posted 03-31-2003 10:26 AM            

I'm 21 years old, in my senior year of college, and I was only diagnosed this past December. As you said, until this point, I had so many elaborate compensatory habits in place that I always managed to get by very well. But this year, as I moved even further into specialization in my discipline, and also writing an honors thesis, the compensation stopped working. When faced with a long-term project (thesis) that I had to consistently work on, my save-your-work-at-the-last-minute mechanism backfired.

Of course, there were a lot of other factors that prompted my diagnosis than just this, but this experience seemed parallel to the problems you listed.

I started on Ritalin, and now I'm on Adderall. I thought, however, that the first time you try one of these meds, you're supposed to try the smallest possible dose. I'm surprised that you were started on 20 mg without first trying out 10 mg, especially since Adderall has the whole habituation/acclimation thing. But I really don't know--I'm not a doctor. I'm just curious.