I think I may have ADD/ADHD

[missy19]

I don't know if I have ADD/ADHD or not. My symptoms are:

-forget really easily
-can't finish anything I start
-always figet
-easily distracted
-always misplace things
-trouble making decisions on my own
-have trouble paying attention
-a lot of mood swings
-my mind never stops thinking. ( numerous things at once)
-can't read anything unless I'm interested in it.
-my interest in something doesn't last long
-when I read, my mind wanders so much, I end up reading the same paragraph 5-8 times.

My problems is that I want to go and find out for sure, but I'm scared. I have three children that I take care of and I'm afraid that if they really do find something wrong with me, they may think that I am not stable enough to take care of my children.

What should I do? I don't want to keep living like this. I've been like this ever since I can remember.(like 4-5 years old)

[Emma S]

I do not understand law but...
you should definately go and get help,your sypmtoms could be improved a lot,you can be given ideas on how to do things in a different way that might be easier for you(such as remembering)and I am sure they would not take action against your family unless you are a specific threat to them.If it is ADD/ADHD you can get medication which going by the many posts on this forum it helps a lot.
I am newly diagnosed and am waiting to discuss meds with doctor,so cannot give my own point of view on what they are like but you should get help,you will feel a lot better.

[missy19]

Thanks for your support. It's really nice to know that other people are going through the same thing thing as me and I'm not alone.

[Shychored]

Hi,
I am like you as well.I feel like I am going crazy.I also have axiety alot as well.I wouldn't be scared if I were you.They shouldn't take your kids away cause you getting help is a good thing for you and your kids.I have two kids and decided I need testing although I have already been in treatment for depression for 3 years which now I think the depression and anxiety come from the ADD symptoms.I have to get better to be better for my kids.I am going tomorrow to begin the process of testing.I am so excited though,cause I finally will be able to find out specificly whats wrong with me and I can move forward from there.Good luck to you! ;-)

[Garry]

I wouldn't worry about them taking your kids away as you have allways been the way you are and that is normal to you just as the way we all are is normal to all of us here

________________________________________________

As I am very lazy when it comes to typing so I have created a welcome page and ADDed a link here to get you there

My Welcome Page

Garry

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[pembroke]

Diagnosed AD/HD is not a reason to take your children away unless you abuse or neglect them. I haven't heard of many adders who are abusive to their kids -- maybe they're a lot like their kids, but that could be a good thing.... get yourself diagnosed. Not knowing and just guessing can drive you
crazy(er). Once you are diagnosed, you can start to do something about it, i.e., medication, reading....

good luck and welcome.

and yeah, from where I'm sitting, it sounds like you have ADD; but I'm not a diagnostician....:bowl:

[missy19]

Thanks to everyone here that is making me feel very welcome, and thanks for the support. I'm going to make an oppointment with a counselor to talk to about this, and see if I can get a diagnosis. Again thank you for all the advice. It's been very helpful.

[missy19]

I have a question though. To those of you who were diagnosed, how did they diagnose you? I mean, what did they do? And did you have to do anything?

[Garry]

Mine here in Canada was a serious of about 50 questions of which he put the answers into a computer and the computer spit back that its likely I have ADD

pretty simple

[krisp]

I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, who gave me a long interview. I also brought with me some online ADD tests I had taken and printed out. (As it turned out, she asked me all the same questions again, so I could have skipped that part. ) We talked about my childhood, my adult life, and what problems I'd had. My problems were much like yours ... distractibility, poor follow-through, forgetfulness, etc. She then gave me a small "trial" prescription of Ritalin to see what happened, and met again with me afterwards to discuss it.

[missy19]

Thanks krisp. Now I know what to expect.

[missy19]

Does anybody else have any other stories of how they were diagnosed?

[Ace]

Like many of the members here, I diagnosed myself (also eventually took free online diagnostic tests) and than prayed and hoped that the psychologist and psychiatrist would agree. They did, thank goodness.

It is a cool thing to be an ADD or ADHD person after all, and you'll see evidence of that everywhere on this forum.

I guess I could have gone on "being a grasshopper instead of an ant" as I have all my life without treatment, but my husband developed serious chronic health problems. He traditionally "covered" for me, but now I have to do all the remembering and planning and going and doing and being for both of us, so I really really needed help to keep my head above water. I am now getting that help at a community mental health center.

I am 63, and I just got "officially" diagnosed in October. Think of that!!

[missy19]

Thanks Ace.

[missy19]

I've taken a lot of online ADD/ADHD tests as well, and they all said the same thing. That I do have a very good chance of having ADD. I was scared at first to get help, but from the support I've been getting here, I realized that I need to do this for me, my children and my fiancee. I have a counselor from mental health calling me this week for an oppointment, then I can finally get the help I need. I've been like this for a long time. When I was younger though, I didn't realize that I had a problem. Not like ADD is a problem for some people, but it is for me. I just don't understand how my parents didn't notice. I almost wish that they would have so that I could be feeling better right now, but I guess it's better late than never. Thanks for the support. All of you here are the only ones I can really talk to about this. My financee doesn't understand. He thinks that it's all in my head and that I am imagining it. So I told him," have I been imagining it for fifteen years? That's a long time to imagine it" He just doesn't understand. I wish He did. That would mean more support from someone I really care about. I'm am however, really glad these forums are here.