Hi all,

I have noticed that a lot of you speak of family members who have ADD/ADHD. It appears that I am the only ADDer in my family. Are any of you on the same boat?

Genetics seem to play a role in ADD. How is it possible that I am the only one? :confused:

-Diane

I am pretty sure that my mother, father, stepmother, and brother qualify... but of the lot of them only my mother will admit it. None have been professionally diagnosed.

The worst part is my father and stepmother are both social workers, and refuse to believe that they or I have ADD. I think the problem is because I am smart in many ways, I have learned to cope... they think that people with ADD are all severaly dysfunctional... they don't see the dysfunction that I DO have in my life, and don't seem to understand the causes of the troubles in their lives...

Diane --

Yeah. Denial is one thing, and another is that there is such a thing as "acquired AD/HD". There is also the thing about family dysfunctions being handed down with the genes. There isn't a really simple answer.

I've heard of AD/HD being a consequence of (1) forceps delivery; (2) heavy metal poisoning (not just mercury); (3) just falling on your head the wrong way; (4) etc.

It's still the same syndrome.

As far as my own family is concerned, my father never finished projects but had a wicked sense of humor, my mother was a total control freak and talks a mile a minute, my sister and I share the same attentional and organizational deficits. She is a nurse and originally hostile to the idea of a familial disorder, but came around eventually.

I can see symptoms back a few generations on both sides, too.

The one good thing acquired AD/HD has over the familial kind is -- you can't hand it down to your kids.... So you might have a half-full glass.....

Ken

I heard of the forceps delivery thing. I was a forceps delivered baby. I wonder if there is any merit to that theory. Sometimes I wonder if my mom is ADD. But she seems to be getting along fine in life. She's an Admin Assistant just like me - and way better at it than I am.

But maybe there is some ADD on my mom's side. All of them are artists.

In my family, my sisters and I are all ADHD, My parents show alll the signs but deny they are... Shows what the pass felt about ADD. My children both have ADD (their father was ADHD too).
So we are a hyper family for sure! :D

Originally posted by ferrette1976
I heard of the forceps delivery thing. I was a forceps delivered baby.

I was also !!!!! I was told by the person who tested, it's something they hear often.

I have 1 brother and 1 sister....No ADD

Mom.... no ADD

Dad.... he seems ADD to me but he will not admit to it...

My dad's 2 sisters feel they are, both my Aunts have sons with ADD....

Yep. Well me too. but then so were a LARGE number of people. they did that WAY too much. forceps delivery.

I said "Other" because I was adopted - the poll is on genetics and I don't know whether my biological parents had ADD. My adoptive parents (the ones I grew up with who to me - unless I'm thinking about issues like this - are just "my parents") certainly don't seem to be ADDers, though my mother was (she died ten years ago) a bit scatty. My sisters are certainly not ADD. So I grew up very much feeling the odd one out in my family (I had no awareness of ADD, of course). From the small amount I have read about my biological father (an impressionistic description by someone at the adoption agency) I can well imagine he had ADD, though.

I am the only one, however, I think my Mum has Aspergers, Dad has learning disabilities, Mum's Dad is very Aspergers and her Mum is very ADD. I have a hyperactive sister (with no difficulties), one of her kids is the same as her. My other sister is socially 'different', her daughter is not diagnosed but exactly like me, her son is severely autistic. My daughter has ADHD and OCD and my son has Autism and ADHD. Both Mum and Dad had people in their families who could have been diagnosed autistic.

Well I am the only one who has it....I truly believe this....although there are other forms of mental disorders in my family....I'm totally convinced my mom has Bipolar Disorder......but that's about it.....tons of alcoholism though.....

and speaking of family.....I'm off to visit mine.....in Boston....leaving EARLY Friday a.m. (my plane leaves at 6:00 a.m....ugh....).....My cousin's wedding is Sunday.....I will fly back on Monday night....looking forward esp. to see my niece Jessica, one year old....:)

I wish I had a job all lined up to "brag" about....but that's okay....noone has seen me since I graduated....except my parents.....:) Well, need to go pack................:)

My Mother was diagnosed with ADD many years after I was, and its quite possible that my daughter has it as well.

As I mentioned in another subforum, a lot of individuals in my family have ADD or ADHD. A couple of people have suggested that I might have ADD because of certain traits I have exhibited past and present; but I have learned to compensate for it so well that it isn't a problem. If that is the case, I see no need for a dx.

Neither parent had ADD. I'm all but certain my father had Asperger's (I'm not sure the syndrome was recognized at the time). I have one son who likely has ADHD (he shows all the signs at home, but he's a quiet kid at school).

Found an interesting article on this very topic at WebMD in the ADHD section entitled, "When ADHD Runs in Families." Very interesting...discusses a study of ADHD and twins, how adults are often diagnosed themselves when their children are evaluated, the challenges (with solution suggestions) for "ADHD families," and a couple of paragraphs on the genetics issue.

Welcome, eric, by the way! Do feel free to start a thread introducing yourself on the Introductions subforum.

The 1st diagnosed in my family was my brother when he was a child...he grew up on ritalin.

Then, my mother was diagnosed a several years ago...Then it was my turn a couple years ago. Now, my 9-yr old daughter has been recently diagnosed. Seems to run in the family.

My wife's sister seems to exhibit many symptoms of ADD and she's finally managed to get her mom to get her sister in for counseling or diagnosis. Her parents were in denial for the longest time, but her sister's problems have just mounted precipitiously enough to force them to talk to her about it.

OT, my neighbor across the street has classic symptoms of ADD...her sister is a dx'd ADDer, but the neighbor denies that she, herself, has ADD. My wife and I know she has it. We've finally convinced her to go see my psychiatrist and at least talk about her issues. It's always fascinating to run across certain people and know as clear as day that they have ADD but are in complete denial.

I got my ADHD from my mother and bipolar from My grandmother on my moms side but nothing form my father except for crude jokes. So the Morgan Side of my family is the one with all the fun disablities. But what steams my red beans is that everything has seem to have skipped my sister and landed all in my lap....grrr and she is the oldest...at least I do get better drugs than she does:D

I am the onyi one who has been diagnosed but I suspect that quite few of my relatives has it too.

I have mentioned it to my siblings, and I got the everyone does that comments.
I think they think everyone does that because they have the same/similar issues.
I remember when I was a little kid, My oldest brother (15 years older) used to mention loosing things and forgeting things all of the time. He has disconnected from the family, I think because it was too complicated for him. I have always been upset with him for that, but now I can empathise.

Since realizing I have ADD, I strongly suspect my Mom does as well. Alot of things from the past make sense. She would literally RUN out the door to go to work because she was leaving at the time she was supposed to be there, (don't know how she kept her job) always waiting till the last minute to get ready for everything, and her housekeeping skills......oh my.......and she would never let me help her clean because "I didn't do it right". She always needed to do it herself, but it never got done. I never invited friends over because of that. She forms her own opinions about things, and though they make sense to her, they don't to anyone else. And grudges.......that trait of hers cost me 22 years of a relationship with my half-sister. (my father's daughter from his 1st marriage)
To this day, if she's going with us somewhere, we tell her we have to be there an hour before we acually do so we get there on time. I'm not so bad in that area, my problems are mostly the forgetfulness and organization. My house is clean, with neat little piles of stuff all over the place! LOL
I don't know whether I'd say anything to her about my suspicions, being that she's 74 years old. She has formed her coping mechanisms and we just learn to deal with the rest I guess. I guess now that I know where it comes from, I could develop some mechanisms to cope WITH her!
Jen

I am the only one too!
Could you find some information about forceps damage causing the problem...? If so, would you send it to me?
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Caro

I have ADD, GAD with depression, OCD and borderline personality disorder.

My mom has had depression before..infact has been on Prozac and has had ECT a long time ago. Both of her brother's committed suidcide, one in the 80's and one a couple of years ago. My mom also thinks that her father may have had some depression. I am also suspecting that my mom is ADD because her life patterns seem to have been identical to mine. lol

I know that both of my brothers have some form of OCD, though they've never been officially dxed with anything.

My oldest brother's oldest daughter (my niece) has been dxed with ADHD and ODD, and they are now thinking she might have bipolar as well...her mother is bipolar, too.

That my family in a nutshell...

No one is diagnosed so far but my neice and a cousin. But it is running rampid in our family. It's a family tradition, no mating with normies. (Grins)
I can not think of any normalness in either side of my family, every cousin/uncle/aunt.

My dad is textbook! I used to work for him - they call him the "Taz" at his business. His desk in his office is usually camoflaged by piles and piles of papers - who knows what they are but they are probably important. His workers actually joke that if you can't find him just stand in one place - within a few minutes he will come flying by. It's a big warehouse type of place and he covers more ground in one day working than Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France. (seriously - I've seen him in action). If he drinks coffee or eats chocolate all morning - the workers send out a "threat alert" similar to the terrorist threat alert system. Green is a good day, orange is he's had a few coffees and red is stay out of his way!

My mother also has many traits. She was diagnosed bipolar II a few years ago but never evaluated for other comorbid conditions. But the more she learns about it from me the more she suspects she might have it too - I think.

My two brothers also have some traits. My youngest brother is a natural drummer and artist, procrastinates EVERYTHING, is forever late for everything and they both have a slew of traffic violations. My other brother was diagnosed bipolar II (based on family history = my mom) He's not doing so well on the meds. He still misses a lot of work and did I mention they both smoke pot all the time?

I can also look at several aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides and recognize a lot of familiar red flags. Do we qualify for a study or what?

So far I am the only person who has been formally diagnosed. I joke with my dad about him trying Strattera. He's become alot more humorous about it which is good.

One good example - we race sailboats every week. At the beginning of this season when we were putting the boat in the water - he forgot the boom at his warehouse. For the non-sailors here - the boom is a crucial piece of equipment on a sailboat and you can't sail without it. Of course he didn't realize that he forgot it until 1 hour before the first race. So I frantically went and picked up the boom and got it up there in time. When I got there he said, "I can't believe I forgot something so important!" I joked and said, "Ah, you just need some Strattera!" So he got a big laugh out of that.

I would love it if he would try meds but at 52 years old it doesn't seem likely. (I know his employees would love it if he would stop terrorizing them too!)

I am the only one too!
Could you find some information about forceps damage causing the problem...? If so, would you send it to me?
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Caro

Now I know what those two notches are on the sides of my head! I smell a lawsuit! :eek:

CHADD says this about the causes of ADD:
Although precise causes have not yet been identified, there is little question that heredity makes the largest contribution to the expression of the disorder in the population.

In instances where heredity does not seem to be a factor, difficulties during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco, premature delivery, significantly low birth weight, excessively high body lead levels, and postnatal injury to the prefrontal regions of the brain have all been found to contribute to the risk for AD/HD to varying degrees.

Link (http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/causes)


Try a Google search on the terms ADHD and Forceps or ADHD and “brain injury” and you will find tons of useful information.

I would say that no one in my family has enough symptoms to be diagnosed. My mom has a lot of symptoms but I don't think she would be diagnosed because it does not dominate her life in the way it does me. My daughter is only 6 but she seems to be the same way. She sometimes has problems focusing, but with changes in the environment she seems to be able to focus better. I really believe that people do not "have" ADD or "not have it". I definately hit the ADD jackpot though since I fit almost every criteria!

I am the only one in my immediate family (parents, siblings, on up the tree that way) that has been formally diagnosed.

My niece has been diagnosed and my oldest son has been too. My youngest son I am positive has AD/HD, but my wife won't believe it.

When I told my Dad that I had ADD, he had mentioned that he most likely has it, but not as bad as I do. He is able to function, but focuses his energies much better than I do. He has his own business, flies airplanes, even built one in is garage!

Brent

I voted "other". My dad was an adventure seeker & a bit of a rebel. A depressive alcoholic who enjoyed going for a walk while reading a book, he killed himself 30 years ago. My mom is a lot like me. She's done fine in life careeer-wise but is a space cadet in her heart... sensitive, shy & prone to worry or to just blow things off if we are able. Creative, introverted, inclined to do what's necessary to please people then resent it. Depressed also. Being a woman and from another generation, she was much more responsible than me but we are more alike now that she's retired. I don't think either of us have full blown ADD. We are quite spiritual though I was raised without religion and am an atheist, she believes in various mystical things and actually joined a "cult" for more than 10 years (not so long ago). One of my maternal grandmother's sister's was schizophrenic. My mother's sister is functionally ADD & her daughter had anorexia and now has what I'd call fimbromyalsia though she just calls it arthritis (about 40, my age). My elder brother was adopted, he's borderline personality narcissistic or something... was an evil ******* when we were kids but we're OK now as long as we only talk every 10 years or so. Just call me Beaver Cleaver [grin].

I'm the only one with an official dx. Very likely my older brother has it, as well as my niece. Haven't been able to tell with my 2.5 year old son, but wouldn't be surprised :)

Don't know about the parents. Dad probably not; mom died when I was six so I don't remember enough about her to make a judgement call there.

I'm quite certain my Dad has it. He won't get diagnosed, and I don't think he needs to really, as I believe you only need to treat something when you feel it needs treatment. He truly taught me a lot about how to cope with these things we didn't even know had name.

As for the forceps delivery... I heard it now for the first time and it kind of hit me, and as you can see I have a very good chance of inheriting. But then, a strange thought came to my mind: do you think that maybe a lot of babies with AD/HD are delivered with forceps, because they already have AD/HD when they are born?

There hasn't been official diagnosis of ADD for me. The doc is working on the bipolar first, then we'll see how the concentration is going. (nowhere) depression and probably bipolar run in the family (I had an uncle into drugs and was diagnosed with schizophrenia who committed suicide.) My Dad is definitely depressed but won't get a diagnosis. He has ADD symptoms but not as textbook as I do. My Mom doesn't believe in ADD, she just thinks we all need to "try harder". I'm 99% sure my 5 year old has it, but the pediatrician won't consider it yet.


As far as forceps deliveries go...it really depends on where you were born. Forceps are not as common anymore, but it depends on where you were born, when and how much they were used, or still are used. There's a higher rate of C-sections now (35% in many states, don't get me started on that rant.) While I wouldn't be surprised that forceps delivery could certainly play a role, my vote at this time is genetics. Not treating ADD leads to many of the other mental ailments we suffer from. (not all, but exacerbates others and makes it difficult to diagnose)

my mother seems to have quite a few things going on w/her, but the ones that stand out seem consistant w/adhd-she dont believe in it tho.
my sister also seems to have symptoms even worse than mine, but im not sure if thats brought on by her ongoing drug habit or what.
come to think of it, of the 5 of us that were in the family my brother seems to be the only normie among us---guess ill have to amend my vote.

I posted this close to a year ago:
Genetic Connections Between ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Autism, Schizophrenia, Epilepsy (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3189&)

I didn't vote because only know that my grandfather mother's side had an "extreme" personality, my mother suffers from depression (ADD related?), my Aunt (mother's sister) might qualify and her son was massive ADHD.

I can contribute that both of my children are. One ADHD/ODD and one ADD.

None of these were options.

My father may be inattentive type. My cousin on my father's side took Adderall for a while, but I don't know if he ever got a Dx...

I have reason to believe, though, that it is a recessive gene. Seeing as my family all has dark hair and brown eyes, and I have blonde hair and blue eyes, I have all the recessives anyways...it would make sense that I would get this one as well.

Neither my parents nor my brother show any overt signs of ADD. However, my mom has 3 brothers who do. The worst of the three has been married 4 times, had at least 6 careers that I know of, and moved a thousand miles away. :P The other two are basically less extreme versions of him.

Egads - I was a forceps baby, my daughter, who is also ADD had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck when she was born... I wonder if that does something similar? My dad was suspected AD/HD (he died before I could talk him into getting it checked out). My aunt seems to have OCD - she can't sit still, either.

A younger cousin and I both have ADD, i'm inattentive and she's hyperactive. However, I don't think my ADD comes from that side of the family.

4 out of 5 of us have ADD. Coincedance or not? I think so!!

I think I am the only one in my family but I am still undiagnosed and just started therapy. My brother and sister show no symptoms what so ever but then again that's from the outside. I really don't know what their life is really like but if they do have it, they are handling it very well. My father is an alcoholic and was ever since I can remember so it's hard to tell and my mom has Dementia and I can't remember her in my childhood or life at all before she got sick. I think I'm in the grieving process and I suppressed my memories of her somehow.

My daughter was just diagnosed with AD/HD though.

My whole family displays ADD spectrum symptoms. Mum was inattentive & forgetful, Dad was hyper & disorganised. All 4 brothers have combo of above. All currently undiagnosed (except me) & all but one brother completely rejects the idea that they might have ADD.

My dad has it as well as me and my two brothers and now my 2 children;)

ADD me to the list of multiples:
Dad: ADD not dx'd
Mom: OCD tendencies. medical treatment w/no dx
Brother: Learning Disabilities but Voice of Stability in our world
Sis: Paranoid Schizophrenic- dx'd & thankfully medicated
Maternal aunt: Paranoid Schizo.-dx'd by local police dept.(good enuf 4 me!)
Maternal G'father:Alchoholic w/major ADD tendencies & anxiety- no dx
Paternal G'father: Alchoholic w/ major LD's
Maternal G'mother: Paranoid Schizo_ no dx
Paternal G'mother: Chronic liar & shoplifter since childhood- What is that???
Paternal Uncle: Alchoholic, ADHD no dx
1st cousin: Aspberger's - no DX
Nephew: ADHD w/ LD- dx'd

I could go on, but its getting depressing....that's another thread, right?

I'm the only one in the family that has ADHD, but I have a feeling my dad had it too, but was able to cope with it, also I think some of my uncles have it, one of my uncle lives in a park, he's an alcoholic, and he chooses to live in the street, we've tried many many times to help him, but now we just let him be cause he is happy there.

My family doesn't believe in ADHD, they see it as an excuse, everytime I try talking to them about my childhood and why I should of been medicated they laugh and say you would still be the same thing. I was very very bad as a kid, but the beatings I used to get always helped me focus (which is good, cause nothing else worked for me).

T-Bass

I will tell you what someone told me one day. Because like you i use to say i was a bad kid. But did you ever stop to ask yourself if by any chance it could have been that your parents did not have the skills or the knowledge to help you back then.

Digitl who was not bad just not understood i think.