Ask:
I wasn't sure where to put this...
Are there any women here who suffer from ADD? I know there are women with children who do, just wondering if anyone has it themselves? If so..
How do you know? What were your 'symptoms'?
Were You Tested?
What help were you able to get?
Did medication Work?
I have questioned whether I could have it for a while.. since my junior year of HS. Lately I have had someone suggest it could be something to look into... Just looking for input/advice
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I think I probably have this... althought Ive never been tested for it. So of course Ive never taken medication for it either!
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I was tested a little over a year ago. My 3 brothers had it growing up and 2 of them took medicine for it.
I always had issues but my parents didn't believe that girls needed help with it---and I got by.
Fast fwd, my son NEEDED something for his anxiety and the medication he uses works really well for that and his AHDD. Long story short, I pursued it with my doctor and I had to fill out a survey that asked a lot of questions (you can find many of these online) ANYWAY, being on meds, CHANGED MY LIFE!!! There is absolutely no way that I could bring my thoughts down and just focus on one activity the way I can when I am on the meds. (I am also in school--all the difference in the world there too). One side of the medicine is that you tend to have a decreased appetite--normally you will get used to it, I took it as an opportunity to change my eating habits, I have lost 40Lbs in the last year. (I don't crave the same things, I am more organized, I remember to drink water, etc.)
PM me if you have any other questions, but I would say if you are questioning it, take a couple of the online surveys--there are other things that can be going on that have similar symptoms to ADD.
Best of luck to you!
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My husband, who isn't a woman (I guess that is a given!) has it. He's never taken medication for it and has learned just to work with it. And there is good and bad with this. He's very high energy, starts about a billion different projects at one time and can have amazing results. On the other hand when you have so many different things going on it is very easy to become overwhelmed and not finish anything! It's funny. When I'm on-line, I'll have one or two, maybe three windows open, my husband usually has about ten different windows at any given time. I don't know how he keeps track.
I read an article one time about the guy that started Jet Blue Airlines (I think that is the correct one) and he attributes a lot of his success to being ADD. In the article he admitted that he had a hard time in a lot of other areas in his life, like keeping his checkbook balanced, paying bills -- the day to day things of life. It was interesting to read.
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I have ADD and I was diagnosed when I was an adult. I cannot tell you the difference taking medicine has made in my life. I feel so much more focused and I can finish task. But medicine for me is not the total answer - I have had to figure out organization. Now don't get me wrong - I am not that organized BUT I have learned to keep a calendar with all kinds of notes and appointments so that I am on schedule and that I am where I am suppose to be. But before meds I could not begin to have kept a calendar. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you anyway. I believe lots of girls have ADD but it just goes undiagnosed. I had to try several different meds to find what worked and there are so many different ones out there. My Dr. also had to help me work out my dosage. Good Luck and keep us posted.
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I have never actually been dx with ADD. But I know I have it. When we found out my DD had it she was 9 and I kept reading and reading and said that is me. I knew in school something was wrong. I'm 54 and back then it was not recognized. That was 18 years ago.
It is odd you should post this subject. I have been on anti depressants for 16 years. I just had a med check with the pdoc Monday. I now have my depression identified after all these years. I asked him about meds for ADD and he said he was not qualified to prescribe them for me. He said when he was in school that they just barely touched on Adult ADD. He said I need to find a dr. that specializes in Adult ADD.
My DD took Ritalin for 5 years. When she went off of it, I finished the bottle. I could not believe how I could stay on task. I was much more organized when I was younger and seemed to handle things better. Now I live in an unorganized mess. I need to get help.
I can't get my mind to focus.
I enjoyed reading all of your ladies posts on this subject.
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DH has it, he tried medication but didn't like the way it made him feel so he stopped taking it.
I used to get really frustrated with him until he told me he had it. I accused him of it jokingly - thats when he told me had it. He thought he would be able to deal with it on his own - he was disappointed to hear it was more obvious than he was aware of.
We deal with it by keeping lists, setting priorities and sticking to them. He has been very good about it for the most part. The most difficulty he has is changing course, if he is in the middle of something he doesn't deal well with re-organizing his priorities. He also gets really flustered if someone tries to talk to him when he is working on something.
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My best friend AND her dh have it. They both take meds for it. I cannot imagine them NOT on the meds! They are both sort of hyper people WITH medication to help them not be!!!
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My daughter has it badly (she's 14) and currently on Dexedrine for it. She is soon going to a psychiatrist for an evaluation for anxiety issues (social anxiety, etc.) and will probably be put on different meds that help with ADD and anxiety. She finds the meds help her concentrate (pay attention to the teacher) in school. Without them she would daydream constantly.
I don't make her take them on the weekend or holidays.