ADHD in adults

[Crankin]

*disclaimer* 3 weeks until I'm actually a therapist... but, I have 30+ years experience with ADHD with kids, teens, adults as a teacher and as a counseling intern. Both of my kids and my DH have ADHD, primarily attention, not hyperactivity.
So, yes, many people are diagnosed as adults. The thing is, that ADHD is a diagnosis by history. There's no "test" for it. There is a huge genetic component. And many times, it's comorbid with depression and substance abuse, especially in adults when it's untreated. Adults with ADHD often have difficulty in maintaining employment and with their relationships, if it's untreated. About thirty percent of the incarcerated population in the US has undiagnosed ADHD, and if you talked to them, you'd discover most of them are very smart people.
My advice is go to a neuropsychologist to get diagnosed. If you can't do that, find a psychologist who specializes in ADHD, hopefully, knows something about it in adults. There are a lot of strategies that you can learn to compensate and develop routines to structure your studies and your life in general. I am not anti-medication at all, but if you go to a physician, you will get the meds, but not the other part of the treatment. A good neuropsych or psychologist will work as a team with a prescriber.
People with ADHD tend to throw themselves into interests and sports, like cycling, because there's a direct connection between the neurotransmitters that are processed when you do endurance stuff and the same ones that calm someone with ADHD.
Have you read this?

http://www.bicycling.com/news/featur...ing-my-ritalin

PM me if you want to.

[Biciclista]

one other thing.
Once upon a time when people were not required to sit and stare at computer monitors (or tiny print) all day, ADHD was unknown.
Guys like my husband worked hard physical labor all day long and when they were done working, they went to bed... and never had a problem with all that energy...

Your body is blessed with a lot of energy and it is extremely taxing (and bad for you) to live our modern life style. So you bike. Ride like the wind. Enjoy it. Walk, run, swim. That's what you were designed to do.

[zoom-zoom]

one other thing.
Once upon a time when people were not required to sit and stare at computer monitors (or tiny print) all day, ADHD was unknown.
Guys like my husband worked hard physical labor all day long and when they were done working, they went to bed... and never had a problem with all that energy...

Your body is blessed with a lot of energy and it is extremely taxing (and bad for you) to live our modern life style. So you bike. Ride like the wind. Enjoy it. Walk, run, swim. That's what you were designed to do.

But it's not that simple. It's not about excessive energy, it's about abnormal brains. The brains of people with ADHD are not the same as "normal" brains. It's why stimulant drugs don't hop them up, instead they make ADHD folks focused...because that unstimulated area of the brain is properly activated.

I really hate when people just casually suggest that it's a matter of getting adult and kids active. My 10 year old son can ride 35 miles on the back of our tandem...that doesn't take his symptoms away. It helps tire him out, but he still cannot focus and is jittery.

Not all people have exactly the same symptoms with ADHD. My brother has never been "hyperactive." His symptoms have never been as severe as my son's, which is how he managed to graduated 2nd in his HS class. He got very good at coping.

During kindergarten screening they encouraged us to hold our son back (we didn't, instead we enrolled him in a Montessori school, which has been amazing for him), even though the kid now scores advanced on standardized tests and has read the first 5 Harry Potter books in 2 weeks. He simply could not cope without his meds. No amount of physical activity eliminates the bulk of his symptoms.

[zoom-zoom]

Have you read this?

http://www.bicycling.com/news/featur...ing-my-ritalin

We read that article when it first came out and it definitely played a HUGE role in our decision to dump a lot of money into a Co-Motion tandem with the Periscope rear seat post. Aside from the positive effect it has had on our son, it's a helluvalot of fun. I don't care for riding on the back of the tandem (I can't see squat around my broad-shouldered, 6'2" hubby), but our son is like a pig in mud back there. He sings songs and yells "pedal faster, dad, we can drop mom!" Jerks.

[Biciclista]

you're lucky that Montessori worked for your kid. They threw my 4 year old OUT of Montessori school. His ADD was too much for them.
You'll never convince me that such a huge percentage of our children are somehow defective. If they didn't go to school and have to sit all day and then come home and sit and play computer games, I bet people would just say "what healthy active children you have!".

[zoom-zoom]

I'm more suspicious of things like pesticides or other environmental chemicals playing a role in people developing the condition. I grew up in an agricultural area (mostly fruit orchards) and we had a well. We now live in an agricultural area (corn, soybeans, sunflowers, and grain) and have a well. Mine, my siblings', and my child's exposure to pesticides is almost certainly higher than that of the average American living away from agriculture and drinking water from sources away from farmland.

[Crankin]

Mimi, my kids most definitely did not sit at home and play computer games. They were exploring in the woods and playing sports, creating art, and playing music. But, neither of them could remember anything. They still both have terrible short term memory. My younger son was called "la-la" boy, because it seemed like he was in la-la land. Academically, they were both above average. But, the older one never did his homework and lost everything, until he got to 11th grade and college was looming. He couldn't take medication, but my younger son did for 7 years. He took himself off of it when he went to HS, but doing homework for AP classes took a toll on him. Cycling was the last in a very long chain of "obsessions" he had. While he wasn't hyperactive in school, he is impulsive about many things and gets bored easily... hence joining the Marines. It's all a part of ADHD. He's very successful, but in a way, this is a typical pattern of underachievement for someone with ADHD. I can't tell you how many times he has been asked by commissioned officers, "Why are you an enlisted Marine? Did you take the SATs? Did you go to private school?" because of his vocabulary and general knowledge, compared to others who enlist. If you met him, you might not know he has ADHD, but I smiled when I heard his wife say, "He can walk past me and not remember a thing I say." Yeah, he doesn't.
My other son was fine once he got to college and could study what he wanted to. Of course, he had a few "extended deadlines" and incompletes that took a few weeks to finish, but he has been a star in his professional career. Yet, he doesn't remember things or organize his personal stuff well; we laugh about it now, but I am glad his wife sort of helps him deal with it.

[Biciclista]

Crankin, you're describing my family members too. Both of my sons were total disasters in school until almost the last year of high school. Now my younger son is going for his PhD in pure math while the older is still bobbing along the river of life.

zoom-zoom the pesticide stuff sounds really scary!

[zoom-zoom]

WR, I'm really glad that you have a diagnosis...it's that whole "knowledge is half the battle" thing. Now you have a starting point, which is excellent. Please continue to keep us posted on things.

[zoom-zoom]

My other son was fine once he got to college and could study what he wanted to.

This was my experience, as well (I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was paying my own tuition, too...not easy to slack-off when investing that kind of dough). But I HAD to keep a day planner and get everything done well in advance. I still have to plan my workouts, as well, or else I don't get them in or I lose motivation.

It helped that I was so busy in college with work and school that I didn't have time to waste. I do best when I am under the gun.