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?:)

Ha! whats funny is that before I was diagnosed, I used to say "sorry, ADD moment" all the time! at least now I'm telling the truth. It also doesnt help that I'm a hypochondriac so I've always thought that I've had everything known to man. Just the other day I was convinced that I had diabetes when I was just dehydrated. (dont even get me started on trying to explain that one because it did and still made complete sense to me lol)

I was reading some of the post and wanted to make a comment on a few posts. I recently purchased an audio book Driven to Distraction it covers a lot of information on ADD but it also talks about our society and obsession with time, fast paced, and right now mind set. Based upon our societies expectations ADD can be misdiagnosed the author rights about it as Pseudo ADD. Here is a link to an excerpt I found. PBS - frontline: medicating kids: readings: pseudo-add

Please dont misunderstand what I am trying to say. ADD can also take different forms I myself am ADD I am not outgoing, or very talkative. Most of the time I am lost with what is going on around me and often spend my time just trying to catch up (when I am not day dreaming).

Any way, I also wanted to vent about somthing. If you dont mind. In addition to ADD I am also Dyslexic over the years I have learned different technics to surrvive accademically. One thing that bothers me at work and school is when people make comments like " sorry, I had an add moment" or "a dyslexic moment" for me its not just a moment its a lifetime. Sorry about the venting. I was jsut kind of wondering if any one else felt the same way.

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I agree, I read that a PDA (or even a planner) can work well for people like us. I shelled out the money and finally broke down and bought Davis drug guide for it and it is a lifesaver in clinical. plus i think my teacher likes that I have one so she has someone to talk tech stuff about. good think im a gadget nerd

Have you thought about investing in a PDA of some sort? I LOVE epocrates (Epocrates, home of the world's most widely used mobile medical references)! It's free (or around for around $100.00 I believe you can get the enhanced program), & I can look up my meds & check to see if their are any meds that don't mix + side effects!

Just a thought. I know I have more confidence when I ck meds this way!

~MJ

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I agree that ADD is overdiagnosed, but i feel that its overdiagnosed in children. probably because kids have a tendency to be hyperactive and inatentive anyway. I was different as a kid, I was quiet, lethargic, overly sensitive and all I wanted to do is sleep. Im still like that when Im not on my medication. These are actually signs of ADD but I guess most dont know it.

I wish it was as easy to get my Adderall prescription legally as it is to get it illegally, its a pain to have to go to the doctors and have her write a new prescription each month.

i didn't make blanket statements... i said in my experience, most people i knew used it for recreational purposes or for better grades, and it wasn't difficult for them, or ANYONE, to get prescriptions for these terribly abused drugs.. because ADD is so overdiagnosed. if everyone in the world went and got tested, probably half would be ADD.. that's just what i've seen, that all my friends who pursued it ended up with ADD that they never knew about. go figure. yes, adderall will get anyone better grades.. but sometimes you just have to quit making excuses for yourself.
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I acutally just took a drug test for a new job, I told them that I take adderall for ADD and have a prescription. Of course it showed up on the test and the drug testing company listed me as a no hire (when the people at the facility I interviewed at said that they usually say "status pending" when they are waiting to see proof of prescription). luckily, the hiring nurse is going to advocate for me.

If an employee has a prescription for Adderall, can an employer legally refuse to hire?
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The medication for ADD is what makes you safe, just like insulin makes a diabetic safe. If a diabetic tries to be a nurse, do they say no, because of the diabetes? Of course not.

The way drug screens are done is, the lab has a physician to whom they send results that are not totally "clean." That physician calls the candidate (you), tells you the result and asks for an explanation. You explain. He asks for you to contact your prescribing physician to give the prescribing physician a release, so he can verify that you take the medication for the right reason, and that it is prescribed.

No advocacy needed. No "no hire" if you are getting the med from a licensed physician.

Been there, done that, no problem.

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hello all,

does any one have any info concerning the add act??

i think i might have been discriminated against in nursing school!!

thanks for you help in advance!!

linda

you can email me

i removed your email address from my quote--anyone can pick that up, even people who aren't members of this board, and you will get loads of spam and lord knows what.... you might go back and edit out your email address from your original post, although i took the liberty of asking the moderators to do it, for your safety. i get worked up sometimes myself, and have been grateful when one of them lovingly removed identifying information that i had included--

now. i don't know what you are asking about. the act is an exam people take before college--is that what you are asking? or "act" like an act of congress or a law?

either way, maybe you can clarify what you're asking about. i couldn't find anything on google that seemed to relate....

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care.

Your post interesting and funny. I am such a hypochondriac so I completly understand the dehydration-diabetes thing in fact I think I may have thought that about my self. Perhaps its due to our overactive ADD imagination.:nuke:

Ha! whats funny is that before I was diagnosed, I used to say "sorry, ADD moment" all the time! at least now I'm telling the truth. It also doesnt help that I'm a hypochondriac so I've always thought that I've had everything known to man. Just the other day I was convinced that I had diabetes when I was just dehydrated. (dont even get me started on trying to explain that one because it did and still made complete sense to me lol)
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Heh.... was considering starting a similar thread.

I take Dexedrine 5mg ii po tid prn. Best stuff in the whole world. With dex I have more control vs. something like a long acting drug. I used to write a newsletter for my dept. I knew I had to wait for the Dex to wear off before writing. Creativity goes to sh!t with amphetamines.

Anyone have the experience that when you take too much amphetamine you want to crawl under the desk and go to sleep?

Yes, yes, yes, to both the creativity and to the sleeping! Also, I've noticed that almost every stimulant drug makes me irritable, I feel like I can get very angry all the time (I really don't like driving with them.) I take a miniscule dose (2.5 mg adderal prn). Has anyone else had this problem? I haven't tried it at work yet. I need the drugs, but this worries me.

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I agree that ADD is overdiagnosed, but i feel that its overdiagnosed in children. probably because kids have a tendency to be hyperactive and inatentive anyway. I was different as a kid, I was quiet, lethargic, overly sensitive and all I wanted to do is sleep. Im still like that when Im not on my medication. These are actually signs of ADD but I guess most dont know it.

I wish it was as easy to get my Adderall prescription legally as it is to get it illegally, its a pain to have to go to the doctors and have her write a new prescription each month.

My doctor will mail me mine or leave it at the pharmacy for me (same building as my dr.s office) so I don't need to have a monthly visit. I couldn't afford that. As it is, I usually take significantly less than what's prescribed so I don't need to make the extra trips. One time between doctor's after I moved, I rationed one month for a whole year until I found a new physician. I wish we could get three months worth at a time. It would make it much easier.

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Specializes in RN-BC, CCRN, TCRN, CEN.
I agree...I am not yet a nurse...I am a senior in highschool who has ADD...Have had since sixth grade...my teachers who knew about it could tell when I did not take my meds...I will be following this thread very carefully because I want to be a nurse someday and this thread could help me if and when i do.

Same here! I was diagnosed in 7th grade. Teachers couldn't understand why I couldn't pay attention, so my dad finally got me tested. That was Hell.... sitting in a room answering 300 questions about how I act. The last one should have been "Are you feeling extremely restless now that this test is over?". Anyway, I got on some meds which I had to switch a couple times. Now I'm on 40mg of Strattera. It works well. I am able to concentrate a lot better. Days when I don't feel right, I think about it and I'm like, 'crap, i forgot my meds today'. I hope I can be a great nurse despite my 'setback'. I'm glad there are so many of 'us' here!

later!

Jeremy [goes to stare at the birds outside] lol

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Specializes in Case Managemnt, Utilization Review.

I was self diagnosed after my then 4 year old son was. I thought, gee I have all these symptoms. Don't give me a checkbook and bills, can't keep up with them. Good thing I have a great husband who tolerates me because of my sense of humor and compassion. Nursing is a great field for those with ADD/ADHD because you can multitask as long as you keep a list, as not to forget the priorities.It is also good because you can job hop when you get bored, which for me was after about 3-4 years. I thought that when I went back to college at 39 to get my BSN, I would need something in the classroom for those 6-8 hour class days but I was so interested in the content I did OK as long as I went to the bathroom every hour and took the class breaks.

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Hi,

I think I have ADD but I'm not sure. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and have always felt quite lethargic and been very sensitive. Right now I've got mild to moderate depression. I have been telling my psychiatrist that I may be suffering from ADD and have felt for a long time that I have been.

When I was in highschool I could read and focus on a book for a long period of time, but with short two or three minute breaks every 20 to 30 minutes. Now even if I pick up a book that I love, I want to abandon it after 10 minutes. My mind has gotten quite sneaky, sometimes I'll be reading for a few minutes, or doing a task and realize I'm not even there, my minds been running around a million different places, and I'm simply looking at the words but not digesting them. Does that make sense? Should I be more insistent that my Psychiatrist test me for ADD?

I agree that ADD is overdiagnosed, but i feel that its overdiagnosed in children. probably because kids have a tendency to be hyperactive and inatentive anyway. I was different as a kid, I was quiet, lethargic, overly sensitive and all I wanted to do is sleep. Im still like that when Im not on my medication. These are actually signs of ADD but I guess most dont know it.

I wish it was as easy to get my Adderall prescription legally as it is to get it illegally, its a pain to have to go to the doctors and have her write a new prescription each month.

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