I stopped attending AA/NA meetings 2 mos.ago.

Its not that I have anything against the programs I'm just starting to feel like my problems with drugs and alcohol are a direct result of my ADD.Not due to the fact that I was born a drug addict/alcoholic and all the anxiety I felt growing up was from ADD and not some predisposition to chemicals or a character defect.
I guess I'm starting to beleive that if I treat the ADD as my problem. The easier it will be for me to live my life without drugs.
I'm not trying to control my drinking or drugging.
I know that I will never be able to be a social drinker .I dont want to be. I just want a better understanding of why I do the things I do,and why I feel the feel. if that makes sense.

I was born with ADD. Those worthless thoughts I had growing up were from ADD not from the drug addict or alcoholic I was "born to be".

I started on adderall and remeron back in Jan. I am now a little over 8 mos. clean.
this is the longest I've been clean my whole life. I owe this to receiving proper treatment of my ADD.not drug treatment.
I completed a 6 mo. residential dual diagnosis treatment program back in june.
I have been in 6 different treatment programs prior to this and failed miserably each time. Actually it wasnt miserably.i just simply failed.
You get pretty good at things if you do them long enough.

I was great at failing.

The 12 steps and the higher power never worked for me before.I mean i tried to make it work.I just never got it.
My father is a therapist who also had a drinking problem. He went to AA for 5 yrs. He hasnt attended meetings for 12 years. And yes he is still sober and has a full life.
I guess thats a good thing I dont know how I would feel if my therapist had to attend meetings to deal with his/her life issues.
If you ever had a "good " therapist chances are you no longer need to see them on a regular basis because they did their job,meaning gave you tools to work things out on your own.
The most important thing I have learned over the past eight months is that I do have a brain and yes its ok to use it.
Cognitive therapy has been key to keeping me sober.It also helps with my ADD
I have been using a cognitive therapy approach to staying clean this time.
Again this is the longest I've been sober since I was 10.
I have been participating in The SMART recovery program. I would post the link but I dont know how to.not that i'm dumb i just never learned.
look up www.smartrecovery.org
there is a ton of information that can be used by anyone for any life situation.I've found that alot of helps with my ADD as well.
Just because you are not a member of AA or NA or have trouble "turning things over to a higher power" DOES NOT MEAN YOU CANT STAY CLEAN OR SOBER.

I self medicated my ADD with drugs and alcohol my whole life.
Medication and cognitive therapy is why i am sober now. My thoughts now have a defined start and finish. I can now almost change the way I feel by the way i think. I'm actually working in a workbook titled "Mind Over Mood" This workbook got me through treatment. Me being sober now is not the result of "working the program" that particular program may work for others.but what works for others doesnt work for me.
Cognitive therapy is not new.its been around for a long time. Many if not all good therapists base their treatment plans on these simple ideas.
The reason this works for me I dont know,maybe because I can think now.

If it wasnt for my ADD being treated I would propably continue to make bad choices and yes I would eventually wind up dead as a result. With the ADD being treated abusing drugs just doesnt make sense. I did drugs for a reason. I am not going to say I hated doing drugs either. Drugs make you "feel" good.When you have ADD and dont know it how do you feel? For me I felt worthless,insecure,anxious,crazy,lazy,stupid,defen sive,uptight and above all
alone
Very alone.How could anybody have the same broken thoughts I have? Nobody thinks these things but me.
Before I was diagnosed with ADD I beleived the reason for my "defective traits of character" was due to the fact I was born a drug addicted alcoholic.
It made sense to me.there had to be a reason for my behavior. After all. What sane person would want to live life the way I did?
It had to be because I was a drug addict/alcoholic. no other reason.
So my only option is to get a sponsor and learn these 12 steps and if I dont I will wind up right where I left off, only worse.

This is what I beleived in for the past 12 years.No wonder I didnt get it. Being diagnosed with ADD turned on the lights for me.
Understanding my ADD is a hell of alot easier than working on my "defects of character"
ADD is not a defect of character.

A little long...but I'll buy what your saying. I would even go further and say that the fast majority of humans are hardwired "good".

Everyone wants a place in the sun...to be good at something. The majority of people with disorders falter because they can't get to where they want to go and they find negative coping mechanisms or because they choose an outward identity which gets them into trouble. For example, student does poorly in school but fits in with dope smokers. Student identifies with the pothead persona and gets into a positive feedback loop with peers. This group as a rule are greater risk takers and with time, this person will get into more risky situations that may have long term negative outcomes.

Thinking of addiction as a character defect is out dated thinking.

Congratulations on getting your demons under control.

there is a ton of information that can be used by anyone for any life situation.I've found that alot of helps with my ADD as well.
Just because you are not a member of AA or NA or have trouble "turning things over to a higher power" DOES NOT MEAN YOU CANT STAY CLEAN OR SOBER.

I self medicated my ADD with drugs and alcohol my whole life.
ADD is not a defect of character.
I'm glad that you were able to get sober after your diagnosis--I wish I had been diagnosed sooner.

I got sober in AA and NA, but haven't really been about to get myself together until I found out I had ADD and tried meds--which helps a great deal.

In defense of AA, NA and the other A's, they provide suggestions only. You don't have to believe in a higher power. While there is peer pressure to do it the AA way (whatever that is), there are many, many members who don't follow or find the program not so useful, but remain sober.

There are also many members who say the steps aren't suggestions, that you MUST believe such and such or you WILL drink--imagine someone pointing a finger at you to emphasize the words. They attract people who need to believe that there is a strictly defined way and a known power to help them get sober. If it works for them, that's not such a bad thing -- though I don't appreciate the guilt-making aspects of that attitude.

That rigidity did not work for me, but I liked other things enough to stick around.

From my observations (limited though they are) a lot of people in AA and NA are probably ADHD. Is this ironic? Not really.

Hey, what do we do to feel better about ourselves? We drink and use. We end up in an A group and are told that if we do everything that's suggested that our little problem will go away, anon. When that doesn't work we're told (sometime quickly, sometimes slowly) to seek help for outside issues.

And here we are! :D


Cheers,

I've posted this before, so I'll keep it short.I'm in Recovery and one of my drugs of choice 30 yrs ago was dexedrine.Now, after going thru almost every major medication available(except Concerta),including hanging on too long with Straterra and ending up in the hospital with an allergic reaction, I'm now on Adderall XR.

If you get a chance, please read the chapter/story in the NA big book entitled "More Will Be Revealed."

What it says is that when you take a medication from an informed physician for a legitimate medical condition,which ADHD is,then its okay.

For whatever reason, I'm not getting a "buzz." What I am getting is an increase in my already high blood pressure. So. I've doubled my bp meds and have gone 1/2 time last week and Tues & Wednes of next week.

I'm getting a letter for short term disability,however,I hope that it won't be necessary.

I try and work my program daily and I do a written 10th Step daily as well.

I wish you luck and continued Recovery.

I've posted this before, so I'll keep it short.I'm in Recovery and one of my drugs of choice 30 yrs ago was dexedrine.Now, after going thru almost every major medication available(except Concerta),including hanging on too long with Straterra and ending up in the hospital with an allergic reaction, I'm now on Adderall XR.

If you get a chance, please read the chapter/story in the NA big book entitled "More Will Be Revealed."

What it says is that when you take a medication from an informed physician for a legitimate medical condition,which ADHD is,then its okay.

For whatever reason, I'm not getting a "buzz." What I am getting is an increase in my already high blood pressure. So. I've doubled my bp meds and have gone 1/2 time last week and Tues & Wednes of next week.

I'm getting a letter for short term disability,however,I hope that it won't be necessary.

I try and work my program daily and I do a written 10th Step daily as well.

I wish you luck and continued Recovery.


McTavish,

I'm sorry to hear you are going through a difficult time. I feel for you. I know what it is like looking for the magic drug combination which can sometimes be elusive. Been there, done that, still doing it. I think as i go through this, i continue gathering info, data, experience, and i get better at judging which treatment works, which doesn't. The Straterra also had a negative effect on me, causing some urintation problems, so i quit using it, though i liked the effect. Anyways, i really just wanted to say, hang in there buddy. You are not alone in the battle. You have done a lot of good for your little patients (kids) and someone will step in and do a lot of good for you in your time of need. I have found that when i am not making progress, it is often a good idea - though scary and often discouraged - to weigh the option of trying a new therapist, a new psychiatrist. I figure if the current system of practitioners is not working for me, it is time to shake up the recipe of providers and see if i can get someone who has a better take on how to proceed. I recently found that to be very effective. I would be happy to talk to you privately, by private message, instant message, email, or phone. Don't hesistate to ask for suppport or ideas or just someone to pick up your spirits a bit.

Take care,

Jonathan

Been there ,I probably spent 11 years in and out of AA,NA
Made alot of friends that I still have today ,people that don't mind self inspection .Lots of ADD ,OCD and other mental illnesses in the rooms ,not that it surprises me .

I finally sought the help from an ADD Specialised psychitrist .I only wish I had done this in my 20 s
I bet my whole life would have turned out differently
No regrets ,loads of exitment .

Thanks.:) I appreciate it.Things have a way of working out and I know this will too.

Robert