oceanchic

I am surprised that I am the 1st "Adder" that has replied to this post but I feel like I had to give my opinion. First of all, here is a quick outline of my past.I am 24 years old, diagnosed w/Add when I was in 7th grade, not an easy diagnosis at all. I went through 3 months of intense therapy, plus ritalin vs. placebo testing. Finally, after months of this they diagnosed me with ADHD, they started me on I think 10mg of Ritalin a day and ,I must admit saw immidiate changes in my life. Everything seemed so much clearer to me. I could actually sit through a class w/out being so distracted and so bored I would of done anything to get out of class. (that led to many trips to the office in my past)I was loving school, Everything was great and I felt so much better about myself. Before I used to cry and freak out during every test because I couldn't get my mind to slow down and concentrate on the test itself. Now everything was different. So on I went in school, taking my meds and feeling great. I enrolled in an alternative school in 10th grade to get some extra help and that was great too. 11th grade I decided to go back to "regular" high school. That didn't work so well for me....pretty soon I started getting into trouble and hanging out with the wrong crowd. My Mom's insurance ran out cause of her job and my ritalin was no longer available to me. Note that at this time I was still taking no more than 15mg's a day. When I didn't have my meds anymore, I found myself back in 7th grade, unable to get through a day of school. I tried therapy, counseling and everything else.....nothing worked. Eventually I found myself hangin with people who used Meth, up intil then I was completly against it. Bottom line is I tried it once, I soon found out that if I did it in moderation it was almost like being on ritalin, not that it made me feel high or stay up for days or anything like that but it actually settled me down and made me feel normal. This went on for about a year, I watched my friends do more and more meth and nobody could ever figure out why I was so happy with a tiny ammount of it. It was because I didn't do it to get high, I did it to function normally. Anyways, I finally got medical insurance and went to my doctor, I told him what had been going on and said I need you to help me get off this crap, he prescribed me a very very low dose of adderall and monitered me very close, once every 2 weeks i went to see him. Since that day in his office I have never used any type of meth, my doctor saved my life, he helped me through a very tough time in my life. Like I said before I never did meth because I got high, I did it to make me feel normal. Basically here is my point...........everyone seems to talk about how putting your children on meds is so bad and how there are so many other things out there to try. I read a comment that said "all they need is good nutrition and a happy enviroment" To me that is insane, are you saying all I needed was to eat good and be happy and none of those problems I had would of existed? Please....I read where people compare stimulants to poison, or say that ritalin & adderall are narcotics, " no different than heroin & Cocaine".Sorry but that is just not true, in moderated doses, stimulants can be life savers for people. They were for me.I honestly think there is something wrong with my brain and it doesn't function like everyone else's.. All I know is that I read this website everyday and I just wish I was reading about more adults who have had success with the meds they are on. Instead I feel like people here spend so much time putting down stimulants and not stopping to think how helpful these medications can be to some people. Anyways, I am still on Adderal to this day, I switched to the Xr and I take 60mg a day,I honestly don't know where I would be without the help of this medication! For the parents out there, don't be afraid your child is going to end up some mentally dissabled drugie from these meds, if they work you will be able to tell and if not try something else! Again this is just my story and I would love to see other people reply with the same situations as mine!