adhd diagnoses

[elanaoali]

I been diagnosed at 56 yrs old. It's a family thing with 3/4 of my siblings and me with a diagnosed with combination adhd. Still process what it means to me. Always felt different growing up and beyond. In the 1970s and 80s adhd wasn't a thing. So I don't blame anyone as they didn't know about it.

[STEM_Dad]

With my own diagnosis, I had a realization like "everything makes sense now". I have about moderate Inattentive ADHD.

So far, I'm the only one in my family with an ADHD diagnosis (besides a couple of cousins, I think). However, I see a lot of the traits throughout my family... my parents, my children, at least a couple of my cousins, and in family stories of certain ancestors. Maybe I have it more severely than other family members, but I see the common threads of ADHD-like traits and behaviors throughout my family tree.

I definitely see the heritability of it.

~~~~~

The moment I received my ADHD diagnosis, all of my past struggles finally made sense!

I also always felt different, even though I tried so hard to fit in while I was growing up. Sometime around my early 20s, I decided to accept my differentness...it just seemed easier to accept that I'm weird. And then I also realized why other "weird" people seem to gravitate to me.

[Spud-u-Like1982 in reply to STEM_Dad]

With you on that one - always felt different at school, never fitted in, didn't like alot of the same things as the rest of the kids did at school, especially football (soccer) and alcohol. I struggled to make friends, always gravitated towards the 'different' kids. I would make a friend and then without warning they would abandon me.I definitely see traits of it in my Parents too. With my ADHD diagnosis there was also autistic quirks noted, so I need to get an autism assessment too. I already have diagnosed OCD, where I thought alot of the ADHD symptoms was OCD, but it wasn't. It turned out the antidepressants for the OCD really exacerbated the ADHD, but the health professionals just found that funny. That was back in 2009.

[Giggleslover in reply to Spud-u-Like1982]

Oh I hear you! I’ve been heavily medicated for depression for the past 30 years and also told “you are on the bipolar spectrum; you have OCD; I think all these things are PTSD”. Then I received an ADHD diagnosis (after my daughter and before my son were both diagnosed in their early 20s) at age 52. They took me off all the depression medications except the one that can possibly help ADHD… bupropion. And we are zeroing in on an appropriate stimulant. The only depression I occasionally struggle with now is grief over what could have been. But I’m excited too to finally know that I’m not the only one who does and feels these things and that this is who I am!

[STEM_Dad in reply to Giggleslover]

The grief can be difficult to go through.

I had already mostly processed it as I was waiting for and then going through my ADHD diagnosis assessment. So, since I was mentally prepared, I quickly found acceptance for my ADHD.

~~~~~

I still occasionally grieve missed opportunities in the past, but try to learn from them and use them to inform my decisions now.

For instance: I enrolled in college multiple times

• 5 schools, 5 different majors, about 9 years of undergrad education, but no n degree to show for it

• I can now look back on my college struggles and see how they were due to undiagnosed ADHD

• I haven't given up on my dream of earning a college degree, and my knowledge of and treatment for ADHD now give me more hope of realizing that dream

[PinkPanda23 in reply to STEM_Dad]

This is one of your best posts in terms of feelings when you were younger and when you were diagnosed! That feeling of square peg in a round hole is so hard to describe, but we all here immediately know what you're saying.

I also felt the relief of understanding my whole life when I was diagnosed. Everything suddenly made sense, especially the concurrent anxiety and how frequently ADHD and anxiety travel together. My Mum suffered from anxiety, and I believe she had ADHD as well although she was never diagnosed.

I'm so glad there's an explanation for how I am that helps me let go of most of my shame.

[elanaoali]

wow you have some stories to tell. I was very blessed to have a really loving family. As we were all adhds and talked over each other. My one rock in all this was my relationship with God. My church family and my loving husband (possibly autistic).

Don't get me wrong I have had struggles and manage to rank up serious credit card debit. All paid off now never having a credit card again!

I know God made me and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Some of my closest friends knew I was going for an assessment and the result. My siblings know too.

Still processing myself and looking at myself from the outside of me.