Newbie question re: Ritalin - ADD / ADHD Message Board

busterangel · 05-11-2006, 12:34 PM

Hello,

I am new to this forum. I just recently discovered that I could have ADD. I am in line now to find a counselor/therapist.

An acquaintance of mine suggested that I might be ADD and that led me on the road to reading books and doing some research.

I always have thought something was different about me since I was a kid. Over the years I thought it was depression, manic-depression and most recently I tacked on anxiety as the problem. I have been on effexor and that seems to help a little with the anxiety.

This acquaintance is a big Ritalin fan. She claims that none of the other drugs give as good a result. However, I have also heard as many negative claims.

The thing of it is she claims the Ritalin helps her focus and function better. Yet to see her house, the way she operates her life and her overall inconsistency (not to mention the alcohol and marijuana use) I wonder if she has a proper perspective on the use of Ritalin. I didn't know her before she took Ritalin so maybe her life was in even more chaos than it seems now. She just doesn't seem to be the poster child for Ritalin.

I want to be as informed as I can when I eventually go to get an evaluation. The intake person at the clinic said she thought that my main problem is anxiety. And yet, I identify with all of the symptoms of ADD.

I know everyone reacts to medication differently but I was just hoping to get some feedback.

nickkaylee · 05-11-2006, 01:07 PM

When you have ADD/ADHD there really is no end all/fix all medication. Spme meds do work better than others for certain people. What works for one may not work for another. If you go into it all with the thought that there is a medication that is going to take away every bit of every symptom you have you are going to be disappointed. Your friend almost definitely knows if the medication she takes really does help her or not. I highly doubt you will ever see a person with ADD that is truely organized. They can get better though at focusing and remembering things and even organization but maybe not as good as someone without ADD or who doesn't understand it might expect. Hope this helps.

BSBGeezerFan · 05-11-2006, 04:37 PM

I started on Ritalin AL but it adversely affected my heart (I already had high blood pressure) but with the first dose it was like someone turned a light on where there was only darkness before. My doctor then tried Focalin AR which is what I take now. I found that the medication for the ADD made all my anxiety and depression go "poof" just like a magic trick.

So my shrink was correct (curse him and crush him, my precious) when he said that my ADD was responsible for my anxiety and depression. I haven't had to take anything at all for them (I was on a very low dose of Diazepam occasionally as needed for the anxiety and since my depression and I were old friends and I was comfortable with it and it was not incapacitating I didn't take anything for that).

rheanna · 05-11-2006, 10:12 PM

busterangel,

Different drugs work differently in everyone. If you are diagnosed as having ADD, and the doctor fells that drugs may help, you may have to go through several (one at a time) to see which one works for you. Some people find that one works wonders (Ritalin was wonderful for helping me focus and calming my anxiety 10 years ago, but I am not currently taking any drugs), and others find that nothing works for them, or that the side effects are not worth it.

Good luck in finding something that works for you. And as the others said, if you have been unorganized all your life, the drugs alone will not teach you organizational skills -- they'll only calm your mind so that you can focus on learning the skills from someone else.

--Rheanna

busterangel · 05-12-2006, 09:35 AM

I wanted to thank everyone for all of their input.

I can't claim I am a linear sort of organized person but I don't see the extreme disorganization in my life as I see in a few others I know who have ADD. In fact, disorganziation drives me crazy especially, visual messes. So I happen to be fairly neat. But not always methodically organized.

For me when things get too disorganzied I get very stressed and have an even harder time being focused. For instance, I can't sit down to read or focus on some writing unless my house is fairly clean and all the basic chores are done.

I can see now that perhaps I may have try some different meds to see what works for me. I am not into just pill popping but there are times when I wish I could just take something that would ease the anxiety when I am stressed and not focusing very well.

I am sure that working with a counselor will help.

Thanks again for all your input.