I have to open this thread asking the question that I have been pondering for a few weeks now.

Do you really want medication for your "disorder"?

I want feedback and reasons why if possible. I really have my own opinion. I choose not to be medicated and want to prove this can be something for all who go through the same difficulties on a daily basis in thier lives.

Please be sincere in your comments.
Thanks,

Charisma*

I think that its possible to gain with either approach,
i believe that one should be left to make one's own choice
as i'm an advocate of an individual making his own decisions regarding his or her 'disorder'
i'm an adult and i have chosen to take medication (wellbutrin 300mgs/adderall 20mgs< i'm soo going to put that in my signature as i'm tired of typing it)
what if?
what if i didn't take meds?
i would feel suicidal and deppressed all of the time, i would of quit my job by now, i wouldn't have been able to complete a semester of college, while working my fulltime job, commute and run a household without my meds.
i have never viewed medication as a magic pill or answer, but precisely b/c of my hesitant and reluctant approach to these type of meds, feeling for years that i'm just weak if i have to take them I REGRET EVER THINKING THAT WAY
i could of spent the last five years especially just living my life and feeling normal

i'm not all up and down and all over the place
there are disadvantages: headaches dry mouth exhaustion
but currently the benefits outweigh any disadvantages

i don't know if this is your perspective or what charisma, i imagine that you're not tossing any arrows out there
but as i'm irritated by the ppl who advocate no pain relief with birth (when any person can get that for the removal of TOOTH)
why can't we all just get along?
why can't ppl just let me take my meds, peacefully, let me be content with my choice
but instead try to whip up and rouse up some kind of chorus about how we should be 'stronger' more 'dedicated' more realistic, less naive, or 'dependant' or on 'drugs'
to handle these issues.
i've been in therapy for years, and i'm grateful for that. i hate that some ppl might read that and think: geez if you're still going it must not work
but its precisely that kind of attitude that just sucks.
i would rather have a trusted mentor by my side in my life
and my medications
than sitting in my abyss alone

by the way::::
WHAT DOES PLEASE REVISE YOUR TREATMENT CHOICES MEAN???

what about:
please rephrase your poll or your topic header

Actually f_wcomboadhd

First off I would like to thank you very much for responding. I am doing a poll. That is just it. Yes, I definately believe to every extent that one must make thier own choice in life for treatment. If it be thier own method or a medicated method. I have my own opinion but not making suggestions. I say that as my thread header due to catching attention for the poll. I appologize if it sounds a little more suggestive than desired.

" i would rather have a trusted mentor by my side in my life
and my medications
than sitting in my abyss alone.."



I take this statement as a great understanding to "your own choice".I am very optimistic...
Again, thanks for your post.

Charisma*

thanks charisma,
i appreciate your diplomacy
something i lack in quite a few times a day and especially when my phone is on mute when i'm at work....

lol


Oh understandable.. Yes, I utilize that wonderful "mute" button much myself. heh heh
no problem ! *smile*
Charisma*

Actually Charisma, I want treatment for my severe ADHD, whatever works, whether it be meds or something else. I'll take meds if they work. I find no worthwhile gifts from my ADD, it just makes it really hard for me to function. It makes me suffer. To me, it's more a handicap than a gift. So many people here say, "ADD is not a disorder!" but what's going on in my brain sure seems like one.

Medication has helped me more than therapy ever has - mind you I haven't been to a therapist specifically for ADHD. Coaching might be helpful to me, but the chances of finding a coach here in the great white north are slim. I'd have to say that the most cost and time effective treatment is medication. I have no quams about meds - I don't have any "moral" objections and I'm not bothered at all by the fact that I'm more productive while medicated or that medication is not "natural" - and the side effects have been pretty much non-existant for me as well, so I'm prepared to take them for the rest of my life - just as a diabetic would be prepared to take insulin for life.

I choose a variety of treatments, including: medication, using an add coach, using various timers & devices & other gadgets, and I am continually in the process of developing better coping strategies.

Hypothetically, if there was some other way to manage my ADD, I suppose I would opt for that method as long as it didn't require me jumping through too many hoops. I am very frustrated by the people who say "I don't use meds to treat my ADD, therefore nobody needs meds to treat ADD." I am convinced that these people have mild ADD or they don't really have ADD at all ...or maybe they have a different type of ADD that doesn't result in the need to have a gun pointed at your head to get things done.

I have inattentive ADD. A large portion of my problems seem to stem from an extreme difficulty to get started/a lack of motivation ...plus really, really poor organizational skills. So when these highfaluting anti-medication people who are dancing thru life with minimal ADD struggles tell me that I wouldn't need meds if I would only commit myself to trying harder; if I would only eat a no-yellow-food-no-sugar-no-caffiene-gluten-free-all-natural-high-fiber-high-protein-green-leaf diet; if I would only exercise every single day; if I would only use Dr. Joe Schmoe's award-winning day planner, home organizer, and event scheduler; if I would stand on my head and chant "I think I can, I think I can" for five minutes every hour of every day...

...when I hear these suggestions I think to myself, "Gee that's a good idea. I think I'll try that." But then I never get started on implementing it, or it takes too much work for me to stick with it. Essentially, my very own ADD's difficulty with getting started & following through makes these treatments very difficult for me to achieve --and downright impossible without some medication.

Sorry for the tone of this response. I know you said you respect everyone's choice, but lately I've been feeling annoyed by people who assume that my ADD is just like their ADD so I kinda I took your post as an opportunity to vent. ;)

gingagirl,

Oh please don't worry. This is all very understanding to me as well as a learning experience. I too have felt the same about the entire trying and wanting but never starting. Or starting and not finishing. It can agravate the living light out of me lol
Lest I say I am learning very much from my body on how it reacts to no meds and herbal medicinals and daily excersize. I am just now pushing my workouts up a notch due to having a broken heart again lol Sounds a lil harsh I know but true. I am a person with true intent so I know to let it go and let time do it's thing. Life goes on and well, this thread is a wonderful source for real opinion and experience to guide all of us who read...
Thanks all for the responses. Hoping for many more ..

I am unmedicated, and I am making it work.

I am unmedicated, and I am making it work.Hi there Waywardclam,

I am intrigued to know how you make it work for yourself? Can you share if I may ask?

:smile:

This choice is just what I'm struggling with now. I've tried diet. Need to get back to exercising but even then I was having problems getting my life together. If I can find something else I'll do it, but my doctor had no other suggestions, so if my TOVA comes back ADHD I'm going to bite the bullet and try meds, at least until something else comes along. My kids deserve a functional mom.

Scattered