Hi all,

Im a 29 year old male who after years of ups and down and what I call generall confusion in my life has started therapy. Ive been to 3 sessions so far and while I am confortable with my doctor and taken his recomendations on certain books I should read (which I cant seem to finish), specifically Toxic Parents, I am a little taken aback by the speed with which things are now occuring.

Wed evening during my third session, we discussed ADD and the symptons that an adult might experience and symptons that I might remember from childhood. I was able to pinpoint about 13 of these in my normal life now ranging from impulsiveness and careless mistakes due to not thinking things through to not completeing projects, leaving out the minor details and having a difficult time getting started on something unless I am excited....read extreme procastination. He also had me take the Becks Inventory test to which I scored repeatedly 27-30. We then discussed medications, whether I would be interested in trying one and the differences between them. We settled on Strattera and now 2 days later I have just taken my first 40mg dose which I am to follow for a week and then up it to 80mg.

To get to being taken aback...I am just having a hard time dealing with the fact that for what seems to be the better part of my life I have been walking around and functioning with ADD/modereate to severe depression. Now in the last 2 days I have been diagnosed, prescribed and apparently on the road to recovery...just like that. I didnt even need to click my heels.

I really am not sure myself if I have ADD, if Im depressed or if this is what life is, a series of ups and downs and sometimes you just deal with them better? Either way, I have heard from friends before now that I might benefit from therapy and my girlfriend's response to the fact that I am taking steps to better myself are worth it alone.

On to the Strattera....I have scoured the message boards and read the Eli Lily site. Both my therapist and my GP both asgree that I should try it so I am...but one thing I kept forgetting to ask them though I told myself repeatedly before the appointments is "What if your wrong?". What exactly am I doing to my body if I do not have ADD, if this is something else and the symptoms just resemble each other so to speak? Mind you this is not denial, I know I have issues, I am just unsure of what they are. But what can I expect from the strattera if I dont or even do have it? All the posts seem to agree that I am going to have a hard time urinating, I might leak some semen, I possibly will have nasuea and I might have difficulty sleeping...ok...I think I can deal with these things...all the posts also seem to agree that the side effects kickin almost within a day or two...but what about the positive effects, I read people staing they are on it for months and notice nothing other then the side effects. Others say the first week was the greatest ever yet my doctor tells me it will be 2-3 weeks before my body adjusts and reacts to the drug.

Whats the real story, or is there one?

Thanks for taking the time to read, if you did.
And thanks for responding if you do.

Vinny

Hi. Welcome to the board!

There are tons of things that can cause ADD/ADHD symptoms, abuse in any form is one of them. (You're reading toxic parents so I imagine that you didn't have the best childhood?) sorry if that assumption is off target. Anyway, there are hundreds of things that can look almost exactly like ADD. Personality types, learning styles, childhood abuse, depression, anxiety, bipolar, learning disabilities, the list goes on for miles. If you don't want to start right in with medication try eating healthier, going for walks daily, and adding a vitamin regemine. New studies prove that supplements can be just as effective as medication in treating ADD. Of course this doesnt work for everybody because no one is exactly alike. Just think about it.

If you have doubts about the diagnosis you should bring it up to your doctor.

Have a great day!