Are there 3 types of AADD? - ADD / ADHD Message Board

terrih · 06-13-2004, 12:17 PM

Hi, I am 44 yrs old and have been diag with AADD not AAHDD. I am not Hyper in any way. However, I am having work related problems such as Forcusing, remember the order of procedures( its a new job. I've been there a month so far) Its easy stuff. I decided to get out of Accounting and go into something less stressful. I do not understand the disease yet. I wonder how to deal with it. I am taking 20 mg adrellal.

Im all ears.....

apinecone · 06-13-2004, 10:51 PM

Hi. New to ADD Dx is confusing for sure. It's a tricky thing. Maybe you've been pre-occupied and that's distracting you? Pre-occupation tends to distract you from concentrating on what otherwise would be more important priorities for you to think about. As for 3 types of ADD-- there are a range of related disorders that tend to have similar characteristics, probably because the underlying brain processes are affected in similar ways by biochemical imbalances. So, it's more that there are 'differentiating' characteristics, but it takes careful analysis to figure that out, sometimes/often requiring meds to see how you respond to different adjustments that they make to how your thought processes work. It takes time and understanding.

msmars5188 · 06-14-2004, 12:49 AM

just for the record, add refers to adhd-inatentive type. adhd is a term for the entire disorder and actually add is now a "politically incorrect" term according to the dsv-4(i thinks thats the right letters... its a book that talks about all of the mental health issues and it describes them and stuff, its an extensive medical book.) The older versons of it use the term add but its now officially technically called adhd in general terms. Sorry for the lecturing, i didnt mean to do it but my psych class spent almost an entire day talking about the book and ive done some research on adhd in the book and i just figured that i should share my new-found knowledge.

apinecone · 06-18-2004, 07:37 AM

Thanks. I'll work on that; I hope I don't "forget"!

I'm of the 'inattentive' type, Dx-speaking. My pdoc (and others I've checked with) think that "attention", "deficit", and "hyper" always go together but not necessarily "activity" in the physical sense; that's where a kind of 'misnomer' comes in to the term ADD or ADHD. I can GET hyperactive but usually manage my frustration and irritation/anger at it, so that I don't ACTUALLY become hyperactive. But my mind is going a mile a minute, so IT is definitely hyper-active. Sometimes that is spent multiplexing thoughts and sometimes it is spent engrossing, sometimes both (mostly engrossing with spurts of double-checking on how things are going "out there" in the "real" world); sometimes adjusting based on circumstance: ok, you can engross now.....[engrossing]....<how's it going out there? [let me check. checking......OK but you've been at this awhile, you know? yeah, but i'm almost done>......[engrossing]........"; it 'flips', too: <dealing with outside world, now...........[can i engross now? i really want to engross now....<checking 'ahead'....OK, but just for a little while> Thanks, but I'm not good at engrossing for just a little while but I've been working on it>>>>....."
To me, that's ADHD,but you can probably see that I'm thinking the H is not "just" hyper-activity as it is commonly thought of. It's really more like the 'hyper'/'hypo' of BP in terms of the mechanism: hyper/hypo attentive, maybe with 'acting out' [hyper-activity].
Maybe this is NOT the way it is supposed to be thought of "diagnostically", but it makes "sense" to me. Also, the aspect of "dis-traction" of focus due to noise[s]; well, maybe moreso that, because I think that's what makes it more 'true' ADHD than BP, but then I'm on thin Dx ice here, so I'll just go now and not obsess about it...