groovyone Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 So I've made an appt. for my doc tomorrow to discuss ADD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulu Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Groovyone, glad to hear that your seizures seem to be under control. Sorry your doc isn't more helpful. I thought I read somewhere that if you are treated with an ADD drug and it helps your concentration that you probably do have it. Now don't take my word for it cause sometimes I dream things and think that I have actually read them. lol. Maybe your doc would be willing to try something like that unless of course it would mess up your other meds. Hopefully someone here with experience will be able to help you. Lotsa luck, Sulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepia Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Most doctors with experience in adult diagnosis of ADD will ask you some specific questions regarding your day-to-day functioning, ascertaining that the problem areas have been there since you were quite young. They might do this on its own, or to direct a personal narrative in a more helpful direction. Some doctors might diagnose based on observed behavior (you've been seeing him how long?), so long as they don't attribute it to a comorbid disorder. My pdoc refused to consider ADD as a diagnosis until after I was relatively stable on lithium, and more absent-minded than ever. Even then, my OT likely played a role in her considering it. Still others might want to go all hi-tech with the pretty (and pricey) brain scan, but the typical Canadian GP isn't going to go for this. What might be considered is a full neuropsych workup. The waiting lists for these are LONG, but I'm told they're worth the wait. Evidently a series of tests (paper, pencil, you, examiner) can pinpoint, within hours, areas of likely disturbance in your neural function. My current pdoc is waiting for the report from the neuropsych before experimenting with ADD medications. I hope that helps a bit, Karen. Maybe some of the ADD veterans will have more to say? I was only pdoc-diagnosed yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Thanks, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulu Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Sulu, that was always my take on ADD meds too...if they make you hyper you don't have ADD and if they help you concetrate then you do. I think that might be a bit of a myopic view, however. Things tend to be a bit more complicated than that? Nonetheless, the view might not be completely incorrect. Just an oversimplified one. Yes, I agree. I am just overly optimistic (when not totally pessimistic) hoping things can have a quick and easy fix. Glad you have your appointment today and will be interested to hear results. BTW the CAMH sounds promising, wish I still lived in Toronto with respect to treatment and therapy stuff. Good luck, Sulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Well, I just got back and I *think* things went well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulu Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Karen, hey I would be happy that he is an expert in ADD. Hopefully your doctor will be a great help to you and you will feel more in control of your life. It also helps that you have a track record with him. Good luck with the testing, Sulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Karen, hey I would be happy that he is an expert in ADD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepia Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Toronto? Oh happy day. You have resources! I cannot fathom receiving adequate treatment outside of a major city. The CAMH sounds particularly promising. I hope they're able to differentiate, at least roughly, between brain disorders A, B, and C, and treat you appropriately. I'm not yet on stimulants, but the usual wisdom on this board seems to be that non-ADDers will invariably get speedy or high from taking them, whereas ADDers will have a milder reaction. Sometimes a particular drug will work for one person, but not for someone else (the usual YMMV). In addition, ADD meds might help a given person to concentrate, but still provoke feelings of being somewhat jittery or speedy, even as they improve mental focus. I wonder how prudent it is to do the stimulant test of experience with someone with bipolar disorder. How likely are stimulants to kick off a mixed or manic state in a bipolar, with or without ADD? My relative stability has been hard-won. Though I'd love to minimize or eliminate any number of my symptomatic behaviors, there's another part of me saying "you've lived with this your whole life, and you've managed to do okay. You've finally managed to get the BP down to an inconvenience from being flippin' crazy. Why mess with that?" Tangent. Sorry. Oversleeping and weepy but functional, and a lot of other stuff is going wrong. I might have flubbed writing my entrance exam to the college of my choice yesterday, due in part to being seated in a visually chaotic environment. I need to go attempt to fix something or other now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Tangent. Sorry. Oversleeping and weepy but functional, and a lot of other stuff is going wrong. I might have flubbed writing my entrance exam to the college of my choice yesterday, due in part to being seated in a visually chaotic environment. I need to go attempt to fix something or other now. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Tangents are fine by me...I can keep up. And about the friggin' exam. Who knows? Maybe you did okay despite it all. Let me know if you're ever in town. We can hook up if you want! Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null0trooper Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I'm not yet on stimulants, but the usual wisdom on this board seems to be that non-ADDers will invariably get speedy or high from taking them, whereas ADDers will have a milder reaction. Sometimes a particular drug will work for one person, but not for someone else (the usual YMMV). In addition, ADD meds might help a given person to concentrate, but still provoke feelings of being somewhat jittery or speedy, even as they improve mental focus. It's hard to explain - an overshot on the stimulant med doesn't feel to me so much "speedy" but "pushy", like I've taken more Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) than I really needed. For me to get anything close to euphoria requires adding a strong dose of a phenethylamine hallucinogen (NOT a tryptamine-based one). Oh well. It's not like it lasts that long anyway. If you get a chance to read Dr. Amen's books, he notes that some types of ADD do not do well on stimulants but need SSRIs or mood stabilizers (So if ADD were a spectrum disorder, does that make it the bastard lovechild of depression, bipolar, OCD, and autism/Aspberger's? And just who was keeping score that evening?) I wonder how prudent it is to do the stimulant test of experience with someone with bipolar disorder. How likely are stimulants to kick off a mixed or manic state in a bipolar, with or without ADD? It really sounds like it's a YMMV. I think dopamine's blamed for the mania/mixed states, so you might do well with Straterra/Edronax or Wellbutrin instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted July 14, 2005 Share Posted July 14, 2005 I may have been the one that previously mentioned that non-ADDers will react differently to amphetamines that ADDers will. At least that's what my pdoc has told me and I have a lot of faith in the reliability of his information. I'm pretty sure we've got a good handful of bipolar ADDers around here, and I don't ever remember any of them cautioning against the use of stimulants. But also, keep in mind that Strattera's not really considered a CNS stimulant. It's a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. I've not taken it, but I'm getting plenty of NP reuptake inhibition between the Cymbalta and Wellbutrin and I don't think it does squat for my ADD. I've only ever taken Adderall for that. Keep us posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyone Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 If you get a chance to read Dr. Amen's books, he notes that some types of ADD do not do well on stimulants but need SSRIs or mood stabilizers SSRIs are way off limits as they make me manic as all get out and I'm already on Topamax that is doing a great job of keeping me even. Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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