Struggling

[Sonias_777]

So I was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age and my mother refused to do any type of medication or connect me with any type of support through schooling. I barely graduated middle school and barely graduated high school now moving on in college I struggled and seek help for my ADHD as an adult. I am currently on my second attempt at college and still dealing with struggling with ADHD. I just recently found a mental health clinic recommended for my friend hoping it'll help me I even went to the extent of canceling my last mental health clinic just to help. I have been on Joe rogan's pills since January. I'm really struggling with schooling ,concentrating , focusing and personal life. I feel like I can't even eat a meal without you know getting distracted. I'm constantly doing five things at once and never accomplishing anything.

[Prussic]

Welcome! Sonias_777! You’re in a tough spot and I’m sorry for your pain.

I’m 48 and diagnosed and on meds for about a year. I also struggled in school. My brother had some pretty severe learning challenges and I did t want to make waves so I just stayed quiet and did the best I could. College took 3 tries. One public university actually helped me. The teaching and psychology departments developed a program where struggling students were given structured time to do homework and individual help. This was in the mid 90’s. My grades went from F’s and D’s to B and C’s. I learned that I really needed the outside help.

I don’t know Joe Rogan’s pills, I don’t know who he is really, but a few things aside from meds that have helped me are:

- rest. If I’m sleep deprived my brain will not work. At all. I might be able to muscle through a few hours but a crash is coming.

- diet. I try to avoid red dye and too much caffeine. I drink alcohol in moderate amounts. I try to eat regularly. I struggle eating due to meds and a lingering battle with food.

-timers. I’m time blind. The big joke at home is when my wife says we’ve got to leave in 10 minutes I have no idea what that means. It’s like she said tomato minutes. So timers, alarms on my phone, clocks etc. all help me.

-kind to myself. If I get distracted doing something instead of cursing myself I’ll stop. Remind myself it’s ok, my brain is different, then start again. Yeah, things take longer. But I feel much better about that than telling myself I’m a stupid ….

There are other strategies I use but everyone’s brain is different. I’d suggest watching How to ADHD or videos from the Holderness family or listening to podcasts from ADDitude magazine.

I hope your weekend can be restful!

[Mamamichl]

Know you are not alone. It took me about 10 counselors to find a good one. I had to google each one my insurance covered and read their online synopsis and which conditions they treat.

most doctors have you try a new med for 5 weeks before deciding if it’s working or not. Feel free to try a variety of them. If I recall stimulants have 2 families and you can try the non stimulants as well. If you end up with strong side effects, request a gene sight test to know which meds have less chance of side effects. Also, apps like pomodoro, modern sam and dubbii can help you stay focused. Also, set lots of alarms and reminders.

Oh! Also, colleges have to have a disabilities department that you can request accommodations through. It’s like getting an iep, but for college. Some require iep from school or a diagnosis.

[GregorysMom in reply to Mamamichl]

Advice from Prussic and Mamamichi was largely quite sound and on target. Allow me to add a few words.

I discovered I had ADHD when I was about 59 working at a horrendously horrible job (which rather describes my entire career path. I was lucky to hang on till I got pension after 30 yrs). I'm 73 now and it took me another 10 years and moving to another state before I could get anybody to pay attention to it. But we survive and you have to depend on your strength when nobody knows or cares. Nobody said it would be a day at the beach and it's not.

Currently I take 20 milligrams within a day that helps with focus and it gets balanced out by 200 milligrams of sertraline which is generic Zoloft the balance helps me focus . I had to wait till I got to another state to get the best psychiatrist ever in my life and I've been going since my late 20s to counseling and or psychiatry. Don't give up looking for the right doctor, not the right Med.

The right doctor will work with you carefully watch you and respond to you ohh my psychiatrist is a woman I can't help but think it makes a difference I want to_two additional things the importance of get getting sleep right and preferably doing it without pharmaceuticals which leads to the second suggestion and that is getting somebody a counselor or somebody to help you with mindfulness and follow it into meditation there are great apps I don't want to mention one over the other because meditation is not easy for an ADHD brain and it takes practice and work I use "Medito," but there are plenty others out there. If you find a counselor that will help you with mindfulness. The right doctor will help you get the right meds / treatment.

If not go for it on your own because my understanding is anything beyond somebody listening to you cry about your last bad day or date, is usually not covered by insurance. Behavioral coaching and change is something you might have to attack and at your own cost. The mindfulness apps will open up new possibilities for you. There are apps to help you sleep, apps to get you thru stress, etc etc. There are a zillions of people out there with a shingle outside their door. Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest yet usually ignored other than prescribing pills or taking some junk over the counter, contributors to dementia/alzheimers. I am starting to explore what lieth beyond TV and the drugstore. Self Discipline is also a grossly underrated skill; it goes along with mindfulness, meditation practice, and is probably a big part of dialectic therapy, the step beyond cognitive or pretend cognitive.

Think about it. And good luck. Don't give up. This is normal for our tribe.

[GregorysMom]

Just want to apologize for all the typos and run ons. I answer things on the fly in chunks, between errands, activities, etc. Hope you understand my morse code.