Posted by viridis on December 16, 2002, at 13:18:16
In reply to Neuropsych testing for ADD? » viridis, posted by mattdds on December 16, 2002, at 9:38:47
Hi Matt,
I'm not sure how mainstream the brainwave evaluations that my therapist did are. The way we arrived at this was that he started with a cognitive-behavioral approach in which we focused on anxiety- and depression-provoking situations and behaviors. He was a big proponent of biofeedback, so we tried the standard kind, in which skin electrical conductivity is measured. The idea is that if you can learn to sense changes that will lead to or result from negative thinking, you can alter this, and one way to learn to do so is to be aware of subtle physical changes (which can manifest themselves in terms of skin conductivity).
This didn't work, because I just didn't show the range of variation in conductivity that's necessary. So, he suggested an approach (which he termed experimental) in which electrodes are hooked up to your head and an image of brainwave patterns is generated. The idea here is that if you can "see" how your brain is working, you can learn to alter its activity in a positive way. This turned out to be quite interesting, but (at least in a few sessions) I didn't have much success in controlling the brainwaves. However, the therapist did comment several times that my brainwave patterns are unusual, and very similar to those he sees in children with ADD.
This led to a battery of questionaires and detailed inquiries about my history in school etc. He finally told me that "psychologically" I seemed fine, but that I almost certainly had some form of ADD. At this point he advocated treatment with stimulants, which he wasn't licensed to prescribe, and urged me to find someone who could.
I'm not sure how scientific all of this was (and he freely admitted that his approach was considered unconventional by many). I'm not even sure whether this constituted an "official" diagnosis of ADD. But, a couple of years later, when I started seeing a psychiatrist, he quickly picked up on the ADD thing (or "attentional problems", as he calls it). He was very interested in what I just described, questioned me in detail about my childhood etc. The answers I gave were very honest -- erratic performance in school, ranging from poor to excellent (depending mainly on what interested me at a given time); numerous reports from teachers etc. of me not living up to my potential (but praise from others); severe difficulty with concentration sometimes, but intense, almost obsessive focus at others; frustration over endless unfinished projects (but others completed very succesfully); unable to sit still, frequently misplacing things, always trying to do two or more things at once, and so on.
He concluded that I fit the "official" criteria for ADD (although my impression is that he sees "ADD" as a spectrum of conditions, not just one specific disorder). That's when he started me on pstims, and they help a lot. He seems very happy with my response, and was especially pleased when I commented on the antidepressant effects of Adderall (major depression has been a recurring problem for me, but I haven't been able to tolerate any of the standard ADs I've tried).
You sound a lot like me. I have managed to get a PhD and am pretty successful in research, yet I've wanted to quit many times because I just can't keep track of everything, get very anxious as a result (including clusters of panic attacks), and have episodes of severe depression. The meds haven't fixed everything, but I sure feel a lot better. I'm still trying to dig my way out of years of disorganization, and I'm not exactly super-organized now, but at least I seem to be able to deal with everything more rationally and prioritize more effectively. I really wish I'd gotten appropriate treatment earlier, but at least I'm starting to get it together.
I think that pstims affect different people in different ways. When I was a teenager, some of my friends used amphetamines recreationally, and it certainly didn't make them calm -- they used them to party. I don't respond this way, and can't imagine using "speed" to get high. It just doesn't affect me that way. So, I suspect there is a real difference in the way ADDers respond to stimulants. This certainly seems to be the case for ADD/ADHD kids who are given stimulants and become calmer as a result.
poster:viridis
thread:131883
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/132016.html