Ha, I could have typed your post.

I have not been diagnosed...but my son is VERY ADHD (he's a little Jekyll/Hyde depending upon whether he's on his meds), my brother is ADD (not really hyperactive, though he has always had that constant jumpy leg thing). My sister and I are both spacey, disorganized, and have a really hard time motivating ourselves...easily distractable.

I think depression can be a component of ADD/ADHD. Not necessarily from a chemical brain imbalance, but depression due to frustrations and struggles dealing with work and every day responsibilities. Drug/alcohol abuse are particularly common in untreated adolescents and adults with the disorder...our son's pediatrician explained that people who aren't receiving any sort of treatment for the disease are much more likely to "self-medicate."

Sometimes I think I should go ahead and be assessed...mostly to confirm what I already know. But I don't know at age 38 if I would pursue medication or not. My brother was diagnosed when he was about 34. Incidentally, his GF was diagnosed in her mid-20s. It's not all that unheard of for adults to have managed their way through childhood and college prior to diagnosis. My brother's GF was diagnosed early in her law school career. She is absolutely brilliant...I mean seriously one of the smartest people I have ever met (she and my brother are both shockingly intelligent). She failed the bar on her first try, even though she pulled pretty much straight As through school...testing is just really difficult for her, even while medicated.

One thing that gives me pause to go through the diagnosis process and take meds is the side-effects. They can cause heart damage. They also have a tendency to really kill one's appetite (our son's growth is almost certainly going to be a bit stunted, since it's hard to get him to eat). Yeah, I'd LOVE to drop some weight, but not if it means bonking on a regular basis during workouts. My brother's GF has to make herself eat when she's not hungry...she sometimes remembers to eat when she starts to shake and notices her stomach growling.