Pre-nursing students with ADD

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I'm 19 & doing all my pre-reqs to get into the RN program but I'm having trouble because of my ADD. I self diagnosed myself & I'm positive that I have ADD as all the symptoms are present in my condition. I fear this will be very detrimental for my nursing pre-reqs. I have trouble engaging in my studies without my mind switching to some other thoughts. I have no desire to resort to any medication at all & I plan to find any means that'll offer a natural remedy for ADD. Are there Nurses or students who have been dealing with ADD? If so, how did you deal with it? And if someone has treated it through natural means (no medication), can you please share that remedy.

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I'd really go to a doctor and get a medical opinion. You shouldn't diagnosis yourself. You could have something else wrong.

Good luck.

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I'd really go to a doctor and get a medical opinion. You shouldn't diagnosis yourself. You could have something else wrong.

Good luck.

I agree with KathyZ don't diagnose yourself, please go to a doctor.

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Specializes in CCRN.

Also check into your school's learning assistance programs. You may get some help with study habits and skills. My school has a network of professionals available to assess students with learning challenges and disabilities. You may be ADD, but that should NOT be self diagnosed. Check out all of your options. And yes, I know of several people in my class that have been professionally diagnosed with ADDHD and are quite successful.

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Also check into your school's learning assistance programs. You may get some help with study habits and skills. My school has a network of professionals available to assess students with learning challenges and disabilities. You may be ADD, but that should NOT be self diagnosed. Check out all of your options. And yes, I know of several people in my class that have been professionally diagnosed with ADDHD and are quite successful.

You will definitely need medical documentation to qualify for assistance, I was diagnosed with a learning disability through Texas Rehab Commission, they arranged all kinds of medical/psychological tests. I currently receive assistance at my school through their Student's with Disabilities Services.

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Anyone who self diagnoses has a fool for a patient. Seek out a competent medical professional for help.

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I agree with the above- you should confirm dx. Also, don't look at it as "bad" at all!! Did you know a very large percentage of Dr.'s (probably nurses too) are ADD and ADHD? Think about all they (We) go through to even become a nurse- you have to be able to multitask and change directions in a split second.

My youngest has this and her doc told me, he has it and it never hurt him only helped. Once he found a way to harness the energy (sports) he was warpspeed to his med degree!

Also, I know of someone who uses Mt Dew to calm her down. She says it has the opposite affect on her than a non add person would have!

A friend who is a 5th grade teacher has an add boy in her class and she makes bets with him that she is sure to lose. The prize Mt dew!! Of course she really wins in the end!

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

I agree, go see a doctor and get an accurate diagnosis.

Good luck

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Oh Honey RUN don't walk to your doctors office. I have ADD and getting on meds changed my life. It wasn't till I figured out that I wanted to be a nurse did I realize I had this neurological condition. For the first time in my life I truly cared about school but I still couldn't focus no matter how hard I tried. I took some natural stuff, and I went to study skills workshops but nothing has helped me liked good old fashioned western medicine. Look, I totally understand your desire to find some holistic alternative, I'm also a massage therapist and very into organics, yoga, and natural preventative measures but sometimes you gotta face the facts and get over it. :p If I figured this out sooner I could have saved myself a lot of tears, time and money. I'm about to retake 3 classes, pre-meds. I had a wonderful massage client who is a nurse and has ADD, she told me this is a real thing and that there is nothing wrong with getting the help you need. Her and I would laugh about some of our ADD quirks during her sessions and I'm so grateful I had someone to validate my feelings that I wasn't crazy or stupid. You can always just go to doctor and discuss it with him/her. I wish you the best of luck! :banghead: me before I got help!

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Kinda long...sorry :)

I'm 19 & doing all my pre-reqs to get into the RN program but I'm having trouble because of my ADD. I self diagnosed myself & I'm positive that I have ADD as all the symptoms are present in my condition. I fear this will be very detrimental for my nursing pre-reqs. I have trouble engaging in my studies without my mind switching to some other thoughts. I have no desire to resort to any medication at all & I plan to find any means that'll offer a natural remedy for ADD. Are there Nurses or students who have been dealing with ADD? If so, how did you deal with it? And if someone has treated it through natural means (no medication), can you please share that remedy.

Narcissistic I have ADHD. I am in the middle of my pre-reqs. and I can tell you from experience there is no way I could have ever succeded in school without being diagnosed (offically) and being put on medication.

I wasn't diagnosed till I was 28 and had screwed up my GPA at my AA school. After I had been diagnosed, my Psychatrist (sp) told me ADHD is a reason why, and not a crutch or an excuse. I spent 2 yrs in counsling to learn how to study, relate to people, handle my medication, and on and on. It was a very valuable time. I was encouraged to return to school and see how well I could do. Armed with my Med's and the knowledge how to succed in school, I went back to the same community college I left 6 yrs earlier. My 1st semester back I got a 3.58! I was estatic! I had never done so well. I never got less than a 3.0 and now I am applying for nursing school while finishing up my pre-reqs.

I can tell you that having to take medication, I notice the difference when I forget my meds (rarely now, but when I worked nites and switched from days to nights I noticted ). Without my medications, I walk around in fog (thick fog) all day. I have trouble keeping my mind focused and getting anything done. Frankly, I don't see how you can do it without Meds. Taking Meds is not a weakness, anymore than taking meds for acid reflex is a weakness.

It's your choice but I can tell you I'd never be who I am and as successful as I've become without my Meds and I'm not ashamed to ask for help when I need it. Since you have no official diagnoses, you cannot go to the student office of disabilites to ask for help with a tutor, or testing situations or anything. I would suggest you contact your physican about how to be "offically" diagnosed. It would greatly benifit you to be able to ask for help when you need it, also seek counsling in how to manage school and ADD. Like I've said before, getting medication, is not a bad thing, and there is no way I'd be in any school what-so-ever without my Meds.

Just my .02 cents.

P.S. No offense to non-adders' but having ADHD is like having a superpower! If you can harness the energy, you can do anything!

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I agree with all the posts I have ADD, and also am back in school 20 years later after realizing why I did so badly previously.

One thing I can tell you is this with meds. You can focus on the subject and not give up. Without, unfocused and give up first let down.

I tell people it's like driving around in a car with a dirty windshield you can see, but not easily. When you take your meds it's like nice clean windows and clarity.

If you want to get through with ease see a doc, it's pretty easy to be diagnosed just some tests etc.

good luck and go for it

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I was diagnosed with ADD two years ago and have been on meds since then. I was very stubborn in the beginning and wanted to do things "on my own" without meds. On my meds, and now that I am in school, I can organize my thoughts, my work, my schedule (sometimes:uhoh3: ) so much better. I have to laugh at the Mt. Dew comments - that was me prior to diagnosis. I self-medicated with caffeine! But it truly worked! Rather than making someone with ADD revved up even more, it actually causes a person to focus all that energy rather than having the energy bouncing off the walls in all different directions. It is very strange to me that the meds given are "speed", yet we feel like we already "speed" just in a different way.

Now, if I have days when I skip my meds (like today and yesterday:( ) I can tell a huge difference - I can't study because I can't stay focused - I'll get up and walk around and sit back down and not remember anything I read previously, I'll get bored with what I'm reading and then skip to the next page, only to return to the previous page and have to start reading all over again, etc., etc.!!

SO - GO AND GET A DR. DIAGNOSIS! Many Fam Practice docs will help you, if not, get in to see a Psychiatrist! The results are well worth it!!!

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