ADHD--Inattentive: Senior and Just Diagnosed. Help?

<p>For everyone who thinks ADD is overdiagnosed…</p>

<p>Yes, Hyperactive ADD might be overdiagnosed. But Inattentive ADD is completely different, since people with it don’t mess around in class. In fact, it’s probably underdiagnosed (since people with it don’t have the hyperactive symptoms that are so often used for diagnoses). And unfortunately, people with it are instead labeled as “lazy”.</p>

<p>I, myself, got diagnosed with Inattentive ADD a year ago, and it was a huge relief for me. The problem with forcing change is that people with ADD naturally have less willpower, and are more easily exhausted by it (so then their remaining willpower is insufficient for studying or focusing after they try to control themselves). I have a 10 mg Adderall XR prescription now and my grades have significantly improved. I’m still not anything close to normal, but at least I have the energy to focus (inattentive ADD is often accompanied with the fatigue that makes me just stare at books for hours at end). There’s actually a subtype of inattentive ADD (sluggish cognitive tempo) that might get included in the new DSM-V.</p>

<p>==</p>

<p>In any case, unstructured environments/colleges/majors might work better for those with ADD (although some self-imposed structure might help with the anxiety).</p>

<p>IQOne is cct. – many are lobbying for a separate section of DSM-V for inattentive type, and there are processing speed issues usually associated with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo.</p>

<p>Re: Exhaustion - OP: My son found that very normal, and I’ve read that occurs particularly with inattentive type. Research has shown that folks with inattentive type actually get sleepier as material presented grows more complex and they try harder to focus/follow it – instead of speeding up brainwaves into beta, theirs slow down toward theta, or so the theory goes. That’s why some kids with I-type can fall asleep during a challenging lecture despite a good night’s sleep. Pace yourself, take short breaks, and time your work. Eg. if you have a smartphone or a watch, set alarm every half hour during homework so you can assess your progress and notice the passage of time – that will shift your consciousness to “executive” (eg how much do I have left to do/what’s next) mode. Small snacks and breaks during study will help you re-energize. So too will coffee/caffeine, which increases dopamine.</p>

<p>That said, seriously, try not to take days off; try to pace yourself and manage your “mind” instead. Days off usually mean submitting to the haze, losing the organizational thread, etc. It also means clotting up the workflow because you’ve missed lessons, and then it’s way harder to stay in balance. Your mood will stay more stable if you are simply kind to yourself but self-motivated/self-managing each day no matter what.
Just think “I am unstoppable” and you will be “unstoppable.”</p>

<p>welcome to the club</p>

<p>we’ve been using a mix of different techniques and interventions to deal with this physiologic issue: organization coaches and methods; medicines; regular physical exercise (like your karate) </p>

<p>reading Hallowell’s books are a great start; “Delivered from Distraction” has a good section describing the use of medicines as tools; in our experience it takes weeks for the subtle effects to take hold and we had to switch to various different brands before we found the “right” medicine (different for the two of us) . . . and we’ve all outgrown those medicines now; don’t need that specific tool any more</p>

<p>and yep, it’s exhausting to spend energy coping every day; expanding the tools and techniques you use wil increase your efficiency</p>

<p>P.S. I second the “keep the diagnosis quiet” . . . there are too many people in the world who will define you by your diagnosis, not your humanity</p>

<p>Don’t worry about medicine becoming “your crutch”. When you are at the correct dosage, the medicine just helps you to be a more fully functioning you! You may find that you don’t need it for every subject or aspect of your life and use a short acting version, or you may find that using an extended-release version helps you to be more productive overall, and helps your self-confidence and general lifestyle. It’s important, I think, to take a relaxed, experimental attitude about medication. It isn’t, unfortunately, a cure-all. It may take some tinkering with dosages and different types of stimulants (or non-stim) medications to get to an optimal place. Try to be patient with yourself. Good luck!!!</p>

<p>Oops, forgot to mention that I like the website Totally ADD. It’s funny and has good info.</p>

<p>Hey Musicallylatin…many of the responses to your post are a lot of crapola. I do like Wexford’s response though. Anyway, if you have a significant number of symptoms and characteristics consistent with the three hallmarks of ADHD outlined by the DSM, then I have no idea why you would wait a month to begin medication. I do understand that if you suffer from depression, there may be symptoms which can cause a sort of pseudo-ADHD but are a result of the depression and not ADHD. The bottom line is, even if you don’t have medically based ADHD (which is difficult to diagnose or prove), but you do have severe symptoms, Adderall might still help you. I deal with children every day whom I do not believe are truly ADHD but some doctor decided to ask a few questions, got the answers he wanted to hear, then wrote out a prescription. And guess what? It worked. Many doctors will tell parents: “give the medication a try…it won’t hurt and it may be successful.” I’m coming to a place in my profession where I think they are right. I never thought I’d say that, but I’ve learned that all the strategies, behavior plans, and counseling in the world won’t make a difference in a students work habits and academic progress if they aren’t medically treated. And by the way, I deal a lot with ADHD in my job and I’ve done a great deal of research and I will tell you that Stratera is of little value. I’ve spoken with many doctors who are no longer prescribing it because its been useless as part of their treatment plan. I’m sure someone here will differ with that opinion but that’s just been my experience. Best of luck.</p>

<p>Check out ADDitude magazine. They have a great website with lots of links and articles.</p>

<p>paddyJ, I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be medicated to control ADHD-I, as I know several others with it who are not medicated (and I am currently not taking medication and doing okay) so you are just plain wrong. Also, coming from a family with many medical professionals, they agree with that sentiment and find that it is better to avoid medication unless it’s necessary.</p>

<p>OP it is wonderful that you have been diagnosed now so that you can get the help you need through medication, therapy, diet, and exercise. There are many study techniques that work for ADHD. My daughter was diagnosed after her first year of college and there was a noticeable change once she understood what was causing many of the problems that you have mentioned. My daughter uses a weekly planner now. She divides her time up into half hour periods. Everything she has scheduled, is written on the planner on Sunday (all classes, doctor appointment, sorority commitments, and job hours). She than writes in all of her assignments and schedules the hours to complete them. She also schedules in reading and note taking. By the time she is finished completing her weekly schedule she is able to see at a glance what she needs to get accomplished and is able to stay on task. </p>

<p>By the way exercise is so very important, and aids in reducing stress and anxiety. ADHD absolutely exists and those who think it is over diagnosed probably do not understand that doctors were just not all that familar with it, and were missing it for way too long. It is similar to autism in that it is not a new disorder, but now there is enough research and knowledge, so more children are being identified. </p>

<p>The OP should certainly notify his school about his recent diagnosis so that modifications could be put in place. It is not an excuse it is a necessary thing, as another poster said, just as glasses are for eyesight.</p>

<p>I’d strongly suggest seeing a psychologist in addition to your psychiatrist (esp. if yours doesn’t really do therapy–many don’t) who should be able to give you work with you and help you develop ways to better cope with and understand ADHD and cyclothymia and how they affect you. Any decisions on meds should be made after open consultation between you and your psychiatrist (depending on the situation, maybe your general doctor and psychologist or therapist well). Good luck!</p>

<p>^ I just got blood work done, which will be in before I begin medication. I got my physical and hopefully will be occasionally checking in. So far, I look completely healthy and okay to be on medication. I will, if funds work out, be seeing a counselor that focuses in ADHD, which will be quite a blessing. Along with hopefully discovering some local support groups.</p>

<p>On another note, I picked up Delivered from Distraction. (My local store didn’t have Driven to Distraction.) and I’m already finding it extremely helpful. I’m only in the preface, and it’s so nice.</p>

<p>i just finished reading the daniel amen books and in a month my son has an appointment for his brain scan. hopefully he will get a better diagnosis and some help. he was taking adderall for add but now he has mood changes and anxiety and has missed lots of school. he also has terrible headaches. we have tried abilify and lexapro (prescribed by psychiatrist)but then he gets soooo sleepy he has to go to the nurses office and lay down. i am really pinning my hopes on the spect images although he has started seeing a psychologist also. i am interested to read the books mentioned here and recommend the amen books as well if only to look at the cool pictures of brains!</p>

<p>Dr. Amen’s work with brain scans/spect is generally regarded with a high degree of skepticism in the mainstream psychology/medicine communities due to the little published, peer-reviewed evidence for it, so you may want to be cautious. Just FYI.</p>

<p>[A</a> Skeptical View of SPECT Scans and Dr. Daniel Amen](<a href=“http://www.quackwatch.com/06ResearchProjects/amen.html]A”>http://www.quackwatch.com/06ResearchProjects/amen.html)</p>

<p>Thanks for the caution & link, psych. I myself can’t for the life of me understand why there haven’t been widely controlled studies of PET/SPECT because with caution, I actually think they can be useful. However, I was uncomfortable with “commoditization” aspect of the Amen clinics and the apparent “closed” approach to the research when I read some of the material. I wish he’d open his work and his database to more peer review.
(In fairness to Dr. Amen, I have not read his books, so perhaps same explain this lack of connection with peer review.)</p>

<p>I’m reading Hallowell’s second book. He mentions SPECT and the other one, not listed on here, as well in some of his chapters. What is the actual deal with them?</p>

<p>i’ll report back nov 1…i am really looking forward to see what the scan shows even though some may not agree with his ideas…we are all tired of get a pill…wait a month…nope doesn’t work …repeat,repeat,repeat…pay,pay,pay…suffer,suffer,suffer. at this point we are ready to try anything!</p>

<p>First: to the people who post on here that ADHD is just a moral failing: I hope you come back here and apologize when YOUR gifted child can’t focus, then gets diagnosed, and you are desperate for help. In the meantime, do some more reading about the double-blind identical twin studies that clearly showed that ADHD is genetically based.</p>

<p>OK, now I feel better. Whew! :-)</p>

<p>Alright, back to the topic at hand. My DH has the inattentive type, and I have ADHD. Three of our four children have been diagnosed and treated VERY successfully with medication. Here are a few things I’ve learned in the 10 years since our first discovery:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Just having a diagnosis helps, because all of a sudden, things make sense. (Like why I stick dozens of Post-It Notes all over my calendar.)</p></li>
<li><p>Carefully educating family members and friends is a big help. And guess what? Three other people have gotten life-changing help because I was open and shared our discovery.</p></li>
<li><p>My oldest son is a Merit Semi-Finalist. (And I was, too…without medication or any diagnosis way back in the day.) ADHD does not have to hold you back. Except: the Naval Academy will not admit anyone who is taking ADD meds.</p></li>
<li><p>Thomas Edison was so highly distractable in school that the teacher said he couldn’t learn. His mother pulled him out of school and taught him at home.</p></li>
<li><p>People will always tell you this or that “new” scheme for treating ADHD. Some of them work for a small percentage of people (like avoiding preservatives in foods, or dairy). Try them for a while if you want, but I repeat: most of them work for a SMALL percentage of people. If they really worked for a LOT of ADHD sufferers, then they would get huge publicity or word-of-mouth and everyone would be doing it. Most of these approaches have been tested and didn’t make enough difference to warrant widespread use.</p></li>
<li><p>ADHD is not mental weakness. I was tested twice; once the IQ was 149, and the other time it was 151.</p></li>
<li><p>Roll with the quirkiness of people with ADHD.</p></li>
<li><p>All the meds have side effects. Work with them as best you can. If one med doesn’t work, wean off it and switch to another (with your doctor’s close involvement).</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure your ADHD child knows that their self-worth is not in their achievements or performance. God made you…He loves you…He gave his Son to die for you. You are a unique creation, and every individual has worth and value. No one can take that away from you. So relax!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>you rock! add does not have to be the kiss of academic death. i enjoy most of the parts of my son’s character (but cant we say that about everyone!) his disorganization still drives me crazy but now i know he does not do it on purpose or from laziness it is much easier to accept and work around…</p>

<p>@ HowtheHeck</p>

<p>Thanks for the great post!!!</p>

<p>I strongly agree with the posts about the possible negatives of Straterra. My DD developed mood issues on it that had never been there before AND it didn’t work on her ADHD. She did best on Concerta (a long release form of Ritalin) and Focalin (another stimulant similar to Ritalin but without some of the side effects. Down side - Focalin is more expensive. It was worth it at that point as we needed her to gain weight). </p>

<p>In terms of the 504, be aware that the issue with 504s is that there is no system of accountability. You might want to review the website WrightsLaw (begins with www and ends with com) and review the information about ADHD. If you are a senior, I would strongly recommend you march into the school with your parent (unless you are over 18) and a signed letter saying that you want complete educational testing. They MUST do a battery of tests to qualify you/deny you qualification for an IEP. Even if they do the tests and you do not ultimately qualify for assistance at school, you have an expensive and through battery of educational tests DONE that will highlight strengths and weaknesses. Do NOT let them say “Forget it - there is no point because you will be a second semester senior before you are in the IEP.” There IS a point - you have the information you need to finish your educational career. Even if you only qualify in time for three months of services through an resource person at school, that person can give you a lot of helpful information, and the testing itself will give a junior college or college material to best help you.</p>