Ok so even though the new PCP agreed about the ADD, she was reluctant to give me anything other than Strattera. She thought I should see a psych doctor. She asked if i wanted to be formally tested, I thought hey that can't hurt the situation, so why not.

so she referred me to a doctor (more about him in a bit), and on the referral ordered a "neuro-psych test" to be done. what is that exactly? what can i expect?

Now. this doctor. I had him a few years ago as my prof for a psych class at my community college. he didn't like me much, cause well, i missed alot of classes *lol*
I was referred to his partner in the office by my previous PCP, and this partner guy was an *******. treated me like crap. blew me off, totally ignored everything I had to say, wouldn't even look at the research I had done online and printed out, said it was worthless....his "test" was some questions that were ridiculous! for a retard! like who was the president, who was the previous president, asked me to repeat a list of three items after he said them, and then asked again a minute later...asked me to add like 2 plus 4...seriously! he then claimed that maybe it was ADD, but because I mentioned the sleep problem (which I now know was due to the beginnings of the fibro, i hadn't always had the slepe problems) he said that I was more than likely "merely depressed"...nevremidn that fact that i do NOT fit any of the diagnostic criteria for depression, i don't feel sad/whatever for days on end, as the book says....
So anyways. because this guy may posisbly recognize my name (but just as likely may not since its been a few years since i was his "student") and because he shares an office with this *******, i'm really worried that he'll blow me off again.

My mother said that I can tell him that he can talk to her, that she'll verify that all this has gone back to childhood.

Also, because of the fact that when i'm in a doctor's office, i'm always nervous and my mind is racing, i always write stuff down. do you guys think it would be a bad thing for me to type up a big list of all my "symptoms", or "bad traits"? do you think that the doctor would take offense to that?
what if he says he doesn't agree with my PCP's, and says again that is simply depression???
i have tried effexor (from the ******* AND my first rheumotologist), which didn't do a damn thing for me. around 6 years ago I was thought to have anxiety disorder, so i tried buspar and paxil (month or so each, either no results or negative results). i think i've also tried prozac, but i can't remember if its that or something else as the other anti-d that i was put on.

AD's and fibromyalgia lead to bad sleep and anxiety, bad sleep leads to inattentiveness, memory problems, mental clarity.

Inattentiveness, memory problems and lack of mental clarity may lead to an ADD or ADHD diagnoisis....but it could be lack of good sleep causing it all. Does pain keep you awake? If not, perhaps the past drugs may have screwed up your sleep pattern. Usually, sleep patterns will recover from that in time as long as there is an absence of drugs that effect it. It could take a long time, though.

Why not get a sleep study, or if that isn't possible, at least a complete physical and sleep evaluation from a sleep specialist to rule out other bad sleep causes.

I don't think your doctor really has a clue here.

Neuro-psych test was sure a fancy important title for such a lame test he performed. Do they think people are stupid or something?

Sleep is key to all our mental functions...

If you are already uncomfortable with him don't waste your time. Get a referral for another doctor who specializes in AD/HD.

The guy who was mean to me is not the guy i'm being referred to now...they're just in the same practice.
If i could get a referral for someone who specializes in ADD, i wouldn't still be untreated!!!
sorry. maybe where you live, finding that doctor is easy, but for me, it's been impossible. i remember a few years ago i called around to a bunch of docs that were in my health insurnace network. i asked them all the same, if they specialized or felt comfortable/knowledgable in treating and medicating if necessary an adult with ADD. i got no's all across the board, with the exception of one nice guy who said no, but that we could learn together. too bad, i should have written his name down to remember him, i don't know anymore who he was, he seems like my best bet.


If you are already uncomfortable with him don't waste your time. Get a referral for another doctor who specializes in AD/HD.

hi jennita
i'm sure you didn't read my initial post in this forum, but the fibro, the pain, and the sleep problems are fairly recent. last 4-6 years. the ADD, and the many many many symptoms well pre-date that, going back to early childhood.
pain does not keep me awake. also, the sleep problems started before i was diagnosed with fibro, well before (the diag and the meds are very recent, last 6 months) i was on any meds.

you think like my doc :) i am to get a sleep study done. :)

also, i'm sure my post you replied to was confusing, i'm bad about that, but the first guy that i was talking about, the mean one with the retarded "test", i don't think (at least i hope not) that THAT was the neuro-psych test.
that's why i'm asking what IS a neuro-psych test, and what should i expect? i want to know for my own worries, but also to compare...if others on here have had one done, and can tell me about it, if mine is nothing like that, then i know that something fishy is going on, that the doc isn't right, and that i need someone else.


AD's and fibromyalgia lead to bad sleep and anxiety, bad sleep leads to inattentiveness, memory problems, mental clarity.

Inattentiveness, memory problems and lack of mental clarity may lead to an ADD or ADHD diagnoisis....but it could be lack of good sleep causing it all. Does pain keep you awake? If not, perhaps the past drugs may have screwed up your sleep pattern. Usually, sleep patterns will recover from that in time as long as there is an absence of drugs that effect it. It could take a long time, though.

Why not get a sleep study, or if that isn't possible, at least a complete physical and sleep evaluation from a sleep specialist to rule out other bad sleep causes.

I don't think your doctor really has a clue here.

Neuro-psych test was sure a fancy important title for such a lame test he performed. Do they think people are stupid or something?

Sleep is key to all our mental functions...

To answer your question on what a neuro-psych test is, it is a test that is used to see what parts of the brain are being used, how they are being used, and to see what the activity of them are. I know from my own experience it can be frusturating looking for the right docotor when you have some road blocks. Since your inscurance is screwy, are there any non-profit mental health facilities in your area? I am doing an internship with one in my hometown, and what I have learned so far is that since they are non-profit mental health facility there standard of care is usually higher than a PCP that is drivien by insurnace. Another thing about a non-profit mental health facility is that their range of clients is very broad, for instance they take on clients that have little or no insurance, or if a child's parents insurnace stopped after so many sessions with their insurance provided doctor. They also operate on a sliding pay scale, in which can be very helpful. Also fro what your post was saying is that you have seen a doctor that didn't treat you as a person, but as another case. It would also be helpful to have your past report cards from school for when you go see a new specialist for them to form an adequate diagnosis. I'm surprised that your PCP was pushing Strattera right away. Usually Strattera is perscribed after medications such as: stimulants: Ritalin (I am against the use of Ritalin,) Adderall, and Concerta; then also Well butrin is also used but it is in its own category because it is not considered as a stimulant or a non-stimulant. Another thing is that sleep can also effect the strength of your ADHD symptoms. I noticed when I don't get enough sleep that the strength of my symptoms is very high. This next part I am going to try not to use psychological words that you might not understand. The verdict is still out whether or not sleep causes ADHD or if ADHD casuses sleep problems. I don't know if you knew that ADHD is caused by some parts of the brain being over active and other parts under active? If you would like more infromation about ADHD I can recomend several websites and books that might be of use to you. One more thing, a person can have other mental health problems at the sametime of having ADHD. I hope everything makes some sense. :angel:

Usually Strattera is perscribed after medications such as: stimulants: Ritalin (I am against the use of Ritalin,) Adderall, and Concerta; then also Well butrin is also used...

Just curious: why do you oppose Ritalin but not the other stimulants?

To answer your question on what a neuro-psych test is, it is a test that is used to see what parts of the brain are being used, how they are being used, and to see what the activity of them are.
Ok, but how is this done?? Just asking me questions, or am i hooked up to machines? Machines sound scary, so I hope it's not that.

I'm surprised that your PCP was pushing Strattera right away. Usually Strattera is perscribed after medications such as: stimulants: Ritalin (I am against the use of Ritalin,) Adderall, and Concerta; then also Well butrin is also used but it is in its own category because it is not considered as a stimulant or a non-stimulant.
She put me on the Strattera because of my other fibromyalgia meds. the stimulants would interact with either the tramadol (painkiller) or the elavil (anti-d, which i take at night in a very low dose for the sleep). which i can't remember, but there is a risk of bad side effects mixing the two.


The verdict is still out whether or not sleep causes ADHD or if ADHD casuses sleep problems. I don't know if you knew that ADHD is caused by some parts of the brain being over active and other parts under active? If you would like more infromation about ADHD I can recomend several websites and books that might be of use to you. One more thing, a person can have other mental health problems at the sametime of having ADHD. I hope everything makes some sense.

the sleep problems have only been recently, somewhat...last few years. they coincide with my fibromyalgia. when I was a kid, i slept well, could sleep through jst about any noise. even in high school, i can remember staying up REALLY late, wee morning hours, and still be functional and ok for school. there's no way i could function now on only a few hours sleep. and if the cat sneezes in another room, i wake up :rolleyes:

Just curious: why do you oppose Ritalin but not the other stimulants?

Ritalin is overly perscribed. It is used as a street drug by people that don't have adhd. There alot of side effcts. Sometimes it turns people in to "Zombies." I don't know how to word this, but when I stopped taking Ritalin after being on it for most of my life istarted to have some problems that I didn't have when I was taking it, i.e. sleep problems and anxiety. I found out from a counslor that I should have been in threapy before i stopped taking it so that I knew how to deal with the problems. Also Ritaln just stimualtes the brain, and compared to Adderall, Adderall slows the bottom part of the brain and speeds up the top part. New medications always keep coming out. So Ritalin shouldn't be forced as the only medication for ADHD when there are others out there that can be used. Also when children are in school and they are just being regular children (having enough energy but not exessive amounts of it.) Alot of teachers will tell the parents that the child needs Ritalin. And then the parents takes their child to the doctor and the doctor puts them on Ritalin with out having a proper diagnosis.

New medications always keep coming out.

Okay. Just curious.

Are you aware that some of the "newer medications" coming out are the same drug as Ritalin? Methylphenidate is the generic name. This is true of Concerta and Metadate. That's why I was curious about your being more opposed to Ritalin than to Concerta. Obviously, Straterra and Wellbutrin are not the same.

I'm finding alot of docs here trying Straterra before the stimulants. Although less is known about Straterra, many parents and mds alike are reluctant to start medication that we know carries the potential for abuse.

hi jennita
i'm sure you didn't read my initial post in this forum, but the fibro, the pain, and the sleep problems are fairly recent. last 4-6 years. the ADD, and the many many many symptoms well pre-date that, going back to early childhood.
pain does not keep me awake. also, the sleep problems started before i was diagnosed with fibro, well before (the diag and the meds are very recent, last 6 months) i was on any meds.

you think like my doc :) i am to get a sleep study done. :)

also, i'm sure my post you replied to was confusing, i'm bad about that, but the first guy that i was talking about, the mean one with the retarded "test", i don't think (at least i hope not) that THAT was the neuro-psych test.
that's why i'm asking what IS a neuro-psych test, and what should i expect? i want to know for my own worries, but also to compare...if others on here have had one done, and can tell me about it, if mine is nothing like that, then i know that something fishy is going on, that the doc isn't right, and that i need someone else.

Well, yes, interpreting message boards is not always easy. I mentioned medications and fibro together since there have been some links to AD's causing fibro and other things like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. AD's also have an adverse effect to the sleep pattern, but so do alot of things like benzos, alcohol, stimulants, etc. If you had pre-existing sleep issues, meds sometimes worsen that. Pinpointing the origin of sleep problems is hard, but like I said, if that's screwed up, mental function and of course the physical health will be effected. If you could go back and discover the origin, that would be good but sleep is effected by a variety of physical and sometimes mental/emotional things so I know it's hard.

The sleep study might help. Have you also had a full blood workup? Thyroid disease or hormone imbalances can effect sleep too.

Good luck finding out. If you had ADD stuff in childhood, that really doesn't mean alot because kids sometimes take longer to mature, and there are sometimes other reasons for such behaviors.

At any rate, since you are having sleep issues, the last thing you would need is a stimulant medication! Strattera isn't as bad, but it can change on you later sleep-wise....my nephew started getting woke up at night alot after he was on it for awhile and as a result he was always fatigued. His previous Adderall caused him to have mood-swings. His parents got fed up and he's off all meds. He is healthier and happier lately, not moody or tired at all. Seems now, however, he is doing just fine in school without them...go figure.

Well, yes, interpreting message boards is not always easy. I mentioned medications and fibro together since there have been some links to AD's causing fibro and other things like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. AD's also have an adverse effect to the sleep pattern, but so do alot of things like benzos, alcohol, stimulants, etc. If you had pre-existing sleep issues, meds sometimes worsen that. Pinpointing the origin of sleep problems is hard, but like I said, if that's screwed up, mental function and of course the physical health will be effected. If you could go back and discover the origin, that would be good but sleep is effected by a variety of physical and sometimes mental/emotional things so I know it's hard.

What do you mean by "AD's" here?

The sleep study might help. Have you also had a full blood workup? Thyroid disease or hormone imbalances can effect sleep too.

Yes, I've had many many rounds of blood tests within the last year. Ruling out such things as Lupus, Lyme, Thyroid, etc.

What do you mean by "AD's" here?



Yes, I've had many many rounds of blood tests within the last year. Ruling out such things as Lupus, Lyme, Thyroid, etc.

That's good, one less thing to worry about! AD's are an abbreviation for antidepressants. SSRi's especially can cause sleep pattern changes. Anyone with sleep problems shouldn't take stimulants. So there are not many other options for your ADD than AD's or stimulants from the medical establishment. You might want to try some supplements like fish-oil capsules, Focus Factor, Be-Calmed, etc. I read one doctor who recommended cal-mag supplements for ADD. I have no personal experience about those, however, the board has had some people swear by those things, with literally no side effects. Some people use caffiene in limited amounts.

Oh ok. Well the AD (elavil) was prescribed to me only recently, for sleep purposes. For Fibro, low dosage AD's are often presribed to be taken before bed, to help regulate sleep. it still does help me, just not quite as much as when i first started it, which was a few months ago. It helped keep me asleep longer, i woke up less frequently. I think it also somewhat helped me fall asleep. But it's so low, only 10mg. occasionally I up it to 20mg.
The fibro doc my mom sees is more up on fibro stuff, and has her on 2 different AD's, one SSRi and one that ups the other nor-something...the combo helps her sleep better.

i've only noticed better sleep and such since starting the elavil.

Oh ok. Well the AD (elavil) was prescribed to me only recently, for sleep purposes. For Fibro, low dosage AD's are often presribed to be taken before bed, to help regulate sleep. it still does help me, just not quite as much as when i first started it, which was a few months ago. It helped keep me asleep longer, i woke up less frequently. I think it also somewhat helped me fall asleep. But it's so low, only 10mg. occasionally I up it to 20mg.
The fibro doc my mom sees is more up on fibro stuff, and has her on 2 different AD's, one SSRi and one that ups the other nor-something...the combo helps her sleep better.

i've only noticed better sleep and such since starting the elavil.

I'm glad it helps you sleep. Unfortunately, most drugs will help sleep for awhile, but they can poop out eventually and lose their effectiveness. This is a sign of drug tolerance. Since you need to up your dose, it could already be happening. Tolerance is usually worse with benzos and benzo-like drugs like Ambien than with AD's , but it can happen. Only answer then is to up dosages or add more drugs. That will work for a while, but down the line it's possible again to develop more tolerance and the drugs stop working.

The only reason I mention this is because I am someone who had to learn the hard way to let the brain do things it's own way when it came to sleep....I'm talking tolerance of a fairly high dose of Ativan, in which I could go days and days without sleep while ON it! I was heading down the road of a sleepless psycho I suppose. I'm just glad one day I saw it for what it was and got off meds completely.

Now, I sleep good without anything...but it took a long time to get the natural sleep back and I had to suffer alot intil that happened; it was a slow process. It had become clear my original symptoms were caused by prescribed codiene for an illness.... which were then treated with mainly benzos and an attempt at an AD along the way....both these classes of drugs are alot worse than the original codiene. I wish I had known about the codiene back then; I could have avoided the benzo/AD drugs....athough it is narcotic with nasty withdrawals, codiene symptoms are much shorter lived than those other drugs.

I guess you can take the AD but just be informed of the possibilities of tolerance and worsened sleep issues in the future. Natural sleep does have a way of returning over time. My mother-in-law didn't sleep at all many nights for a year after her husband died. Now she sleeps everynight. Also, older people usually don't require the same sleep as younger as my mother-in-law sleeps around 5 hours a night and she says she feels rested from that. I hear many of her friends and my own mother say the same. But on particularly active days, she will sleep a bit longer.

Ok, but how is this done?? Just asking me questions, or am i hooked up to machines? Machines sound scary, so I hope it's not that.



My daughter will be going through a neuro-psych test this spring. The doctor has already sent us a packet to be completed before we come to the appointments. This is a questionaire to fill out that details complete history of the patient from birth to present. It also requests information on both parents and their family history relating to mental illness, addications, health problems, etc. There is also an extensive questionaire for her teacher to fill out. This evaluation is to be done in 3 separate appointments. The first one is only with parents, second is with child for most of the day with manipulative, verbal, visual and written tests that hopefully will evaluate any disabilities, disorders, etc. and also fine motor skills will be tested. Third appointment is to discuss findings and game plan of treatment as prescribed by the doctor. Of course, this is for a child so your's will be somewhat different but this gives you an idea of what to expect.

Yeah I have to wonder what they'll do differently then....the parent who I got along better with, and in a way paid closer attention to me was my dad, and he died a few years ago. Also, there is definitly mental illness on his side of the family (one sister is pretty bad with social phobias and the like). Also, he could have had a diagnosis for something in the last year or so before his death and we woudn't even know about it. He wouldn't have probably told me, and owuldn't have told mom cause they were seperated. crap. i can say form my side what happened to me in school, but thats about it. don't know if report cards were ever saved.

My daughter will be going through a neuro-psych test this spring. The doctor has already sent us a packet to be completed before we come to the appointments. This is a questionaire to fill out that details complete history of the patient from birth to present. It also requests information on both parents and their family history relating to mental illness, addications, health problems, etc. There is also an extensive questionaire for her teacher to fill out. This evaluation is to be done in 3 separate appointments. The first one is only with parents, second is with child for most of the day with manipulative, verbal, visual and written tests that hopefully will evaluate any disabilities, disorders, etc. and also fine motor skills will be tested. Third appointment is to discuss findings and game plan of treatment as prescribed by the doctor. Of course, this is for a child so your's will be somewhat different but this gives you an idea of what to expect.

Well, the thing with my sleep isn't going to be able to be related to anybody else with ADD, because my sleep dysfunctionalities are due to the fibromyalgia, and not the ADD. therefore, my sleep issues are going to have to eb treated differently than others with only ADD....I went probably 4 years (ish) of crappy sleep...it's not how much even that I've getting, its the quality. And so not only does my lack of proper rest affect and make worse some of the ADD, but it makes all my fibro symptoms much much worse...and pain is harder for me to deal with than the ADD stuff usually. Just about all fibro patients are this way, and are on meds for sleep. I'm aware of drug tolerance, it happens to me much quicker than the average person. with fibro patients too, it's also about regulating the two hormones that will help with sleep, dopamine and nor-something. "natural sleep" is just not a way of life for fibro patients. I can be two different people, as far as pain/mobility is concerned (let alone memory/brain issues) on days of crappier sleep.


The only reason I mention this is because I am someone who had to learn the hard way to let the brain do things it's own way when it came to sleep....I'm talking tolerance of a fairly high dose of Ativan, in which I could go days and days without sleep while ON it! I was heading down the road of a sleepless psycho I suppose. I'm just glad one day I saw it for what it was and got off meds completely.

I guess you can take the AD but just be informed of the possibilities of tolerance and worsened sleep issues in the future. Natural sleep does have a way of returning over time. My mother-in-law didn't sleep at all many nights for a year after her husband died. Now she sleeps everynight. Also, older people usually don't require the same sleep as younger as my mother-in-law sleeps around 5 hours a night and she says she feels rested from that. I hear many of her friends and my own mother say the same. But on particularly active days, she will sleep a bit longer.