I hope that title makes sense.

I was diagnosed late last year. Twice I'd been to uni to complete a degree in media production and communications. Twice I've left. I had no problems completing units of my majors, but struggled with core and option units. At the moment I've finished all my core and major units, and only have about 1 semester worth of option units to finish.

I contacted the uni recently regarding finishing off the degree. Unfortunately it's been more than 14years since I first enrolled and there is a cut off period to complete, which I have now passed. I have no beef with this, I understand.

But I hate the fact that with the right assistance and direction I know I could finish it off. I'm the only member of my family without a degree now.

Also, the second time I went back was when my wife and I were getting married. She made a lot of sacrifices for me then and in the end I bailed. When I told her recently that I wanted to get that degree it made her so happy. It was a real let down that my time has elapsed.

Anyway, a lot of good has come from my diagnosis. But that is something that will sit with me for a long time.

If you can afford to go back and want the degree, go back! If this is something that has been bothering you it may be just what you need. If you don't want to go for a degree, maybe just taking some courses can give you that feeling of success without going back through a whole program.

The most disappointing thing for me has been that my meds weren't correct right away. I wanted that immediate improvement.
Good luck!

Most disappointing for me is still not being able to do the totally boring stuff with any type of consistency. I am starting to think maybe some things are just too mundane that I will NEVER be able to do them and just need to delegate or transfer them to someone else. That's a hard pill to swallow.

Most disappointing for me is still not being able to do the totally boring stuff with any type of consistency


I am with you there. The disappointing thing is I will NEVER be able to do paper work worth a hoot. My medications help me be able to actually get it done in this space time continuum and it is adequate but good hardly!!!!

Some people do such short but accurate notes I am jealous of that ability!!!!!

The most disappointing things are the problems I have with processing speed and productivity, and how they effect my paperwork.

Meds have literally turned my life and marriage around, but there are still disappointments. The difficulties I still have with working memory, organization, and procrastination are probably my biggest frustrations, even these have improved but not nearly to the level I would like. As far as paperwork goes -- well, I just realized I forgot to send my nephew a birthday card and am three days late and counting on turning in my daughters paperwork for this semester of homeschool.

Scattered

The most dissapointing thing to me is when I do get the courage to mention that I have ADHD (not that I'm hiding, just not advertising) is the blank "you gotta be kidding me" stare of the "non believers.":mad: Then the quick subject change. Ya'll know the one...

Hm.

I'd say my procrastination/lack of consistency - which is a double edged sword in that if I know I'm REALLY putting off something, then I want to do it. The problem is, I usually can't get around to doing it because of the pressure I'm putting on myself. If I start something, I won't always finish it. Meh.

Also, echoing a similar vein to what Runinl8 said, is the lack of support I got from people after my second diagnosis. No one seemed to really understand how important it was to me, and minimized what I was feeling.

I have many disappointments from my past that are related to ADD. If I had only known....

1) not finishing my masters thesis though I had all the research done. I just could not make myself write it. I wasted 5 years for nothing.

2) my failed marriage. Not all aDD related. But my X hated my piles of stuff and the way I would hyper focus on any new interest.

3) that I am not ok with boredom. This makes most jobs excrutiating after I lose interest.

4) my inability to keep interested in things that at one time fascinated me.

5) my inability to follow through on things once they get boring

6) my inability organize my life

7) my inability to make my great ideas become a reality

8) my frustration with myself on the lack of years to learn everything I want to learn!

9) the fact that my boredom and need for stimulation has lead me to cheat on the men that I cared for in my life.

10) the fact that I need to be on meds which scare the crud out of me. I enjoy them but they scare me too.

11) the way that I get obsessed and spend way too much money.

12) my messy disorganized house and car

I was diagnosed about 13 years ago but I didn't think to take drugs or read books or anything. After my divorce, I lost structure in my life and just slept all the time and just could not get it together. My new boyfriend has ADD and I saw that maybe I did too. I was rediagnosed and put on Adderall. Its all so clear now the havoc this disease has wreaked on my life.

And by the way, the world sees me as very successful and with it... If they only new! I live in an agony of self doubt and I am always amazed when someone says something positive about me. I am just sure that everyone sees what a loser I am! Yet at the same time, I am extremely self confident and feel I can accomplish almost anything if I try.

I hope that title makes sense.

I was diagnosed late last year. Twice I'd been to uni to complete a degree in media production and communications. Twice I've left. I had no problems completing units of my majors, but struggled with core and option units. At the moment I've finished all my core and major units, and only have about 1 semester worth of option units to finish.

I contacted the uni recently regarding finishing off the degree. Unfortunately it's been more than 14years since I first enrolled and there is a cut off period to complete, which I have now passed. I have no beef with this, I understand.

But I hate the fact that with the right assistance and direction I know I could finish it off. I'm the only member of my family without a degree now.

Also, the second time I went back was when my wife and I were getting married. She made a lot of sacrifices for me then and in the end I bailed. When I told her recently that I wanted to get that degree it made her so happy. It was a real let down that my time has elapsed.

Anyway, a lot of good has come from my diagnosis. But that is something that will sit with me for a long time.

Recognize who you are, let go of the past, and move on.

My biggest disappointment since dx has been the realization that meds can only take me so far. There are some things I will never be able to do.

The problems that sent me to the doctor have all been improved a great deal, but I still struggle to stay awake when reading sometimes and I still dread certain tasks (like boring meetings).

I have to carefully plan my days so that I am doing the most attention-heavy tasks when my meds are at their peak.

I have to carefully regulate my medication depending on the tasks I need to do on a given day. I am sensitive to too much, but can't function with too little if I need to do a lot of reading or other work.

But I'm thrilled there are treatments that allow me to do what I need to do!

Shelly...your master's thesis hit home with me. I left my senior year of college early. I had all the credits I needed to graduate with the exception of an honor's research thesis in psychology. I had already ran the experiment and had ran the ANOVA"s on the results. I just needed to write it up. I left in 1987. I went back and saw my professor in 1991, completed the thesis, and received my degree. I then took that degree on to law school. Perhaps wanting to go to law school motivated me enough to write the paper, maybe it was the 4 years away from the subject matter that made it more palatable. I don't know, but I want to encourage you to consider the possibility of STILL completing the work. It worked for me, don't know how long ago it was for you, but it can be done. My pigskin is proof!! Great thread again everyone!

Thanks Kokomo. Its been ten years for me... so no dice. But I am in another master's program at present. This time in Education as a reading specialist. I am pretty motivated.

I have heard that ADDers don't read well. But for me that is not the case at all. I read everything and can get lost for hours.


S

I have heard that ADDers don't read well. But for me that is not the case at all. I read everything and can get lost for hours.
It's not that ADDers don't read well, it's that most ADDers can't pay attention to some material, making reading that material a problem.

My son reads everything he can get his hands on!

The biggest disappointment for me is that there isn't a magic pill to make this go away.

I thought I just needed to find out what was wrong with me and it would all be fixed. WRONG! I'm now having to learn how to live with it and that it's ok to be different in a normal world. I have been trying so long to fit into a one size fits all shoe, that I never realized there were different sizes. It's disappointing knowing that I will never fit into what others call "normal". I guess you could say I am going through a grieving process right now.

Totally agree..
For me its.
the past ive been running on adrenalin
then just after diagnosis the euphoria
and now its the bllody cold harsh reality of it all and thats with meds ..
not all soo bad but been a poo day

The most disappointing thing was to recognize ADD in my children and not be able to do anything about it. By the time I was diagnosed my kids were out of school and floundering, just as I had. One had been diagnosed but since his father and I are both ADD neither one of us could get it together to get him some help. The other has not been officially diagnosed but there's no doubt--.

Neither one will acknowledge the problems they face and now one has an undiagnosed child (refuses to have the child "labeled" for what is "only a difference, not a disability"). I am at the point where I consider ADD a blessing rather than a curse, but it's a blessing that must be dealt with in this non-ADD world. I think in my heart I feel that if I had been diagnosed earlier I could have been a better mother.

My biggest disappointment after diagnosis came from realizing that my parents suspected there was something wrong but didn't get me help sooner. i know they did their best though.

I also have difficulty obtaining my medication each month because I go to college out of state. I have to travel home to get my prescription filled in person. The frustration comes fomr having a good month and then going two or three weeks without medication because I can't make an appointment.

Also, even though I"m only 20, realizing I had ADD made me question whether I should have children later on. I wouldn't want them to go through what I did if they had ADD and I wouldn't want to frustrate them with my personallity.

my biggest disappointments are... 1. The misd'x of bipolar due to depression related to trauma... causing years of no response to bipolar medications. 2. Ppl who call adhd a "hoax" or "an organizational problem. 3. Having to take dexedrine 4. Being treated like a "junkie" at the pharmacy due to my age... the list won't stop so i'll shut up... impulse control and the ability to stop talking are the good thing about dexedrine but when you've lived your life having everything accelerated it is odd to be slowed down...

Biggest Disappointments:

(a) that there really is no help after all, other than mutual aid and self-help.
(b) that meds help some, but not for the important things
(c) Delay in Diagnosis: a Late Diagnosis meant that I didn't get the help and info that i needed. It has wasted my life. It has wasted my time.

I think the realization that many things that have happened are indeed ADD related. However, I have always held the belief that you learn from the past. Life is too short to dwell on the "should" haves and "could" haves. So long as you learn something from every experience then it's not time wasted.

The most disappointing thing is to look back and say "it could have been different". I got diagnosed/treated late (age 50). I was given all kinds of bipolar drugs over the years that made me worse, never better and years of "overcompensating" for my ADD symptoms led to a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder too. Ritalin totally took away all anxiety. Most doctors wouldn't accept/understand that if they're ignorant about ADD. Yes, it could have been different. What a waste. But I'm HERE now and grateful.

Ditto to all this besides 1,2 and 9. I could have written it myself...
-A

1) not finishing my masters thesis though I had all the research done. I just could not make myself write it. I wasted 5 years for nothing.

2) my failed marriage. Not all aDD related. But my X hated my piles of stuff and the way I would hyper focus on any new interest.

3) that I am not ok with boredom. This makes most jobs excrutiating after I lose interest.

4) my inability to keep interested in things that at one time fascinated me.

5) my inability to follow through on things once they get boring

6) my inability organize my life

7) my inability to make my great ideas become a reality

8) my frustration with myself on the lack of years to learn everything I want to learn!

9) the fact that my boredom and need for stimulation has lead me to cheat on the men that I cared for in my life.

10) the fact that I need to be on meds which scare the crud out of me. I enjoy them but they scare me too.

11) the way that I get obsessed and spend way too much money.

12) my messy disorganized house and car

regret about the way ADHD has affected my life, especially those 4 years between my initial diagnosis and now, when I finally accepted it and am beginning treatment.


The fact that people do not always believe me when I tell them. They say it is stuff that everyone does, and don't listen when I say it is about degrees and how much it impacts life.

One thing I am happy about if finding and ADD friend who understands completely. We have the most funny conversations! :p

I do not know if this would fall under disappointment or just plain ole frustration…..

Recently several crisis occurred at once in my family…….I was “home” for a week to help off spring and mother. Mom and I went out to eat because I thought my dizzy feeling was low blood sugar. Even after eating the dizziness continued. I went to see my ADD doctor the next day his “diagnosis” was “anxiety issues”

I told him I didn’t “feel anxious” apparently I have been anxious but simply to ADD to notice until the physical symptoms hit!!! That beats all I ever heard, I also have to admit the anti-anxiety medications worked…….being to distractible to notice ones own anxiety ……..I am like what the ????