attention deficit disorder

Hi friends,

Work went really well today, I am so pleased. I was calm and measured and able to concentrate. It was so good.

Also this morning I had everything ready to get up dressed and go, so i was on time with my breakfast and dinner ready in my bag.

After morning tea I forgot what my next list of jobs was, but I stopped and thought it through and worked it out, and in what order to do them.

I'm working on titrating my daily 5mg tablet so I divide it for optimal effect during the day. Today I had half on getting up at 5.30, about a quarter at 11am and the other quarter at 1pm. I want to get it so I am effective during the day but can sleep at night. I have had to give up alcohol, and I think I may have to give up coffee. But the funny thing is I don't crave tea and coffee as I usuallly do, obviously I was self medicating with caffeine as a stimulant.


Last night I went to bed at 9 and slept really well till 1.30 when my husband invaded my side of the bed in his sleep. I don't think the meds are affecting my sleep at all.


Thanks all

Di

Moby,

When I filed for disability, they sent me to a psychiatrist for memory and cognitive testing. The only problem with the standard memory testing for me was that when I was awake I could remember, but often I was in this state of "lights on but nobody is home" as I would drift in and out of sleep. On the test, it showed I had good short term memory - except when I was asleep when the tech asked the questions.

Also, the results weren't really indicative of my normal function. Being true to my need to excel on anything called a test, I did mental gymnastics and struggled in the photo recognition section to do word association to remember facial features. For instance, I would look at a photo and think, "bushy eyebrows, remember bushy eyebrows" or "crooked smile". In real life doing a job in real time, we don't function like that. I should have just looked at the pictures and then seen if I remembered them.

I understand your concern about doing your job. My job was not a high stakes job as it did not involve the life and health of others, but I still felt bad about all I was screwing up. You know yourself best and the responsibilities of your position. The fact that you are doubting yourself concerns me. At the very least, build in a foolproof system of doublechecks and balances that you absolutely never vary from.

My disjointed thinking I believe is sleep related, not primary ADD. Similar end result, but at least mine is transient so I feel lucky in that respect. Best wishes in sorting thru your issues and being able to be comfortable with those things that you do.

Kathy

Hi Moby,

I'm glad you had a good morning. Did you ever say what new med you were on?
When I was on Wellbutrin, I couldn't have anything with caffeine (including chocolate). It was just too much stimulation.
My husband used to affect my sleep all the time.....plus the animals (dog and cat). When my daughter went off to college, he very kindly moved into her room, and I keep the door closed (no animals) and now I sleep sooooo much better.
Good luck on having many more good days!

link

http://www.add.org/articles/hypersen.html


Country4ever, The prescribed med. is dexamphetamine, a paediatric dose (5mg a day in divided doses). The psych told me to titrate it to a dose which works for me. But the lowest dose works well. It's very short acting though, so I am experimenting with half at breakfast, slightly more than a quarter at lunch and the remainder an hour or so later. Otherwise I get a bit of a 'bump" down in the evening.

Di

kteague wrote:Moby,



I understand your concern about doing your job. My job was not a high stakes job as it did not involve the life and health of others, but I still felt bad about all I was screwing up. You know yourself best and the responsibilities of your position. The fact that you are doubting yourself concerns me. At the very least, build in a foolproof system of doublechecks and balances that you absolutely never vary from.

... Best wishes in sorting thru your issues and being able to be comfortable with those things that you do.

Kathy

Thanks Kathy for your concern and good wishes, and for your support over the months up to now!

You are absolutely right, and the more aware I have become of how I have scraped by at work the more concerned I am. It has been a struggle and also very frustrating because I always knew I was 'bright' but my perfomance did not always reflect that.

You are right about the checks and balances. Many of those are built into nursing protocol anyway, and I am cautious by nature - not a bluffer by any means. Protocol is my friend!!! Also in my area most of my patients are repeat outpatients who know their treatment and their bodies really well, and I treat them as partners in the treatment and encourage them to question and suggest stuff. I often get them to remind me about stuff "in a couple of hours when I have time to do it". They like that, and I like it too, makes it more personal.

Also, I have not gone for promotion and am always supervised by at least one senior nurse, and i am quite open with them if I'm feeling a bit scattered. They are quite happy to chivvy me along and check stuff with me when I ask them

It is frustrating because I know that if I had good days all the time, I could be in a senior - possibly very senior- position myself. I watch the youngsters graduate, gain experience, learn and get promoted into positions supervising me. I have had to learn to accept that gracefully and be pleased for them and in my part in training them. There is no doubt that their memories and thinking/decision making skills are far better than mine - at the moment anyway!


Di

Hi all,

I'm going to a support group tonight. Feel a bit wary about it, imagine it will be everyone talking (including me) and nobody listening!

Today has been a difficult day, there was a party next door last night so I had a disturbed sleep. Even with the meds I felt tired most of the day. I've increased my meds from 5mg a day to 15 mg a day in divided doses.

I'm working on my behaviour, making sure I don't interrupt people (had no idea how often I do that, and also getting so many memories of my mum with her hand up.."don't interrupt!" "don't butt in!" ). I'm working on not being pushy at work when I have to wait in line for some equipment (had no idea I did that either, I always prided myself on my patience and good manners...obviously only when I was paying attention. When I hyperfocus I feel more important than everyone else )

I'm watching my driving, no need to speed now as no longer late. Still a temptation to overtake "slow" people.(Mum again..."stop showing off!") I make myself travel at at a safe distance behind people who are a few k under the speed limit. It is quite relaxing actually.



I'm noticing when I need some time/space/quiet to concentrate. For example one of my patients was arguing with his mother in Italian today with his TV on full volume while I was fixing something with his treatment on his arm. I asked him to turn off the TV and stop the conversation with his mum, because I couldn't concentrate. I made a joke of it, and they laughed and were fine.


I'm better at being on time for things and organised ready for things. I'm making sure I eat well and get to bed early. I'm doing quite well.

Boy, is it boring



Living on adrenaline was much more exciting and it made me feel important

Wish me luck for the support group. My husband is a bit anti, says I haven't got ADD.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): Travel

I went.

Everybody seems to have ADHD, including the people who run it. Makes for a variable degree of organisation! eg, no one had unlocked the front door when we got there, but no one made a fuss when the organisers finally came looking for us. Getting messages through to them by mail or phone is fraught with interesting holdups. But again, we keep trying and are patient with each other - motivation wins out in the end.

I borrowed a couple of good books from the library, and also received an intro package which I was pleased to see contains a pamphlet discussing sleep disorders.


There were about 20 people there, all different ages and backgrounds. I listened to many of them discuss the same problems I get and they talked about how they cope with them or how they affect their lives both now and before they were diagnosed. It was interesting and reassuring. There was a lot of humour there too, like on here.

There was only one person I took a strong dislike to which was reassuring. Once you've identified the group idiot you know it's not yourself
This guy (it was his first night too) took over several times and in the end, demanded the groups attention and said "Now we have all invested two hours of our time here tonight we must ask ourselves "What have we gained from this? I haven't learned anything I couldn't get from a book When do we have a qualified guest speaker?"

Hi All,

I'm still pushing on. My "awake' time and my "asleep" time are now clearly differentiated.

I'm seeing myself more clearly, seeing how I organise/disorganise my time and possessions and how I react to people and events. How I zone in and out of conversations. How hard it is for me to sit still through a meeting or a movie or a formal meal.

I'm getting frustrated with myself, though I know I'm not supposed to, and that in itself is frustrating.

I have asked a colleague to be my "champion" at work, to be someone I can turn to for feedback and encouragement. And praise. I need lots of praise because I feel I fail at so much. And I know I shouldn't feel that, and it's frustrating that I do.

Anyway, I found this link when I was researching ADD today. It relates sleep to working memory (lack of)


Di
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=18803





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