I take 5mg of Adderal.

So I started it today and all is well....a little better with patience, irritability, etc. But my short term memory is even worse I think!! I went to let some guy into the basement at my work-- well on my way to my office to get the keys I started to think about something else and by the time I got my purse opened I forgot what I was looking for!! It is acutally kind of funny-- but scary too!! Oh yea-- I eventually remembered what I was doing!

Has anyone ever had their short term memory get worse after starting the meds? If so, did it eventually improve?



Edited because I thought I took 10mgs but I take 5mgs....nice attention to detail!!! I am already noticing a small difference-- but I can tell it will take a higher dosage to make a more noticeable difference. I am just glad that the side effects are not too bad-- having trouble sleeping is my only one and they say that tends to go away after time. I tend to have bad reactions to most medications I have taken in the past-- so this is a good thing!

I have real bad short term memory (but like I said, I don't take meds for my ADD)
Anyway, I go to the neurologist for migraines, and she put me on meds that make my short term memory WAY worse! LOL I do the same thing, I'll end up just standing somewhere wondering why I am there. It is like I just completely zone out.

I've never had any memory problems and I haven't noticed the Adderall having any effect on memory at all.

Yesterday I got home and organized my wallet. It was crazy. I'm finding that now, rather than sitting around complaining about how I should be doing something and then worrying about the 900 things I should be doing that I'm not doing, I just do the stuff I need to do. It's really amazing. I'm much more calm and rational, I think.

I organized my purse today! haha

Thank you so much to some of you for making me feel so much better about this-- I really had felt alone about all of this because none of my friends and no one in my family has ADHD.

Also DeltaEtaKP, I think it would be hilarious if we ever hung out-- half the time we would be sitting there trying to remember why we were there!! haha

lol... that would be IF we could remember that we were supposed to hang out... I would probably end up sitting in my car like... I know I am supposed to be here... but I don't remember why.. :)
I tend to use the note method--At the beginning of the week, I put post-its all over my room and I write stuff down on the different days for when I have to do stuff. If not, I miss everything and I have this feeling, like, "Now, I know I'm supposed to be doing something, oh well!"

Hey Jerks, Speed Kills!
 

I love strattera

don't medicate anything that is additive, i.e. speed.

When I decided to stop taking my medication...coming down from speed is hard, don't make her take it.

Coping is the best method...sometimes. It depends what you're doing. I don't take straterra every day, which is why I love it. You don't build up a tollerance and you can stop without thinking you're going to die.

Post-It notes are my best friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, none of you girls have "the guys form" of ADD, like me?

You mean with hyperactivity annnnd the attention problems?? That is what I have...

Again, Carnation, we have something in common. Our nine-year-old adopted Asian girl was diagnosed this year at the beginning of third grade, at my insistence, by our pediatrician. (At the end of second grade, she was beginning to take forever to get her work finished, even though she understood what she was doing, and was not causing disturbances in class. She is also very bright. She was of the quiet, took forever to do her work type of ADD, which usually takes longer to recognize.) Her third grade teacher agreed that I was on target to do so, and did her part in filling out her side of the paperwork. Our pediatrician put her on 10 mg. of Adderall. The difference in her work, within a week. was absolutely amazing. She finished up the year with A's in every subject for the year, and received more honor certificates than anyone else in her class. Our doctor said that if a child truly needs that chemical imput, the results will be quick and amazing, and so it was. She does not take it on weekends, nor during the summer, but we will start her on it again a week before school starts. She has had no side affects. I am SO glad that I insisted we do something about her before it continued for a long time.

Let me just add, too, that my husband is a physician, so he's long heard of all the hype surrounding Ritalyn and Adderall, as well as everything else under the sun, and he was totally supportive of her pediatrician prescribing Adderall. He says that it is always the bad PR that you hear the most about concerning any meds or treatment, and that the public is usually unaware of the statistics involved, which make a huge difference in the actual reality of a situation.

ADPiAkron, here's hoping you'll receive the same wonderful help that my daughter received!!

Me too.

I see this thread has come back up after a lull!
Update: My 10 year old ended up having a pretty good year at school. Some of the things her teacher and I did to help her included making sure she had a set daily routine with advance notice of any change in the schedule; putting a checklist on her desk for what she needed to have each morning (pencils, homework, books from bookbag, etc); checking her planner daily - her teacher checked it when she wrote her assignments, and I checked it at home daily; the school counselor helped her with organizational skills there and I helped her organize stuff at home. We started taking a short walk after school (before homework) just to clear her head - that has been great because it gives her a chance to wind down and me a chance to touch base with my 10 year old!

Now my middle child is exhibiting tons of symptoms at school. We just found out that she scored very high on her aptitude and acheivement scores and is eligible to attend what they call the HAG (Highly Academically Gifted) program. She will be working two grade levels ahead of her grade (going into 3rd grade doing 5th grade work). We are debating on moving her into this program. I'm wondering if the curriculum is very challenging it will be enough to keep her attention or not. I'm struggling with putting her into a program that is academically challenging in hopes of keeping her interested vs. worrying that I'll be putting too much on her with her great ability to zone out and thus miss some very important things! Any thoughts from the pro's who have been through it all before?

As for Adult ADD, I have looked into that as well. Back in the early 70's, my pediatrician told my mom I was "Borderline Hyperactive". Who knows, that may have been the term for ADD back then. Mom also said that I did not sleep for the first six years of my life - lol! I have taken the various self tests that are available out there, looked at the DSM-IV, and am sure that I am ADD too. I have not had either myself or my daughters formally diagnosed yet, but am moving in that direction. I do not like the label for the reason that many people automatically have a reaction that people with ADD are just stupid, lazy, and lack willpower, or that it is not a real disorder.

As far as meds go - despite the abuse of parents using ADD and ritalin as a discipline measure, not every parent goes out and gets an ADD/ADHD diagnosis and sticks the kid on meds to control behavior. For myself and my children, I am of the opinion that meds should be used as a last resort. I am going to try other alternatives first. If that does not work though, then I will certainly look at medication. Reading your posts on here is very helpful and I know who I'll be pm'ing if we get to that point :) !

I've read a great deal about ADD over the past year (Kathleen Nadaeu is awesome), and am amazed at the misconceptions and myths about this disorder, especially when it comes to girls. Sure, everyone is lazy, inattentive, disorganized and forgetful at times. It becomes ADD when this happens on a daily or almost daily basis - losing keys or important papers; going to the grocery store for a particular item and getting home with $50.00 worth of groceries yet lacking the orginal item you went for; starting everyday with a plan to get organized and then just feeling completely overwhelmed with all the paper and stuff; starting 10 projects at once and never really completing any of them; having your checkbook off balance because you forgot to write an item in your register (thank God for overdraft protection) or forgetting to pay an important bill; calling 411 for a phone number and forgetting it before you get a chance to dial it, blurting something out without really thinking about the reaction or appropriateness of the statement... Everyone may do this at times, but people with ADD experience this far more than the average person.

A few of the positive things I've learned about ADD are:
That when we REALLY like doing something, we can do it for hours and days straight - it is called hyperfocusing
Curiousity - we want to know how things work
Spontaneity - you never know what a person with ADD/ADHD will say or do next!
Creativity - We tend to think outside the box!

It's not all bad!

*Raises hand*

I have ADD. Textbook case, apparently, in several textbooks. Currently on Ritalin 10 mg. It's helping. A LOT.

For your daughter in the third grade that they are talking about giving her 5th grade work--I would really reccommend doing that. I was in a program for Gifted and Talented, and one day a week, we would go to another school and work on "harder" things. This is probably when I learned the most out of all of elementary school. If she's sitting in third grade, knowing a majority of what is covered, she is going to zone out everything. Often, when things are challenging, it is easier to focus on them. I don't know. This is how I have always been. Until the school started putting me in advanced/AP classes, my grades were not very good, but once I was challenged, I did really well. I saw this with my older brother as well--he is a genius, but failed his senior year of high school and had to go to summer school because the work being done was below what he was capable of, so he didn't do it. Just my 2 cents.

Me too!! Also, the more interested I am the easier to focus-- that is the same for everyone I am sure-- but more true for ADHD individuals I believe-- it is part of the hyperfocus that AXO_Mom mentioned.

I struggled through school until my sophomore year in college-- I had average grades in grade school, HS, and my freshman year in college-- but once I got into the classes for my major-- I never got below a B in any of my major related classes!! In graduate school I never got below an A!!

The school issue is one example my psychologist used in my diagnosis-- along with others-- but that example really helped me with the constant struggle I have always had in understanding why I did poorer in school when I was younger than I did in college and graduate school. My family, teachers, and I always just blamed it on laziness, procrastination, poor study habits, and lack of trying!!

*bump*

So, I started on 10mg of Adderall, then went up to 15. I just got a new prescription for 20, which I'll start taking this weekend.

I still can't get over how wonderful I feel -- I am SO productive at work.

I got my prescription bumped to 30mg last week from the 20mg I had been taking for about a year. It's the best feeling in the world to finally be able to have a clear head and actually be able to get stuff DONE! :D

My doctor put me on a new drug (basic extended relase Ritalin.) I had to stop it because it was making me SOO anxious. I have anxiety problems, but when I took the Adderall I got over the anxiety feeling once my body adjusted to the dose. I am disappointed because I saw a definite improvement in my ability to concentrate and get things done.

Hopefully my doctor and I can work with another medicine. I have noticed a HUGE difference when I take it. I hate saying that. One of my favorite professors has ADD and dyslexia. He has helped with non-medical ways to conquer the ADD. I just which I could do like him, and not need medicine.

Could you go back on the Adderall and take that instead of Ritalin? I've never tried Ritalin, but I know a guy who used to take it and he had a horrible time with it. He's fine on Adderall.

I took Adderall before. I had some problems with my anxiety at first, but then I was fine. With the ritalin, we started me on it so I could get used to it before classes started. I don't see my doctor for another couple of weeks. I will talk to him then about my options.

The ritalin jitters were so bad, I was taking Xanax to calm them down. But I noticed a DEFINITE improvement.

I was moved from 5mg to 10mg of Adderal two weeks ago!! I was on vacation for the first week so I just started taking the 10mgs a week ago-- I hate starting out new medicine (well this one isnt new but it is a higher dose)!! The jitters are back-- but just like with the 5mgs I know they will disappear!! I hate these jitters-- I ramble all the time, I am irritable, and cannot stay in my seat for the life of me!! But once I am used to it-- I will be sooooooo happy!! I love being able to concentrate too!!!!

Have any of you tried alternative treatments? Honestly, I think these meds are of the devil and only take it once or twice a week.

I tried high doses of flaxseed oil, it REALLY helped, but made me REALLY nauseous!

I'm almost positve that sugar and simple carbs like white bread make my condition much worse. I don't care that experts say it's been disproven.

Better Living Through Drugs, Yea!:confused: :(

At this point, I am so happy with the Adderall I have no desire to try anything else. I don't love the idea of being medicated, but I can't even explain how much it helps. The only side effect I have is dry mouth, so I just drink more water, which is something I should be doing anyway.

I agree with you 100%!! Even about the dry mouth thing!! I will stick with my adderall-- I am fine with it and my psychologist feels it is best for me!! If he felt I could go without it-- he would tell me!! He suggests I work through my anxiety without medication (I have generalized anxiety disorder)-- but since the ADHD is newly diagnosed he feels I need something to get it under control after 27 years!! :)

Try Chiropratics and see what they say!:)

I don't know if I'm just lucky or what, but I have learned to channel the ADD. I multi task a lot, and it kind of gives me drive... Like, I have 4 jobs, hold an exec posistion, take a full course load and still have plenty of time for friends. Since I have trouble focusing, doing EVERYTHING helps me. It gives me a constant change of pace...
Sometimes, it sucks though. Before (sometimes during) tests, I get anxiety attacks because either I can't focus to study or I can't focus to take the test. I skip things a lot, too. Such as on scantrons or whatever I'll jump around and answer different questions in the wrong space or on essay tests, I'll completely skip over questions. Luckily, my professors understand and most of them are proud that I am able to do so well without medication.

Speak to your doctor about switching from Ritalin to Focalin. Its a much more modern and advanced version methylphenidate (what ritalin is) with fewer side effects and much greater efficacy.

Actually that is what I was on...Focalin XR. Made me TOO jittery. I guess people react in different ways to different things.

People do react to different meds in different ways. That's why you need a good doctor, preferably an experienced and specialized psychopharm, who can help you figure out what works best.

I read on another forum that today is the 2nd annual National ADD Awareness Day. I didn't know anything about this. Anyway, I just wanted to pass this on.

LOL that's awesome. Had I known earlier, I would've made a point to be very aware.

I'm up to 20mg, by the way. Oddly, it almost seems to affect me less than 15 did.

Here is an article on ADD thats good actually . . .

http://smart-drugs.net/ias-attentiondeficit.htm

Unfortunately its longer than a lot of you ADD people can get through :p

Hm, it kind of lost me when it got to the high protein part. That's just not going to happen for me.

They just found that too much variation in blood sugar levels would lead to ADD symptoms. Our culture gets a lot of processed sugar

this sounds like my story -- because of insurance i am not on meds right now, but adderal XR worked well for me --i couldnt remember to take my second dose of my other meds-- i would have it in my pocket and still forget to take it until it was too late in the day to take it.


i wasnt diagnosed till i was 23-24 -- i was in therapy for something else when my therapist picked up on it and tested me for it

It REALLY explains a lot about me

GRRRR...Here we go again! We put daughter 2 in the highly gifted program thinking the challenge would keep her interested. There's a TON of work to do, and everything is very accelerated. Daughter seems to be really trying with her homework which is what I see. Her teacher says she is behind everyone else academically in comparison and is not keeping up in the classroom. When she is interested in the topic, she is tuned in. Otherwise, the teacher says that she is not paying attention, spaced out and a "body in the room".

In a nutshell...I have nationally normed aptitude and achievement tests that indicate that my child scored better than 99% of the children who took the same tests, which puts her in the top 1%. Granted - so are the rest of the kids in the class. (All are 95% and above) She is one of the youngest students in her class, and has kids over a year and a half older than her in the class (due to "Readiness"). According to the teacher she is "behind" everyone else in the class and her work is not of the same quality in comparison.

Daughter thinks she is doing just fine, and wants to stay in the program. Does not appear to care about her grades or being as the teacher says "clueless".

We are doing a few mods - preferential seating, a buddy to help with organization (packing things up, unpacking bookbag, etc), some modified assignments. The teacher does not seem to have time or is not willing to do much more.

Should I move her to a less challenging program now, or give it more time? I personally feel that no matter what setting she is in we are going to experience the same ADD behaviors - so shouldn't we address that first? I am also looking at getting the dx and possibly medicating so she can focus, which I REALLY do not want to do at this point. (Have any of you been taking meds since you were in the third grade?) I don't know what the heck to do!

Okay - all you really bright people that have ADD and struggled with school, help me out! Anyone gifted with a learning disability? How about gifted, learning disabled and ADD? Ya'll always have great inputfor me to consider, so please share!

This probably isn't helpful because I've been out of school for a million years, but I was always in gifted programs since I was a kid and wasn't diagnosed with ADD until this year. I don't think it could hurt to try medication if she's diagnosed -- she can always go off of it if it doesn't help.

Ok, so the 1st one I'm going to answer as teacher DolphinChica. It difficult to remember everyone's modifications. Espcially since I can't legally write them down because someone might find the paper and the "out" the child as having a disability. I'm lucky if I can remember the kids who have problems, let alone the kids whose parents have asked me to do something extra for them. Seeing how your daughter is in 3rd grade and I'm sure the teacher has less than 30 kids, she should be more accomidating (I'm 7th/8th grade and see 150 kids a day). But, as crappy as it sounds, unless your child has an IEP (Individualized Education Plan, or whatever the equivilency in your state is) then the teacher legally doesn't have to give any special modifications. I pay more attention to the IEPs cause I can be bought to court on them vs the "can you help my child by doing this request from the parent. If you haven't already, try talking to the teacher and explaining everything again. It might help. Just make sure you make an appt; I've already gotten pulled out a class because of a surprise visit from a parent, and that didn't make me happy.

Now, as learning disabled/slight ADD DolphinChica: Maybe there are other things you can try, small things that won't involve other students or the teacher. My mom (who is a special ed teacher and realized that I had learning problems despite the theory back in the day that "smart" kids can't have problems) had a small index card placed on my homework pad and on my desk and above my hanger in the coat room. It said something, "Do you have all your books? Have you checked your assignments? Do you have any papers to bring home? Are you sure you have all your books?" Seeing it 3 times and in my mother's handwriting, I could hear my mom asking these things and it helped me remeber to do all those steps. Another you can try (at home, which should carry over eventually) is everytime you see your child start to lose focus say something that will bring her back. My phrase is "Time on task." Even now, when I start to drift the phrase automatically goes through my head and I come back to what I was doing. I found ways around my disability (dyscalcula, like dyslexia with numbers) but I'm not gonna lie, it took me years. Hell, I'm still working on it. I would have loved to have help with this problem when I needed it, when it surfaced, in the 3rd grade instead of struggling through grade school, high school, college and post grad with it. Early intervention is always a better thing.

Try the meds. Give it time, too. Don't expect next week for everything to be fine. If it doesn't work out, try something else.

A really gifted program shouldn't have a lot of "homework". Homework is not challenging to a gifted student. homework is for plodders.

Is she assimilating the knowledge for the class? Is she testing well on the material?

I have noticed a trend in education in recent years to become more system oriented. Homework being a key component of the grade.

the Gifted, which I assume you mean naturally high aptitude people, which is different than regular IQ, don't necessarily respond as well to systems, they just want to learn the stuff, test and move on.

I was lucky, I went to a really progressive private school that gave over 100 plus grades per quarter and the total grade for each subject was derived by how well you tested on the material.