.