ADD and ADHD Forum - ADD diagnosis and medications

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Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is a neurobiological disorder that can interfere in a person's daily life. Learn more about ADHD basics here....

Q: ADD diagnosis and medications

asked by: Mr559 on July 10th, 2008

New User

well the title doesnt to justice to my post, however lets get on with it.

My brother was diagnosed with ADHD many years ago and has been off-and-on Adderall to help his concentration. ADD and ADHD as well as OCD is prevalent in my families history. i ahven never had any problems with ADD..etc. until now.
I am now 18 and starting college classes. however about 9 months ago (barely into my senior year) i became very distracted with my work. i found school boring and i couldt ever stay on task. i really had to try harder than ever to complete simple assignments. i am now constantly distracted by off-task things so much i forget the task-at-hand and things are very dificult in class. Homework is a breeze but i think the envrionent i do it in keeps me on task, because when i take it home to do, i dont. i am disapointed in myself for being so..i dont know how to describe this.. i was an Honor student through out school until this year. and it kills me that i couldnt achieve that because of what i think is this ADD. (not hyper) i was never diagnosed but i need to let my parents know somehow that i need to be diagnosed. i need something to get myself back to where i was in school to achieve higer grades in college. i think being diganosed will help this.
i am not going to lie i have tried my brothers ADD scrip wich is Adderall XR 20. (can someone define that?) i have tried it before my math class and i was astounded at the results. i was so into the material i learned it quicker easier and what i was happiest about was i was just on-task.

i think i need to just get to a doctor to be diagnosed. i am not sure my parents would approve however they think i am just perfect. i havent expressed these feelings to them ever. i am also 18 is there any way i could get this done without them knowing what i am going through. they deal with all my health insurance and such, will they see what i am doing if i go in for a consultation or anything?

i am just kind of stuck where to go maybie someone could lean me towards a descision. again i am not sure.
thanks alot for your opinion,
Evan

Replies(2)

Dr. Nikola

replied on July 11th, 2008

Doctor

ADHD and ADD are most commonly diagnosed during the childhood and rarely in adults so I really doubt that you might have ADD. Your symptoms may look like you have attention deficit but in case of ADD attention is disturbed not only for school tasks but for any kind of task. And another thing: ADD develops slowly not suddenly like in your case. You may have some psychiatric reasons for your learning disabilities but I don't think that ADD is one of them.
You shouldn't take any medicine without doctor's prescription especially not Adderal XP 20. Adderal is based on amphetamine and can cause heart attack if overdosed or dependency if used continuously.
You should consult some psychiatrist about your problem.

NightStar

replied on July 22nd, 2008

Experienced User

I have ADHD but I always had trouble in school, my grades where low, I worked hard and still the grades suffered.

I am not on medication for ADHD right now, but I use to take Ritilen. (SP?)

I agree, that you just don't want to take your brothers meds, he needs them, you need to go to the doctor - talk to your parents, I am sure that they would want to help you if they think so highly of you.

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