Nurses with ADD/ADHD?

Nurses Stress 101

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Hey all! I was wondering if there are any nurses with ADD/ADHD out there who want to comiserate and support each other? I know I need the help/advice. It might also be a place for "regular" people (I hate the word normal) to come and read and understand what its like for us. Or ask us ?'s.

I'll start with an intro:p I'm 29, and I've had an official diagnosis for less than 2 years, but have been trying to find the answer (for what's up with me) for MUCH longer than that:uhoh21: :) I currently work night shift at a drug rehab and on call at a nursing home. I have a lot of trouble in staff meetings - sitting through them, being treated like a brat because I actually show some emotion. I had much difficulty in school, (I didn't know back then), not with grades but with social stuff. I almost got kicked out of school because of the problems I was having.

But its not all bad. I'm funny and creative and often am able to connect with my patients in unique ways.

So we'll see how many of us there are out there?:)

when i first started as an lpn, i had to have an extra 3 months probation. i'm very forgetful. i have to make lots of notes for myself so i don't forget to do things. it takes me so long to do everything. i know that i cannot be as good as fast as an experienced nurse but still i can't help but hold myself to high standards. i feel i have to work 3 times as hard to be half as good.

i sincerely know exactly what you are talking about. but i have to tell you, you are not on the correct meds. i can't even sit down and read a book without dexedrine. i'm old school when it comes to ad/hd and i like plain old short acting dexedrine. my np lets me work with the dose in whatever way works for me. sometimes i don't take any, sometimes i take 15mg. i never ever need more than that. usually i take 5-10mg at a time. it works for 4 hours and then you need more.

adderall is great for those who don't want that extra control i need. sometimes i don't want it, sometimes i do. sometimes i only need it for half the day.

when you are on the right meds and the correct dose, there won't be a doubt in your mind. i wouldn't wait for other meds to kick in, i'd keep trying different amphetamines. that is what works best for us. tried and true.

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I read on this forum that another nurses with ADHD can read an order and miss part of it. The ex. was tylenol 325 mg. 1-2 q4-6h for HA. She would not even see the 1-2. I have that same problem and can't figure out if its my ADHD or my dsylexia.

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It is widely abused my adults also, and yes I keep up with my research. And yes we are seeing a much increased number of "Adults" coming into the ER wanting scripts for ADD/ADHD treatment. Some to use personally, but also Ritalin is being sold on the streets. Personally I consider that abuse.

I never claimed there was no abuse, I wrote that it is over diagnosed in children and underdiagnosed in adults.

Your personal accounts do not reflect the world. Amazing, I know.

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I read on this forum that another nurses with ADHD can read an order and miss part of it. The ex. was tylenol 325 mg. 1-2 q4-6h for HA. She would not even see the 1-2. I have that same problem and can't figure out if its my ADHD or my dsylexia.

It could be either. If you are truely AD/HD you don't focus the way others do so you miss things. So it really could be either one, or both.

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Specializes in LTC, Nursing Management, WCC.

I have been treated for ADHD for 3+ years now. Like many I did not know I had it. In jr and sr high school I was impulsive and fidgety. I couldn't stand myself. Fast forward 10 years later and I am taking my placement exams for college and within 5 minutes I started "dot racing" through the test form. I could not believe it... I was soooo upset because I felt like I did in high school.... I thought that I had outgrown this. Well I did drop out of HS however after my "dot racing" I went to a psychiatrist and started Dexedrine... well I have made the Dean's list and the honor roll 5 times and I am also an honors student. I can actually sit and study for hours and actually enjoy it.

Simply put... before meds... I read Reader's Digest... short little stories...

After meds, can read/study for hours. The mind is amazing.

I would like to mention one thing... even with taking meds. I feel that because I did not take them in elementary school (many years ago :rotfl: ) or in HS.. I feel like I didn't know how to study when I first started college.. if that makes sense. I get better each semester in college but I had to work very hard at first. The meds gave me the ability to read and to sit but I had to teach myself what I needed to read and how to absorb the content. (which one learns in elementary and HS)

If that didn't make sense sorry...my meds are wearing off! LOL...

ALSO...for anyone in school you might get accomodation because of the ADA act. I have twice the time for exams/quizzes as well as a quiet distraction reduced environment. It is worth checking out with your Dean of Student.

Yes there are some people who abuse/sell them but a good HCW will catch it within a couple months and hopefully address that issue with their client.

Take care and good luck!

~Psych

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Specializes in Pediatrics :).

So, are there issues in your workplace related to amphetamine use? I use ritalin for narcolepsy, and I'm afraid that I may be black listed from certain healthcare facilities if they find out. Any thoughts?

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The clients have hx. of amphetmine abuse. If I had to do it all over, I would not have mentioned to anyone at work that I had ADHD. I found that I can not trust the people I work with.

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So, are there issues in your workplace related to amphetamine use? I use ritalin for narcolepsy, and I'm afraid that I may be black listed from certain healthcare facilities if they find out. Any thoughts?

I have had a couple of amazingly humiliating experiences due to Dex.

One time I dropped my purse and everything inside dumped to the floor. A coworker helped me pick everything up and picked up the bottle of Dex and commented (outloud) Wow... you take amphetamines???

I decided then I wouldn't take the bottle with me just a couple of tablets. I kept them in my pocket so nothing embarrassing would happen.

Sometimes I take them and sometimes I don't. Most of the time, I simply forget. However one day I just got to work and was called into the DONs office. She told me to sit down, I did. She stared at me for the longest time not saying a word. Then she opened a desk drawer, pulled out a baggie, put the baggie on her desk for me to see and asked me what this was. There was a Dexedrine tablet in the baggie.

I told her that was likely my Dexedrine 5mg tablet. She asked where I got it because there was no Dexedrine in the Pyxis. She also told me she did a Pyxis search and couldn't find how I got it out of another Pyxis without her being able to track it.

It never dawned on her that I had an Rx for it.

I told her the truth and I also happened to have an old Rx I never got filled still in my purse. (I don't take nearly as many as I get Rx's for) Then the questioning went from how can I come to work "impaired" to why am I not taking the drug as prescribed.

I was able to explain that I wasn't impaired (what she doesn't know is that some days I *am* impaired when I do NOT take it. LOL) by telling her HR knew about this. She said that was impossible, had they known I take Dex I would have never passed my drug screen and been hired. Truth is, I stopped taking it intentionally before I knew I would be getting the drug screen because I simply didn't want people to know unless it was necessary. If it became necessary, I have Rx's to back me up.

As it turned out, I didn't stop taking it long enough before the drug screen and it came back positive. I had to bring my Rx's to HR, the medical officer had to call the pharmacy and verify my Rx was an actual Rx instead of something I created on my computer, he had to ask me questions such as when I took it last, compare the amount found in the drug screen to the Rx dose (I hadn't taken it in a week, everything I said added up) and then he cleared me to be hired.

HR still didn't want to hire me and the MD medical officer went to bat for me and said there was no reason for me not to be hired.

I told the DON about the drug screen, the house officer, the documentation in my Employee Health medical file, etc., and she claimed not to believe me. She said she would have been told if I was working "impaired." She called Employee Health in front of me to prove I was dishonest and EH declined to tell her one way or another if I was taking Dexedrine but they did tell her hospital policy and IF I did have a drug screen, and IF the MO did approve me to be hired, I was good to go and they could not tell her details of my employee health file.

So then she went from accusing me of working impaired to asking me why I wasn't taking the drug as prescribed, proof being I hadn't filled an old Rx.

At that point I told her I would not continue this discussion without HR present and also the medical officer that went to bat for me in the beginning. The discussion ended there. However she went on to tell my entire department (in front of me) that we need not worry about Bipley anymore as she has ADHD and has a legal Rx for Dexedrine. This was supposed to stop any rumors from the person that saw it fall out of my (scrubs) breast pocket when I bent over to pick something up. Anyone who didn't know I was taking Dex sure knew at that point.

I could have persued the issue, she did just about everything she could, wrong. I could have nailed her butt to a wall. Instead I was just too embarrassed at the way this was handled, the accusations, etc., and I quit.

The moral of this story is DO tell Employee Health you are taking amphetamines and DO be honest about it from the get-go. Most of all, don't put amphetamine tablets in your breast pocket of your scrubs and then bend over to pick something up. They WILL fall out, YOU won't notice but your coworkers will notice. :) Keep them in a small vial in a secure area of your purse so that if you do dump your purse, they won't fall out.

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Specializes in Intermediate Care.

Hello, fellow geniuses! :D

"They" call it ADD/ADHD, I call it "unrestrained genius." :smokin:

I've learned to manage it without meds and use it to my advantage -- adderall dulled my personality, making me feel "flat."

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Specializes in LTC, Nursing Management, WCC.

oops...double post... sorry

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Specializes in LTC, Nursing Management, WCC.
Hello, fellow geniuses! :D

"They" call it ADD/ADHD, I call it "unrestrained genius." :smokin:

I've learned to manage it without meds and use it to my advantage -- adderall dulled my personality, making me feel "flat."

LOL... I have heard from people that they feel it dulls their personality and creativity. My brother doesn't like to take it either for those reasons. Luckily I haven't noticed that it has had a negative effect on mine. Either way people think I nuts!

~ Psych

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I not only have ADHD but dyslexia as well. It makes life much more difficult to the point, I want to leave. Does anyone else have this combo?
The dyslexia can make you a little dangerous as a nurse when it comes to meds. Sorry, but it's true.

As for ADD/ADHD having to do with "showing emotion" (earlier post), I'm not aware of any correlation there. If emotional expression is out of the usual range and causes a problem, then work needs maybe to be done with managing emotions. That's a matter of self control, and certainly can be done.

There are lots of little tricks one can learn to make ADD/ADHD work for you. The ability to focus incredibly tightly into something is a characteristic (ever notice kids with ADD focused on their video games?). It can make us very good at what we do.

I use my meds only when I remember them (ha!) and when I need them. Do I have ADD-H? You betcha. Do I let it get in my way? No. But I also take responsibility for it--it is me, it isn't them. I don't ask for special consideration (although in nursing school I did use it in order to get the notes for the class--our instructors flipped through the slides at breakneck pace and then expected us to know them; but that's another story).

The trick is to evaluate yourself honestly. If you can learn the tricks of self management, no one will ever know you have it. If you can't, there's too much detail in nursing, and too much at risk, and you might want to search for an area of nursing where you will be a safer practitioner. Or maybe even consider something else.

Sorry--that's the way I see it. And I do have it too.

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