I know this is a bit long.. but any advice would be very appreciated. I have NO ONE to talk to about ADD, except for you guys.



History: Went to psychiatrist about ADD 6 months ago. started on Ritalin then switched to Dex. 10-15mg 3x day.

Here is what I need from a mediction:


Motivation
Confidence/belief in myself, instead of feeling overwhelmed by things.
Drive to START and FINISH tasks and projects.
The DRIVE to improve my life and the ability to ACT on those improvments.

( I get unhappy about where I am in life.. and depressed and I want to change but then I dont even do anything about it, and that upsets me more.)

Before medication when i would hit these "depressed I'm not doing anything with my life" stages.. I would become hyperfocused on some new project or class or anything that I felt would fix my problem and "better" my life.. but it would always be way too unrealisitc or extreme.

Now on medication.. I dont even have this drive anymore, or unrealistic hyperfocus.

When I first started Dex, it gave me clarity of thought.. the fog in my head seemed to clear.. but it didnt last, and Im left unmotivated...

I'm wondering if I should ask to try another medication.. maybe Adderall?

From Ritalin, to Dex, to Adderall? Is that usually how it works?

Would Adderall help me with that I would like to improve? I have tried to improve these aspect in my life time and time again.. and I just cant seem to do it. It never lasts.


I cant even tell if Dex has improved my symptoms or not.. I as my boyfriend(the one person that knows about the meds and ADD) and he just says.. "sure" I dont even think he believe I have it.

The circumstances regarding my diagnosis was somewhat strange. It began as some "joke" or quick fix for my struggles with school I was having at the time (after returning to college) that we had watched from a movie.

the more I looked into the symptoms.. and analysed what I was doing, the more I agreed that it was VERY possible I DID have ADD.

I think my boyfriend, believes that I am creating my ADD because I have read so much about it. Sometimes I even doubt myself because of it.

Anyways, went a little off topic... Should I switch to another med?

How can I get any input, or ideas, about myself and ADD, when all I have to go by.. is .. me?

I would suggest that you talk to your Dr. about this if you have not done so already.

Sometimes people are hesitant to be frank with their Dr's due to reasons like not wanting to lose their medication, or perhaps maybe finding out that their might be an alternative diagnosis, etc.

However, your Dr can not help you to the best of his/her ability unless you are willing to keep him/her informed of your ups and downs associated with a given treatment or diagnosis.

That being said, it has been my experience over the years that there is no medication that is able to provide me with all the things you listed that you are looking for in a medication. Medications have certainlly helped me with many of the things you listed, but help is the key word there. There is still work that I have/had to do in order to compensate for the limits of a particular medication. When I say work I am referring to things like making sure I sit in the front row of each of my classes to limit distractions while I am trying to focus on the lecture, or being aware of foods and/or drugs that can interfere with or prevent my medication from working as it should, etc.

We do all respond differently to these drugs, and maybe there are people out there who are able to find a medication that they are able to call a panacea concerning the treatment of this dissorder. If there are, I envy those people.

It can be a long journey finding the right medication, and it can take some time to find the right dose once the proper medication is found. I would suspect that this is the case more often than not. That being said, I would be willing to bet that there are also people out there who were able to be find the right medication at the perfect dose right from the start, albeit a rare occurrence that it would happen that way.

Hang in there for now, and please remember to help your Dr provide you with the best care he/she can by always keeping him/her in the loop as much as possible.