Hello ladies. I am new to these boards, and I am 22 years old. I am a mother to two very young little ones (18 months and 4 weeks), and I am also a college student. I was originally diagnosed with ADD when I was in middle school because I wasn't doing so hot in school and I was struggling a lot with just other general areas. My parents always kind of thought I was "making it up" because I wanted to get attention. My mom was especially bad about comparing my brother and myself, and he is a very intelligent person. He was 1st in his class in his graduating high school class, and is now also the top pharmacy student in his class in college. So, my mom always assumed that I was making the excuse of ADD up because she felt I was just as capable as my brother, and didn't understand why I wasn't "applying" myself as much as he was.

So needless to say from about 7th grade until now, my ADD has gone untreated. My symptoms have gotten a lot worse over the years, and caused a lot of extra anxiety in my life. My marriage has suffered for it, as well as my finances. I was really in denial for a long time, and have just really recently come to terms with everything. I am really looking forward to getting the help I have so desperately needed for a long time.

I was curious...what steps did everyone take in treating their ADD/HD? Do you see a psychologist or psychiatrist for medication? Therapy? What else do you do to help to manage your symptoms? Also, is there any one who is in college? I am currently an undergraduate student, and getting ready to take some very challenging courses in organic chemistry, and physics, as I am hoping to get into medical school at some point. I am very, very scared about these classes because of my symptoms and wondering if any other college students with ADD, or just anyone with ADD period have any extra advice or tips for me?

Thanks so much gals. I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone. :)

Hi & welcome!
I'm glad you've arranged to get help.
Remember, 2 babies and college is a lot! be kind to yourself.
re your question: I started seeing a therapist about 2 years ago for anxiety; I found out this year about ADD. (not on any meds)

Hi I am a 40 year old mom going back to school online, and work full time, going to sport events. I am also a bad procrastinator. I seen a theripst for memory loss do to anxiety meds, when they diagnosised me with ADD.

I started the course in Sept 07 and I am about 7 months behind. I can't seem to remember my legal and medical vocabulary. That is when I went in.

Do you have any advice on how to get this old brain to learn to study again?

Good luck. I am on Adderal XR. I started it on Monday. It makes my anxiety a bit high.

Good luck we are all here for you. Be proud for achieve what you have so far.

Smerila

Two young ones and you are in a pre-med curriculum.

OMG.

Does your partner do a lot of the income earning and childcare/housework?

That is the only way, I, personally, could have done that.

Are your parents able to help you with stuff too? (e.g. delegating tasks like laundry, etc)

Hope you are getting a lot of childcare and support on-campus from various places there. I used to work at a campus support center for women students and it takes a lot of help (a village?) for a woman with children to succeed at school.

I'd say you may also need help with, or at least benefit from, learning about your brain and learning how you learn [meta-learning].

e.g. Learning strategists at my school's student health/counselling centre teach about Blooms' taxonomy and executive function problems (EF is a big BIG part of ADD).

Oh, my background is a BA in psychology. (Although I took many of my classes with the MEDS keeners who were doing the BSc curriculum in Psychology/Neuroscience, etc.) Then I went to Nursing School for the BScN.

Queens - my husband does the majority of the income earning. I actually stay at home right now other than going to school. But, I do the majority of the housework, but he has started chipping in a lot more. Thank goodness!

I don't really talk to a lot of my family anymore. My dad is very busy and travels a lot, my sister is a nurse and works a lot of hours to support her family because her husband is going through medical school right now, my mom lives over an hour away, and my brother works and is a pharmacy student. My husband's family does help out when they can with watching the kids and things of that nature. But, this summer his cousin had a baby that has a lot of problems, and he has been in the NICU for over three months now. So, they are all pretty busy and preoccupied with him and his various conditions, in addition to taking care of their two other children. So, I don't really have a whole lot of support outside of my husband.

You mentioned learning about my brain and how I learn. I will definitely need to look into this, but in addition to school, where else could I learn about EF and all of that as well?

Really, anything I can do to help make sure I can successfully do the things I want to do is really important to me. I should also mention that I am nursing my 4 week old, so I don't know what I can do in terms of medication. As soon as my husband found out about my ADD, things started making a lot more sense to him. We used to argue a lot because he just couldn't understand my little "quirks" as he would call them, and he would get frustrated because he didn't understand. Thankfully, things have improved in that area since I have started seeking help for my issues.

Hi there! I'm a college student as well. I'll be taking organic chemistry next semester too, so we'll be suffering together I guess (but I don't have a house and kids to take care of, so I have it easy in comparison :)).
My main advice for school would be to keep track of assignments (I write everything I have to do on post-its and stick them on my wall, when I'm done I get to squish the post-it up and throw it away) and don't put things off until the last minute.
Also, try to get to know your professors and go to them for help early if you have trouble in a subject. They tend to be much more sympathetic if you come to them two weeks before the exam for help than if you email them the night before.
In any case, good luck and kudos to you for managing ADD, a pre-med schedule and small children at the same time!

Caffeine can help with ADD, if you're comfortable with having a cuppa in the morning. Also, fish oil may be helpful, and won't hurt a breastfeeding baby as we're all supposed to get more omega-3's anyway (IIRC, there was a study that said that pregnant women who ate oily fish had smarter babies). Keep the baby in your bedroom to make nighttime feedings as quick and easy as possible. Make sure you get plenty of water, dehydration is too easy when you're breastfeeding. A baby bjorn is a wonderful thing too, much easier and quicker than strollers for the little ones, more portable too!

It's going to be very tempting to cut back on sleep to get everything done. Don't. Sleep is necessary for learning your best and being tired makes ADD worse.

Being in green surroundings can help too, try to get out in a park or garden for twenty minutes or so and see if you can focus better afterwards.

You sound very together, I found that if I did my readings and homework as I went along, then I didn't need to cram for finals, indeed I'd go back over stuff before finals and it seemed so much easier than it did the first time. It can't hurt to go to your professors and ask if you can have an extra ten minutes on tests as an accomodation, but I don't know if that's common to give or not, my girl is still in third grade.

There is a forum just for college goers down a bit, I bet they have lots of classroom tips.

Best wishes to your and your family and particularly to your little nephew in the NICU. :)

I'm taking medication (dexedrine & strattera) and trying to apply some ADHD friendly organization methods to manage the ADHD. I haven't seen my pscyhiatrist in months, although he does refill my prescription. Initally when I was diagnosed, I was seeing a therapist but only for a brief time.

I just graduated (Oct 2007) so I still have a good memory about what it was like to balance all those crazy classes. I would say my best advice is to attack your classes as an ADHD student. You may have a reduced course load, need extra time for tests, etc. but you need these things. Don't feel ashamed in using these accomodations.

Now I didn't have to balance family at the same time, but all I can say for that is to plan ahead. But except that not everything will go according to plan.

Good luck to you!!

Hello. Congratulation's for taking steps toward a healthier life for you and your family!

To answer your question(s): I take medication daily and see my psychiatrist once a month for talk therapy. Both the medication & the therapy together are crucial for me. The medicine keeps me leveled, and the regular therapy assists in self awareness.

This combo has turned my life around (three years ago).

I strongly suggest choosing a doctor that you feel safe being 100% honest with. Good communication has proven vital for me!

Good luck & best wishes