ADD Support Thread II

[smeisnotapirate]

Look at me being all decisive! How about introductions, to start.

I'm Sara, undiagnosed ADD, but sooooooooo typical. No meds any more. Just trying to meditate and take life easy ().

[flminivanmama]

I'm Andrea :

I have ADHD, a son with ADHD, and another son with ADD. and a third son who is autistic...

my twins are on ritalin.

I am not on any meds but I often think about taking theirs

[kittynurse]

Hi, I'm Martha.

I have ADHD (inattentive) and I was diagnosed as an adult a year and a half ago. I'm seriously considering meds.

I also have a DS who is undiagnosed but who most likely has ADHD (hyperactive) as well as SPD (seeker). It is possible that he is on the spectrum as well.

[mamabohl]

I'm Genie, undiagnosed ADD. My husband and both my boys are quirky too...I'm pregnant right now and we just found out last night that it's a GIRL!

[Maggirayne]

Hi, I'm Alyse. I have a 21 mo DD, Elisabeth and am 23 weeks pregnant with #2, we don't officially know, but I was right w/DD, and I'm saying boy this time.

I saw a dr. and then had my car break down and didn't get to the follow-up appt, so I don't know what my official diagnosis is. But I think I am ADD.

No meds, do prenatals and fish oil, and life is much easier not in school.

P.S. Sara, do you want to link to the old thread in case people want to look back for it easily?

[smeisnotapirate]

Here ya go!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=824150

[heidirk]

Way to be high speed Sara! can I borrow some pep from you?

I'm Heidi, the OP of the original thread. I have ADD, innattentive type. Not on meds, but Vitamins, herbs, and lifestyle changes!

I have two boys, on is 2 and 1/2 and the baby is 4 months. I tend to take on way too many responsibilities, and forget appointments, even though I wrote them down.


But I love life, and I want to live as much as I can, so I will happily continue to living in this wacked out world.

[boobybunny]

Hi

I am Amy, have ADHD (attentive issues) and currently on Adderal XR 15mg... The same med as my 12 year old son. He as a Dx of ADHD non attentive and a coexis of ASD..aspie.

Husband and daughter are non ADHD, thank goodness.. otherwise the house hold would be a complete wreck.

Child number 3 who is a 4 year old boy seems to be a "motor driven kid" but will hold off doing anything until school. Would you believe he came to be cause I have no ability to take meds on a regular basis? Come to think of it... all three might be because of that.


What do I love about being ADHD... I love the way our minds "work outside the box." I love that I can get lost into the moment of teaching the whys and whats of a casually asked question. I love that when coaching my daughters basketball team, I can go with the flow of the team and still teach them about the game.

I hate that I forget appointments...being so wrapped up in whatever I am doing. I hate that sometimes it feels like the world is too loud.

[Avarie]

I was way too intimidated by the old thread to wade through it, but thought I'd jump on this one. I was just diagnosed at the end of last year, and was so relieved to have an explanation for so many things about me that just didn't seem like everyone else. I mean I know we're all unique, but there were so many things I just couldn't do that "everyone else" was able to do. I am interested in medication, since I am on anti-depressants (which do me a world of good), but since I'm nursing, that's not an option. So now I get to figure out how to cope without them. I mean, I muddled through the last 28 years OK, right??

[ani'smommy]

Hi, I'm Marie and I think my DH has ADD. He's going to the doctor tomorrow for a referal. How were you diagnosed? How do they test for it ? what does "attentive" mean?

[heidirk]

Hi boobybunny, avarie, and ani'smommy!! Welcome to the crew! :


BB- there are lots of things I love about it, too, it has to be a sort of love/hate thing, YK?

Avarie-My sister looked up the meds commonly used for ADD/ADHD in her PDR (physician's Desk reference) and they are mostly class C for pregnancy/nursing, which means if the benefits outweih the risks FOR YOU, it's ok to take them under supervivion. I'm right where you are right now, but I'm chosen to jsut muddle through. Good luck making your decision!

Ani'smommy-Attentive issues or innattentive, we have problems maintaining attention, staying on task, or sometimes just plain checking in! They keep changing the labels, but it's split pretty well between your main problem being inattention, and your main problem being hyperactivity (mania, really). Both types are usually highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive, prone to anxiety and have impulse control issues- like, 'Oops, was thinking that but didn't meant to say it.'


I'm gonna try to get on here every day. I missed a lot, lately, b/c my world has sort of swallowed me up. Just wanted to say glad ya'll are here.

[Leatherette]

Hi,

I have ADD, inattentive type, and am taking Concerta. I was off meds for 8 years while pregnant, nursing, SAHM'ing, but realized after my first year back at work I would need to go back on my meds.

I am a special ed. teacher, and while some parts of my job are great for people with ADD (lots of movement, quick reactions to a variety of stimuli needed, on the same wavelength as many of my students, etc.), other parts are not (paperwork, planning, meetings, professional development classes).

So, doing well back on the meds. Not my first choice of treatment, but the only thing I have tried that works.

L.

[KurumiSophia]

Hi, I'm Tami and I have ADHD, Combined Type. I'm currently taking Adderall XR and Zoloft. My goal is to conquer college, cross stitch, and still manage to be a wife and mom in the same breath.

[smeisnotapirate]

From our last discussion.

Originally Posted by Maggirayne


ITA Personally, I think if people in churches took care of those like the early church did, there would be no need for welfare or unemployment or foster care or homeless shelters or. . . you get the idea. But we, and I include myself, don't think or live like that. I want to be able to offer a place to a teen mom to have her baby and help her change and keep her baby if she wants. I would love to create a community where single moms can work and be close to their kids and don't have to choose daycare. And where families live and grow their own food and help each other instead of this ridiculous isolated culture we live in.
Okay, Dream over.

I have some of these same thoughts. I had spent many years as a single mom.I am married now, but my husband is gone so much and we have so little money, it is very similar to when i was still a single mother. You know, the lack of money and being responsible for all of the childcare/homecare/homemaking etc. I have it in my heart to start some programs that do not exist in my community. There are supports and services that I have really needed that just are not available.

The early churches did help folks, but they also split people into groups such as the deserving and undeserving poor. They did reject those they deemed as undeserving. Hmmm, that still happens, doesn't it?

I really do long for change too. I wish that parents could stay home and generate income that way, with thier children next to them, assisting and learning their craft and skills. we really have lost that as a culture.

I am actually trying to teach myself to sew, garden, preserve, and to be more self reliant, as i feel these are very important skills to have and to pass on.

Many wisdoms are being lost, especially in native cultures. I live in an area that has a very high native population, so i see the effect of this, and it is heartbreaking. The people need their culture back. I know some who are working on this, but it is difficult being that something as vital as language is lost. There is no one who speaks the language indigenous this specific region. the people are being taught languages from first nations communities close to here, but not the original one. One of the most effective ways to destroy a culture is to take their language. This happened in Ireland, and has happened here in Canada with residential schools. My friend's father has scars on his arms from where pins were inserted by the nuns when he spoke his own language as a young boy. He could not speak any other language.

This is sad, very very sad indeed.

Yeah, i went off topic, i tend to do that, sorry. But I just wanted to say that the price we all pay for the loss of community is high, and i totally agree with all who mentioned it in this thread.

nak, btw.

I think that some of our modern-day ailments (depression, etc) are the price we pay for the loss of community you're talking about. I don't believe man was ever meant to be isolated as much as we are isolated now.

[heidirk]

Originally Posted by smeisnotapirate

From our last discussion.



nak, btw.

I think that some of our modern-day ailments (depression, etc) are the price we pay for the loss of community you're talking about. I don't believe man was ever meant to be isolated as much as we are isolated now.

can I say 'Amen?'

[heidirk]

Originally Posted by KurumiSophia

Hi, I'm Tami and I have ADHD, Combined Type. I'm currently taking Adderall XR and Zoloft. My goal is to conquer college, cross stitch, and still manage to be a wife and mom in the same breath.

You sound like lots iof the rest of us. I looked at the link in your signature, and cried. It was beautiful.

[journeymom]

I'll reintroduce myself. I have "attention deficiencies" as well as bipolar II disorder. I might have adhd, but I can't take adhd meds (stimulants) because it agitates the mania. However, the Wellbutrin for depression helps me focus some, as does the Lamictal for bipolar.

A word about the safety of adhd meds: they're very safe, except that undiagnosed bipolar disorder (which can look a lot like adhd) can put a wrinkle in treatment plans. Adhd meds can eventually bring on manic episodes. A person can have bipolar and adhd concurrently, but treating the bipolar has to take precedence over adhd. Basically, it means you cannot medicate your adhd if you also have bipolar. However -even if you get these issues mixed up, it isn't necessarily life threatening.

My daughter is 14 y.o. and started Concerta several months ago. It has really helped her, she's having a much better year.

[KurumiSophia]

Originally Posted by heidirk

You sound like lots iof the rest of us. I looked at the link in your signature, and cried. It was beautiful.

I first heard about that charity on my local mom's site, IndyMoms. It moved me so much I had to do everything I could to bring exposure to it so more parents would know and be able to have pictures of their little ones that are more than just of them hooked up to all the tubes and wires.

[heidirk]

a friend of mine had a beautiful baby daughter, stillborn. Her name was Jordan, and she has a lovely picture of her. She and I have ended up being pregnant at the same time, and I think of her often. She and her husband now have three beautiful living daughters, ages 2 and 1/2 to 5 months.



Hey ladies, I've hit on a system that's helping me keep the house clean, once I get it there. (which I need to do again). Since I don't have much time at any one time, I made this rule, when I have five minutes, I try to do three things. ie: when I heat up a cup of coffee, I can wash three dishes, or throw three things away or wipe down a surface. When I go down to throw in a load of laundry, I can do the same, or rinse a diaper, or empty an old detergent bottle into a new one. See? When I run upstairs to the bathroom, I can take something upstaris, grab a load of laundry, and take something else back down.

It actually works pretty well, and it's been easier to keep things cleaned up.
And I don't get overwhelmed because I'm not doing one thing for very long.

[journeymom]

Heidirk, I do that, too, when I'm not in the pits. It really helps.

Spaghetti was on special today, so I bought three boxes. Went to put them in the cupboard and discovered four more boxes, that I'd forgotten about entirely.



Dh pointed out that I'm actually tired of spaghetti, so why do I keep buying it??

My organized girlfriend has a permanent grocery list. This never happens to her.