ADD and nursing/schooling???

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2004

Here's a link for you so you can take the ADD test and get an idea if you may be. If your doctor does diagnose you with adult onset ADD, there are certainly medications that he may prescribe for you to improve your concentration.

http://www.amenclinic.com/ac/addtests/adult.asp

etmx5313 · Jan 18, 2004

I was diagnosed about three years ago by accident. I was completing a form on my son for ADD and I was reading the questions to my husband. He replied, "Does that have YOUR name on the bottom of it?" After he said that, I really thought about it. I just thought I was scatter brained and forgetful all these years. Turns out I started on Concerta and it was the best thing I've ever done. It really helped me in school. If I miss a dose or two, I can really see a difference. It helps me so much in daily life also. I can actually remember to go to the grocery store, get groceries, load groceries into car, drive home, unload groceries, and pick up kids after without making a list and then losing the list!

babynurse2B · Jan 18, 2004

i would definately check with your doctor. tell him/her you are going back to school and worried about your studies and concentration. my boyfriend and i both have been diagnosed with add....he takes adderoll but since i don't have health insurance now i'm not on anything. but there is a huge difference in his behaviors and conversation when he is on it. i'm sure anyone would tell you that. he loves school (plans to get a degree in chemistry) but really can't sit and read more than 1/2 page of a book without losing his mind. when he's on the meds he studies and learns and we have great conversations. it's amazing when someone really has a problem and gets treated, you realize how big of a difference it makes in their life.

i would highly recommend the book

add and romance which we both have read. even if it's just one person with add, this book does a great job of explaining the effects of add, treatment, and how to accept it and live with it, whether it is you or someone you love. there are hundreds of stories in this book that made me laugh at the sad and hilarious things we forget and screw up in everyday life! it also goes into depth about the different types of add and different areas of your life they can affect. obviously, not everyone is hyperactive and not everyone forgets things, there are a lot of traits in between.

also, i dont remember what the name of the book is, but a year or 2 ago i flipped through a book at barnes & noble that was specifically for college students with add. the title was probably something like "add and the college student"....??? i would just look in the health/psych section of the store. the book has an extensive checklist of the traits of add, so you can see if you should be diagnosed/treated. also it had a lot of tips and information for college students! we need all the help we can get, right!?

good luck in your searches!!!

RN-BamaStudent · Jan 18, 2004

I've been wondering if I have ADD. I have two children that have been questionable, one is 20 the other 8. I haven't put them on meds for fear of the long run in taking them. I had a problem at a young age with sitting still in class, although my grades were fine. Today I have problems staying focused on my work. Took the ADD test and it said I needed to check further into it, because I might have a problem with ADD. Do you think I should check into meds for my child? Thought maybe it was just a boy thing that he would out grow, and wondered if too many people were jumping on the meds for children too early? Now, I'm starting to doubt my original feelings, and wonder if meds would help not only my son, but myself.

GottaBeanRN · Jan 18, 2004

HI everyone,

It is so weird that this is a thread. I have been researching ADD for a few weeks not thinking that I may have it. I am in nursing school right now and I can NOT retain anything. I study and study. I just can't concentrate. It has always been this way and Ihave struggled through it. I have been successful with my studies but believe me it wasn't easy.

My question for anyone... Where do I go? I just moved. I don't have a primary care physician or anyone for that matter. Do I have to go to a learning center? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to figure this out on my own (ie. no parents) so I really don't know where to begin!

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2004

Do you have insurance? If so, I think the best place for you to begin is to get a PCP and start there. He can refer you to a psychiatrist after you tell him your concerns. Perhaps the local mental health center could refer you somewhere as well, especially if insurance is a problem.

Here is the ADD official site, too.

http://www.add.org/

babynurse2B · Jan 18, 2004

rn-bamastudent:

i would say definately get your kids checked out if you think this is a problem. i believe add has been determined to be hereditary. in my family my mom has it, my brother has it, i have it, and 2 out of 3 of my cousins are on high doses. before putting them on meds i would think over what their lives are like now and how it would help them? for instance, my brother is very intelligent and my parents would discipline him over and over about keeping his school papers in his backpack and turning in his homework, but he would always forget. he would miss turning in half of his work in school because he wasn't paying attention in class or he couldn't find it. when my mother would go in for parent-teacher conferences and such, she would find tons of papers crammed in his desk that never got turned in. eventually he did start taking meds on a regular basis and now he is doing great in high school and wants to go pre-med. for your 20 year old (i'm 20), what would matter most now is probably his ability to concentrate in classes and keep his brain on track when he's trying to study/write papers/take tests. sometimes it's taken me hours to read one page of text or write 1/2 page of a paper just because i can't stay focused. and i mean in my own bedroom, at my desk, no music/tv/etc, only my homework in front of me and nothing else. i had the same problem taking tests, i would either forget the information or just space out and time would pass and i wouldn't get my test finished. meds definately help!!!! :cool:

also, i do think that alot of parents put their kids on ritalin or adderoll when they don't need it. it seems to me that this is the easy way out for parents who don't know how to discipline their children or who think their kids' bad grades will improve if they are on meds. my opinion on this is, if your kids really do have a problem with their brain cells communicating, and meds will help them, don't feel bad about giving them the meds! you could always try it for a little while and then take them off or switch meds/doses if needed.

gottabeanrn:

if you have an insurance, you can find a primary care physician and just call and tell them you think you might have add and would like to make an appt with the doctor. most of the people i know have just asked me or someone else who their doctor is, then called and got an appointment. most of the people i know just get the prescription from their physician. if they think there's something else wrong with you or you need another opinion or whatever, they made refer you to a psychiatrist who will evaluate you. my cousin who has asbergers syndrome (a form of autism) obviously doesnt get her meds from her primary physician. my boyfriend who is on adderoll get his from a psych because his physician thought there may be something else wrong with him besides add. it really just depends on your doctor.

well guys, i hope this helps! i don't know much about anything else on this board, haha, so here's my nutshell advice! sorry about the post being so long, i talk too much!!!! :chuckle

RN-BamaStudent · Jan 19, 2004

Babynurse2b

Thank you so much! You have given me a lot to think about, and in a way that I hadn't thought of before. I really appreciate you taking the time! I do have problems sitting in front of my work, and then realizing that I have been sitting there for awhile! I've even done this while taking a test. Sometimes I'll have to read it over and over before I can concentrate on what the question is asking.

I thought I was doing the right thing by not jumping on the meds with my 20 year old, but now that my 8 year old is going through the same thing, and teachers are calling me, I shouldn't feel guilty about taking him to see if he needs meds, but I do. I've even made appts for him at the request of his teacher's and then cancelled. I would tell myself that he isn't as bad as some that I know, and we can find a way to work through this without meds, but I'll have to re-think this, because I may be doing him more harm by not allowing him to have meds. Thanks for your insight!

Cryssi · Jan 19, 2004

Thanks so much for the replies to this post. Taking that test shocked the heck outta me! I chose "frequently" on SO many! Some of what I have been going through is as follows. I am so disorganized and forgetful; I can go into another room to get something and then halfway there stop dead in my tracks because I forgot what it is I was going to get. If I read, I find myself spacing out, and have to read the same line several times, I rarely finish a book anymore, even those authors that I couldn't put the book down on! And I have ALWAYS loved to read! So now I try to stick to magazines more often, but I can't even finish those half the time.

I am 36 years old, for crying out loud!! I feel like such a ditzy scatterbrain. I started taking Zoloft for depression, because I thought that if I got my depression under wraps, it would kind of spill over into the rest of the areas. Not so. I am still disorganized, with scattered thoughts and my racing mind not even being able to focus on the things that I enjoy. It's really good to hear from so many others who share some of what I go through. Hopefully now we can get the help we or our children need. I certainly could not see me going to school the way I am now....that would be a disaster! Now I wonder if I do start treatment for this, if I would still need to take the Zoloft? I originally started taking it mainly because I was getting down about my mom and dad's failing health; then my mom died on May 1 2003, her 78th birthday, and my dad's holding his own, he's 83 and has throat cancer and severe blockages in the arteries in both legs, with constant swelling and pain. I guess I just realized that yeah, I love them, but they were/are up there in age and I am blessed to have had them for as long as I have. In other words, I'm not as depressed as I used to be.

Sorry for babbling! I really do appreciate the responses, thanks so much:kiss

Cryssi

babynurse2B · Jan 20, 2004

cryssi:

obviously, i'm not a doctor (not even a nurse!)....but i would definately talk with your doctor about the depression meds too. my boyfriend just started taking wellbutrin and i think that may help with depression and add? i'm not sure. but it's work asking to get your life back! i know how you feel....hang in there, things will get better! :kiss

babynurse2B · Jan 22, 2004

hello again! i found this ad today at work and thought someone on here might find the information useful, even though this is a study for children. (rn-bamastudent!) i live in the st. louis area but i don't know the geographics of the mercy medical group.

mercy health research

add

is your child: easily distracted

impulsive

finding it difficult to remain seated

having difficulty paying attention?

mercy health is conducting a research study of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children ages 6 to 12.

if eligible, benefits include:

study medication at no cost to you

study-related consultation at no cost to you

compensation for study-related time and travel

for more information, please call 1-877-883-5056

mercy medical group.