Are you ADD or ADHD?

[Jillieann Rose]

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is generally considered to be a developmental disorder, largely neurological in nature, affecting between three and five percent of the population.[1][2][3] The disorder is characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity.[4] ADHD initially appears in childhood and manifests itself with symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control, and distractibility.[5] ADHD is currently considered to be a persistent and chronic condition for which no medical cure is available. ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in children and, over the past decade, has been increasingly diagnosed in adults. It is believed that around 60% of children diagnosed with ADHD retain the disorder as adults.[6] Studies show that there is a familial transmission of the disorder which does not occur through adoptive relationships. < Information from Wikipedia,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention-Deficit_Disorder>
I have ADD as does most of the males in my father's family. Two of my sons are ADD and the third one the youngest is ADHD.
I'm wondering what percentage of the people here at Susan's have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Does this disorder which is not curable also plague may of us?

[TheBattler]

They do not affect me.

Alice

[Jillieann Rose]

Count yourself lucky Alice.
Thanks for answering the poll.
Jillieann

[Kate]

If anything, I get hyper-FOCUSED on things. Persistent, obsessive, unrelenting until I figure something out or get what I want. I sometimes think it's mild autism, as I get... errr... LOST into things, and the outer world just goes bye bye to me.

Come to think of it though, I don't do that much anymore really since HRT....huh... hadn't realized that. Interesting.

~Kate~

[Dennis]

If anything, I get hyper-FOCUSED on things. Persistent, obsessive, unrelenting until I figure something out or get what I want. I sometimes think it's mild autism, as I get... errr... LOST into things, and the outer world just goes bye bye to me.

Come to think of it though, I don't do that much anymore really since HRT....huh... hadn't realized that. Interesting.

~Kate~

Hyperfocus is also something that people with ADD have at times - can lose time with it.

Dennis

[Melissa]

I definitely have ADD.  I was diagnosed as a kid and recently was diagnosed as an adult.  Both diagnosis were done by psychs.  I'm on medication for it not.  It's a Schedule II drug, so there were a lot of hoops I had to jump through to get it.  One thing I found out is that ADD is one of the symptoms of Klinefelter's syndrome.

[Jillieann Rose]

Hyper focus is also something that people with ADD have at times - can lose time with it.

Dennis

Your so right Dennis. To accomplish a  task I focus out everything around me. If I don't I can get the task done because of all the distractions. Or I multitask and focus on three or four things but the same rules apply I have to block everything else out.
Oh life can be so much fun. Especially when people think I am ignoring them.

Jillieann

[Intertween]

I do not have ADD or ADHD.

But I loved Marq and Mia's response in the thread on dyslexia:

Dyslexia has been described as thinking in three dimensions when a two dimensional solution is needed.

It reminded me of something I'd read by Thom Hartmann, whose son was diagnosed with ADD. He called people without ADD "Farmers" to reflect their ability to adapt to society's move to agriculture and industry. People with ADD he characterized as "Hunters" because their skills of easy distractibility, impulsiveness, and a love of risk or high-sensation were well-suited to hunting. So he thought that ADD was a matter of people stuck out of time.

-- Sue

[Jillieann Rose]

Oh my! 
Now I have another problem; I'm not only in the wrong body but in the wrong time period too. Thanks Sue. Anyone got a time machine? 
The things you find out here at Susans.
Jillieann

[rhonda13000]

#2

Did I mention that life has been a b%tch?

Oh yeah, I sure did. 

[LynnER]

I actualy dont have either, though most wouldnt believe it if they ment me...

I do tend to drum on things, allmost constantly, and I have a nervous twitch in my leg that I cant allways controll...  I am allmost allways moveing... if I stop... especialy for long periods of time, then something is dreadfuly wrong.  But they tested me over and over and over again thorugh out school... trying to find out a reason for my behavior. <heh, if they only knew the half of it heheheh> My attention span and retention abilities are phinominal... I can read a novel and generaly tell you about it in detail months to years later... and I usualy can finish a 400-500 page soft cover novel in 2-3 days... I just cant sit still... though IM much better than I used to be. I blame HRT and its oh so calming effecs LoL...  I used to even drum and tap in my sleep.

[rhonda13000]

I actualy dont have either, though most wouldnt believe it if they ment me...

I do tend to drum on things, allmost constantly, and I have a nervous twitch in my leg that I cant allways controll...  I am allmost allways moveing... if I stop... especialy for long periods of time, then something is dreadfuly wrong.  But they tested me over and over and over again thorugh out school... trying to find out a reason for my behavior. <heh, if they only knew the half of it heheheh> My attention span and retention abilities are phinominal... I can read a novel and generaly tell you about it in detail months to years later... and I usualy can finish a 400-500 page soft cover novel in 2-3 days... I just cant sit still... though IM much better than I used to be. I blame HRT and its oh so calming effecs LoL...  I used to even drum and tap in my sleep.

[playful]

OK Lynn,

"Just...Put...the...Doobie...Down!"

(just messing with you) 

[Melissa]

I definitely have ADD.  I was diagnosed as a kid and recently was diagnosed as an adult.  Both diagnosis were done by psychs.  I'm on medication for it not.  It's a Schedule II drug, so there were a lot of hoops I had to jump through to get it.  One thing I found out is that ADD is one of the symptoms of Klinefelter's syndrome.

I probably have OCD as well.  I'm on meds for that too, but they haven't kicked in yet.  One thing I noticed recently is I get obsessive about shaving my legs and getting every single hair off and would spend hours if I allowed myself.  I also can't stand seeing hairbrushes with hair in them.  I pull it out and throw it away.  There's other things too, but these are recent ones I noticed.  Gah, life with GID, ADD, OCD, and depression has been quite difficult.

[freedomfromyself]

I think i was diagnosed with ADHD when i was like 3 or so. Throughout the test i kept swinging my legs in my chair and accidently kicking the guy on the other side of the table questioning me. idk it's wicked hard at times like in school or anywhere where i have to sit still for more than ...well umm anywhere where i have to sit...haha...and i also have trouble sleeping becuz of it...as my mind won't shut up at night...every night at around 12 or so i feel like i could run a marathon...melatonin helped knock me out in college but it's wearing off now...ne ways...i find that when i don't do something active i become irritated and depressed and what not...i like it tho...it allows me to see things very differently from most people

[Dennis]

I wonder if some of us guys get diagnosed with ADD or ADHD because we're behaving like boys in girls' bodies. I know there's a lot of controversy about whether we're medicating male behaviour in a lot of cases. That could be the case for FtM's.

Dennis

[Sarah Louise]

My older sister who is a Reverend and a Shrink tells me that if they had diagnosed ADD in the 40's and 50's that I would have been diagnosed with it.  I spent a lot of time in different councelors offices for personality disorders and as for OCD, definately, in oh so many different ways.

Sarah L.

[freedomfromyself]

Good point Dennis. I've definitely been wondering that myself. It's usually more commonly diagnosed and severe in males. I have some friends who are girls that have ADD, but i don't know many with ADHD. However, i have several guy friends with ADHD.

[Laurry]

I'm not, but sometimes I wish I were as it would be an excuse for being so absent-minded.  Sadly, I've been having "senior moments" since I was a kid

...Laurry

[Suzie]

How many ADD kids does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Let's go ride bikes.

[rhonda13000]

I once saw a psychologist in the AF, for medical evaluation of my ADHD; we had a good conversation.    I told him that while it helped to create serious problems in my life, it did help me to multi-task.

He had told me that he had ADD and mentioned that he was formerly a fighter pilot in Vietnam and that his ADD actually helped him in air combat.

I smiled and nodded; that made sense to me.