It means : Attention Deficit Disorder

Ask Susan

In her thread asking about Mac computers she mentioned that she has ADD. Well, guess what. I do too.

ummm I havent seen a adoctor, or really I did long time ago, but didnt continue with any of them long enough to reach anywhere. One suggested medications and I refused

I read somewhere that ADD can be treated either by medications or behaviourial treatemnts. I am interetsed in the latter. If there is any diet change, that is OK too. But no pills for me.

So, Sue and everyone else, I may have asked about this earlier I dont remember but I wish everyone gives their opinion on what to do.

Right now I am in my fifties. Stable job and family is OK. Been focused on preparedness for a few years now. Facing the same challenges like everyone else ( regarding teenage kids ..etc.). Problem is trying to focus on ANY job for long enough time. For example, I have got a room for my home office but it is now more than a year since a I made a resolution to oganise it the way I wanted. I have lost many things within the mess from SAKs to flash drives ..etc. and have missed business opportunities that I could have utilized for additional income and great contacts for post-retirement home-based business.

What I want to do, is FOCUS to build a part-time biz and read the huge collection of files I got from the net about self-improvement , home improvement, business developement, and clean up my marriage life from the small problems it has. Doing that while at the same time handling a stressful job and a few children education programs.

.... ahem, and working on preparedness off course.

Oh before you ask about DW, she is a great housewife but that's about it. She won't read a book in NLP or family preparedness.

Input from ADD folks is more than welcome.
Starting with Sue.
Thanks.

Partner I understand about the med's, but....

Both my son and my wife are ADD all over the place. No medication = no life. We have tried every "non-traditional" approach (no pills) and they failed miserably.

Once we found the right doctor and combined medication with behavior modification and exercise things got much better.

Both are also bi-polar which adds loads of fun to the mix. This might be something you could speak to a doc about as the two seem to go hand in hand.

For more specific info, PM me. The full rundown is long and tedious for a regular thread.

I guess I am more a product of the 70s, or maybe I just don't like being medicated, but I've always figured that most mental conditions for which doctores prescribe medications can be better fixed using some form or another of therapy. I guess for me it is a chicken or the egg sort of situation, is it a chemical imbalance affecting the mind's ability to function, or is it that the mind wants to function a certain way and is making the chemical conditions such as they are that cause the erratic behavior. My bhuddist influence tells me that there is no mental condition that cannot be controlled/modified with a disciplined will. All that is lacking is motivation.

It's just a product of my experiences.

Buddhism can't change the chemistry in the brain, it may allow one to deal with the aftereffects of not changing it easier. I'm a practicing Buddhist myself and I haven't read anything that even remotely suggests that using medications is wrong.

Actual ADD and ADHD in children and in adults isn't a matter of motivation or discipline, it's a brain chemistry problem that is best fixed with the proper medications alongside proper nutrition, exercise, and training. Having said that, there are plenty of people with mild forms of both running around who don't need medications. It's all a matter of degree.

There's a huge difference between a "mental condition" and a brain disorder.

The original poster stated that they were trying to organise a room into an office and that by not doing so they knew that they had lost items and business, it is affecting their life in a very real way and I would strongly suggest, as the parent of a child with severe ADD, along with some learning disabilities, and as someone who also suffers from a minor form of ADD, that you go back to your doctor and find out what sort of medications are now available to help you with a very real medical problem.

I understand the "no pills for me" attitude, I have a strong aversion to taking most any form of medication myself but there are many diseases and health conditions for which medication is the best method of dealing, by refusing to consider all the means available to help yourself, you're condemning yourself to a life that could very well be much improved. Good luck.

JohnE

My first question is, do you really have ADD? Cuz I gotta tell you, it's hugely over-diagnosed (esp in kids). Not being able to organize a room isn't "attention deficit," it's "life." As in, just too busy. That's my first question.
To help out:
http://www.add.org/
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-tests-making-assessment
Read all 3 pages on this one; diagnostic criteria on pages 2 & 3

Second, if it turns out that you do fit criteria, then yes, there are non-pharmacologic forms of treatment. My cousin actually did fairly well, but it took a very determined mother and several years of treatment. Even then, he was a terminally poor student until he blossomed at the start of college (as in, C's and D's up to A's). Not sure what she tried, but I can try and find out if you PM me.

I can't afford to buy much medication, and I don't like it anyway, AND I forget to take it half the time. I can't even remember to take vitamins regularly.

The one naturopathic remedy that I've taken that seems to help me focus is DMAE from a health food/supplements store, dimethylaminoethanol, from fish. From the label: "DMAE is present in small amounts in all living organisms. DMAE has been found to increase choline levels. Choline serves a a precursor of acetylcholine, which is one of the neurotransmiiters responsible for memory function."

MDinana: It isn't just lack of organization from lack of time, it's

* Not paying bills when you have the time, the bill, the money, the checkbook, the addressed envelope and the stamp.
* Having to call your carry-around landline phone or cell phone to find out where you left it.
* Having to leave your cell phone, purse, keys, shovels, etc, in designated places or you'll never find them.
* Having to live by lists because you don't usually concentrate on anything, or what you have to do, long enough to retain it in your memory, because you're instantly thinking of something else.
* Struggling to learn something that doesn't interest you, and focusing intently (obsessing) on the stuff that does.
* Being so easily distracted that you don't remember what someone just said to you because something he said made you think of something else.
* Having a mind that won't shut off, that is constantly jumping from one idea to another.
* Doing or saying something before you think it out, and getting yourself in trouble.
* Having to write directions down because you can't keep them in your head long enough to do any good.
* Being chronically late for EVERYTHING.
* Having every flat surface with stuff stacked on it.
* Chronic procrastination.
* Starting a new project and then not finishing... ALL THE TIME.
* Reversing letters and numbers, and turning words around when you're talking. (not dyslexia)
* Poor coordination, lousy at sports.
* Insomnia because you can't shut off all the thoughts running through your mind.

I wasn't diagnosed until I was 56, but once I was, I could track the problem right back through my life to when I was a child.

It also appears to be genetic. I can see it in my sister and my half-brother.

It is said to affect about 5% of the population. Many children are diagnosed by the SCHOOLS rather than a professional. A school with "learning disabled" children gets more money, even though many of the learning problems are caused by the teaching methods more than the kids' problems.

Sue

I would agree that brain chemistry can be manipulated using different substances. LSD is just one of many that are proven to alter the brain's physiological state. In fact, most of what we experience in our environment affects brain physiology in one way or another. However, my contention is that the mind is also capable of inducing physiological changes, without the need of external agents, and in such a way as to reproduce any and every physiological change that such external agents, inlcuding prescription psychiatric meds, is able to affect, at least within the physical limits of a given physiology. I would even go so far as to say that a properly disciplined mind would not only be able to reproduce physiological conditions, but also counteract externally induced changes to some degree.

Granted it takes a lot of training and discipline, but it is doable.

Weather it is ADD or and other disorder ( BTW who decides it is a “disorder” ) like dyslexia or addictions. The first step is to want to do something about the problem. We do live in a world where it seems everyone wants a fast cure. It goes back to the, “I want it now” thinking that we see all the time. From what I have seen the ‘natural’ remedies often take longer to work but are easier on the one’s body than most of the drugs. But as they say, you have to make up your own mind. It’s your body do what works for you.

Given that no one can define what a "properly disciplined mind" is, I would hope that anyone suffering from the symptoms of ADD or ADHD would seek advice from a health care provider with actual experience in things like brain chemistry.

Sorry but I find your contention to be dangerous, the idea that simply disciplining one's mind will cure actual physiological problems and chemical imbalances is simply incorrect.

No offense intended but what you're claiming is akin to telling a person suffering from epilepsy to just quit having seizures by disciplining their mind, it simply doesn't work that way.

JohnE

Sue,

Thanks for the list. Seems I meet many of those items. I just figured I was lazy or didn't care enough. As mentioned by others the severity of it varies. I believe mine is fairly low. Thanks for the insight though!