ADHD in adults

[Crankin]

Alexis, are you a teacher or an assistant? I don't see how a dx of ADHD would harm you at work. It's confidential medical information that no one would know about, unless you tell them in the first place, and second, I worked with several teachers who were on various ADHD or psychotropic medications for things and they became better at their jobs because of it.

[alexis_the_tiny]

Crankin, I'm a teacher. I'm hired privately now but eventually, I would have to go into civil service if I want better employment prospects. And the OT services I CAN afford are provided by government owned hospitals and there is nothing in my country at all, to protect people with learning disabilities or mental illness from being discriminated against in the hiring process, especially in civil service. If I can live without a diagnosis, I'd rather err on the side of caution and not have one. Just in case.

[Crankin]

Sorry, Alexis; I assumed you were in the US. I understand why you are erring on the side of caution. I might still try the gov. sponsored OT if you can do that without a diagnosis.
I am assuming that getting a teaching license/job is a national thing in your country. It's interesting that you can be "hired privately."
I hope you can at least find a therapist/counselor to work with. You are dealing with a lot.

[WindingRoad]

Well I thought I'd give you all an update on my ADD situation. So I've been to my primary care provider who is working with my therapist to try drug therapy on me. Today is my first day on Adderroll. I feel good so far, aside from some really bad dry mouth issues. I've been wearing my heart rate monitor all day bc I wanted to see if or how much my heart rate increased. I'm a bit concerned about this bc it's a side effect that seems like it could complicate my cycling. I can already tell a huge difference in my ability to focus. I'm excited but I hope bad side effects don't show up later. It kinda feels like someone took my brain out and washed the fuzz and extraneous thoughts out of it. Such a quieter place up there right now. It almost seems to good to be true. Crossing my fingers and praying this drug works out for me in the long run.

[indysteel]

Well I thought I'd give you all an update on my ADD situation. So I've been to my primary care provider who is working with my therapist to try drug therapy on me. Today is my first day on Adderroll. I feel good so far, aside from some really bad dry mouth issues. I've been wearing my heart rate monitor all day bc I wanted to see if or how much my heart rate increased. I'm a bit concerned about this bc it's a side effect that seems like it could complicate my cycling. I can already tell a huge difference in my ability to focus. I'm excited but I hope bad side effects don't show up later. It kinda feels like someone took my brain out and washed the fuzz and extraneous thoughts out of it. Such a quieter place up there right now. It almost seems to good to be true. Crossing my fingers and praying this drug works out for me in the long run.

Good luck, WR. I hope the drug works for you without major side effects and that, if it doesn't, that your doctors are willing to work with you to find something that does.

[zoom-zoom]

Yup, I hope it works well for you, long-term. And if it doesn't, there are other meds you can try. I believe Adderall is one of the meds that's not a formulation of Ritalin. I know a couple of people who didn't do well on Adderall, but are now on Concerta (a long-acting Ritalin med) and having better results.

[Crankin]

Usually the side effects (in my experience from others) like increased HR happen right away. Glad you can feel the difference.
Keep us posted.