Hey all. I have been strugling with focusing for years and years. i daydream all day long and cant get anything done... although i did amazingly in school and skipped 2 grades. I can super focus when something really really interests me but that is becoming less and less common. im at the point where very little interests me and i am always restless and overwhelmed. im also very anxious, have been diagnosed with panic disorder a couple of years back and get depressed often. my mind is always searching for something to occupy my mind but it seems impossible. it used to be as simple as picking up a book and getting into it but now it seems like i cant even do that. Now i have a strong feeling i have limbic inattentive add. i am going to see a doc within the next 2 weeks or so. i was wondering, if i do get diagnosed with add what are the possible meds that helped people with this type of add? also, is it possible that add gets worse with age? i used to be able to cope and loved how different and creative and carefree i was. but now it seems to be overwhelming and i cant function right anymore. im only 23 but any task is extremely overwhelming and stressful. i also know i am really intelligent and a quick learner, but i suffer from low self esteem and feelings of worthlessness because i know i cant finish anything or get into anything, which makes me feel useless. any tips of what medication helps specifically for limbic add please let me know. thanks!

Sorry - I have no idea if there is any particular medication for limbic system hyperactivity.

I score highly for that and want to express my solidarity (but I'm in the UK and they tread AD/HD here by beating us with clubs. Well it feels like they do).

It is also my experience that ADD tends to become less manageable with age. Coping mechanisms that sufficed for many years suddenly seem inadequate.

Your remarks about low self esteem and worthlessness are very familiar to me, and probably to most with ADD. Knowing what is causing your problems and realising it is not your fault is the first step in combating these feelings.
You may in time even be able to start to appreciate the other side of the coin that is ADD.

As for medications, that will always be a matter of trial and error. Everyone is slightly different in that respect and will probably react in a different manner. I myself am scared s**less of them but that is an extremely personal viewpoint and need not hav e bearing on your situation.

Good luck with your journey!

I can relate to your situation a lot. I am the same age, and only recently decided things seemed 'wrong' and seeked help. I was diagnosed with ADHD about 18 months ago.

I have also been considered highly intelligent, but when I started full time work, I just felt completely incapable. I was so unproductive, and I couldn't figure out why... I was utterly unmotivated to do my work, and in an employment environment it was just so difficult to keep track of everything that was happening. I finally decided to talk to my doctor thinking I must've had allergies or some diet-related issue, and he basically said "I think you have ADHD" and sent me to a specialist.

I'm not sure that ADHD gets worse with age. From what I've read, ADHD symptoms themselves should improve with age. But it definitely gets harder to manage. As we get older and are expected to be able to plan, prioritise and generally juggle everything, it becomes much more debilitating than in school where everyone's there to help you.

At first I wasn't sure what you meant by 'Limbic ADHD', but after a few quick searches, it appears to be from the classification system by Dr Daniel Amen. Does anyone have any links to where I might find more information about this? Information seems to be a bit sparse about Dr Amen's work.

Anyway, good luck with your diagnosis. I hope everything turns out well for you. Keep us posted! I would be interested to see what your outcome is.

Hmmm... it appears I can't edit my post anymore.

Anyway, I found some background on Dr Amen's different subtypes of ADHD: http://amenclinics.com/bp/atlas/ch12.php

I gotta say, Limbic ADHD sounds EXACTLY like me.

I have also been considered highly intelligent, but when I started full time work, I just felt completely incapable. I was so unproductive, and I couldn't figure out why... I was utterly unmotivated to do my work, and in an employment environment it was just so difficult to keep track of everything that was happening. .

hey caucus, thats exactly my problem as well. I have switched so many jobs i cant even count them, and theres been very few i actually enjoyed. i currently hate my job and i dont even know why. i just feel so overwhelmed by it even though i do what i think i love. i hate people depending on me and i cant stand authority. its good to hear other people can relate, although I havent been diagnosed theres no doubt in my mind i do have add. Everytime i go into a store or a mall and wander for hours waiting for something to catch my attention and it never does. i just feel so useless most days. like for example today, its 2 oclock i had a million things planned to do and did nothing. im sitting here staring at the wall and browsing the web. tonight i will feel guilty, worthless, depressed and restless because i cant get things done and i dont know why.
so are you on any meds or therapy? if so are they helping???

oh and i dont know how common it is to classify add into those categories by dr.amen. I do know the inattentive category is used quite often, but the limbic one just sounds so accurate to me. and i think its important to differentiate the different types to maybe help treat the specific type of add better. i dont know if doctors do have special treatments for the different categories but from what ive researched they also consider the depressive part of the limbic add. some add meds will cause even greater depression so its important to focus on that as well and its something i will defintiely mention to my doctor.

hey caucus, thats exactly my problem as well. I have switched so many jobs i cant even count them, and theres been very few i actually enjoyed. i currently hate my job and i dont even know why. i just feel so overwhelmed by it even though i do what i think i love. i hate people depending on me and i cant stand authority. its good to hear other people can relate, although I havent been diagnosed theres no doubt in my mind i do have add. Everytime i go into a store or a mall and wander for hours waiting for something to catch my attention and it never does. i just feel so useless most days. like for example today, its 2 oclock i had a million things planned to do and did nothing. im sitting here staring at the wall and browsing the web. tonight i will feel guilty, worthless, depressed and restless because i cant get things done and i dont know why.
so are you on any meds or therapy? if so are they helping???

I hear ya. I've been extremely lucky that my supervisor at my current job (my first full-time job) has been amazingly supportive in this respect. For nearly three years, I was consistently late for work and practically unable to follow through on tasks assigned to me. I can't describe how grateful I am to have had this person as my immediate boss. I've come a long way under his supervision, especially since diagnosis. If I'd got my first job somewhere else, I'm sure I would've job-hopped like a maniac.

Another thing that saved me is, although I was nearly useless if I had to work on any extended task, I seem to be pretty good at the technical aspect of my work. My job is to design, build, and fix computer systems, and I've always had a knack with computers.

I've been on meds for about 18 months now. The difference is like night and day. I'm about a thousand times more productive on medication than off. Without meds, I just sit around and waste time and then wonder how I managed to do nothing all day. And I enjoy my job so much more now. I've always liked my job, but I don't get that creeping doubt anymore.

oh and i dont know how common it is to classify add into those categories by dr.amen. I do know the inattentive category is used quite often, but the limbic one just sounds so accurate to me. and i think its important to differentiate the different types to maybe help treat the specific type of add better. i dont know if doctors do have special treatments for the different categories but from what ive researched they also consider the depressive part of the limbic add. some add meds will cause even greater depression so its important to focus on that as well and its something i will defintiely mention to my doctor.

I remember coming across a book on amazon.com written by Dr Amen about his research into ADHD, but I kind of ignored it at the time because it seemed like it was kind of on the fringe of ADHD research. This thread has piqued my interest though, I think might get that book now.

I've personally found the stimulants to be very effective, the only problem is they can interfere with my sleep, so I have to be careful about that. I take dex, I prefer it over ritalin because it improves my mood and makes me less irritable as well as helping my primary ADHD symptoms.

I have been trying a few other alternatives recently, mainly to try and improve symptoms without interfering with my sleep so much. After reading the page I linked to above, if the alternative I'm trying soon doesn't pan out I might see about trying bupropion.