Ready for a Tolstoy length posting?
I am a 24 year old Sergeant in the US Air Force. I was diagnosed with ADHD at about 6-7 years of age, began Ridalin use when I was 7, ceased usage at 11 (the doses were getting too high, puberty setting in, had severe abdominal cramps). At 17 I enlisted in the USAF, was wavered for my prior ridalin usage (a no-no for military entrance) and I began my career by shipping off to basic training at 18. I chose a challenging career field and excelled, passing my classes and 18 months of training with honors. I worked for 4 years using different coping mechanisms I had developed. I actually convinced myself that I no longer was affected by ADHD. Until last year.

I began a new job that required long hours of extremely tedious, detailed, difficult, and downright mind numbing work. I struggled at the job, and after a year of agony, I took a different job that suits me much better. I came to realize at that point that I am still very much affected by ADHD. I was distraught by this because I mistakenly believed that the military would not treat you medically for this problem, and that I would loose my security clearances and possibly be discharged. Well my new job has many additional duties, to include being the units assistant training monitor.

At my first meeting the topic was learning disabilities. The beginning mostly covered reading disadvantages. They said that Dyslexia is completely incompatible with military service and can easily end up in a medical discharge. They then went on to cover Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. Much to my surprise, I learned that an active duty person could self refer themself to a psychiatrist, who would evaluate their condition and provide training, therapy and medications. This would not necessarily effect their clearances or jobs. Well, as soon as I got back to my office I called and made an appt.

The day of my appt rolled around about 3 weeks later. I was almost late, since I forgot about the appt until my microsoft mail tool appt reminder popped up 15 minutes prior to the appt (see, compelling clues to my affliction, absentmindedness!). Well, I went, filled out lots of paperwork and questionnaires, spent 1.5 hr. speaking one on one to the doctor, and ended up leaving that day with a prescription for Strattera. The doctor chose Strattera because I have somewhat elevated blood pressure and she had qualms about putting me on a stimulant. It's been 2 weeks. I have plenty of side effects.

But yesterday I got more accomplished than I did in a month at my old job. Life has it's trade offs, and to me, any suffering is worth it.

I'd like to know, does any one else here know of any military members who are affected by ADD or ADHD?

Thanks for taking the time to read this novella

One of my best friends is in the Canadian military, and I believe he has undiagnosed ADD.

Haven't spoken to him in a while though...

I used to work with some canadian military people. I'm from the North east, but I was stationed in Maryland at the time. Not exactly relavent information, but I have adhd, so I get to ramble a bit and go off subject, right?

hi Angie, my daughter is 12, and just started straterra....shes ADD....she is in the civil air patrol. and wanting to go into the air force at 18. its in her blood and her dream. i dont think anything could stop her from doing this. reading what you have went through and can get help will only help encourage her more. ill be sure she reads your story. thank you for taking the time and courage to step in there and ask for the help and share the expirence....i wish you all the luck in the world out there....

GigglyBabeB

Hello,
I too am a member of the armed forces. I am 36 years old and was diagnosed at the age of 27. When first diagnosed I was put on Wellbutrin and have taken it on and off for the past 9 years. I have just stopped and have taken my first 40 MG of Strattera this morning........Whoa......Nausea and Dizziness.....I never had any side effects from wellbutrin....it just stopped working for me.
What meds have worked for you?

Hey Paul,
I tried strattera two 40s a day for a month. It help some, but it made me sick, gave me hot flashes, aches, dry mouth, tummy problems... the worst were the hotflashes. I would have them so bad I'd be soaked with sweat. I don't know if anyone else has them, but it had to be the meds, they stopped shortly after I quit. I went to concerta for a month, but due to blood pressure I could only use the 18 mg, which wasn't enough. I've been on wellbutrin for a couple of weeks and so far no side effects, but I haven't noticed much effect either. How long did it take for it to work for you, or rather, how long did it work and what symptoms did it help? Sorry if this is more a question than a answer. I took plain ritalin as a child and that worked really well.

I have a similar story as yours, diagnosed young, put on Ritalin, taken off after few years laters (My parents said it did nothing to me). I grew up, joined the Army, excelled and rapidly was promoted to Corporal. I have always been bothered by slight ADD symptoms, one of the worst in the military was the inablity to fall asleep at night. I recently (at age 28) went to see a psych since the ADD was bothering myself, my wife, and co-workers (quite irritable at times). The psych presented me with all the medicines and after talking with him over an hour (as well as some surveys/forms I filled out prior to the visit) he suggested Strattera. He mentioned the 2 main side effects he had noticed in adult males were problems starting urinating or feeling that you are not empty, and the sexual side effect of not being able to get erect. I have been on this medication for 7 days at small doses (18mg for 4 days, now at 25) and the only side effects I have noticed would be very sleepy during the day (this is nothing new), dizziness and nausia. In the military, atleast from my experience, they do heavy micro-managing and this is where I excelled. However, in my current job, my boss sees me as a prodigy I guess (computer related) and gives me a lot of freedom. This is where I tend to go astray and lose concentration on certain things. Like I said, I started the strattera only a few days ago, and haven't noticed any strong concentration increase or anything beneficial other than I am a little more mellow and less irritable, but that may be due to the slight nausia. I will stick this med out for a while though, as this type of drug really needs to get into your system to do its full job and from my reading the nausia may go away once my body gets used to it.

You might try switching the time you take your Strattera to right before you go to bed.

I did that and now go to sleep quickly and wake up refreshed.

I have 3 more days on the 25, then I jump to 2 25's. I was going to try one at night and one in the AM. My doc suggested the AM (I did tell him about my sleep issues) so I will try a nice even flow throughout the day and see how that works. I will keep my progress update on these forums.

That's great. If you're going to switch to nights, then I would (check with the doc first, then) take one at nite, and one mid day, for an even flow :)

Good luck, and let us know how you do!

I'm glad Strattera isn't doing the things to you that it did for me. Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you choose to look at it, my career field, or at least my jobs in it, have not been micromanaged. The bad thing is that I have some, but not a lot of structure. I get plenty of feed back and instruction when I seek it though. However it's helped me learn to prioritize and manage my time and tasks on my own. Still no help spelling.
:P
What kind of computer work do you do Buzz? Where have you been stationed? Just being nosey.

I do all sorts of computer work, whether it be hardware, software, server, domain, networking. About the only thing I DONT do is programming apps.
The military is all about strict managment (atleast from what I have seen and experienced) and that was able to keep me in line. I was never "stationed" anywhere as I was in the National Guard. Think what you want but I was a very dedicated strong soldier (even got nominated, though didnt win, for soldier of the year in basic training). I was a Cavalry Scout 19D, trained at Ft Knox, KY.

Think what I want? I guess you think active duty thing poorly of Guardsmen? I personally don't. Especially now a days when the reserve and guard are the first ones out the door to conflict.
My jobs have always been in intel, where I've had a substantial ammount of freedom. I guess every career field is different.

Ready for a Tolstoy length posting?
I am a 24 year old Sergeant in the US Air Force. I was diagnosed with ADHD at about 6-7 years of age, began Ridalin use when I was 7, ceased usage at 11 (the doses were getting too high, puberty setting in, had severe abdominal cramps). At 17 I enlisted in the USAF, was wavered for my prior ridalin usage (a no-no for military entrance) and I began my career by shipping off to basic training at 18. I chose a challenging career field and excelled, passing my classes and 18 months of training with honors. I worked for 4 years using different coping mechanisms I had developed. I actually convinced myself that I no longer was affected by ADHD. Until last year.

I began a new job that required long hours of extremely tedious, detailed, difficult, and downright mind numbing work. I struggled at the job, and after a year of agony, I took a different job that suits me much better. I came to realize at that point that I am still very much affected by ADHD. I was distraught by this because I mistakenly believed that the military would not treat you medically for this problem, and that I would loose my security clearances and possibly be discharged. Well my new job has many additional duties, to include being the units assistant training monitor.

At my first meeting the topic was learning disabilities. The beginning mostly covered reading disadvantages. They said that Dyslexia is completely incompatible with military service and can easily end up in a medical discharge. They then went on to cover Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. Much to my surprise, I learned that an active duty person could self refer themself to a psychiatrist, who would evaluate their condition and provide training, therapy and medications. This would not necessarily effect their clearances or jobs. Well, as soon as I got back to my office I called and made an appt.

The day of my appt rolled around about 3 weeks later. I was almost late, since I forgot about the appt until my microsoft mail tool appt reminder popped up 15 minutes prior to the appt (see, compelling clues to my affliction, absentmindedness!). Well, I went, filled out lots of paperwork and questionnaires, spent 1.5 hr. speaking one on one to the doctor, and ended up leaving that day with a prescription for Strattera. The doctor chose Strattera because I have somewhat elevated blood pressure and she had qualms about putting me on a stimulant. It's been 2 weeks. I have plenty of side effects.

But yesterday I got more accomplished than I did in a month at my old job. Life has it's trade offs, and to me, any suffering is worth it.

I'd like to know, does any one else here know of any military members who are affected by ADD or ADHD?

Thanks for taking the time to read this novella
Spasepeepole

Thanks for writing your story down. You can be proud that it may help others who are in a similar situation as you. I too am in the military, as an Officer in the Air Force I have to deal with a number of jobs which are very hard for me to keep my mind focused. I've always been told by counselors and the sort that ADD/ADHD was considered a mental disability and would be looked down upon by the military medical world. Your story has given me hope that I might actually be able to get help for my ADD. When you say that you made an appointment, was that with the military mental health unit or an off base Dr.? How did you mention to them that you had a problem?

Thanks again for the insight.

Wish I had seen this earlier. Hope it's still helpful...

First you have to see your primary care doc. They decide whether to refer you to a psychiatrist to get treated. In the military the primary care doc can be kind of tough about this... they feel extra obligated to root out the drug-seekers and malingerers. Also, you have to walk the line between demonstrating your condition is bad enough to warrant another consult (military docs also get pressure not to waste resources on needless refferals), but not so bad that you are failing at your job and thus should be kicked out immediately. (That is why I would NOT point to specific failures at work or blame disciplinary problems on your suspected condition. This just makes you look like a liability and calls your self-discipline into question. ...I talked about getting my job done, but at the cost of fatigue and stress that affected my social life. The Air Force wants you to be a well-rounded person with a happy family life, so this they can understand.)

My talk with the doc was a long one. My doc said I never would have made it through college if I had true ADD; why was I just suspecting this now, etc. Just when I thought she was totally narrow-minded and I had probably lost, she suddenly said, okay, you have convinced me, and wrote the referral.

Now for you to stay in the military after this, you have to get on a stable treatment and show continued performance at work (no discipline problems, etc-- I assume you don't have those anyway because you're an officer who's still in, but anything is possible). My psychiatrist was awesome, gave me a long questionnaire, and then really listened. It helps if you get on a non-stimulant like Strattera because, not being a controlled substance, they can give you all the meds you need for deployments before you go, etc. Yeah, you can stay worldwide deployable now! (As long as you never showed any signs of mental instability, you're in the same category as people who need blood pressure meds). If you need Ritalin or other stims, it's a little more dicey, but they'll give them to you.

You don't have to tell your commander if you start on meds, and you probably don't want to (it will just make them scrutinize you for any evidence you are slipping). The psychiatrist can tell if he wants, but they are trying to do that less with any kind of psychiatric treatment now. They are only required to tell about mental health treatment or meds if they think you will hurt yourself or others.

PS, if you're a pilot, disregard all above-- you will not stay in the cockpit if you mention ADD to anyone. It's one of those things they just won't take the chance.

Also, the mental health office on base will decide if you see an on-base doc or off-base (sometimes you can request off-base if you want, sometimes not.) DO NOT see an off-base doc and not tell the military. If they put you on meds and it isn't in your records, when you go in for a urinalysis, they will find things that can get you kicked out. Afterward is too late to explain this...it's just not worth it.

I wish you luck-- the military has come a long way in the handling of this condition, so your chances are better than ever of getting decent treatment and avoiding a medical board! It can be done...