Hello Everyone! I am a student nurse in a Mental Health class to be an RN. I am putting together a presentation on ADHD, what it is, symptoms and resources out there for others to use. And any other important information. Would anyone be interested in just telling me about your experiences? Good bad or indifferent I would be interested in real life symptoms and situations and how they compare to what a text book might say.
Thank you for your time!
I would be really interested in reading what you come up with!
Personally: I'm un-diagnosed (but definitely have the inattentive ADD presentation), 34m, no medication & high functioning.
I've found that there are upsides and downsides. A few "superpowers" that I have are the ability to listen to many conversations at once, excellent multitasker, lots (too much if I'm not careful) of empathy, can focus in on something for hours and hours which is excellent for cramming a new skill or learning a new app or tech, excellent awareness of my surroundings, am rubbish at learning facts but if I know the "why" of a thing I'm excellent at learning the context surrounding it and able to figure out most things from that.
My negatives include difficulty sleeping (I have tinnitus as well which doesn't help) which I counter with relative success with marijuana (I live in Amsterdam so it's all legal), trouble starting and finishing things (the middle is easy!), trouble keeping focus and remembering details about people - especially names, if I get stressed it feels like there's a ball of energy inside of me needing to be channeled out which can be destructive if not channeled properly, I have trouble sticking with things - jobs & hobbies & such.
Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for your comment! This is very helpful. I am putting together a power point, it will not disclose any information about you, other than lists of different symptoms and coping strategies from different people that I have collected.
I am interested in the "Superpowers" ability. I always thought ADHD was more confusing thought when there is too much going on. But you can multitask?
I stopped getting notifications so didn't see your reply! I'd you're still interested you can PM me. I hope it went/is going well!
I would love to talk with you more about this. Email me at ginacatley@googlemail.com
I would suggest contacting CHADD directly to find about HIPPA issues and the proper procedures in finding ADHD
subjects to interview 4 your research
Fellow nurse here! I am currently in CRNA school actually. I was diagnosed with ADHD about 9 months ago. Treatment changed my life.
People with ADHD aren't always what the textbook may say. I mean the symptoms are there in most of us but you'll find that alot of successful "driven" people have ADHD and dont even know it. Michael Jordan for example was rumored to have ADD. Talk about a man "driven by a motor". Life can be kind of depressing if being the greatest of all time isn't enough for you..
The symptoms of adhd aren't the problem (or at least they weren't for me.) My symptoms of impulsiveness, inattention, and hyperactive mind cultivated who I am as a person. The real problem was within my coping mechanisms.. People with ADHD have to do what they can to achieve their goals. These symptoms sometimes require some goofy work arounds like studying while talking out loud and or pacing around the house. I swear to you I would walk miles around in my house holding printed powerpoints and outlines. I would imagine i was teaching the material to an invisible audience. (Try doing that anywhere but the privacy of your own home...)
I would ignore phone calls, miss appointments, and get short with people who were close to me. The symptoms required me to restructure and take control of my environment and activities hours (sometimes days) ahead of time in order to complete my goals. If there were any disruptions in my routine i would experience very high levels of anxiety and stress.
The Key in the diagnoses is 1 having the symptoms, 2 having them throughout your life, and 3 having the symptoms effect you in multiple areas. My symptoms and coping strategies were affecting me in my marriage, my family relationships and in my closest friendships. Personally, I believe it is under diagnosed in certain populations. (not a popular opinion) I would suggest to anyone that has a child with the diagnoses to look into it for themselves as well...
Also side note: look into the Keto diet in relation to ADHD you may find some interesting stuff there.
Good luck in school
Wow! It almost sounds like some OCD type symptoms as well. Definitely not the text book symptoms. It seems to run so much deeper. Many of your symptoms I wouldn't connect to ADHD at all. Thank you for the comment. I am learning a lot!
Hi! Nursing student here as well! Can you share about keto and adhd?
Thanks!
There is some statistic out there I can’t remember the number but a significant percent of people with late diagnoses ADHD have additional issues like OCD, depression, and anxiety. The differential diagnoses can get kind of muddy because a lot of the symptoms run together. So a provider would want to take some time to find out if the symptoms are organic and from adhd or are they a result of something else.
Hey! Nursing student here too! Did you finish your presentation? How did it go?
Anyone here unmedicated?
Welp... ADHD, here we go.
HERE TO HELP ALL DAY LONG 
Is there support here for the spouse of the ADHD patients?
it’s rough out here (eating edition)
