Newly diagnosed , looking for support and advice

[Paigemarie1098]

Hello,

I am a 22year old currently in my last year of college pursuing my BSN in nursing. School has been an ultimate battle ... I've had dignosed anxiety for years been on medication for that. not until recently, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I went to my doctor so confused and looking for answers ... I couldn't focus for more than 10 minutes in class I was constantly figiting.. studying had gotten increasingly harder and my grades suffered.

At first I just thought it was my anxiety but then my doctor told me I had ADHD and I felt excited to finally have an answer as to why I felt the way I did and why I was struggling , but also discouraged cause I saw it as another "problem" I had to overcome. I told my mom I constantly felt discouraged because my teachers clearly don't understand what I am going through ... I always feel like a person taking an elevator instead of the stairs ... by that I am just as smart as all the other students but I just have to come at the material in a different way and the teachers don't get it. I do take my tests in a private room and have done that for years due to my anxiety. I guess what I'm looking for is just some pointers on how to study, stay motivated and not get discouraged , I do take strattera for the ADHD as needed. I see me getting distracted during my exams and having my mind wonder slightly even with strattera, I exercise a lot to get the energy out daily.

Any suggestions are appreciated or just some kind words!

It nice to know I'm not the only one!

-paige

[sorryiforgot]

Haha ,hi page ..

Even i am going through same situation as your with Adhd and social anxiety disorder . I can totally corelate about not being able to concentrate for merely 10 mins , its good that your grades are not getting affected . Try to focus on your strength because trust me you are lucky your grades and not getting affected and your school have special provision to give exam .

Exercising early morning for an hour would be really helpful .

Wishing you best of luck .

[Lisimac]

Hi - You're doing pretty well if you got into nursing school, so give yourself credit for that. You didn't mention whether or not your school knows about your ADD- if you are ok with sharing your new diagnosis with the school, I'd go talk to your counselor. You may be able to get additional accommodations for tests, etc like extra time.

I was diagnosed with ADD long after I had gotten through college, but it explained some of the issues I had dealt with throughout school & work my whole life. Still not fun though.

You said you take Strattera as needed- is it working for you? Did you try any other medications? I don't remember if Straterra is the same as other ADHD meds, (I take Adderall) but for me, it's better if I take them daily, not just as needed. I still struggle to stay on task, especially with tasks I really don't want to do but only taking meds some of the time might be difficult to manage, esp in school. Of course, talk to your doctor before you make any changes to how you take your meds. The thing is, meds don't cure ADHD, they just help with some of the symptoms. Some meds might work better or worse, it's different for each individual- so if Straterra isn't working, you might want to try different meds.