Nurses with Adult ADD

[echo*echo]

Hi all,

As a prospective Nursing Student I am curious if there is anybody out there with Adult ADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder). I was diagnosed with ADD as a child and have also been treated for this (and depression) as an adult. I was also diagnosed with severe migraines at age 6 and continue to suffer from them 30+ years later. As a child I was very much withdrawn from my classmates and often became innattentive or lost in my own world. This was attributed to ADD despite the fact I was performing 2-3 grade levels above my peers.

Grades 1-12 were not very difficult for me despite many lapses, however once I reached college I soon became overwhelmed with the workload and working so many hours. I would do very well one semester, and then reach a point the next semester where I had so much going on that I would literally break down and not be able to stay focused on anything. Needless to say my grades and life suffered because of this.

I eventually left college and took a rather unchallenging position for 10 years. It had little pressure and I was rarely overwhelmed, at least at work. My doctor even suggested ADD was partially responsible for me "settling" for such a position. However in my private life I still often had difficulty prioritizing and remaining organized. I have taken medication off and on for this and to be honest don't know if it has helped or not.

Now my question to you: Any other sufferers? How did it impact your schooling? How has it affected your career? Would this even exclude me from getting into an ADN program? I went through a 3 year period of my life where I worked full-time and spent my remaining time caring for a terminally ill Mother and despite the difficulties, physically and emotionally, I handled the situation very well. As tragic as this situation was it did give me confidence that I can handle an intense workload and pressure situations. Maybe maturity has dulled it's affect?

Thanks!

[fluffybear]

I looked at that site you mentioned, and took the "test" and boy, it did actually seem to describe the mental issues that I seem to have had to continuously deal with throughout my life. However, lately, since starting on Ritalin, I have seemed to be experiencing some depression that is a lot worse than I have ever experienced before. I am currently on Wellbutrin, but it doesn't seem to be working. I would really like to know if anyone else has experienced this when starting a medication and what they did.

[tiliimnrn]

I originally brought my daughter in to the doctor's to have her diagnosed because I was so sure she had ADD. While I was listening to some of the questions I was thinking to myself. OMG (oh my God) this is me......this is me.

I'm 54 years old and all of my life I have felt a little behind. I figured it was because I started school when I was 4 and everyone else was older, but as the years went by and I ended up being the oldest in the group I still felt a little behind.

My way of dealing with the scattering of thoughts, etc. is to get almost hyper organized...you know, make up my own sheets to work from, carry everything in the world you would ever need for a day at work. This works for me, except if there is an emergency, then I get scattered again and panic. I got off of the Tele/step down unit, and the oncology unit, it just wasn't good for me.

I'm beginning to wonder if having ADD is a prerequisite for nursing? What do you think people:rotfl:

[tslane]

Hi. I have experienced so many of the problems you have named. Great in some classes, very, very bright but do poorly or fail other classes because I am too overwhelmed and can't deal with the stress. It is difficult to make friends and keep them. I just don't seem to have the time to devote to friendships. Tried college in my mid twenties, felt overwhelmed and did just like you - took a job that was not challenging. I was tested for a learning disability in 1990 when I wanted to go back to college. I have one. But I never considered adult add until a Nurse that I work with told me she had add and showed me a website with a whole list of symptoms of adult add. And it was ME!

I have been accepted into a RN program for this fall. But I am worried. In the past, if I did poorly in a class, I could just drop it and take it again. But in Nursing school, you can't do that. I have a very difficult time focusing on technical info.

So I mada an appointment with a Psychologist and I do have adult add. He is going to do more testing next week to decide what kind of meds to try me on first.

QUOTE=echo*echo]Hi all,

As a prospective Nursing Student I am curious if there is anybody out there with Adult ADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder). I was diagnosed with ADD as a child and have also been treated for this (and depression) as an adult. I was also diagnosed with severe migraines at age 6 and continue to suffer from them 30+ years later. As a child I was very much withdrawn from my classmates and often became innattentive or lost in my own world. This was attributed to ADD despite the fact I was performing 2-3 grade levels above my peers.

Grades 1-12 were not very difficult for me despite many lapses, however once I reached college I soon became overwhelmed with the workload and working so many hours. I would do very well one semester, and then reach a point the next semester where I had so much going on that I would literally break down and not be able to stay focused on anything. Needless to say my grades and life suffered because of this.

I eventually left college and took a rather unchallenging position for 10 years. It had little pressure and I was rarely overwhelmed, at least at work. My doctor even suggested ADD was partially responsible for me "settling" for such a position. However in my private life I still often had difficulty prioritizing and remaining organized. I have taken medication off and on for this and to be honest don't know if it has helped or not.

Now my question to you: Any other sufferers? How did it impact your schooling? How has it affected your career? Would this even exclude me from getting into an ADN program? I went through a 3 year period of my life where I worked full-time and spent my remaining time caring for a terminally ill Mother and despite the difficulties, physically and emotionally, I handled the situation very well. As tragic as this situation was it did give me confidence that I can handle an intense workload and pressure situations. Maybe maturity has dulled it's affect?

Thanks!