Question about ADD books from Dr.Hallowell

[Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by ana futura

Do you mean do Hallowell's books get better?

Specifically the "gifty" aspect of Delivered.... I think I got through maybe two chapters before I got irritated, thinking, "this is not a gift! Stop writing like ADHD is a good thing to have! This is making my life so much harder, so I call bulls***!" If that aspect of it gets better, I might be able to talk myself into picking it back up. I just have a hard time with that "you're so lucky to have ADHD!!!!!" attitude. No, I am not. I'm a trainwreck, lol... So that's what I was asking about.

Originally Posted by ana futura

Great! Let me know what you think of it, I hope you like it. I am somebody who actually needs the ADHD friendly format- I look at a lot of ADHD books and I just go Agh! So much text! Get to the point! This is the first book I've seen that is actually easy to read but also filled with good info. There's really no filler.

I started it last night, and I really like where it seems to be going so far. And yes, to the point! Thank god. I started working on a couple of the exercises, and they make total sense to me. I'll keep you posted. Again, thanks for recommending it!

[Barliman]

Originally Posted by noradd

Who knows one or some of his books on ADD?
I came across them an amazon and noticed that they all have pretty good reviews. I'd like to know wether his books are usable to diagnose ADD. if you're an adult and worry you have ADD then could reading his books give you clarity if you really have it?
I actually already wanted to buy Driven to Distraction but then I read reviews which sounded like all the book is is a collection of stories of people who have ADD and then found out that they have it and did much better on treatment.
This isn't really what I am interested in. These success stories don't help me, I already know them from Dr. Amen's book who also has a few ADD stories in it.
What I want is a clear description of symptoms which adults with ADD have so that I can see if their symptoms fit to my symptoms.
I really don't want to spend money for a book which in the end doesn't help me. I need to know if I have ADD so that I can demand further testing cause my psyche thinks I dont have ADD cause I didnt struggle in school but I fear that I may have ADD and this fear drags me down.
I also listened to ADD broadcasts and also found parallels between me an ADDers and I also did a ADD quiz where I also scored high.
I have to find out if I indeed have it.
I also watched a movie called without limits or something like that where someone who gets nothing done gets his hand on a new drug which enhances his brain powers and then all of a sudden he has clarity of mind and becomes totally successful. This character also reminded me a lot of myself. I also lack this clarity most of the time and struggle to get it and to find this inner peace. But most of the day I feel frantic like my mind is racing and I have a strong desire for peace and quiet. Often times I go out for walks at night because this is the only time where I can relax a bit. Walking around during the day wouldn't work cause the noise and the light bother me.

If you want some info about diagnosing ADHD- go to this website and look at the questionnaire:
http://www.divacenter.eu/DIVA.aspx?id=499

If you want to understand how to get the best result after being diagnosed, pay close attention to Hallowell and Amen.

Positive psychology is the key to a good outcome, and both of these commentators understand that 100%.

If we expect a bad outcome, that is what we will get.

[Barliman]

The other thing i would say is that I am currently seeing a psychoanalyst twice weekly.
I have found this an immensely helpful exercise, and only wish that we could all afford such luxury.
However, my analyst is constantly surprised at the lateral associations I make, and the good use I make of them.

Yes, there is a real advantage to the way we think- but we have to find our niche in a world of clones.

[Plognark]

Originally Posted by Michiko74

I found delivered from distraction to be the better of the two books.

I did as well. The fact that the book 'resonated' with me was helpful in getting a proper diagnosis.

I went all hyperfocus and took notes while reading it though. I didn't at first, but the stuff in there was so uncanny that it freaked me out a bit.

[noradd]

Thank you all for your replies.

To be honest I dont even know if I should get into the whole ADD thing. I mean I have lived without treatment and diagnosis for 30 years. It's only now where I heard about adult ADD and where I found parallels that I'm worried about it and ask myself what if it totally limits me?
I'm in my last semester at the university and next year are the final exams and currently I also have to write my diploma thesis and I am having a very hard time with this. Lost of work goes undirected and turns up to have been a waste of time. I have never had such a hard time writing a longer text.

If I really should have ADD and for example went on some kind of stimulant then do you think that I'd have advantages compared to not going on stimulants? I mean are there chances that all of a sudden my memory works better or that I'm more intelligent and understand things easier than I did before?
Cause only then would it make sense to get diagnosed and to take stimulants.
I'd have to weigh the pros and cons. Stimulants can also have scary side effects. ANd also being diagnosed with ADD isn't beneficial when it comes to health insurances, right? After all ADD is chronic. If you've been diagnosed with it once then you'll have it in your file forever.

This is why I really don't even know if I should open this can of worms or if it would only cause more problems.

If I knew for example that whatever I have isn't ADD or that stimulants wouldn't make such a huge difference then I'd also be helped by that because then I would settle this whole thing. But right now I wonder what if ADD inhibits me and I can't even tell the difference cause I know nothing else.

Apart from feeling irritated and restless very often I also feel like my memory isn't working properly. I feel like I have to force new information into my mind
by endless repetition and then I also quickly forget it again. I can't just come across something important and read it once and then save it and move on.
I don't know if this is normal. I also do not remember anything I learned back in school. No maths,no science,no geography. It's as if I had never been to school!
I also don't think this is normal. If this was normal then there wouldn't be people with a really broad knowledge who seem to be able to hold onto every bit of information they ever came across but I'm not like that. Could this be caused by ADD?

I also struggle a lot with procrastination. I know exactly I should be working and I'm not and starting to finally work is always like a battle and even when I'm finally working I often interrupt it to do something else and then may not return to it and then I'm upset and angry at myself and want to do it better the next day but then it's the same thing.

[ConcertaParent]

IMHO, it's better for you to find out if you have ADD than to have your severe anxiety disorder consume you for the rest of your life whether you have it. If you are that anxious about ADD medication, then Hallowell's books are good for you since he promotes a lot of alternative treatments, including Kolbe Index, LENS neurofeedback, Cogmed, Learning Breakthrough Program, Integrated Listening Systems, and chiropractors.

Originally Posted by noradd

I'd have to weigh the pros and cons.

[Drewbacca]

Originally Posted by ConcertaParent

I never had any idea about WorldCat, Khan Academy, etc. until I read Drewbacca's posts.

Glad to know that something useful comes out of my internet hyper-focusing.

[sarahsweets]

Stimulants have a pretty good track record and medication wont give you an unfair advantadge it will just give you the opportunity to live a functional life.

[noradd]

Well, ritalin is in a different league than for example antidepressants.
I mean this stuff can kill you. I read the leaflet and it can have insane
side effects.
For me taking stimulants would only make sense if they really made a huge difference. And since I also suffer from anxiety and depression I don't even know if stimulants wouldn't make this worse so that it wouldn't make sense for me to take them even if I had ADD. I have been on various antidepressants for months and so far none of them helped me at all which is also very disappointing. I had much higher hopes in antidepressants than I have now.

Can anyone here tell me if ADD medication have an effect on memorability and intelligence? Maybe I also have too high expectations when it comes to ADD drugs.
And another problem would be what happens if you stop taking stimulants? Would then all positive effects be gone and if you for example learned stuff while taking stimulants would this knowledge then vanish,too, once you get off the stimulants?

[ConcertaParent]

It's a risk-benefit analysis. If the probable benefits and advantages outweigh the costs and possible side effects, then it would make sense to at least TRY the medication. While the benefit-risk ratio has not been good so far for my daughter, it makes a huge (but temporary) difference for many others, including many college students who take Adderall even though they don't have ADHD. If you are one of the college students who do NOT have a net benefit, you can stop taking the medication immediately.

The obvious first step is to find out if you have ADHD ASAP before you get too anxious and depressed. Your doctor can then help you with the risk-benefit analysis of adding medication to your existing medication for anxiety and depression. If you continue to be very averse to even trying ADHD medication, you can try alternative treatments such as neurofeedback which may have some efficacy for all three of your disorders. Good luck....

Originally Posted by noradd

For me taking stimulants would only make sense if they really made a huge difference. And since I also suffer from anxiety and depression I don't even know if stimulants wouldn't make this worse so that it wouldn't make sense for me to take them even if I had ADD.

[Amtram]

noradd, every medication insert shows some frighteningly horrible potential outcomes. You need to look at the statistics to get a better picture of the actual risks of those outcomes. They usually turn out to be not quite so scary after all.

[Lunacie]

Originally Posted by noradd

Well, ritalin is in a different league than for example antidepressants.
I mean this stuff can kill you. I read the leaflet and it can have insane
side effects.
For me taking stimulants would only make sense if they really made a huge difference. And since I also suffer from anxiety and depression I don't even know if stimulants wouldn't make this worse so that it wouldn't make sense for me to take them even if I had ADD. I have been on various antidepressants for months and so far none of them helped me at all which is also very disappointing. I had much higher hopes in antidepressants than I have now.

Can anyone here tell me if ADD medication have an effect on memorability and intelligence? Maybe I also have too high expectations when it comes to ADD drugs.
And another problem would be what happens if you stop taking stimulants? Would then all positive effects be gone and if you for example learned stuff while taking stimulants would this knowledge then vanish,too, once you get off the stimulants?

Antidepressants can increase the risk of comitting suicide, but everything we take,

eat or drink has risks. Even plain old asprin. Read the side effects for that!


Anxiety and depression are the two most common cormorbid issues with ADHD.

For many, treating the ADHD makes the anxiety and depression much better.

If stimulant meds make those problems worse, then you need a second opinion

on whether you have ADHD or something else.


Stimulant meds will not destroy your intelligence or your memory. If you learn

something while on meds you won't forget it if you stop taking meds.

But you'll probably have just as much trouble remembering the new stuff

as remembering anything else. That's one of the major impairments of ADHD,

difficulty accessing memory. These meds can improve the executive function

of our brains, making it easier to access our memory and our intelligence.

Unfortunately, it is usually necessary to work with the doctor to figure out

which meds and which doses are best for you as an individual.

[noradd]

Hi everyone,

I talked to my doc and also brought up my ADD concerns. He asked me few questions about wether I had problems with concentrating in school and if I have had accidents in traffic due to not being concentrated and I said no. He said that even if I had ADD then it's only a slight form of ADD. He now wants me to try Wellbutrin at 150mg. But after reading the Wellbutrin leaflet I'm also scared of Wellbutrin. This is not good.

[Barliman]

Originally Posted by noradd

Thank you all for your replies.

To be honest I dont even know if I should get into the whole ADD thing. I mean I have lived without treatment and diagnosis for 30 years. It's only now where I heard about adult ADD and where I found parallels that I'm worried about it and ask myself what if it totally limits me?
I'm in my last semester at the university and next year are the final exams and currently I also have to write my diploma thesis and I am having a very hard time with this. Lost of work goes undirected and turns up to have been a waste of time. I have never had such a hard time writing a longer text.

If I really should have ADD and for example went on some kind of stimulant then do you think that I'd have advantages compared to not going on stimulants? I mean are there chances that all of a sudden my memory works better or that I'm more intelligent and understand things easier than I did before?
Cause only then would it make sense to get diagnosed and to take stimulants.
I'd have to weigh the pros and cons. Stimulants can also have scary side effects. ANd also being diagnosed with ADD isn't beneficial when it comes to health insurances, right? After all ADD is chronic. If you've been diagnosed with it once then you'll have it in your file forever.

This is why I really don't even know if I should open this can of worms or if it would only cause more problems.

If I knew for example that whatever I have isn't ADD or that stimulants wouldn't make such a huge difference then I'd also be helped by that because then I would settle this whole thing. But right now I wonder what if ADD inhibits me and I can't even tell the difference cause I know nothing else.

Apart from feeling irritated and restless very often I also feel like my memory isn't working properly. I feel like I have to force new information into my mind
by endless repetition and then I also quickly forget it again. I can't just come across something important and read it once and then save it and move on.
I don't know if this is normal. I also do not remember anything I learned back in school. No maths,no science,no geography. It's as if I had never been to school!
I also don't think this is normal. If this was normal then there wouldn't be people with a really broad knowledge who seem to be able to hold onto every bit of information they ever came across but I'm not like that. Could this be caused by ADD?

I also struggle a lot with procrastination. I know exactly I should be working and I'm not and starting to finally work is always like a battle and even when I'm finally working I often interrupt it to do something else and then may not return to it and then I'm upset and angry at myself and want to do it better the next day but then it's the same thing.

Two comments- ADD or not- virtually every single human on this planet would do better with better attention and emotional regulation.
Whether or not you take on the "diagnosis"- think of that.

To me that observation helps- it gives me a cleaner target to aim for.

Secondly- the risks of stimulants are much lower than all other psych drugs, and significantly lower than most other non psychiatric drugs with the possible exception of one asthma drug (sodium chromoglycate).

The labelling on drug packets does not include adequate information about relative risk.

Look closely at this article about Prozac.
Prozac is presented as a much safer drug than dexamphetamine- but this may change your mind:
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles...gression.shtml

[ana futura]

So many of the horror stories you hear about stimulants are because people simply don't use them correctly. You'll read about this whole list of side effects they're experiencing, but they keep on taking the med at the prescribed dose- which is often too high. Doctors are to blame as well, although well-intentioned. It seems like there is trend of starting patients on higher doses than necessary, and switching to non-stimulant med instead of simply lowering the dose if the side effects are too great.

Some people can take 20 mg of ritalin and feel nothing. Others can take that same amount and get jittery, deydrated, mentally unstable, or physically ill. For some bizarre reason, they keep taking it, even though their body is clearly telling them to lower the dose. Chances are their body could have handled 5 mg of ritalin and benefited from it. Because they don't listen to their own body, they have this horrible experience, swear off stimulants forever, and then launch into tirades on sites like this about how dangerous stimulants are.

Stimulants are perfectly safe when used correctly. Unfortunately, "correctly" is not the same for everyone. Listen to your body. If you feel physically ill, lower your dose. This medication will not suddenly kill you in your sleep. The side effects are obvious, and as soon as you stop the med or lower your dose, they will go away.

Start with a very slow dose, and see how you tolerate it.There will be several warning signs well before any damage results from stimulant use. If you head them, you will be fine. Side effects don't happen for everyone, and if more people were on the correct dose and titration schedule, they'd happen far less often.

I would never take an SSRI or SNRI. My brief experience with Wellbutrin put me off any non-stimulant psychiatric forever.