Is ADHD a real disorder?

I'm finding that being a middle school teacher requires a good amount of organizational and time management skills and I feel fucked

― Treeship, Thursday, November 12, 2015 4:51 AM (17 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

omg hit me up via the emails so we can talk about this; I can help

Can't you two get samples from your students?

am i alone in thinking this thread is completely wtf omg, as far as the original posts go before the jump?
i assume people differently, now. . . ? (adhd isn't in my life, still, though).

people feel differently*

i vaguely want to defend it -- there was a cultural moment in the UK where ADHD was suddenly 'a thing' and there was a massive jump in infant diagnoses, without a large-scale response or plan being put in action as to how to train people to deal with it in education. so there was a lot of cynicism about it from the POVs of teaching and child-rearing. that said, the kind of outright denial of its existence seen upthread is kinda gross.

my first awareness of ADHD was private school classmates who used the diagnosis in the academic setting to have extended time for test-taking. diagnoses weren't as fully widespread as they later became, and all of these classmates came from wealthy families so there was a general sense, at least on my part, that any underachieving rich kid could essentially pay for the diagnosis & get a leg up on their peers. that's an uncharitable view of the condition, but it took a few years and having a college roommate with severe attention issues for me to accept that it could be a real thing.

i did well in school and always tested well, but i had really bad time management and procrastination habits and struggled to complete homework on time, which was generally ascribed by my parents and teachers to 'laziness' and lack of discipline.

How's it going, patron sailor? Did you seek help?

I think I have ADHD. Or maybe I'm just a lazy scatterbrain with an all-devouring internet addiction. I dunno.

Sometimes I fool myself: lazy + disorganised + forgetful + internet addiction + thought-derailing noise sensitivity + the thought "if I do badly everyone will think less of me" makes me freeze up on tasks = huh, that's a lot to add up, maybe ADHD wins by Occam's Razor! But obviously "lazy" and "internet addiction" are simpler than having a neurological disorder.

And I admit, I did well at school despite always forgetting to bring the right books with me, do the work on time, etc. If I remembered, I would usually get on with the work (although possibly largely due to my parents checking up on me, and always last-minute - if nothing was due the next day I'd take the evening off, no matter what else was looming). I don't remember being totally unable to concentrate despite wanting to until age 17+. But things went really off the rails at university, and I've never got it back together.

I miss deadlines at work. I'm always late for work. My home is permanently a cluttered mess. I have ideas and intentions and never seem to finish them - mostly I don't even start on them. If not for direct debit/standing orders I could never stay on top of bills. All this stuff runs in my dad's side of the family; I think I overheard that my uncle was recently diagnosed as ADHD, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were others.

But tbh I don't think the NHS would diagnose me anyway. They seem not keen on diagnosing it in adults, they emphasise hyperactivity and early childhood symptoms, and it's supposedly underdiagnosed in women. Plus I have a history of chronic depression (though this stuff is a problem no matter how my mood is) and I've worked at the same (underachiever-friendly) place for years rather than having the characteristic unstable work history, so those are two other things which might rule me out.

I'm mainly typing into the void, but if anyone has any thoughts or experience with adult diagnosis, esp in their 30s+ or as a woman or non-hyperactive or in the UK or despite any of the other impediments above, I'd be interested. Thanks. Sorry for tl;dr.

Feeling yr self-diagnosis so much tbh

I am currently sat at a table full of cluster with loads of empty booze bottles beneath it, next to the dog bowl. I grew up in a neighbour from hell type council-house abode and it all feels quite normal to me. My grandma had 20 odd cats and was an obsessive hoarder, my mother has less extreme but similar problems. I am sorry I can't offer any more to this thread other than just simple recognition. but can say with some confidence that you are definitely not alone APS and all the best to you.

Even yr username screams 'ADD' ('spacecadet' was my childhood nickname, too). Even if you never get anything from the NHS, I hope you remember to be kind to yrself

Also since it's been a while in this thread, I want to point out that ADD, depression, autism, bipolar and schizophrenia are now thought to be a cluster of related diseases with similar genetic profiles, though expressed differently. So there is nothing weird about being ADD *and* depressed

Huh, I didn't get the memo on that, but there you go!

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2013/new-data-reveal-extent-of-genetic-overlap-between-major-mental-disorders.shtml

The negative coheritability between ASD-ADHD seems to indicate that one my bigger hunches about these things may be correct

the first nowell

I am seeking treatment, btw. In fact I have an intake appointment with a psychiatrist this week, so we'll see how that all goes.

Good luck, ps!

I didn't get round to replying because I was trying to make my next post less tl;dr but thank you to everyone who replied to me.

So there is nothing weird about being ADD *and* depressed

Yeah, it seems many people are. When I've mentioned any of this stuff without the ADHD label to doctors/psychologists they've said it's all a symptom of depression but it def seems like cause/effect might also run the other way, and it never goes away even after months or years of mostly steadily OK mood - though it can get worse when I'm anxious or down, so worrying or hopelessness about not thinking straight or stuff not getting done sets up feedback loops.

btw I thought there was known genetic overlap btwn ASD/ADHD, plus sensory processing similarities between the two, but I'm not sure if the "negative coheritability" in that study says otherwise (for that known set of common genetic variations) or if "coheritability" has a more specific meaning than I'm thinking of. I am not good at parsing science-speak or even press release summaries thereof; too bad for a nerd

There was a negative correlation between diagnosis for ASD and ADHD and the genetic markers accompanying each. So subjects that had the markers most strongly correlated to ASD did NOT exhibit symptoms of ADHD, and vice versa.

Someone who does this for a living feel free to correct me.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/got-adhd-you-may-live-shorter-life-study-shows-n313011

I've been hit by cars, or nearly hit, a bunch of times. I usually spin this as a "fun" anecdote but I worry about it a lot.

that's why moving somewhere I don't have to drive is one of my life goals

i feel so fucked up about this.

i think in order to continue in my job, i need a robust plan, which at this stage in the game (i.e., i need immediate results) would probably involve medication.

but i don't want to take medication. i hated adderall so much when i was on it. i almost feel it would be worth not having a job that involved high levels of organization and preparation if it meant not having to take adderall.

like, i would give up a lot in order to not take adderall, or other adhd meds (i tried all of them). i like myself when i am not on it, but i find my thinking is jumbled all the time and it's hard for me to follow through with plans. when i took adderall, i would get straight A's and these issues pretty much disappeared (they were traded for other issues.)

I start a low therapeutic dose of Wellbutrin today, which I guess in addition to being useful for symptoms of depression might have a positive effect on my attention issues? here's hoping!

good luck, and good wishes to you Treesh, hope you find your best way forward soon

Good luck!!!

Update: Wellbutrin is pretty swell so far. It was mainly prescribed for my depressive symptoms but it's had a positive effect on attention stuff as well. I've been extremely on top of my work lately and have generally felt a positive boost in motivation, focus, & short term memory. Have managed to keep on top of the 2x day dosage. At times I've felt a little edgy & speedy but nothing bad. Feeling very positive about this so far!

I'm taking welbutrin and vyvanse. Did you try that one treeship? It's meth and it's good.
My motivation is still quite bad because some days i lie in bed after work. Maybe I need to lower my nightly seroquel dose and uh excercise and eat right.

ADD meds (in my case vyvanse), help with many symptoms but my hyperfocus is as robust as ever - I'm terrific at menial labor!

I can associate with Mr. Roboto and I can say for fact that he is notdoing jobs that nobody wants to. Those jobs are being done by Mexican construction workers

I wonder if huge ammounts of coffeee = mild adderall?

No. Nicotine has an observably similar impact on brain function as Ritalin, though (as does cocaine. I can dig up the paper if anyone doubts my rationale for fueling the work day with bumps and drags.)

Yes and no. None of these things are the same. Some of them have similar effects. Talk to your doctor if you think drugs might be right for you. If you feel like you're using caffeine, alcohol or nicotine for self-medicating purposes, also talk to your doctor, because that can have effects.

Well, I've been drinking huge amounts of caffeine for many years now so it would basically be hard to tell at this point what life is like WITHOUT it.

Pretty much from age 16 on - always caffeinated! And then when I worked in a cafe once they taught how to make it even stronger!

Yet it never makes me jittery or have trouble sleeping.

I believe in science to I believe ADHD is real, and its too bad there is not a more cut and dry test for it like a bloodtest or something because it seems like society still sees it like "he's just a bad student" or "she's just a naughty space cadet" or "if he had better parents...." but really its a biological brain difference between adhd and normal kids.

Caffeine exacerbates my ability to be distracted; meds allow me to focus a lot better

i could be totally wrong about this (not a doctor etc) but caffeine has a lower brain toxicity threshold whereas amphetamine requires larger doses for toxicity to occur

all depends on water and food intake. i've had some of the worst times of my life and have done very dangerous rash things while on adderall without having had enough water or food. :\

interesting I thought the adderall was supposed to inhibit impulsive behavior

it can make you unreasonably certain of your own rightness

tbrr people have stopped talking to me irl because of things i've posted here on ilx while i was zooming. :\

I have been reading abotu adhd and i read that that can happen due to impulsivity of adhd - the regretted things blurted out or typed and enter is hit

sp - ideal jobs for ADHD people?

lawyer

I have read that IT world is full of adhd people- must be all the dual core processors? multi taksing?

DJ

I don;t know how anyone with ADHD can work at a job where access to the internet exists and not just spend all day distracted by WEB WORLDWIDE

I've already read everything

http://www.chadd.org/understanding-adhd/for-adults/workplace-issues.aspx

a pretty good read

what are the steps one one takes to determine whether they have ADD/ADHD? just talk to my doctor?

I think any kind of mental health professional can diagnose, but only an actual psychiatrist can prescribe. It may take some shopping around to find someone who's able to provide efficacious extra-medicinal therapy in that arena (my meds doctor is, respectfully, useless in that particular arena).

You're diagnosed based on your self-reported symptoms and the degree to which they negatively affect your life over the long term... there are some tests too but since there's no single bio mechanism for ADHD, it's a bit of a subjective decision no matter what.

In my case, after self-reporting I took a cognitive assessment, and was determined to have ADD based on having lower scores in some tasks compared to others.

i just started therapy again on monday and one of the things we are going to look into is whether i have add/adhd. i strongly suspect i do, it has taken a long time to figure this out but when i reflect back on how i've managed (or failed to manage) different tasks, obligations, and goals there are pretty clear patterns that have been present since i was a kid. so i am happy that i am finally going to look into this and determine what would help me.

what have you found to be helpful? do you take medications? do they help? are they harmful?

Best of luck, marcos. ADD diagnosis was the most revelatory thing ever for me and gave me a starting point for tackling any number of issues I'd previously seen as disparate and unrelated.

I am on Ritalin, I've personally found it to be stunningly helpful, and I've suffered nothing more serious than occasional dry mouth from having taken it.

A protip I discovered for myself: upload a white noise mp3 onto your music player of choice and utilize it anytime you feel your attention is compromised by auditory distractions.

thanks old lunch and good to hear about your positive experience w/ ritalin!

One bonus with the Rit is that it's technically 'use as needed'. I maintain a regular regimen but you can go on and off it without having to worry about side effects. Which is a consideration that has always made me wary of antidepressants.

I work in an open plan office, which is...a strain at the best of times, but I can safely assert that it would be an unmanageable situation for me without medication.