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?:)

Hi everyone

This might be weird, but I am the wife of a new grad RN (with ADD) in a med surge floor. I am writing you because he wont look for help and I don't know what to do to help him. He has come home crying a few times, and every day at work he forgets something. So far nothing serious, but he is terrified of one day losing his license because he forgot something serious... He was diagnosed with ADD when a kid, but only now got prescribed concerta (the lowest dose 17mg). It doesnt seem to be helping much. His memory is still a problem. His preceptor has noticed that. He is starting to feel like he can't do the job, and he just started nursing! I feel so helpless. Please, any advice would be very welcome.

Is there any hope for nurses with ADD? Does it get better over time? Does the fear of making a mistake go away? My husband says that he has to work on the med surge floor for 2 years, or he wont get any job later. Is that really true?

Thanks so much for listening.

Specializes in Medical/Surgical, Intermediate and Home Care.
Hello I am new to the forum, and as a 20 something who was diagnosed with ADD in college I have faced many of the same issues. In my early school days (elementary-high school) I always felt like something was wrong with me because I could never sit through class without becoming extremely agitated and annoyed. I felt that teachers always went too slow and I could never focus on/remember what was being said as my mind was constantly wandering and thinking about a million things at once. Teachers always got mad at me for being a "chatter box" or not paying attention, but I found it too difficult to sit quietly and listen. I always made good grades, but completing the simplest of tasks would take me forever because I would get side tracked and want to move on to something else. I had heard about ADD before, and although I thought I might have it I never wanted to admit that I had a "problem". My fear of seeking help was worsened when I brought the subject up to my parents. They told me that I was being ridiculous, accused me of wanting "legal speed" and that I was probably just bored because I was "too smart" to have to pay attention. Once I started college, things only got worse. My grades were still good, but I could not sit through a lecture and eventually found myself deciding not to go to class because it was just too painful to sit through. I eventually decided to seek help, especially since now I could do so without my parents approval. I was very nervous about discussing my issues, because it was not something I was ever very open about, but luckily the doctor was very understanding and told me I was not dumb or weird for feeling the way I did. He determined that I did in fact have ADD, and started me on adderall. I was a little apprehensive about taking the prescription because of the stigma of the diagnosis and being prescribed amphetamines, but he assured me that he had seen wonderful results with medication and if at any time I felt that it was not a good fit to let him know and we could try other things. Needless to say it worked miracles! I could sit in class, pay attention, and read for more than 20 minutes at a time. My grades remained the same, but achieving success was not the painstaking challenge that it had been in the past. I made the mistake of telling others about my diagnosis when I was completing my first degree (nursing is my second). This led to constant harassment from my friends and others to sell my prescription during finals and resulted in ridicule and hatred from those "friends" when I refused to do so. I also had to deal with my peers questioning my diagnosis because of my good grades, and jokes about being a "crack head" for being prescribed amphetamines. They also made me feel like I was somehow taking the easy way out because when they illegally used the drug it was like "studying on steroids". I tried to explain that when I take my prescription, I don't have super human study powers, but instead I can study normally and stay focused on the task at hand. Before, I always studied alone because when I would group study, I could tell I was annoying with my constant need to get up or talk and distract others. When I was accepted to nursing school, I decided to hide my diagnosis in order to prevent similar occurrences and have a fresh start, but it often has left me feeling lonely. So many people misunderstand ADD. They seem to think that you have to be stupid or make bad grades to really have ADD. This led me to question my diagnosis, and my doctor reassured me that many people who have ADD are very intelligent and are able to compensate for it during their early school years because they can get by without properly concentrating. Having ADD has not been easy, and it is something I feel like I have to hide from my friends, peers and family. Now that I am about to begin my career as a nurse, I wonder if it is something to discuss or hide from my future employers and coworkers. Also, I have been asked to take UDA and I am afraid of testing positive for amphetamines. I know that you can prove you are legally prescribed, but I have heard/read several horror stories about results being reported regardless of having a prescription and the consequences of such events. Anyone who has any advice to offer on the subject would be greatly appreciated!

Hello Maroon,

It sounds like you are managing the ADD very well and that you are doing all the right things. You learned from the past experience of telling people about the Adderall because they just wanted it for themselves. As to the stigma, yes, people do not understand unless they themselves are familiar with it. The UDA part is nerve wracking, but I have found that with each test, the designated physician/or HR Representative call and "tell me I was positive." I give them my pharmacist's phone number and they simply call to verify I have a prescription for it. There doesn't seem to be anything proactive we can do to avoid the stress of knowing these steps are coming, but in each case, all of the corporations I've worked for have accepted the documentation and they do not violate the confidentiality, unless I made it easy for them by talking about it with ANYONE. You should assume that you can not trust anyone, and besides, I've seen more nurses than you would expect, walk into the nurse station asking what they came in there for! They are just tired or feeling middle age when people start to forget some things or hormonally related issues that do the same.

It's also evident you have superior communication and writing skills, and coupled with your highly aware state of your understanding of and coping with ADD, you are on your way to a VERY SUCCESSFUL career. Maybe after you are around for 10 years or more and decide to become an educator, then perhaps you could share your experiences appropriately, but surely not as the new kid on the block. There will always be those people who want to use just anything to bring you down especially when you are very bright and looking good as a new hire or new nurse. If you do discuss anything with your employer, it would be "giftedness," but only in the light of a supervisor sincerely mentoring you or showing you the ropes and mentioning any pitfalls you might have encountered. Continue to follow your intuition, it looks to be on target! Wishing you the best! :yeah:

Specializes in Medical/Surgical, Intermediate and Home Care.
Feel like I'm going crazy!!!

I was diagnosed ADHD in my early 20's, although i had the classic symptoms as a child (I was so impulsive that in 2nd grade I went to the bathroom and my teacher came looking for me after awhile to find me climbing over the tops of the stalls because I wanted to see how tall they were!)

Anyhow, I didn't start meds til I was in my early 30's when I had no choice but to stay focused to perform a high stress job to supporty myself & my 8 year old son (who was also diagnosed). I got remarried, quit my job & went full-time to nursing school. I struggled even with my meds. I was smart enough to test out of 6 of my pre-requisistes thank God because I might not have passed if I had to sit through boring lecture after lecture and take notes on and read about things I wasn't interested in. During one of those tests, the professor put me in a classroom full of students during a lecture!!!!! I was taking a test so important that it would allow me to test out of a class and he actually thought I could focus (could ANYONE focus) in a classroom full of students during a lecture???

Anyway, despite the ridiculous "accommodations" made by my college, I graduated with a 3.0 GPA despite the hell I went through to graduate.

I started nursing in ICU on nightshift. Lots of good reasons for an ADHD'er to work nightshift, especially as a new nurse - so much less distraction than days, no families around to constantly interrupt you, no tests that you personally have to take your patient off the floor for (unless there's an emergent MRI or something) - and I worked with nurses who knew way more than any of the docs, so I learned so much from them! I was ALWAYS busy on night shift, and sometimes overwhelmed because I was a new RN, but I never left late past my shift because I had to catch up on documentatiuon.

My problem with Nights was that it REALLY screwed up my sleep-wake cycle. If I worked 3-12 hour shifts in a row, I would literally sleep for 3 straight days, I'd eat cereal and go back to bed. I felt like I was drugged. this wasn't making my new hubby or my teenage son very happy.

It took me a year to finally get to transition over to dayshift. However, the only opening on days was a Per Diem slot and I had to float between ICU and telemetry. My biggest problem was the fact that I was STILL exhausted all the time; my circadian rythm was totally out of whack! After almost a year as per diem, a permanent PT slot opened up in ICU., I felt like I was home again.

Except that the exhaustion didint get better. I was also recently placed on antideprssants that I later found out can prevent REM sleep. I was still sleeping for days at a time, but never felt rested. My stimulants would get me started in the morning, but by 5pm I was a zombie. So unfocused, in such a fog! Came close to making some serious med errors, caught myself before they were administered, but came toooo darn close!. My Vyvanse dose was maxed out at 100mg (as per the doc).

I just kept getting more and more unfocused at work and felt like I was always running in circles not knowing what to do next (no way for an ICU nurse to perform).

Finally, after mutiptle MD recomendations, I had a sleep study. I took an Ambien CR beforehand (or else I would not have been able to sleep). The results showed no Sleep Apnea, thank god, but did show that I get No REM sleep and that I have PLMD (periodic limb movement disorder) where my legs jerked 684 times!!

OK, now the sleep doctor wants me to go off my antidepressants since most of them can suppress REM. They also want my psych doc to prescribe Nuvigil to me for excessive daytime sleepiness. Oh, and they want me to take Mirapex (which is an anti-parkinsons' med) for the PLMD.

Ok, so great. I wean off Lexapro & Concerta. I start Nuvigil 100mg in addition to my Adderall XR 100mg, and I now have the Mirapex 0.125mg to take at night with my Ambien CR. How's that worked for me, you say?

It's been around a month for all the meds to become aquainted. Some are gone, some are new. Now, do I feel 100% better??? NOOOOO I have always on my ADD brain had difficulty keeping up with the charting & might stay 45 minutes or so late to catch up.

Now, I'm focusing on the damn new online computer charting system that is totally redudent and fulll or errors. So much so that my patient's safety is being compromised!! I had a pt who came to ICU and within 30 mins his SBP was 62, at the same time I've got my manager yelling at me that I should NOT be far behind on my charting!!!! I thought I was going to lose it...Let's think here...what's the priority??? The patient of the PAPER!!!! My whole day and the day after were just a blur. Me trying to keep the patient alive & being pulled aside constantly by management so they could train me on this new documentation system! Oh, & just when it is getting really bad, someone from the bloodbank shows up with a unit of PRBC's for my patient and she tells me that she has to audit me during the whole process; this is while the man's 85 year old girlfriend is at the bedside asking me every 5 minutes "is he going to get better", "why is he in the ICU", "what are the doctor's plans", I'm hanging blood in one line and a pressor in the other!!!

Needless to say I cried all way home from work. I felt totally incompetent as a nurse. I got home @ 10pm that night & had to get up @5:30 to start it all over again. 2nd day was very similar to the 1st because of the patient's ever changing condition and all the new charting we had to do, along with taking care of my other very sick patient!

Went home defeated. Got into a fight with my hubby. He announces at dinner that he wants a divorce (with my son sitting right across the table)!

I make an appointment to see the psychiatrist whos been treating my depression / ADHD and now part of my sleep disorder. He's 15 minutes late getting me in to see him, I tell him the latest news with me, he tells me that he can't do anything more for my depression and I need to check myself into a psychiatric facility to get it resolved!!!! As he's saying this, I'm about to fall on the floor!!!! I told him perhaps the circumstances in my life at this moment might be worsening my depression (he took my antidepressants away almost 2 monts ago!) I said the my lack of sleep is only exacerbating my ADHD symptoms and I'm having too many near-misses at work. I said I'd like to get a medical leave from work until I can get my sleep problems under control. He asked me what more was being done about that and I told him I had an appointment with a neurologist the next day. He stood up and was basically shooing me out of his office as he handed me a refill for my Vyvanse!! Same dose as always, what's this going to do to help??? He asked me to bring up Klonopin with the neurologist to help me sleep and deal with depression.

Well, went to the neurologist who informs me that although my sleep study was done at the sleep center she works for that my dianosis given by another doctor there is totally wrong. She says I don't have Lack of REM, nor do I have PLMD. She explained them away and said it was probably because I was uncomfortable during the sleep study; I took an Ambien CR before the study and I never left the prone position, it wasn't like I was tossing & turning! She wants me to stop ALL meds and retrain my circadian rhythm.

Ok, I would love to retrain my circadian rhythm and I would LOVE to get off all the meds, but I DO honestly believe the sleep study report that shows I get no REM sleep & showed that my legs DID twitch 684 times!

In the meantime, I feel like I can no longer provide care to my patients in a timely & safe manner! I feel like I'm in a fog most days @ work and just can NOT concentrate or stay focused with ANYTHING. And having been reprimanded for the 1st time ever by my boss, in front of the entire unit, makes me think I need a breakl. Not to mention that EVERY time I drive home from work for the past couple of months, I honestly feel myself dozing off!

Effective today I requested FMLA for myself, on the basis of my sleep study results & the fact that it is still not resolved and when coupled with my ADHD, my ability to perform my nursing responsibilities in such a highly critical environment is impaired. There is no room for error in ICU nursing. I just need to get a doc to back me up!!!

I've got to find the right doc who knows what they're doing! Any ADHD sleep disorder docs out there??????

Hello Patty,

I definitely feel for you. I too work nights and often can't sleep well or change the circadian rhythm. Dr. Prescribed Trazadone which helps stay asleep, but often need something with it to get "un-wired" from the stimulation of excessive concentration during the night.

In your case, you need a specific and highly ordered set of medications and above-board Physician Management. I don't know your location with regard to a Sleep Study Doctor, but it may help to contact a leading University in your state to see if there are special programs for example, when patients are directed to the Mayo Clinic in MN.

What a smart idea to go on FMLA to save your health and career. I hope meanwhile you have found more answers and that you are progressing and moving forward. I am so very sorry to hear of how the prolonged disorders interrupted your marriage when you were trying your best to manage so much at one time. I wish that once you overcome these barriers, that there is hope toward a second chance at the marriage. My husband has been very patient thank God, I think he is grateful that I am able to pay the mortgage, but it is a struggle, as you know.

Wish you the best,

Pearl :nurse:

Specializes in thoracic ICU, ortho/neuro, med/surg.

I just wanted to say hi. (:

I just passed my boards! Anyway, I have been diagnosed with ADD since the early 90s. When I was little, I took ritalin. In high school and early into my first degree, I didn't take anything. I started having a hard time and all my coping mechanisms weren't really working any more, so I went back to the doctor after a talk with my advisor in probably.... 2007. I was first put on Strattera, which is NOT a stimulant, but I couldn't stay awake on it! It was like narcolepsy! And it gave me awful n/v. So I was taken off that and put on ritalin instead.

I... can't remember to take it very often :uhoh3: but when I do it helps. Just wanted to say hi, none of us are alone!

i have to thank the meds for all the help. cannot imagine a day without them.

Specializes in LTC, OB, psych.
Hi everyone

This might be weird, but I am the wife of a new grad RN (with ADD) in a med surge floor. I am writing you because he wont look for help and I don't know what to do to help him. He has come home crying a few times, and every day at work he forgets something. So far nothing serious, but he is terrified of one day losing his license because he forgot something serious... He was diagnosed with ADD when a kid, but only now got prescribed concerta (the lowest dose 17mg). It doesnt seem to be helping much. His memory is still a problem. His preceptor has noticed that. He is starting to feel like he can't do the job, and he just started nursing! I feel so helpless. Please, any advice would be very welcome.

Is there any hope for nurses with ADD? Does it get better over time? Does the fear of making a mistake go away? My husband says that he has to work on the med surge floor for 2 years, or he wont get any job later. Is that really true?

Thanks so much for listening.

The dose for Concerta can vary, depending on the individual. I began taking it a few months into a new job, after being frightened by what I call my "ditz factor." 27 mg. wasn't enough for me, so I doubled up (made my doctor frown!) and that worked really well. Did not make things perfect, but made things much better. Concerta and time on the job has vastly improved things. Some feedback coming back to me includes: "coming along nicely," "I thought you caught on rather quickly," and the like.

Your husband, whether he had ADHD or not, would still be in the roughest year of his career. Tell him to stick with it, explore a better dose and see if things don't improve. As for his worry about 2 years on med-surg or bust, that is less important than his nursing instructors would have him believe. I've heard one year on med-surg, or none at all. Personally, I went right into nursing home, and now hospital work, without med-surg. Floated for the first time in ages to a neuro med-surg floor last week, and it seemed pretty easy, compared to clinicals. Hang in there.

Hi everyone,

I also have ADD/HD. I was diagnosed in the fifth grade, but at that time I was able to compensate for my shortcomings in other ways. I am now 28, and have been on medication since I was 24. My medication (Ritalin), is a tremendous asset to me, not only in the performance of my job duties; but also in my social interactions (lots of us ADHDers know how difficult even the simplest communication can be).

Like some previous posters have said, nursing is a great fit for me. I work on a verrrry busy floor where there is no time for anything, many times not even time to eat on a 12hr shift (bad, I know). But I know that for myself I cannot have almost any downtime at all or I get all "spacey" and feel like I cannot recover.

Also, I am a new nurse, on the job for less than three months, and I would like some advice from my fellow RNs who have had similar struggles: I am extremely disorganized. In my home, and in my life, and apparently sometimes at work. I am getting much better at being organized on the job, but sometimes I just lose that concentration because so many things are happening, and once that happens, I can't get it back. I am speaking mostly of keeping track documentation that I need to do, important things that I need to be sure to tell the next shift . . . etc. Anyone have some suggestions? Sometimes I feel like I am just overwhelmed by all of my notes, and my hyper-activeness takes over and I write things or place things in places that "I'm sure I will remember", but only sometimes do.

Also, I know that with ADHD many people experience problems with memory. Does this happen to anyone else, and how do you deal with it (esp amongst the disorganization that can occur with this disorder)?

I haven't had the time to read through all of the 400+ posts on this topic, so forgive me if the questions are redundant. I guess I am also looking for confirmation that I won't feel so lost forever! Thanks for hearing me out!

Specializes in na.

ADHD W/ PTSD

I would like to chat with anyone that is experiencing these disorders. Long story short Dx/w ADHD about 3.5 years ago at 46yrs young. Attended and graduated LPN school in less than a year there after while on Addrerall XR. While seeking employment and first job as an LPN I was attacked/assaulted during a day lite robbery and I was injured physically and mentally (yep repeat offender now incarcerated). Phys> Rotators cuff and other shoulder stuff and after months of therapy mentally> PTSD.

Since then (about a year and a half) the physical issues have been resolved and I know I can work physically but mentally not yet... I still suffer from flashbacks and such. One major concern is my memory which has really suffered. I am doing the Adderall XR thing for the ADHD but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions on the memory side. I have resisted additional meds for (PTSD) since for the most part trauma therapy has greatly helped.

I am now enrolled as of today at local college for some pre-reqs for RN degree (LPN to RN-BSN) program. I must admit since I have no tangible experience as an LPN my zest is not where it was when I first entered the LPN program. That said instead of sitting on my "dupah" I figured why not go to school but in reality I have concerns. A) I might be bored by the regular classroom environmnet and B)My memory not being sharp might hurt me in class as well (yes I have visited the disabilities dept). The disability office at the college has cleared me for some services and I am afforded some accomodations in class but again in reality in a real RN setting I want to make sure I am in fulll capacity to provide outstanding care to my patients.

OK "nuff" typed anyone care to respond...

Hi everyone. I'm not a nurse (yet). I'm waiting for am LPN program to start and in the mean time I've been perusing the allnurses site :-) I have not officially been diagnosed with ADD but I'm fairly sure that I have it, or something.

Really my WHOLE life I've felt like it takes 5x the effort for me to do the things that other people seem to do effortlessly. I'm always losing and misplacing things, my room growing up was a disaster, my house is always messy, I forget things, I'm always running late. I try to listen to people talk and my mind wanders even though I'm trying SO hard to listen. People tell me things and I'm not sure of what I heard later and have to ask. It's like I live in a fog. I have an appointment with a Psychiatrist in a few weeks (first available). We'll see how that goes.

I'm comforted to know that there are those who are nurses with ADD and doing well. I believe that I dropped out of college many moons ago because I was afraid I couldn't hang as a teacher (my major at the time). There's hope! There's hope!

Specializes in na.

Ahhh amyloov,

Strong suggestion, if at all possible get professionally and thoroughly tested for add/adhd. A good psychological group that specializes in ADHD is best that performs many tests to really pinpoint areas that may be an be issue for you can really be a life and career saver. Especially heading off to school to be an LPN. There will be alot of stress and anxieties placed upon you and if you are not all there you may become one of those drop out statistics the professors love to throw around. Most of the students in my class that dropped out in the first 2 wks were def ADD/ADHD BUT of the unmanaged type. Most that passed Add/ADHD to the max but they managed there symptoms well. Check out these forums and sites. addforum.org totallyadd.com and look for lecture series (video) from Dr Russell A. Barkley (just google his name with ADHD) and these sites will really open yours eyes.

Best of luck

Thanks so much! I appreciate it. I'm going to a psychiatrist in about 2 weeks for an evaluation and we'll see what happens from there.

Good for you Amyloov.,

Please let us know how it went.

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