The Attention Deficit Disorder thread

stratovani · #1 06-09-2011, 10:04 AM

A couple of days ago I posted this in the "I'm sorry" thread:

"I'm sorry I was born with Attention Deficit Disorder. I'm sorry there was no understanding of the condition when I was young so I could have been treated properly. I'm sorry to all the people I disappointed because I never lived up to my full potential due to my ADD. I'm sorry I had to go through so many jobs in my working career because of it. I'm sorry I got let go from my last job because of the suffocating boredom I was feeling. Finally, I'm sorry for all the anger I've shown over the years because of both my impulsiveness and my high level of frustration."

It seemed to have gotten a few responses. It got me to wondering how many people here on TB have ADD. I've had it all my life, and it's been both a burden and a struggle. At time I feel like I've made it this far just by the skin of my teeth. A couple of months ago I left the band I was in because of ADD-related issues. The constant rehearsing without an immediate payoff in terms of gigs was beginning to affect my playing. I was getting really bored with the whole thing, playing the same songs over and over again, so to alleviate some of the boredom I'd start embellishing my bass lines in order to make things interesting. This led to a confrontation with the drummer, as well as other issues.

As I read threads about how other people practice, I'm always amazed at how some people can practice for hours on end. I'm lucky if I can practice for ten minutes straight before I need to put the damn thing down!

So if you've got ADD, or think you do, come on in and let's hear about it. If you'd like to take a quick test to see if you might, here's a website that has a test: TotallyADD.com: A complete guide to ADD, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in adulthood and the documentary ADD & Loving It?!

Mark Latimour · #2 06-09-2011, 10:05 AM

I guess a "too long, didn't read" post would be in bad taste.

Absentia · #3 06-09-2011, 10:57 AM

My wife and I are both ADD and we had money problems going to cash advances, over drawing accounts, until our mortgage broker brought up that we should get tested (he also worked with ADD kids).

We both never really did well in school or college, doing well on tests but never homework or projects, and constantly procrastinating on every little thing.

Even now I should be studying for cert tests I should have but I'm not.
I can't practice for long, even with the band and also over embellishing lines. Practicing theory is very bad for me, I just can't do it.

My wife has been medicated with Adderall (hey good enough for the nazi's good enough for my baby

). I've taken it on occasion and boy does it help not only with the ADD but also my depression (duh).

Since my wife has been properly medicated we cleared up our credit, payed everything off except for the student loans and mortgage, and pay the bills early each month, in fact we are so on top of out mortgage that the bank refinanced us at a 1% lower rate for nothing they payed for it all.

I'm also of the school that ADD can be a good thing if the person with it finds a focus. If you find the right thing to focus on, it can often lead to the "zone" and you can make alot of progress compared to others. Like when I'm working on a server.
THen again I can sit and play a video game for 12 hours straight.

fenderhutz · #4 06-09-2011, 11:23 AM

I took the test on that site. My parents and wife always thought I had a problem with ADD (not ADHD) but I was never tested.

I scored a 6/9 on the first part, and a 6/9 on the second part. Most of those points came from the impulse section not hyperactive section.

I am kinda bummed actually. I know I can't organize, keep on task, on focus on things but I have been working around it for years and have been pretty successful.

Blah. Now I need to go take a walk.

tastybasslines · #5 06-09-2011, 11:24 AM

Ok let's tackle this topic...

Whats for lunch?

fenderhutz · #6 06-09-2011, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

Ok let's tackle this topic...

Whats for lunch?

MakiSupaStar · #7 06-09-2011, 11:43 AM

Woooweeee. I found my keys!

echoSE7EN · #8 06-09-2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

Ok let's tackle this topic...

Whats for lunch?

LOL. Sorry, but this made me chuckle.

tastybasslines · #9 06-09-2011, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by echoSE7EN

LOL. Sorry, but this made me chuckle.

I'm not really kidding...my soon to be ex wife has ADHD and I cannot even have a conversation with her. The conversation moves so fast, its crazy. She cannot listen, because in her mind, she is already trying to figure out what to say next.

ADD iin full effect. I've lived with it.

BrianVengeance · #10 06-09-2011, 02:26 PM

I've always wondered if I have... ooh! Squirrel!!! What was I saying?

Tmw2011 · #11 06-09-2011, 02:43 PM

Stratovani -

I'm in the exact same boat you are... If they had the medical knowledge of the condition 30-40 years ago (I'm turning 40 this year) my life would likely have been totally different (and I'd likely be a much better bass player because I wouldn't have started/stopped/started/stopped playing so much for the last 25 years.. :P ) . Instead, my focus issues were brushed off by the doctors, & I plodded through school, work, and life... (And ended up going to 6 different colleges.. 5 in a 3 year period...)

A few years ago, fed up with it all, I decided to go to the Dr's, and ended up with a doctor that gave me more than just the normal 'Pop thier head in, nod, frown, smile, and collect a copay' routine. She actually (with my permission) contacted my family (1200 miles away), contacted my highschool & talked to some of my old teachers that were still there, and looked through my prior medical history. I was diagnosed after all of that and was started on Adderall... And my world totally changed... I finished up my degree, started grad school, started teaching college courses as a second job, and have been able to pick back up the bass and really work on getting myself back to the level of playing I've wanted to be at.

Unfortunately, my insurance sucks, so now it costs me twice as much as it had just to go to the Dr's office monthly so I can pick up my script. (Gotta love Sched 2 drugs.. Bleh) I've actually been off my script for the last month because I missed my appt due to being sick and the birth of my kid. I need to get back in there, because I see myself slipping back...

Relic · #12 06-09-2011, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

I took the test on that site. My parents and wife always thought I had a problem with ADD (not ADHD) but I was never tested.

I scored a 6/9 on the first part, and a 6/9 on the second part. Most of those points came from the impulse section not hyperactive section.

I am kinda bummed actually. I know I can't organize, keep on task, on focus on things but I have been working around it for years and have been pretty successful.

Blah. Now I need to go take a walk.

9/9 on the first section. The other two sections marginally better. ADD actually kind of sucks to be honest. You get called "daydreamer" "lazy", "dumb", "impatient" when you know that it's not the case. Most of the time I can suppress it so it's not too bad, but damn sometimes it's a chore.

Cabazon · #13 06-09-2011, 02:55 PM

A doctor told me I had ADD, and prescribed me to Ritalin. He did not, however, diagnose me at all. He talked with my mom, who told him how I wasn't doing homework and whatnot.
I did not take the drugs, though, after reading "Psychosis" as a possible side effect. I figured I'd rather do poorly in school than lose my mind. I'm glad I made that choice now, seeing what Ritalin and Adderall can do to a person when they take it for many years as a kid.

However, my lack of desire to do homework did stick with me, landing me in a high-school like community college I didn't want to be at, extending the attitude until I looked at it and decided to grow up. I'm not sure the Ritalin would have fixed that, though. It wasn't that I couldn't concentrate on the homework or remember it, I was just "too good" for it. The doctor may have figured that out talking to me

L-A · #14 06-09-2011, 03:03 PM

I do not believe I have it. I am able to concentrate when needed; this however came through effort. Had I been unconcerned about my slow loss of focus, I wouldn't have worked to get the habit back.

I find concentration and creativity to go hand in hand, it's by practicing one that the other grew on me too. Many (and I don't know any talkbasser enough to judge on that) take the effects of ten years' absence of hard concentration as a sign that they have ADD.

stratovani · #15 06-09-2011, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relic

9/9 on the first section. The other two sections marginally better. ADD actually kind of sucks to be honest. You get called "daydreamer" "lazy", "dumb", "impatient" when you know that it's not the case. Most of the time I can suppress it so it's not too bad, but damn sometimes it's a chore.

I know what you're saying. I've been called all those names at one time or another throughout my life. It sucked, but what I think really sucked for me was knowing something was not right with me but not having a clue as to what it was. When I was in school it would take me hours to do the simplest homework, and my parents would despair not knowing what was wrong with me.

Radical Edward · #16 06-09-2011, 03:10 PM

I propose an ADHD club. Then we can all forget about it in 5 seco-.... is that a bird outside my window?

In all seriousness though, living with ADHD has been devastating in my life. It's ruined relationships, jobs, and important events. It's like there's someone just thumbing through all of the stations of a Tv in my head, and no matter what I can't turn it off. Whatever is happening I can't stop to think about it, I just move on to the next thing, which leads to the next thing, to the next, to the next and so on. If there's one thing I could change about myself, above my PTSD, above everything else I've been though.. I'd make it so I don't have ADHD. It's hard to pay attention when people speak and they think I'm being rude, when I've forgotten what we're talking about, or I can't remember what I'm supposed to be doing, or to even do things like take important medications or what time I'm supposed to be at that job interview. I write everything down, only to forget where I wrote it.. or I for some reason write something vague like a phone number with no name, on a receipt with 10 other numbers. I can't wait for the day someone finds a cure, or at least a non-habitforming way to control it. Aderall DOES help, but I don't like to take it unless I'm having a really bad day. I hope for all of us that we can find more ways to cope with it, and live around it to the best of our abilities between now and that time.

stratovani · #17 06-09-2011, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-A

I do not believe I have it. I am able to concentrate when needed; this however came through effort. Had I been unconcerned about my slow loss of focus, I wouldn't have worked to get the habit back.

I find concentration and creativity to go hand in hand, it's by practicing one that the other grew on me too. Many (and I don't know any talkbasser enough to judge on that) take the effects of ten years' absence of hard concentration as a sign that they have ADD.

I hear you, but it's more than just an inability to concentrate. There are several tests online you can take to see if whether or not you have ADD.

RosieB · #18 06-09-2011, 08:25 PM

Wow. Yes to all. Always thinking on to the next thing, procrastination, finished projects? What are those?! Can't follow a conversation, or a lecture in school. Don't give me verbal directions that have more than 1-2 steps, what were you saying, what was I doing, am I supposed to be picking someone up from school right now...

Don't have the H factor, so I can sit very still and appear to be paying attention while I'm really lightyears away. Therefore I was just a slacker and didn't apply myself in high school and college. Would have been nice to know then. Still trying to get the courage to address this with my doctor. Seem to forget every time I'm in there.

And honestly, if a squirrel or a bird (or a chicken!) happens along then, why would you not point it out then? Why wait till later? Never understood why this is considered a problem?

6jase5 · #19 06-09-2011, 11:20 PM

While I'm not one to laugh at mental problems, my favorite tshirt was always.."Some people say I have A.D.....oh look, a chicken!"

The problem is that ADHD is so over diagnosed it's getting ridiculous, much like the ever so easily overused autism spectrum. Everyone claims to be ADHD and OCD, but very few realize the h*ll it can be when it's a real part of your life.

TOOL460002 · #20 06-10-2011, 12:13 AM

The whole problem with mental disorder diagnoses is that, as you said, they didn't really exist until the 90s (im sure there was testing or limited professional treatment of some kind before that). I am lucky in that im only 27, so the timing never affected me. I don't think im adhd, though I was diagnosed with it (mild... not hardcore adhd) and adderall and vyvanse both were unpleasant.

What it took me years to learn is that just because your last psych said you are this or that doesn't mean you should tell your next psych that, because they will pretty much just go with that, and not really get a clear diagnosis. A good psych will start from scratch.

Half a dozen psychs said I was depressed and had anxiety disorder. When I moved, id tell the next one what I was taking before, and they just prescribed the same thing; maybe a different ssri. As it turns out im bipolar. Its all too often improperly diagnosed this way. Maybe get a second or third opinion? At the very least, they might know of a more effective medication for you. They might not.
But if your quality of life suffers, you owe it to yourself to make sure you are where you should be. Some medical groups are partial to specific medicines, even if many others know there's something better out there (sometimes they just recommend what's cheaper).

Exhaust every single option your health care will copay, and if you have something out of network that's perfect, they will sometimes work with you. Don't go on suffering. Psychiatric problems made my life a mess until I found the right doctor, who got me on the right medication, and who has, over the last 3+ years, closely monitored my levels, done blood work to make sure my liver etc is okay; all that.

Also, since day one until now, the amounts of medications I've been on have been adjusted. I am certain all mental disorders will flare up once in a while no matter what. Its what you do, who you talk to, and how you get control back that's key.

I hate to hear of anyone whose life gets derailed because of something that could be better diagnosed or medicated. Be your own advocate. Don't apologize. Its not like you brought it on yourself.