[EDIT woops sorry about the "am i add" its meant to be "do i have add" (its early in the morning) ]

hi im 14 and struggle with anything im not interested in i wake up at about 7 each morning and go to sleep at about 1am or 2am.

im always thinking about things and cant sleep until really late when im soo tired im about to pass out. i get alright marks in school but almost all my reports say that i only do what im interested in. when things are new i enjoy them but quikly get tired of them and end up abandoing them (ie. building things).

i dont want to tell my perants because if im not ADD then it will be a waste of time.
i took a test on "brainplace" and it said
ADD Intattentive Type : Highly Probable

also i dont know if getting "diagnosed" with it would help me much because im quite happy as i am.

(sorry i know you probably get heaps of topics like this.and sorry if it seems jumbled)

[This message has been edited by Hayden (edited 12-31-2002).]

You do sound like you are ADD type. But that is not a bad thing. Most people w/ ADD are actually smarter than most others, because their brains are always running on a motor. I think that you should keep up w / your thinking and mabye see a dr. There are some online tests to see if you have ADD or ADHD. Some medications can help you with your restless symptoms and help you concentrate on 1 thing at a time.

thanks alot ive taken all the online test i could find and they all say the same thing that i probably have ADD but i dont think ill go to a DR untill it starts getting worse (ie. ill see how it goes when im back at school). thanks again

also the test say i most probably have it but i dont know because by the sound of all the people who have had a DR say "yes youve defintly got it" they sound like life is soo diffuclt with it and i dont feel my life is that diffcult i forget things and forget what im doing sometimes but it dosnt seem that bad so i musnt have it???? damn this is confusing :0

Whoa! You should not hesitate to discuss this with your parents. Be sure to tell them that you have done some investigating and you have come up with certain facts about what ADD is and that you feel you have it because.......? Attention DEFICIT is somewhat misleading. Perhaps a better name would be Attention Inconsistency. On some days, when you are well rested, very motivated and interested, things can go really well. The next day, for whatever reason, things go really bad. That's part of the problem. Someone with ADD never knows how the day will go, or what exactly to do to make it better. Just the fact that you feel something is amiss is indication enough that you should at least talk to a professional. Sometimes, at your age a chat with the school counsellor/social worker will help put things in perspective.

In the mean time, keep doing what you are - research, research, research. Make the public library your next stop and see what books they offer.

Again, talk to your parents. ADD is often a genetic (hereditary) thing so you parents may understand right away, or may say "I was just like you, and I'm fine". It's up to you to tell them how this makes you feel. You have a right to feel that you are the best you can be.

good luck

ok thanks for all the advice people. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Yes. Don't hesitate to discuss your symptoms, feelings, and beliefs with your parents; however, if they don't take you seriously you must still seek help. Asking for help and guidance at school would be one way.

Reason is, AD/HD is a genetic disorder and there is a very very very good chance one of your parents/grandparents has the disorder as well.

A parent with AD/HD loves to use this line or one similar to this, with an AD/HD child regarding school, "No... You don't have AD/HD. They don't know what their talking about... You need to pick yourself up by your boot straps, have better study habits, and try harder..." This makes the ADDer worse off because it causes a frontal lobe cortical shutdown. Meaning, the harder someone with ADD tries the worse the symptoms become.

The parent has ADD themselves and are unable to pay attention to accurately recognize their own symptoms as 'abnormal' much less their child's. This is one of the main reasons the "passing of the AD/HD torch" from one generation to another, never halts.

Out of curiousity, what ethnicity are you ?

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[This message has been edited by help (edited 07-26-2003).]

I am severe predominately inattentive type ADD. I am 32. You sound just like me at 14 with the staying up late and everything else except the main difference is that I was desperately unhappy and you say you're happy.
I don't know if getting diagnosed will help you or not to tell the truth because people can be so ignorant about ADD. Reading good books about ADD that include information on Predominately inattentive type could be helpful. Medication is very helpful for some people but has not been for me. But I live in New Zealand where a lot of meds aren't available.
At 32 I still have the not sleeping problem. I am on Celexa which helps with the intensity of constant thoughts racing.
You should probably get checked out by a really awesome pschiatrist to make sure it isn't bipolar disorder or something else though. It mostly sounds like ADD though. I have the same sleep problems. Dr Amen discusses his sleep probs in Healing ADD. Driven to Distraction and Out of the Fog are also really great books to read. If you don't dislike reading maybe you could check these books out of the library before mentioning it to your parents and then you would know more for sure.
I wish you all the best for the future.

OH i forgot to say the bit about teachers saying you only try at things you like and new interesting things is classic ADD. Dr Amen explains the reasons for this in his book.
HEY HELP what you said about ADD meds isn't true! It is not true that if ADD meds don't help you or make you more anxious you don't have it. I have very severe inattentive type and ritlin did just make me anxious and hyper but I was never hyper at all. My symptoms are very very ADD and not bipolar. Sorry but what you said is just not true it's not that simple.
I have an anxiety disorder as well as ADD and stimulents can make anxity disorders worse.
Also another important thing HAYDEN is that they say if your ADD symptoms cause you no real unhappiness or problems then you don't have diagnosable ADD.
It must be causing you problems in two areas of your life to get a diagnosis. I guess you can be an ADD type person without having what they call full blown ADD. Don't you find the staying up late and the losing things and teachers telling you off yucky though? I guess unlike me you are a thick skinned person.


[This message has been edited by Gingerwoman (edited 01-14-2003).]

?

[This message has been edited by help (edited 07-26-2003).]

wow "help" I am so jealous of you. Having spect scans done.

im european. and i told my mum but she didnt take it seriously so i guess im just gonna live with it.