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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christina on October 19, 2000, at 7:56:05
Have any of you been diagnosed with Adult ADD? I have always been diagnosed with depression, but I think I might have ADD too.
I am so disorganized, lethargic, and I am the master of procrastination. It affects me with work, school and my homelife.
I have been this way for as long as I can remember.
What are the meds used to treat adult ADD?
Can anyone help describe what they're lives are like with ADD? I feel so alone.
Most of my friends and coworkers seem so organized and "with it," while I struggle for days to find a piece of paper on my pile of crap called a desk!
Currently I have a massive project looming and I haven't even started and it's due tomorrow.
I'm having a mild panic attack. My brain says "just do it!" but my body sits her typing on the internet.
Now I'm really freaking out whereas before I was just moderately concerned.
I even went so far as to consider a minor car accident to buy me some more time, but I realize that's really irresponsible and stupid to think like that.
Do I just need a good kick in the ass, or is there some med i can add to my effexor and lithium to help me out?
Please help.
Posted by CarolAnn on October 19, 2000, at 19:31:08
In reply to Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP!, posted by Christina on October 19, 2000, at 7:56:05
Christina, the same medications that treat ADHD are used for ADD w/o hyperactivity: Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine(rarely used). I tried Ritalin and it only helped at really high(unsafe) doses. Now I take Adderall 10mgs. three times per day, and it has been a life saver! The trick is convincing the doctor that this is what you need. I know I have ADDw/o hyperactivity, but my doctor actually prescribes the Adderall for my excessive fatigue, and then only after I told him that I was so tired of being tired that I was seriously thinking of suicide just to end the tiredness!! Good luck! CarolAnn
Posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 19:35:35
In reply to Re: Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP! » Christina, posted by CarolAnn on October 19, 2000, at 19:31:08
CarolAnn,
I just started Adderall yesterday (10 mg twice a day) and so far, I like how I feel on it, much better than Ritalin SR.
I feel fairly calm, alert, focused.
Posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 19:41:58
In reply to Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP!, posted by Christina on October 19, 2000, at 7:56:05
You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! : A Self-Help Book for Adults With Attention Deficit Disorder
see Dr. Bob's "read" page.
Posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 19:59:14
In reply to Re: Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP!, posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 19:41:58
Also this book is on the book recommendations page---
Driven to Distraction : Recognizing and Coping With Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
by Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey
Posted by chdurie2 on October 22, 2000, at 13:42:35
In reply to Re: Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP!, posted by noa on October 19, 2000, at 19:59:14
> Also this book is on the book recommendations page---
>
> Driven to Distraction : Recognizing and Coping With Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
> by Edward M. Hallowell, John J. RateyChristina-
Both books mentioned above are really good on adult ADD, but both, i think, and certainly the hallowell/ratey book says you should not be self-diagnosing. you need a psychiatrist who has experience with adult ADD.
as you'll see if you read the books or anything else informative, there's a whole personality profile of the ADD person that pre-dates age 7, and it goes far beyond chronic disorganization and procrastination. namely, a disruptive personality (even with non-hyperactives) and insensitivity to social cues, both verbal and non-verbal.
I'm 48, and was diagnosed three years ago, somewhat to my surprise. i was surprised to find out there was a reason i've had the perplexing, frustrating (to myself and others) life pattern that i've had. but that was really the only comfort. ADD is not an excuse for chronic disorganization, disruptiveness, etc. - it's just a reason. the diagnosis is not a panacea- it does not "cure all."
If you're diagnosed with ADD, that's just the beginning. you still have to find ways of working with, around, and correcting the problems. And that's the hard part. although hallowell's book offers 50 tips to working with ADD, there's no one book that i know of that offers an instruction manual on how to concretely deal with it- the kelly/raimondo book, i believe, also has a lot of concrete suggestions, but you have to personalize them and discipline yourself to do stuff. I wish there was a school for people with ADD, but unfortunately, you have to teach yourself.
On the meds, everyone has his or her favorite. there's ritalin short-acting and long-acting; dexedrine short and long acting; adderall, as mentioned, and desoxyn, which was my favorite for a long time. the short-acting generally works better than the long. also, there's provigil, a relatively new anti-narcoleptic that works differently than the others, and cylert, which requires active liver-monitering. provigil cannot be combined with wellbutrin, as i found out.
for me, the meds helped for a while, but they didn't do the job, nor do i think they really gave me as much help as others have claimed. hollowell says there are, i believe, 15-25 percent of ADDer's, who are not helped by the meds, himself included. after three years, i'd have to put myself in that group. the meds stopped working, and a consulting psychopharmacologist concluded my neurotransmitters were shot from all the CNS stimulants i'd taken under supervision at every conceivable level. i've been off those meds for several months, and think things are better.
there are lots of other afflictions that have the symptoms you mention - various phobias, anxieties, and good ole depression.
if you're diagnosed with ADD and the meds help, great. but i'm just saying that those symptoms alone don't mean you have ADD. whatever it is, the bad news is you still have to do the work. (You still have to figure out a way to write at the computer.)
I think www.undoingdepression.com, which i beieve is nibor's husband's website, has excellent explanations for why we procrastinate/don't do what we know we should/ etc., and that has helped me to face practical things i have tremendous anxieties about doing. it's not the answer, but it's a start.
if you can afford it, coaching is also highly recommended for adder's and others. it's kind of a combination between therapy and cheerleading and logistical help. but again, the bad news is, and i'm talking to myself here, you have to do the work.
one tip from me: if you are diagnosed with ADD, don't do as i did, and let it be the excuse not to do stuff. i didn't consciously do this, as someone else warned me about when i was first diagnosed, but i know i did it subconsciously, and i lost a lot of time that way. i hope i have a better outlook now: the proof will be in how much i do, rather than think about doing.
good luck.
caroline
Posted by Angela5 on October 23, 2000, at 6:16:35
In reply to Re: Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP!, posted by chdurie2 on October 22, 2000, at 13:42:35
Why can't Provigil be combined with Wellbutrin??
Thanks,
Angela
Posted by chdurie2 on October 23, 2000, at 11:25:24
In reply to Re: Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP! » chdurie2, posted by Angela5 on October 23, 2000, at 6:16:35
> Why can't Provigil be combined with Wellbutrin??
>
> Thanks,
>
> AngelaAngela- Apparently Provigil and Wellbutrin compete for the same "parking space," so to speak, in the brain, and in so doing, they clash. if you get both filled by the same pharmacist, the two should "pop" as contraindications in the computer. I started Provigil shortly after stopping one of my Wellbutrin tries, and my pharmacist wrote a reminder to me in red to stop taking Wellbutrin with my Provigil. Then, a while passed and my p-doc added 150 mg Wellbutrin to my then 10 mg of Eldapryl (selegeline) and 200 of Provigil. I don't know why he didn't remind me of the problem, but i was "flying" in a very unpleasant way. called pharmacist and she said the problem was the provigil/wellbutrin combination, and she used this "parking space" analogy; p-doc concurred, but suggested i try cutting back to 100 mg of provigil. I was "flying" less, but still too out of control for me. he asked me whether i wanted to try 50 mg of provigil, and i said no. so no more provigil for me. i just read on psycho-babble that selegeline has a small amount of amphetamine/methamphetamine, so that may also explain why it's a good med for me. i haven't had any trouble combining wellbutrin with the other more traditional cns stimulants (ritalin, dexedrine, etc.)
caroline
Posted by Angela5 on October 24, 2000, at 0:12:23
In reply to Re: Adult ADD (without hyperactivity) HELP! » Angela5, posted by chdurie2 on October 23, 2000, at 11:25:24
Caroline -
Thanks for the info. I've been on low dose (150 mg/day) of Wellbutrin SR since June. Myself/my pdoc have been combining it with various SSRIs, and now I will probably be going to an MAOI. Anyway, I also seem to need a stimulant. In August I began taking Cylert, which seems to help, but which scares me due to the liver issues, so at one point recently I tried Provigil instead. I find it kind of scary that neither my pdoc nor my pharmacist (or Walgreen's computer, for that matter) ever mentioned an interaction. I didn't experience the "flying," although that may have been due to dose. Provigil made me very tired, which I understand usually goes away, but it also gave me nasty headaches. I'm wondering if this could have anything to do with the interaction...?
Adrafinil (which I tried before the Cylert) had also given me headaches - possibly an interaction there, as well? Adrafinil, out of all three, had the most favorable impact on my concentration and motivation.I'm now back on the Cylert (due to the fatigue/headaches with provigil), but I find this very interesting, since I would much prefer a different stimulant. I take Hytrin to counteract the sweating from the Wellbutrin, and Hytrin and Cylert seem to interact, causing RAISED blood pressure and heart palpitations (which disappear with either individually).
Sorry, this turned out to be much longer than I had intended. :)
Angela
Posted by chdurie2 on October 24, 2000, at 11:32:30
In reply to Wellbutrin and Provigil » chdurie2, posted by Angela5 on October 24, 2000, at 0:12:23
> Caroline -
>
> Thanks for the info. I've been on low dose (150 mg/day) of Wellbutrin SR since June. Myself/my pdoc have been combining it with various SSRIs, and now I will probably be going to an MAOI. Anyway, I also seem to need a stimulant. In August I began taking Cylert, which seems to help, but which scares me due to the liver issues, so at one point recently I tried Provigil instead. I find it kind of scary that neither my pdoc nor my pharmacist (or Walgreen's computer, for that matter) ever mentioned an interaction. I didn't experience the "flying," although that may have been due to dose. Provigil made me very tired, which I understand usually goes away, but it also gave me nasty headaches. I'm wondering if this could have anything to do with the interaction...?
> Adrafinil (which I tried before the Cylert) had also given me headaches - possibly an interaction there, as well? Adrafinil, out of all three, had the most favorable impact on my concentration and motivation.
>
> I'm now back on the Cylert (due to the fatigue/headaches with provigil), but I find this very interesting, since I would much prefer a different stimulant. I take Hytrin to counteract the sweating from the Wellbutrin, and Hytrin and Cylert seem to interact, causing RAISED blood pressure and heart palpitations (which disappear with either individually).
>
> Sorry, this turned out to be much longer than I had intended. :)
>
> AngelaAngela- I'm not a psychopharmacologist, so i have no idea why you're tired and getting headaches - from the provigil, i'd guess that it's the contraindication i spoke of with wellbutrin - overstimulation in a certain part of brain - similar to my "flying" reaction.
but more importantly, recently there have been cylert (pemoline) alerts of danger on various medical websites. i saw it posted several places last night when i was looking for something else. either pemoline is being pulled from the market, or the liver dangers are worse than previously thought. i don't remember where i saw this stuff- but some of the websites i was on were ebiotech, medcape, micromedex, the fda recall website, etc.
i was looking for any possible news of whether a certain brand of intravenous gamma globulin fda-recalled in 1998 caused Hepatitis B, and although everyone had the recall listed, there was no mention of Hepatitis B. But several sites had the new dangers of pemoline listed, and maybe even a recall.
i'd try plugging pemoline into the alta vista search engine, and that would probably pull it for you. and i'd talk to p-doc about going off the stuff. you don't want to wait until a liver test tells you your liver is screwed up.
what's adrafinil? i just saw it on psycho-babble, where someone was looking for a european place they could order from, so i assumed it was a nootropic you had to get on the overseas internet market. i'll also ask my p-doc about it, cuz i am looking for a better way.i'd do just about anything before trying an MAOI-Class A (nardil, parnate) but you're talking to someone who had a near-fatal hypertensive incident just from drinking a chocolate milkshake. and i have low blood pressure. my p-doc said i must be pre-disposed chemically.
If i didn't say so earlier, i'm pretty happy with Eldapryl (selegeline,) which has a small amount of amphetamine in it, and is pretty mild but effective as an anti-d. there's some contraversy about whether you have to observe the dietary restrictions on it (i don't now, but i don't eat a lot of that stuff anyway.) you can do a search on selegeline on dr. bob's pharmacology tips or i think, psycho-babble if you're interested.
anyway, this post is mainly to alert you to the new dangers found in pemoline.
caroline
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