Submitted by jasond on 06/14/2013.
I finally went to get tested for ADHD a few months ago. Never could sit still, pay attention, read a book for pleasure and had problems with binge drinking. It never bothered me enough to do anything about it. My wife recently told me she was unhappy with our marriage, which i admit, i was totally oblivious to. She said we don't really communicate with each other. She also was fed up with the binge drinking, with the most recent episode ended up with me blacking out while peeing and waking up with my head through the wall. I started researching on why i binge drink and saw there was a connection with ADD. I got tested for ADHD through a psychologist and got positive results back along with anxiety. I have always hated being around groups of people, makes me really nervous and there is just too much going on to focus on.
Long story short, i had to wait a few weeks from diagnosis til i could get a prescription from my family doc ( a long/anxious 2 weeks), but i took my first dose today (Concerta) and I think i feel like the fuzzy noise in my head is toning down a bit. I don't feel as jumpy and anxious. I'm hoping this is not just placebo affect and i will continue to progress. I think the worst thing about the ADHD for me, is not being able to sit down with my kids and play or read to them. I start to, but i always have to move on to something else. I never had much of a relationship with my father that i wish i could have had, probably because he has undiagnosed ADD and i want to be there for my kids and wife.
Enough babbling. Would appreciate anyone else's feedback on their first experiences on meds and what to expect.
Thanks,
Jason
Response to meds
Submitted by sunlight on
Hi Jason, sorry no one has replied you to your post so far, it seems there are fewer people with ADHD on the site than those without. There have been some past message threads where ADHD people have described knowing fairly quickly whether a med is working, even within a few minutes, so what you are describing certainly sounds reasonable.
All I can say is that my husband's first med was Ritalin, he said he noticed 'increased volume' of thoughts, but I noticed he also became more bad tempered and quick to react (also jittery). He switched to Adderall and has not looked back, it seems the right med for him so far. So if you find Concerta doesn't work well for you, or the effect wears off over time, don't despair and start thinking there is no hope - that is definitely not the case and there are other options to try.
I hope by posting a reply your post might get noticed by some of the people with ADHD who can post their experiences. Good luck - it seems like you are on the right road, it must have been difficult to face the testing but you seem to be on the right track, I hope things get better for you all.
time to try new med?
Submitted by jasond on
Thanks for your comments sunllight,
Yeah i don't think i've really noticed any changes in concentration after 4days on Concerta, if anything, i was more distracted at work. I also have a sort of OCD (i pick and scratch a lot) which seems to have gotten worse.
Glad to hear your husband found something that works, hopefully i can switch to something else this week. I just wish to find the answer soon, as this seems to be consuming every thought now.
Jason
Jason, I am new to the forums
Submitted by Rosber on
Jason,
I am new to the forums and trying to start posting and commenting. Your post although months old seems like a great place to start.
I myself was diagnosed my wife and I just figured out over 2 years ago. My Doctor has a son with ADHD and she has him on VyVanse. She started me on 20 MG and it did help me focus more. After 2 months I went in for my follow-up exam and she asked about the dosage and I told her it was working some but I noticed it trickle off a little. So she said thats normal and gave me 40MG once a day. That has been what I have been taking for 2 years now and it really helps me focus.
One thing though about when I was originally diagnosed. I was diagnosed by the Clinical Psychologist that sees our son who has Autism/Aspergers. She said the good news was that it can be controlled with medicine, as did our family doctor who prescribed the medicine. Jumping forward from my original diagnosis... my wife filed for divorce. My doctors failed to tell me I needed to see a therapist, exercise daily, as well as work with lists and schedules to make sure I finish the tasks or projects I start in a timely manner. The list goes on. I failed to read about ADD myself as well. Doesn't matter what the doctors said, I was diagnosed with ADD and I should have read about it to more understand exactly what it was. I was still flying by the seat of my pants and not thinking clearly.
I am not blaming my doctors for not knowing everything to prescribe, you should have seen what doctors prescribed for my son when he was diagnosed with Autism!
I am blaming myself for not reading up on it myself, but my brain told me I would be fine just listening to my doctors. Anyway what I am getting at is find a medicine that works for you, but really therapy, exercise, as well as you taking a stand against some of the things that are negatively effecting your life yourself too.
My wife and I are working on reconiliation now by the way. When she told me she had filed for divorce it knocked me to my senses. So I went to see the therapist that week about working out the things that caused my wife to not want to be with me anymore. The therapy helped a little at first, but what really helped was when my wife emailed me a link about forgiving your spouse from this websites email list. It came to her phone right after we had a talk about forgiving.
I looked at the website link and came to these forums and I saw all the posts about things I was doing and dealing with everyday!. I then realized I needed therapy for ADHD and to read books on the matter. I have started to turn my life around and use my ADHD super power for good 100% of the time. The first book I read was "The ADHD Effect on Marriage" which is a great book to start with because it truly helped me understand many of the things my wife was dealing with daily and offered me ideas on how to change my patterns for both of us to be happy. My wife Re-read the book also and we are working together to move forward in life happy. I am now reading the book "Is it You, Me or Adult A.D.D.". My wife had both of these books and had read them and I never knew it.
So I hope that you find a medicine that works and treatment that works as well. I am glad my wife filed for divorce. If she hadn't I may have never been able to clear the fog in my life and mover forward being a happy healthy person.
I hope my post helps, I babble a lot.
Rosber