Newly diagnosed with ADHD. Thought I was just going crazy..

[Spiritcat]

Hi everyone.. I am new to this group. I have just been diagnosed with ADHD..I also have COPD which is under control with inhalers and osteoarthritis in my hips and currently on Lyrica for that..OCD as well.. put this altogether and I thought I was going crazy. I knew I was not normal like everyone else..I never knew what was going on in my brain..I have a son with ADHD and Asperger's syndrome. Raising him was hard. Never in a million yrs thought I had ADHD. I started thinking I had bipolar. But thank goodness I don't. When the dr said it was anxiety and ADHD I couldn't believe it. I knew I had anxiety for yrs. I am on my 3d day of taking Vyvanse medication 10 MLS. I have a dr appointment in 2 weeks to see how I'm doing.. I myself don't really notice a difference. ( Still feel crazy). Oh I am 53 yrs old. I never knew how to explain my thoughts to my dr so I never did anything about it until now.I have taken on a roll as a mother again to my granddaughter who is ( my child,) had her since she was 4 months old she's almost 5 now. She only knows us as Mon and dad. Never sees her ( biological parents). They don't want her.. Anyways just wanted to tell a little of my story to you. Hopefully this group can eventually help me to understand why my brain is so off.. also..raising my son we more focused on the Asperger's syndrome and not really the ADHD. I hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel..thanks for listening..

[Stonesfan]

Wow.

What a story. Good luck on this new discovery journey. This place seems to have a lot of good people on it.

[jonghee]

By 10 MLS do you mean 10mgs? If so most likely all you need is to raise the dose. Discuss with your doctor that you don't feel anything at all. 10mgs is a very small dose. Most people wouldn't feel anything on those little of a dose.

[Spiritcat in reply to jonghee]

Thanks for responding.. I have a dr appointment next week to discuss how I'm feeling (if anything at all). They said to start on a small dose first and raise up slowly..sorry yes I meant to say mgs. Lol..I'm not really sure if this is ADHD.( My psychiatrist seems to think it is) does ADHD make you feel ( crazy)..or maybe it's the OCD. I'm not sure of anything anymore..all I know is I don't feel or think like everyone else. My husband really doesn't understand me. We argue alot BC of my actions and the things I say. ..Can anyone tell me about their ADHD and how they feel.Thanks

[jonghee in reply to Spiritcat]

There are so many symptoms to adhd that it would be impossible to tell you everything here. But what I can tell you is that it does affect emotions, I mention that specifically because you mentioned your husband. ADHD can cause problems in relationships, especially when it's not controlled. OCD and ADHD generally don't tend to crossover in terms of symptoms, so if you've mentioned what you think is ocd to your doctor and he believes it's adhd, odds are that it's adhd for sure. The symptoms of adhd tend to overlap with bipolar a lot, anxiety to a moderate extent, but from what I've read, not much with ocd. Also, ocd is mainly treated through therapy, while adhd is mostly medication, but can be a mix of both. Ocd really doesn't have a medication specifically targeted for it. They're mostly used off label. I know this b/c I have both, so feel free to ask any questions.

I'm here to help ad much as I can, so, tell me, what are your symptoms? What triggers the fighting with your husband? After 10 years of bipolar, adhd, anxiety, ocd and ptsd, I've kinda got it down, at least for me. But I've got a lot of research to share that you can discuss with your doc. Feel free to pm me if you'd like.

[Spiritcat in reply to jonghee]

Thanks for all the info..sorry I'm not sure really how to navigate in this site..I'm lucky I knew how to message you 1 time..I've never done it before..I apparently can't find it again.. plus I forget how..lol

[ZimmyZimmy]

I’m sooooo new to all of the adhd stuff. I’m 45 with a history of “untreatable” depression and crippling anxiety. A friend who is exactly like me in every way and similar to age pointed out adhd to me. She read a bunch of stuff about it to me, and I cried. I could check off almost every box since my first childhood memories.

Simultaneously I felt both relief, and sadness…for not knowing adhd sooner and all the years of lost time, buried under boxes of projects and clutter, thousands of dollars in the hole from all my “midlife crisis” upending careers and schooling to find something new to do, just to end up quitting part way and paying for it. Uuugh… but I’m trying not to feel sad and just start from here knowing I’m finally on the right track.

SO, I’m just a month or so in to official adhd diagnosis, and the psych broadsided me with high functioning autism diagnosis as well!! I knew nothing of either until a month ago. After reading about them, holy smokes! The psych said the high functioning autism he suspected was flagged by my lengthy discussion about how I deal with public and socializing, how super sensitive I am to sounds and all the feels, and my self coping mechanism of needing a stuffed animal with me (at 45) or some kind of toys to fiddle with in my hand.

I asked him how this could be missed with 20 years of counseling and medications, because I was still heartbroken with all of my lost time…he said I am really good at hiding it. *sigh*

Im here to hear stories and seek tips at my new dual diagnosis, how to put my spidey senses to work.

Oh! Im a mail carrier! It’s a great adhd job…once I finish my morning office organizing and escape the distractions. Once I’m on the street, I’m a ninja!

[Spiritcat in reply to ZimmyZimmy]

Holy cow... You just described me almost to a T.. except the schooling. I couldn't pay attention in school if my life depended on it..I can't even flow written instructions or recipes. I also have so many projects on the go.. some I try to finish, but most I don't.

I also talk out loud all the time.( To myself) .it's crazy... I am a 53 yr old female just diagnosed with ADHD myself. That's so funny you would mention high functioning autism. ( Asperger's syndrome). That's what my son was diagnosed with and also ADHD.. I guess he got it all from me. I would have never thought that..so far I have not been diagnosed with autism, but I just started this journey so you never know..

Thanks so much for sharing..

[ZimmyZimmy]

Haha yeah…. I tried school several times. It was no good. And also instructions…I would skim or look for pictures and then just wing it. I’m terrible with cooking. (I have baked a knife twice now..I often forget I’m cooking) All of this sure helps me feel less awkward in a way. It’s that underlying static beneath depression and anxiety. Fascinating!

[Spiritcat in reply to ZimmyZimmy]

I also have OCD and anxiety.. so all this put together is ( woow) crazy. I'm so glad there's other people out there that feel the same way I do..( sorry. Not that it's a good thing) but talking to people that feel the same way is so nice..the people I have on my life don't understand me..all these years I just tried to live with it..and it was so hard. But I never had words to describe it all.. Now hopefully slowly I will start finding a normal..