I am 30 years-old. I am a college student who is married with two children and a wonderful, patient and understanding wife. In July of 2008, I was diagnosed with Adult Deficit Disorder (ADD). I had been experiencing symptoms of ADD since I was around 5 or so. Growing up however, there really wasn’t a medication out their for treating ADD and it was not widely recognized in the medical community. So my symptoms went untreated for 25 years. When I turned 30 in April of 2008, it was like a light switch had been flipped, and the signs and symptoms that I had were becoming unbearable. I decided to schedule an appointment with my doctor to discuss what was going on. After my first consultation appointment, my doctor put me on a test run with Strattera for a month. During this one month trial I had to up my dosage every week to determine my target dosage. I started at 25 Mg’s of Strattera and worked my way up to 100, which by the way was not my target dosage. At the end of the one month I went back to the doctor for a follow up visit. We decided that 80 Mg’s was a good dose for me to take. It is now the middle of October and things are getting better as each month goes by.
Having Adult Deficit Disorder as an adult can often times be a challenge that is hard to overcome if left untreated. An adult who has ADD can suffer in many different areas such as personal relationships, work, school and marriage just to name a few. Listed below and researched at http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_adult_symptoms.htm, are some signs and symptoms along with a brief description about Adult ADD:
According to Dr. Thomas E. Brown of the Yale University School of Medicine, “ADHD is essentially a name for developmental impairment of executive function.” Executive functions are the skills involved in planning, selective attention, motivation, and impulse control. Adults with ADHD have problems in six major areas of executive functioning:
Activation – Problems with organization, prioritizing, and starting tasks.
Focus – Problems with sustaining focus and resisting distraction, especially with reading.
Effort – Problems with motivation, sustained effort, and persistence.
Emotion – Difficulty regulating emotions and managing stress.
Memory – Problems with short-term memory and memory retrieval.
Action – Problems with self-control and self-regulation.
The first steps in dealing with Adult ADD is to simply recognize that there is a problem. Once you have recognized that there is a problem, then you are on the way to getting ADD under control. Shown below are the steps that I took to getting my ADD under control:
* Research the symptoms and signs along with the treatment of Adult ADD
* Recognize the symptoms and signs you might have
* Find a Doctor who practices family medicine
* Schedule a consult appointment and mention it is for diagnosis of Adult ADD
* Discuss the pro’s and con’s of the medicine available for treating ADD
* Stick with the game plan because in the long run it will be beneficial for you
When you finally come to an understanding that you might have Adult ADD, it will be much easier for you to address the problem. Also, understand that having ADD does not make you a defective person. It simply means that you have a few more struggles than other people might have. The way that I look at is like this, addressing the problem will make me a stronger, more motivated, more reliable and easier to understand person to everyone else around you. Instead of letting this control your life, take control of it and take a stand. When you begin your research please take into the consideration that there are people who will have nightmare stories about any of the medication for ADD. If you have concerns about that please talk to your doctor because he or she will tell you the truth. Here is an example, I was reading about Strattera and the effects it had when taking it. I read an article that someone had posted about how they became addicted to Strattera. I asked my doctor about this and she stated that was pretty much impossible because it is not a controlled substance and it does not have any addictive elements to it. So the point is, be aware of the false accusations and always ask your doctor if you are unsure.
As for me personally, I have been taking Strattera since July 2008. I have made huge strides in staying focused on my college school work and not quitting, my professional work and with my immediate and extended family. I am more patient now, I have a clearer thought process, and I am not as overwhelmed with my everyday tasks. It has been the smaller and more annoying things that I have noticed a difference in first. The only side effects that I have had with Strattera were a few headaches when I first began the treatment process in August. I do not experience any side effects now, although they will vary from person to person.
Here are a few links to help assist you in your research of Adult ADD:
