Diagnosed With ADHD As An Adult

I have been asked about this a bit recently. And then someone reminded me that Michael Phelps has ADHD and is actually open about that one (or his mother is, anyway), so I thought maybe it is time to relate my experience in case anyone is going through a similar thing.

Many people think ADHD is a disorder of childhood and that it somehow magically disappears when one reaches adulthood.  Well it doesn't. A leopard can't change its spots and a person with ADHD will have it from birth until death.

What they do develop are coping skills and masking skills.  But sometimes those are not enough.

I figured out years ago that I have ADHD. I figured it out in the way many parents do. There was something "going on" with my son, the preschool psychologist suggested I have him tested for ADHD and I researched it extensively.  I remember reading the descriptions and thinking This does not describe Joe one bit. But it totally describes me! And it did!

People talk about lightbulb moments, and I do remember sitting right here at this desk thinking maybe I wasn't just a horrible, irresponsible student. Maybe there was a reason I couldn't listen and couldn't do homework (because I really, really TRIED but no-one believed me when I said I tried)

But then I got to thinking about getting the diagnosis formalized and I thought why bother?  I had a family, a good career (then), and about anything I ever really wanted (except an XJS), so I didn't.

But then it started getting worse. 

OK, I know now that ADHD cannot "get worse" But I didn't know that then. I also know that stress and other factors can make one's ADHD appear worse. But I didn't know that then either. I just knew that it was 10 steps from the dining table to the fridge and in those ten steps I could not remember what my kids told me they wanted from the kitchen. Joe learned to listen for my steps to falter when I forgot why had gone in there and then he would call "Milk,  Mom" or "Mom!  ketchup!" or whatever it was I had forgotten by step number five.

When your Autistic seven-year-old learns to remind you of stuff, you know something needs to be done.

So I went to a neurologist and said "I think I have ADHD. How do I go about getting evaluated?".  I was referred to a psychologist , who asked a great question: "what does ADHD feel like?" Then he went on to evaluate me with interviews, forms, history and some other stuff. Yes I had it. Moderate-severe ADHD, Inattentive subtype.

I went on Adderall for awhile and I started remembering the ketchup etc without a reminder from Joe. The first time I remembered it, we were both a bit stunned.

When the fits started I was taken off Adderall because it lowers the seizure threshold (although I am pretty sure Adderall was not a culprit in my case).

Now Joe has to remind me about the ketchup again.  And I have cognitive disorder- NOS as a diagnosis by way of explaining how my ADHD got "worse" (some solution, huh?).

And so one might think that I have come full circle and there was no point at all in my being diagnosed with  ADHD at the ripe old age of thirty-(mumble).  Well, there was. Knowing I have ADHD enabled me to do a lot of things. I learned a lot more about myself; how my brain works and how to maximize my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. Knowing I have it allowed me to forgive myself for not being able to do certain things. To stop berating myself for my distractability and some of the other ADHD "gifts". To stop trying to do some things I would just never be good at and instead to concentrate on the stuff I do well.

So in a weird way, learning I had ADHD helped me to focus.

Mad, eh?

Comments

[Adderall Prescription Medication]

My name is Amy Rollins and i would like to show you my personal experience with Adderall.

I have taken for 1 years. I am 20 years old. I have better luck with Adderall 20MG non-extended release than I do with Adderall XR 10MG, which is what I am prescribed. The XR wears off before the day is over, which leaves you with an awful crash to deal with. (Obviously, if you'd like to sleep regularly you shouldn't take another...so crashing off this particular dosage is almost inevitable.) They say you should drink caffeine towards the end of the day to try to ward off the symptoms of coming down off this drug.

Side Effects :
loss of appetite,dry mouth,insomnia,bad crash after about 7 hours,fidgety,rapid heartbeat,more productive,if taken for months regularly I start to feel less like myself,lower sex drive.

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Amy Rollins