I originally came to this forum for information on Adderall since it was prescribed to me for staying awake and to focus. I never was diagnosed with AD/HD but after coming here, and reading the DSM Diagnostic criteria I kind of wonder.

I'll share some random things about me and you can decide:
-Most things I find completely boring and by most things, I mean everything unless it is really interactive.
-I'm impatient with everything... waiting in lines, waiting for stuff, anything... Patience is NOT a virtue.
-When I talk on the phone, I prefer to walk around and do most of the talking because I lose interest/attention while listening.
-It is hard to watch TV since my mind wanders and I start thinking instead...
-Playing video games, typing messages, playing puzzles=love this and I can stay very focused
-I can't stand reading. It takes way too long and I lose focus quickly.
-I did well in school which is why I never considered AD/HD. I never studied or took notes... I mainly did well because I learned concepts quickly and remembered a lot of things teachers said. I spent most of the time however bored and drawing stupid stuff, or thinking about other things.

If anyone has some questions, feel free to ask and I'd be happy to answer. Any help is appreciated.

Hey, you sound a bit like me. . . except I was diagnosed with an LD early on, so got accomodations for quizzes/tests, the like. I got mostly A's in honors/AP classes, and graduated college with high honors as well. . . sometimes I think it takes much less "impairment" to frustrate us.

I wrote all of my college notes for one class either with my left hand (I'm right handed) or in mirror writing, just so I'd stay awake. . . and I was interested in that subject! (It made it extremely difficult to study for the final with the notes. . . thank God I used the books more than my notes)

I'm in grad school now and struggling to write up, especially since there are no "drop dead" due dates or grades associated with it all . . . just one big scary oral exam at the end. Did much better when grades were the carrot at the end of the stick.

And, I have a diagnosis of ADHD . . . sorta . . .I have a comparatively sucky working memory and get distracted very easily. . . aced the continuous performance test when it was presented visually, not so much the auditory one.

You know a lot of that sounds pretty much like ADD, but no one can make that call over the internet. I'd encourage you to see a psychologist who is familiar with assessing adult ADHD. You might also read some books like Driven to Distraction by Hallowell and Ratey or Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults by Tom Brown (he has done a good bit of research on very bright ADDers).


Take care,
Scattered

I'd also like to caution against self diagnosis. However, if you've noticed a decrease in those symptoms since taking adderall, there is a very strong possiblity that you might have ADHD.