What made you seek outside help for ADD?

[willowmyst]

Forgive me if a similar thread has been posted before as I have not been able to find it. If so, redirection would be appreciated.
My question is...at what point in time did you decide to seek help for AD/HD? Not so much age related, more of what was the catalyst that moved you to seek professional help? The reason I'm asking is that I feel I may be able to get a handle on it. But then again I may be in denial since I haven't been officially dx'd.

[Alexa]

I have known for a long time that something was 'amiss' with me, but I just 'let it go' and chalked it up to 'character flaws'. Then I moved in with my fiance last October and right about that time I started having some hormonal issues. Got those straightened out but then my 'clutter' habits started causing some friction in along with some other ADD type behavior. What really frosted the cake was when my 11 yr old daughter was diagnosed and I started doing some backtracking to when I was her age and some reading and I made the appt. Just pick your Dr. carefully and make sure they are educated in ADULT AD/HD! That makes a world of difference. Consider taking the step to get this looked into. You will feel much better once you do and can start moving towards a better way of living.

[Stranger]

I have always been a square peg in a world of round holes. I knew I was smart, and school through high school was a piece of cake, but when I got to college it was a different story. I was a social misfit, needed a whip and a chair to get me to study, etc. I took 19 years to finish a BA. But only after I had kids who were diagnosed with ADD did I realize what my problem was (and then it took several years for the tiny light bulb to come on.) A crisis in my life forced me to get a handle on my depression, which led to the realization of where that depresion came from--ADD.

Now I'm frustrated by the lack of services here in our fair city. My psychiatrist seems to be a pill pusher rather than a therapist (and the pills aren't working so hot on the ADD), but I haven't anywhere else to turn. Oh, well, I got this far on my own, what's a little farther.

[AntyNet]

This happened to me just recently, in fact......

As a child, I was always different. Hyperactive, bored very easily, jumped from one project to another. I was much smarter then my peers, but ended up dropping out of HS in the middle of my Jr. year. No one believed me that I was just bored.

I've been noticing a decline (drastic) in my normal every day life for about a year now. I have trouble holding down a job (just because I get bored so easily), then when I am unemployed, it is very hard for me to find work (because of my unexplained fear of people). I cannot focus when people talk to me. I have trouble keeping and remembering appointments and engagements. Until recently I had been self-medicating with marijuana use. Then my social life took an ugly turn....I began pushing away people that I know in my heart care for me.

For me, it was outright addmitting to myself and to someone who I knew would help me that I do indeed have a problem, and can no longer deal with it on my own. This only happened about a week ago.

Next Wednesday is my first offical apointment for help with my ADHD!

-Anty

[Stranger]

Yay, Anty! Go for it!

[Trooper Keith]

I was working with a kid with ADHD, and it dawned on me that the disorder is real and it's not just a behavior problem which I had believed for a long time.

Unfortunately, when I had to admit it was real, I also had to admit that I had it. I was pretending I didn't have it for 9 years by writing it off as other things and pretending it wasn't real, heh.

[irish guy]

I always knew something was up, I was never like others...family and friends even called what i did the "Mikey Way". My wife got a job working with kids who have ADHD, she started noticing that I had many similair traits. I took a couple online test and they came back i should seek further treatment so I did.

[jaimegerise]

I didn't have ADD on my mind as a possibility, but I started going to a counselor when I couldn't handle my job anymore. All of the problems I'd ever had came crashing down on me all at once...my random wild thoughts, insecurity, depression, rage, etc...etc....

and then after a while, ADD was revealed

[davey]

I actually went to see a therapist for a different problem. I was extremely stressed out at work to the point where I couldn't concentrate because of all the negative thoughts running through my head. Talking to the therapist, some things that I had been thinking about in the past came back to me, like how I always forget to pay bills, how my mind always wanders and I'm unable to sit still, how I find it difficult to understand things that other people catch on to right away, how i can never complete a task in one sitting. The therapist recommended I get evaluated for ADD, and I discovered that I'm a classic case of adult ADD. I was told that so many others were going through the same thing I was. It was refreshing for people to tell me that I wasn't stupid.

[Mr Sally]

I am seeking diagnosis because I cant cope at college! I fell like I am buttinh my head against a brick wall!

[sam]

My highschool scores were a lot lower than predicted. I still got into the college and course I wanted but barely and I KNOW I can do better. As I mentioned in my intro post, my mom only told me about ADD years after I was diagnosed.

I started reading up everything I could about ADD as preperation for college, picked up a lot of tips and I want to try meds either the first or second semester to see if it actually helps.

[paulbf]

Stranger,
What is your doc pushing & how is it not working?

Originally Posted by Stranger

My psychiatrist seems to be a pill pusher rather than a therapist (and the pills aren't working so hot on the ADD), but I haven't anywhere else to turn. Oh, well, I got this far on my own, what's a little farther.

[paulbf]

The reason to seek treatment is when it starts interfering with your life. In my case, I lost my job of 5 years & decided I really never liked being an employee so I'd start my own business but the procrastination has been chronic & I found myself pretty much incapacitated. That got me to a shrink which is nothing new but this time they talked me into trying some wellbutrin & the pdoc gave me some reading material about ADHD. Reading those blew my mind & my therapist instantly said yeah, you got ADHD! I was sort of desperate & panicked & tried ritalin without much luck then decided to try another pdoc. He talked to all my previous shrinks & decided my ADD was pretty mild & put me on effexor. That was interesting but not really the answer as it sapped my emotions away & did nothing for my motivation. Finally I tried some other meds & have just found something that truly seems to help & it's similar to ritalin. Now I got to get back to a doc & get a prescription for that or maybe try ritalin again now that I know what I'm looking for. My problem has not been so much with concentration but with motivation. Boredom is caused by being uninterested in things & that causes me to be unorganized cause I just don't care. With the meds it's possible to appreciate things and not always have that nagging 'I'm bored' sign flashing so I can really attend to things I want to do.

I still got a lot of work to get myself out of this hole but am beginning to see the light.

[ChemicalMethod]

I used to take ritalin throughout high school, but i went off them because i got totally distracted by women , plus i was told i couldn't drink alcohol at all during my drug treatment and since everyone was partying i decided to take myself off them and join the fun. Bad mistake but lession learned.

Recently my lack of attention to detial and the such at my job was starting to get me not so good thoughts and opinions from my co-workers. The big one that pushed me to get help was this one shift where we had a table of 30 people comming in, and they had 5 orders of mussels. I totally forgot to check them and i was standing around for a good 30 mins before service time. So when i ran into the fridge to grab them, they were all wide open with the fresh smell of dead mussels. My boss flipped, the customers were a bit dissapointed and it made us look bad. I knew this right away, and to be honest i was so dissapointed in myself, i let everyone down in the restaurant. It was then that i knew i needed to start working on working with my adhd and getting it under control. Since i have been on my meds, i have made no mistakes at work, and even called a few of my co-workers on stuff they forgot . Now i'm getting a raise and a promotion. Swallowing my pride and seeking help was the best thing i have done.

[Stranger]

Originally Posted by paulbf

Stranger,
What is your doc pushing & how is it not working?

Sorry it took so long to respond--I GOTTA get internet access at home!

I'm on wellbutrin, but right now I can't remember which one. (Hey, I just swallow 'em, I don't memorize 'em.) They are mainly for the depression, and, while they help somewhat, life still sucks. Just not as hard. But wellbutrin is also reported to help in some cases with AD/HD symptoms. Not mine, of course. I still have no motivation, lack of focus/concentration, etc. This guy also doesn't believe in stimulants for adults, since "the potential for abuse is too high." Why not let me deal with that, doc? My only other option appears to be strattera, which I already tried with no luck.

The visits to the p-doc are most unproductive--they consist almost exclusively of, "Well, how those pills workin' for ya?" "Not so good, doc." "Well, let's give 'em some more time--see me in three more months."

Three months?? Good thing I'm not suicidal. I gotta find someone who wants to actually work on the issues brought on by the ADD/depression, and not just hand out prescriptions.