Fear of asking....

[Becky]

I have noticed that many people who post are saying that they are either afraid to ask the doctor for meds, or they were refused them.

I just want to know how widespread this is. Initially when I asked for them I was prescribed and anti-depressant, but a few months later I was perscribed Adderall. It really wasn't a big hassel, a little a annoying, but that is it.

Any other thoughts on this??

Becky

[jmarie1]

I don't even know where to go to GET meds... I am seeing a couples counselor with my husband but we have not addressed this. Should I bring it up to him? I have only recently figured out I have ADD and I am 47! Now I now why all these things have been the way they were all these years but I don't know where to go next. What do you suggest? I need help.

[bluestocking]

Becky,

re: being prescribed anti-depressants. Did you seek out someone who specialized in ADD? When I called my ins. company for a referral, I asked for someone who specializes in adult ADD, and the subject of whether to take anti-depressants v. ADD-meds wasn't discussed. If anything, I was a little tense that he prescribed Adderall, which was not covered by my insurance plan, and I didn't want to pay out of pocket for it. Whereas I know that several anti-depressants were covered in the plan.

Come to think of it, though, he did ask me if I ever had any experience with taking speed. Which I thought was just shocking and insulting. He then explained that many adults who have ADD unknowingly self-medicated with speed before they had been diagnosed. Apparently seeking out stimulants is a common behavoir, and the question was diagnostic, not judgemental.

My fear of asking for meds isn't a result of any prior negative experience with a Dr. or anything like that. My beloved father was a substance abuse counselor for much of the time I was growing up. Even though my rational brain percieves a big difference between taking drugs recreationally and taking them for specifc medical reasons, I still feel like I am letting my dad down and behaving shamefully. Which I know is ridiculous, but there it is. Once my rational self is able to trump my irrational self, that will be a great day, indeed. :-)

[bluestocking]

Hello jmarie1,

Welcome to the board. :-)

If I were you, I would ask your couples counselor if s/he has worked with Adult ADD, and if not, can s/he refer you to someone who does.

I think I've gathered that some folks on the board were able to discuss this and be prescribed meds by talking to their regular Dr. as well.

Cheers!

[Becky]

I never thought about it before, but I was a self-medicater! Years ago, before effedra was a newsmaker, I used to buy it in the gas station. It had the same effect as Adderall, but way faster. I could actually feel my heart pounding. That was VERY dangerous and I recommend it to NO ONE! But that was before I really know it was a dangerous drug.

The only ADD specialist in this area is for kids only. She sees my son, and she agrees that my dx is correct, but won't take me as a patient.

I think some doc's perscribe anti-d's first b/c the just assume you are depressed. I told them I was not, but insurance does not give me much choice on who I see so....

At least now I am on the right path I think. I see my counselor on Friday so we'll see what he says.

[Mongo]

Drugs,drugs, drugs...

That seems to be the easy out for society anymore. Kids get drugged up to control their behavior and nobody seems to think that most of the treatments are narcotics.

A lot of the time, antidepressants are prescribed along side, next thing you know... There is a whole different person standing before you. The trouble is... It's not who he or she really is.

I know, I sound like I am on the old soapbox here but it's really not the intention.

When I was first diagnosed with ADD, I thought I should take doctor's orders seriously and do as I was told.

I started out on Wellbutrin and the Doc sat back and watched for results over the next few weeks. It didn't have the desired effect but I was in a better mood overall, artificially.

He then decided to add a stimulant. Good ol' Ritalin.

After a few days, I noticed some dramatic changes and didn't understand what it was. I could think more clearly for sure but it wasn't much different. Instead of thinking of lots of things all at once, I found myself thinking in single lines - but so fast that I was burning out in a hurry. Physically, I was in overdrive all the time. It was hard for my colleagues to keep up with me and it was always GO GO GO! I couldn't sleep at night until I was so tired that I couldn't stay awake. Getting up at 4:00 to be at work in the mornings meant that I was getting 3 or 4 hours of restless sleep a night.

Since Wellbutrin wasn't getting the results needed, my prescription was changed to Prozac. That's when things started getting interesting.

It seems that all that stuff happening in my head was beginning to manifest in some peculiar ways.

Imaging driving on a major highway, (In my case, it's I-25 through the Denver area) in the early rush hour traffic and suddenly you are several hundred feet farther than you thought. I was blacking out with a random regularity. (?) It started happening more often and always at the worst times.

I figured it HAD to be the Prozac and I stopped taking it after about 3 months. Sure enough, the black-outs decreased. After about a year they stopped.

Meanwhile, I was still on the Ritalin. I would get these shooting sensations at odd times, usually while walking, which felt like a huge electrical jolt coursing through my body. It would start at the heel of one foot, usually the left, and WHAMMO right up my leg, back and to the top of my head, then rebound and stop in my chest.

I told my Doc and he stopped all meds. It was two different kinds of seisures that were hitting me. The black-outs were the dangerous ones and he agreed that I did the right thing by stopping the Prozac. The others he said were kind of microseisures which are usually caused by withdrawal.

After all that, I made the decision to be - and remain drug free and deal with the peculiarities of ADD without.

So... If you are considering medication to treat ADD, be sure to do your homework and study up on the side effects. Some of them are doozies.

Boy, I sure get long-winded at times...

[Becky]

Mongo, you are not long-winded, that is the kind of info that people need to be aware of.

I have also had very adverse side effects from anti-depressants. I used to take Welbutrin. Previously I had taken several anti-depressants in the past, but I never like the way I felt like I no longer had emotions so I stopped them.

As it turns out, while on the Welbutrin I expeirenced an eposide of Mania. It was very very scary. The rational part of my brain knew I was acting like a nut, but it felt so good I didn't want it to go away. Then I started to hear things in my head. It sounded like a radio, but there were announcers and weather reports along with it. I thought "My God, I am hearing voices!" It scared the hell out of me and I stopped it immediately. With a week the radio went away. After another visit with my psych. it has been decided that there are a few classes of drugs that are off limits to me.

Many people don't realize that if a child is sitting there like a zombie they are over-medicated. It does not mean that they don't need something, it just means they have been given too much. Finding the right med can take a really long time, and it can be scary.

Currently we are using natural alternatives with my son b/c he is so young, we have tried meds, but don't like the side effects. He is also being tested for other comorbid disorders so I don't want him medicated. Eventually meds will probably be approiate, but that is in the future.

But by all means, whatever you take needs to be throughly investigated. I take Adderall, in a small dose, but I checked it out and had family take note of any changes, good or bad, in me. I also over-medicated myself once, and it was not fun. (Forgot I took it so I took another dose, don't try that at home!)

Anyhow, now I am long winded... ;D

Becky

[Mongo]

Hi again,

Becky, you have a valid point here and I hope more people read and understand what they might me getting into.

I currently don't follow any 'alternatives'... Probably because I would forget it before long anyways.

Maybe I ought to post that in the next forum?

Just like anything else in life; Do your homework.

[B{)>

That used to be my sig but I got my eyes fixed and don't wear the specs anymore. (the B )

Gotta come up with a new one I suppose.

Here I go off on a tangent again...