I am preety sure I have ADHD and it has been with me from a young age. To look back now and see how I have run my life its been preety shabby and my actions and decisions today are making the future.

I am 34 years old and have become very successful at times but never seem to keep it good. Allways reaching to point of boredom and find myself distracted to other things that interest me no matter what consiquinces. I have lack of concentration,very disorganized, impulsive, procrastinate, and messy. I will try from time to time to change but I slip back without even realising it. No matter how hard I try to structure myself I seem to forget and ignore important matters until its too late. Quite often I will leave everything to the last minute and all my issues come crashing down at once. I get overwhelmed and crack. All i want is to have structure and keep focused but it allways seems scrambled!

I really feel bad because I just cant get my head around day to day duties

Feel the need to do many things, but never get any satisfaction and have no patience and still feel bored.

Sometimes i want to tease or start an argument because i'm bored.

I'm constantly looking for new hobbies, interests.

When in conversation i find my mind drifts off and i hear myself agreeing when i'm not even listening.

I find the only jobs i'm really good at are problem solving, helping people,trouble shooting and technical.

Seems as though i'm only focused and attentive when i'm doing things that make me feel good

I am very quick to say lets just end it, or its over in relationships without really thinking it through and regret it later.

I am told that I allways over analize things. (things just have to make sense)

I would do anything for anyone. I love helping people but often find that people take advantage of it but i never learn.

Cant finish watching a movie, find I will start doing other things

It has come to a point now where I realise I cannot control this on my own and i will allways have and loose it for the rest of my life if i dont seek help.


I start a new job next week, it pays well and its what I like with plenty of stuff to learn and keep me going. It does require some training and thats what may hurt me. I find it hard to listen to someone teaching. I only take in bits and pieces and have learnt to work the rest out myself. I seem to learn better when I take things as a full time interest.

What I am really looking for is some help, and hopefully therapy and meds will straighten things out for me. I know I have to make things happen and there aint no magic pill and it takes time.

Is this ADHD ?

Thanks for any input and taking the time to read my story.

It does sound like ADHD. It sounds exaclty like me anyway.

Definatly look into it, talk to your GP and print out what you have posted to take with you, also find an ADHD symptom checklist and take that with you too. You may also find it useful to find school records if you still have them and highlight ADHD symptoms in them.

Good luck in getting your diagnosis and good luck in your new job!

Sounds basically like me as well. Could have written this!

"Feel the need to do many things, but never get any satisfaction and have no patience and still feel bored.

Sometimes i want to tease or start an argument because i'm bored.

I'm constantly looking for new hobbies, interests.

I find the only jobs i'm really good at are problem solving, helping people,trouble shooting and technical.

Seems as though i'm only focused and attentive when i'm doing things that make me feel good

I am told that I allways over analize things. (things just have to make sense)

I would do anything for anyone. I love helping people but often find that people take advantage of it but i never learn."

It does sound like me too; you describe almost exactly the same symptoms that made me see a psychologist. I was/am struggling at work (university), procrastinate like crazy, lose interest quickly, feel like I never live up to my potential, can't handle work without deadlines, but also felt utterly miserable in very structured work environments, et cetera. I basically work about 1 hour a day, while getting paid for full time work. Miraculously, I've been able to get away with it so far, although I always feel like my performance is lacking and I could do so much better if I just put in enough time and effort.

Anyway, frustrations mounted and it got so bad that I felt totally paralized and profoundly unhappy with myself. During one of my endless internet browsing sessions (probably at work) I stumbled upon some information about adult ADD. Like you, I could totally identify with the symptoms, and began to think that I might actually have it. The fact that both my parents and one of my sisters also display quite a lot of symptoms made me even more convinced that ADD could be the problem, and that I should see a doctor.

Now comes the interesting part:

I addressed the issue with my GP who said that I couldn't have ADD, because if I had it, I could have never gotten through university unmedicated (even though it took way too long). I knew that wasn't true, but didn't say so, as I didn't want to ruin my chances of being referred to a specialist. I was referred to a neurologist, who couldn't find anything in terms of brain tumors et cetera and who told me to see a psychologist.

So I did. The psychologist initially diagnosed me with inattentive ADD, using DSM-IV criteria and what seemed to be a semi-structured diagnostic interview. She then suggested that I take a couple of tests a couple of weeks later, in order to see which treatment would be right for me. I was thrilled, because, even though I knew that it doesn't work that way, I thought I was getting some kind of super pill, that would turn my whole life around.

What can I say: I aced the test. I usually do, if I don't have to study. Good bye, pills!, Good bye coaching! Good bye slightest chance of turning my life around! was all I could think initially (BTW, this only happened last week). But then I realized that what the psychologist had given me, was actually a positive message.

Here is what she said:
"There is nothing wrong with you neurologically, you just push yourself too hard. If you can get away with working one hour a day, you must be doing something right. Stop obsessing about it and use that extra time for something you like to do. Get some exercise! (I shuddered at that... but do see her point) Be creative. Try and do something about your sleep pattern. Try not do drink as much. You're a very smart person, but you're very impatient, easily frustrated and bored quickly. Plus, you have a bit of a temper. Apart from this, I will not tell you what to do, because you know exactly what issues you need to address. Don't join a group because you won't fit in. Don't waste your time reading books about how to handle this. According to the test, you have the ability to fix this if you want to. Don't expect to be like everybody else; you don't even know what other people are like. Maybe they do absolutely nothing at work, even though they check in at eight and go home at five." (I particularly like that last one. I had never thought about it that way.)

I admit I had to sleep on that (I also popped a pill, had a couple of drinks and a tantrum), but I have decided that I really appreciate this piece of advice. She is probably absolutely right. I know it is all very common sense, and my mother could have told me, but I had to hear it from a specialist :o It's still early days, but I feel very relieved and more in control of the situation than I have been in a long time.

I hope this story gives you hope. So if you are not diagnosed with ADD, even though you might be 100% convinced that you have it, this might be a good thing. However, I would still suggest that you do get yourself tested. As long as you don't know if you have it, it's very easy to get caught in a spiral of negative thought (I know I was...). Also, don't let anybody who doesn't know their stuff tell you that ADD doesn't exist, or that you don't have it because they can just see that. If it turns out that you have ADD, at least you can get some treatment. If you don't have it, be happy about that.

Good luck and hang in there!

PS: Sorry for the long post.

I hope you get the help that you need, the medication will help you reach your full potential if necessary

Well Thanks all for your input. Maybe i should throw a bit more light on my situation.
I did see a doctor (physciatrist) and scored very high on the ADD questionaire. I was actually there for another reason and not that. He wanted me to take a test that last for 3 hours but unfortunatly i cant afford it as i have no insurance.

I have never been able to finish any schooling. I could never get my head around it. Some days i can focus better than others.

My fiancee tells me i leave a mess every where i go. I cannot stay organized and keep my truck, office clean. I mean if you were to walk in there you would wonder how i get anything done. I sometimes think the state of m3y office, papers, reciet's, remnants of other projects, dishes, coffee cups (weeks old)!

I have allways managed to have a loving partner to help me and i have never been able to stay oganized on my own. When ever i have tryed living on my own. I have ended up making such a mess and find myself persuing things that will get my life more disfunctional.

My friends tell me i'm sometimes ignorant but i tell them i dont mean to drift off.

My step Dad was quite mean to me as a kid, telling me I have a problem and I allways keep doing the same bad things, telling me i was a waste of space. He used to tell me STOP AND THINK, STOP AND THINK, and would drum it in my head and make me say it over and over again till i broke down and cryed.

Currently i'm looking for a doctor who takes MEDI-CAL until my jobs insurance kicks in.

Thanks for you input guys

Hi Stuart, good luck getting tested. Please ignore my last post, I was high (on hybris) when I wrote it). :o :o :o Needless to say situation hasn't changed a bit, so p-doc advice stank. Get evaluated properly.

Feel the need to do many things, but never get any satisfaction and have no patience and still feel bored. yes

Sometimes i want to tease or start an argument because i'm bored. :p not any more

I'm constantly looking for new hobbies, interests. :p not any more

When in conversation i find my mind drifts off and i hear myself agreeing when i'm not even listening.:p yes

I find the only jobs i'm really good at are problem solving, helping people,trouble shooting and technical.:p yes

Seems as though i'm only focused and attentive when i'm doing things that make me feel good ...:p not any more (thanks to meds)

I am very quick to say lets just end it, or its over in relationships without really thinking it through and regret it later.:p yes

I am told that I allways over analize things. (things just have to make sense):p yes but not over analizing..I just like things to make sense too

I would do anything for anyone. I love helping people but often find that people take advantage of it but i never learn. :p sometimes

Cant finish watching a movie, find I will start doing other things :p yes..what are movies??

.


Is this ADHD ?

Thanks for any input and taking the time to read my story. sounds alot like me too...

good luck, and welcome to the forums:faint:

Cheers and thanks to you all. I will update this thread after my visit with my doc.

Could be ADHD but could be other things as well. Best to go to a doctor, preferable a psychiatrist, and have a proper diagnosis.