"What Are Specific Changes to Look for When Taking Medicine?"

[smooch]

The following info is cut and pasted from the ADD Resources web page. I know it looks long, but at least they chunked it into short paragraphs!

What are some specific changes to look for when taking medicine?

When medicated you may be able to stay involved in a conversation or finish a task before moving on to something else or you may remember to do something that you needed to do. You may find your social interactions more relaxed and that others seem to enjoy being with you more.

Dr. Theodore Mandelkorn of Seattle says that ADDers on (proper) "medication IMPROVE their attention span, concentration, memory, motor coordination, mood,and on-task behavior. At the same time they DECREASE daydreaming, hyperactivity, anger, immature behavior, defiance, and oppositional behavior. Medical treatment allows intellectual capabilities that were already present to function more appropriately.

When medication is used appropriately, patients notice a significant improvement in control. Objective observers notice better control of focus, concentration, attending skills, and task completion. Many are able to cope with stress more appropriately, with fewer temper outbursts, less anger, and better compliance. They relate and interact better with family members and friends. Less restlessness and impulsiveness are noted."

He goes on to say, "It is very important to remember what medicine does and does not do. Using medication is like putting on glasses. It enables the system to function more appropriately. Glasses do not make you behave, write a term paper, or even get up in the morning. They allow your eyes to function more normally IF YOU CHOOSE to open them. YOU are still in charge of your vision. Whether you open your eyes or not, and what you choose to look at, are controlled by you. Medication allows your nervous system to send its chemical messages more efficiently, and thus allows your skills and knowledge to function more normally. Medication does not provide skills or motivation to perform.

ADDers often complain of forgotten appointments, incomplete work, mistakes in written work, frequent arguments with family members or co-workers, excessive activity, and impulsive behaviors. With medication, many of these problems dramatically improve. Patients successfully treated with medication typically can go to bed at night and find that most of the day went the way they had planned."

Dr. Gross in Santa Clara, CA suggests asking if the medication you are taking is significantly helping with these concerns:

--Academic underachieving and inattentiveness
--Hyperactivity or troublesome fidgeting
--Verbal and/or behavioral impulsivity (blurting out, interrupting others, acting before thinking)
--Difficulty falling asleep at night
--Trouble coming awake (not getting out of bed) in the morning
--Excessive irritability without cause and/or easy frustration
--Bedwetting or primary nocturnal enuresis
--Dyslexia with spatial or verbal reversals
--Episodic explosiveness, emotional outbursts, or temper tantrums
--Unexplained and persistent emotional negativity

If your ADD/ADHD medication is not significantly helping with most of these concerns, ask about changing the dosage or changing medicine. Medication is not acceptable if it relieves only one dysfunction such as trouble falling asleep but not any others.

Finding the right clinician and the right medication can take time, but those who persist are well-rewarded for their efforts. Good luck with your search.

Editor's Note: None of the preceding information should be construed as medical advice and should not be used in lieu of seeking medical attention. Much of the preceding material is adapted from material initially written by Paul Jaffee, NY.


I (smooch) added the blue for emphasis.

[meadd823]

Dr. Gross in Santa Clara, CA suggests asking if the medication you are taking is significantly helping with these concerns:

Not familiar with this doctor at all.
I am bothered by the fact this statement leads the reader to believe medications are the only portion of treatment for ADD, with out mention of educating self, modifications but then again we are in the medication section could explain a lot of this!

--Academic underachieving and inattentiveness

Well I did not have an inattentive problem me had hyper active ADD…..every thing caught my attention! My inattentive appearance came from my wandering brain taking my body with it!

Medications allowed me to fore-ground and back ground stimuli instead of having it all converge on me all at once!

--Hyperactivity or troublesome fidgeting

It has allowed me to acknowledge when I begin to be in need of a wiggle break…..I still fidget and squirm but can remain seated for a period of up ninety minutes. After that I need to wiggle .. I will say yes meds helped me be able to become more ware of my needs and thus having the option of pre-planning!

--Verbal and/or behavioral impulsivity (blurting out, interrupting others, acting before thinking)

Yes this has been helped to a good degree… I still do these things from time to time but am able to acknowledge how it is affecting other more rapidly!

--Difficulty falling asleep at night

Well considering it is 6:30 Texas time and I am posting this…..it may help to know I work evenings and night. .but I still struggle wit this some is that I do comply well with taking adderall but not the anti-anxiety meds-my fault there!

--Trouble coming awake (not getting out of bed) in the morning

I don’t have problems if I get enough sleep….my ability to get me buns out of bed is directly related to me getting them into the bed!

--Excessive irritability without cause and/or easy frustration

Yes I have been able to be helped here….I still get irritable just now I have access to the words that allow me to realize the cause behind my emotions. Having access to the words I need to express what is happening inside me, has enable me to communicate more effectively thus able advert explosion by stating the problem before it become explosion level!

[quote]
--Bedwetting or primary nocturnal enuresi[quote]

Never had this problem…
s

--Dyslexia with spatial or verbal reversals

Nope all the letters still look the same to me….. words don’t look any differently either still reading in context!

ADD is a neuro-chemical difference medications allow for more dopamine arability in my brain….=chemical

My dyslexia is a visual processing problem having more to do with how visual stuff is processed….it is believed folks like me have different structural /structural usage of the brain parts=mechanical

ADD medications don’t work with visual dyslexia .. never expected it to!

--Episodic explosiveness, emotional outbursts, or temper tantrums

(see irritability answer it is the same)

--Unexplained and persistent emotional negativity

Nope ADDF and family helped the most with that!

If your ADD/ADHD medication is not significantly helping with most of these concerns, ask about changing the dosage or changing medicine.

I did the medication trail and error for two years did my time. Besides medications aren’t the only answer. Medications my change my brain chemicals enough for me to become aware of some things I need to change but I am the one who must make the changes…….medications were never meant to “do” the life changes for us. Medications are to make the changes possible for us to make our selves!

Medication is not acceptable if it relieves only one dysfunction such as trouble falling asleep but not any others.

Medications is NOT acceptable as the only approach to ADD. Medication falls short if taken with out the addition of education on condition and how it affects self!

Finding the right clinician and the right medication can take time, but those who persist are well-rewarded for their efforts. Good luck with your search

I have the best ADD doctor on the face of the earth as far as I am concerned! He is a wonderful doctor who actually listens and a good human being! Nope won’t change doctors with out being forced!
.

[belieflowr]

hi...i see it's been a while since the last post here, but this was a concern of mine, as i am not very good at self-evaluation/monitering, and though i did feel i truly had ADHD at the time of diagnosis, i was not sure how my experience translated into the broad terms used to describe it.

having just started meds, i made this list of things i want to improve and i think i understand myself and my symptoms better now. hopefully, someone can take a look at my list and make one of their own.

1 starting a new task before i complete the first
2 forgetting what i'm doing/thinking while i'm doing/thinking it
3 organising a task
4 silly errors/mistakes
5 efficiency: time to complete a task
6 prioritising: (general)
7 prioritising: ideas
8 recognise and block out irrelevant ideas/thoughts
9 follow a conversation (general)
10 awareness of where a conversation is going and why
11 staying "tuned in" to speech
12 digression
13 obsession: knowing when to change the channel, knowing how to change the channel, and knowing which channel to change to
14 studying: sitting in one place for more than 5 min
15 stydying: conceptual organisation and prioritisation (especially when i need to create my own logical structure in which to understand, take notes on, or write about a subject)
16 "automatic" behavior: losing my keys, leaving my lights on, wearing clothes inside out...

this list is basically the various ways in which i subjectively experience my symptoms, and they are the kind of things i can keep track of.

[babette111]

Hi belieflowr,

From your list I see you have many of the same goals as me.
I just started on 10 mg of Ritalin and I've taken my 3rd one today.

I feel a little different although I'm not sure it's helping me focus at all better.
I'm thinking of taking 2 at once tomorrow morning and see what that does.

-barb

[wifeandmom]

Are the original statements about symptom relief realistic? My 18 yr old dd has been on meds about 8 years - originally tried adderall which caused a bad crash - then switched to methylphendates (Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana) and never tried any more amphetamines. We have never seen improvements in more than one or two of the characteristics listed in the quotes by the physicians. We always assumed that what we were seeing was about as good as it would get.

Can someone comment on whether those expectations for symptom relief are achievable? If they are, I'm eager to try Adderall XR or Vyvanse, since we haven't seen those types of improvements with what we've tried.

Thanks to anyone who can help with this.

[wifeandmom]

Oops - dd is 16, not 18.

[Iamscattered]

"I did the medication trail and error for two years did my time. Besides medications aren’t the only answer. Medications my change my brain chemicals enough for me to become aware of some things I need to change but I am the one who must make the changes…….medications were never meant to “do” the life changes for us. Medications are to make the changes possible for us to make our selves!" and then "Medications is NOT acceptable as the only approach to ADD. Medication falls short if taken with out the addition of education."

I know I am referring to an older post, but I loved this quote and believe it to be very true. But I also would like to suggest that it can work (as it seems to have for me) a little differently as well. Before I knew what AD/HD was, I was in years of individual and group therapy, and learned about communication, meditation, and other strategies for making my life smoother, more organized and and less stressful, with some good results but not in proportion to the effort I put in.

It turned out my underlying problem was always AD/HD but I didn't know it. Once I was diagnosed and medicated, the lessons and tools I had learned previously in therapy became much more powerful and effective. In my case I did the work first and took the medication second, it wasn't the sequence I would have preferred but it worked for me.

As to education we may very well want and need to work with a counselor or coach. But if you are a Hyperfocusing type (like many of us are) we can pick up tremendous amounts of information about all aspects of AD/HD (including coping mechanisms) in a relatively short period of time and may not need professional help (outside of med management). Just my two cents but I would not recommend going it alone for most young adults, no matter how intelligent you may be, translating information into real world changes takes (again my opinion only) either professional help and/or many years of adult life experiences.

[Li'lADDer]

This post and forum in general is a great resource - thank you! I was officially diagnosed with ADD about a month ago and have been on Dexedrine ever since, adjusting the dosage and wondering if it was really working. After reading this and other posts here, now I'm sure that it is! How exciting!

[sarey]

Originally Posted by smooch

--Academic underachieving and inattentiveness

I've only just started taking the medication, but I've noticed that I can concentrate better, though I still lose focus sometimes, but it's alot better.

Originally Posted by smooch

--Hyperactivity or troublesome fidgeting

I feel less restless, but I still am restless.

Originally Posted by smooch

--Verbal and/or behavioral impulsivity (blurting out, interrupting others, acting before thinking)

I still am impulsive, I don't think before I do things, but it's getting better, I try to think before doing something or saying something.

Originally Posted by smooch

--Difficulty falling asleep at night

It's got alot better, I can sleep better at night, though I still wake up many times, I stay asleep for most of it.

Originally Posted by smooch

--Trouble coming awake (not getting out of bed) in the morning

I sometimes become awake within a few minutes, or I fall back to sleep. It depends really on what my mood is like and stuff. Plus by the time I'm awake, the medication effects are well worn off. And I don't take my medication until after my breakfast.

Originally Posted by smooch

--Excessive irritability without cause and/or easy frustration

I am still frustrated alot, and really irritable, but I've got alot calmer lately. Really calmer...

Originally Posted by smooch

--Bedwetting or primary nocturnal enuresis

I used to have bedwetting problems but they went away, so I don't have any problem with this.

Originally Posted by smooch

--Dyslexia with spatial or verbal reversals

No idea WHAT this means...

Originally Posted by smooch

--Episodic explosiveness, emotional outbursts, or temper tantrums

These occur sometimes, but not as bad as they used to be. When the medication wears off, I have really bad effects to it...

Originally Posted by smooch

--Unexplained and persistent emotional negativity

I have low self esteem anyway, and I have alot of emotional difficulties, so I'm mostly negative anyway.
The medication I'm on (Today, I was put on Concerta XL - 56mg, but I was previously on Ritalin short acting, 20mg a day) does help alot. I feel alot calmer, more content? I can focus better, I'm not as restless... I do still zone out, and I get frustrated, and restless still, and I am sometimes really impulsive, and all that stuff, but it's not AS bad... I was only recently diagnosed with ADHD.

[Lesliek57]

WOW I constantly wear my clothes inside out. Never connected that to my ADHD. Ty I'll add it to my list. Ive noticed since being on medication my ability to listen witout interrupting and sitting still ie movies , ball games etc has dramatically improved. Also when I spend time with someone, it is much more engaged in them and rewarding.They always seem much more satisfied with our time together even commenting on it.
I have been on several forums and noted some bloggers speak about specific medication they take that amps them or changes appetite. I have opposite reaction in fact I am dead tired early in eve now , voraciously hungry and calmer than I have ever been. Mellow is somewhat of an understatement.Itake adderall and small dose of vyvance time release.

[Lesliek57]

BTW the thought of sitting for a whole movie or sporting event,meeting etc used to give me anxiety attacks. I dreaded the thought while others going with me were totally excited.

[Squirrely Seth]

I feel as though I might be similar to Belieflower. Although I can tell you all I am really terrible at realistically self-evaluating/monitoring. Just from being on this site for one day I've come to realize I've been through what seems like a great variety of meds at a young age. However, now that Im older Im realizing that with more info Im really doubting the job my current meds are doing to address ADHD and its subset symptoms (anxiety). Lately I've been restless as hell, still impulsive, massive inattentiviess, loads of irritability, easily frustrated by the simplest things, nasty case of dyslexia, very moody, and perahps the most damaging is my longstanding persistent emotional negativity.

For the first time Im really trying to be realistic about the matter and don't really know where to start. Any ideas to figuring out how a medication is working well or not? Are their like daily surveys to take to monitor such er what?