I think I have ADHD but I'm afraid to ask my Dr.

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Here's the quick story: All my life I've been super hyperactive. I get distracted easily, bounce around like crazy, and cannot shut up. Getting through school has been a task so far and I have trouble making friends/maintaining good relationships at work. Often times I try to slow myself down, but I can't, and I say things I know are unnecessary but I just cannot stop. At home I tend to get these bouts of feeling "hyperactive" that are hard to control and hard to channel into anything useful for any decent amount of time, and I often know my sometimes childish behavior is going too far for people but once I get like that it's hard to control. At work not so much because I am a new nurse aide and I'm so busy trying to keep up with everything (busy jobs have helped a lot), it's only noticeable there to people because I cannot stand silence, or when I'm trying to organize my tasks for that part of the shift (at every break, I try to plan out what I'm doing until the next break).

Mixed views: I've had previous bosses friends and family tell me I'm a classic case for ADHD but my parents didn't believe in it, so treatment was always out of the question. Now I'm afraid to ask my doctor because I don't want to be laughed out of the office, and I don't know if a diagnosis would interfere with my chances of getting into my nursing program, or finding a job as a nurse if I were medicated.

Why I'm asking now: It's been debated since I was a small child, and I am twenty one in January. I'm finding school harder and harder to focus on as time goes by, even though the classes and the information fascinates me, and though I have no trouble understanding the material. I am wondering if seeking a diagnosis/treatment might be beneficial to me as my classes and work and domestic demands increase. I also want to quit smoking, a habit that I use to "take breaks" and refocus myself. Its very hard for me to follow through on anything at all, the only thing I feel I've improved on these past few months is my work attendance. If there's a chance this could balance me out, I think it may help my anxiety as well, which I can't take medication for because I can't function on it.

It's hard to be the calm and focused one at work, but I try as hard as I can for my residents. I feel that with time and experience I will be very good at what I do. I'm just afraid to ask my doctor and worried about my loved ones finding out if I do have ADHD or if I do go on medications. There seem to be a lot of people here with experience with ADHD, and so I figured it would be safe to talk here.

Thank you for listening, guys.

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I have ADHD and getting a proper diagnosis is key. I started my journey looking on the internet for ADD/ADHD related sites to see if they "looked like me" which they did! I found the CHADD website http://www.chadd.org/

and from there found someone who tested adults and got tested. I also found a CHADD group for adults and found a therapist who specializes in ADD/ADHD as she herself has it and talking with her is so helpful!! Good Luck!!!

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Agree with above poster that getting a proper diagnosis is key. As a person with ADHD, who wasn't diagnosed until in my 40's (adhd dx was rare in my area when i was younger, if one got dx'd it was typically boys, not girls in that time frame) I would say that the earlier you can be tested, the better! I would quite simply ask my Dr. for a referral to a psychologist that does add testing and diagnosis. I went and got tested, and took some time to consider and accept the diagnosis, then started on medication. BEST thing i ever did for myself.

My only regret is that I didn't get tested much much sooner. Do yourself a Big favor, go in and be tested!

The biggest help for me has been ADHD coach, medication, and I also try to control adhd by diet and exercise.

Best of luck to you, I know that you will be much relieved to find out either way. Also, it is critical imho to also recognize the postive aspects of adhd when first diagnosed. So often it is looked at negatively, and certainly there are those aspects...but there is also many positive traits associated with adhd.

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Specializes in ICU.

Things can't get better if you're not properly diagnosed. Why suffer needlessly?

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I agree with with previous posters' responses. The best thing I ever did for myself was getting diagnosed and starting my medications. If its interfering with your life then its a problem.

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You have done the hardest part.....admitting there is a problem. Everyone of us battles with our own mental issues, whether it is depression, anxiety, adhd, bipolar disorder...what ever. It is nobody's business what your diagnosis is, or what meds you are on. I have never told my employer or school of my mental history. It is personal and private. The doctor is not going to laugh you out of the office. Do go to a psychiatrist though, as they are more trained to diagnose your particular issue. Our profession has a negative image of mental health. That has to change. Don't go through it anymore....go to the doctor. They will help u.

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Specializes in Rehabilitation.

I have to say, I face a rather similar situation, although part of my reluctance for asking for help comes from my own views on ADHD(That it's over-diagnosed), and mental health(God help me I don't want to be crazy).

I'll be 23 next month, am a staff-RN in a Rehab hospital, where we usually have between an 8:1 and a 11:1 patient nurse ratio. I've worked there for almost two years, and am fairly successful in getting everything done and patient care. Unfortunately, I still get that disorganized panicked, "OMG, I'M RUNNING LATE, I'M NEVER GOING TO LEAVE THIS PLACE" feeling a lot. My co-workers are always like "Breathe, Amanda." At times I can hyperfocus at work, but I usually end up frazzled at some point. And I've had a few issues with discipline(Mainly because of foot-in-mouth syndrome)

At home, however, my disorganization is even worse. That's where I actually see the biggest problem. I can't sit down and watch an entire movie straight. It sometimes takes me days to watch an entire movie, because I'll pause it, do something else, get distracted, watch it for another few minutes, get distracted again, go off and do something else...

So, I was looking into ADHD for something completely different, and every time I read the symptoms, I was like "THAT IS ME!" Now I'm faced with the idea of getting diagnosed, because I do want to be better, but I don't want drugs, because I dislike drugs, and I can never remember to take drugs anyway. And I don't want to be diagnosed as mentally ill, because, well, that's just my own stigma, and if it's not official, it doesn't count right?(Right).

Nevertheless, I am going to call a mental health provider and get it looked into.

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Do not be ashamed. Seek help.:idea:

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

proper diagnosis is crucial! my husband was finally diagnosed with add, adhd, ocd, and being a hoarder. the dx did not come quickly. he was dx after many many appointments with a psychologist

and a psychiatrist, who talked, evaluated, and tested him.

he grew up in a christian scientist home and to this day, he feels guilty every time he takes a pill.

i remind him often or he "forgets" quite often. make an appointment!

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I'm 27 and was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 20, and not only that, a severe anxiety disorder as well. It's sometimes difficult being a nurse with ADHD because so much of what we do centers around completing tasks.

I hope by now you have sought some professional insight to your problem because unfortunately if you do have this problem, you don't grow out of it. I've been successfully treated for 2 years, and no employer has ever noticed I have the disability (except maybe if I forget to take my pill one day!).

Aside from the military maybe, no employer can ask you questions about your mental capacity anyway. That's illegal, and discrimination if they use that as a reason not to hire you.

As for your parents and your pending diagnosis, tell them to think of it this way: You go to the cardiologist when something's wrong with your heart, right? If the doc said you had heart failure, you'd take the Digoxin, right? What's the difference then. Your mind is like any part of the body, and by all means if we have the means to make it better, do it. There's no shame there.

Good luck!

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I have ADD and have had it since I was a child. I only take medication while I am in school, I am in college now and I would not have been able to do it without my meds. Ask your doctor, if he laughs at you ask him for a referral to a new PCP!

Good luck,

Jenn

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