I read somewhere that a decent DIY test for adult ADD was to drink a cup of reaaallly strong coffee. If it made you sleepy, you might have ADHD. Your thoughts?

I should have been diagnosed years ago, hind sight being 20/20. I was the person that always had 5 projects 95% completed and was asking for something else to do. I like to sew, and would almost finish something, and Oh look! a shiny!

My shrink has toyed with my chemistry so many times over the years you would have thought he might have done something about maybe trying to figure out if I was ADD or ADHD, but finally, this year, he put me on ritalin. Seems to be helping.

And yes, I live on Coffee. I have a Keurig at home, and I get Venti lattes with an extra shot of expresso when I'm out.Plus Diet Mt Dew is mana from the gods. I seriously get a migraine if I don't get enough caffeine every day. The really bad ones, the drive me into a dark room to curl up in a small ball and wish I were dead.

I once left my keys and tampons in the refrigerator. I found the ketchup in my linen closet.

It was a bad day.

My husband actually has extras of things I routinely lose, like car keys, hidden in our house. We have a magic jack connected to a corded phone because I've lost my cell phone (and the handsets of cordless phones) and not found them til the batteries were dead, that often. If I can't find car keys, hairbrushes, or kids' uniforms and I'm in a pinch I can call my husband (he works out of town) and he'll say "top shelf hallway closet" or "cupboard above the refrigerator". Unfortunately, I can't have a spare driver's license hanging around. He learned this trick from my stepmother who has dealt with my dad's still-not-diagnosed ADHD for years. I have it and one of my sons does, as well. It can be a real strain.

Re: Coffee, it works. Caffeine is a stimulant, and the most commonly-used ADHD drugs are too. It doesn't work perfectly, but it takes the edge off. My dad is a champion coffee drinker and so was I.

I've never been officially diagnosed ADHD; I have had suspicions that I am.

I've always thought of caffeine as self-medicating. Though I am very caffeine sensitive and can't have too much or I can't sleep. Energy drinks are like cocaine for me. I remember in my early 20s before I understood this...drinking rum and coke was horrible because when I was done I couldn't sleep.

For me a low dose anti-depressant helps me focus...not great but better than without. I do wonder if more specific medication would help but because I am so caffeine sensitive I figure they would be too stimulating. I couldn't take wellbutrin because it was too stimulating.

I see I'm missing out be being a super-bitter taster. I can't stand anything remotely bitter, so no coffee here.

This is how I came to the conclusion I have ADD (I don't use the H, it's too hard to say).

1.) I thought of my parents. This runs in families, right? So, if you went to my parents' house and opened the microwave, what would be inside? A cup of tea. A COLD cup of tea, most likely. Might be a day old (after a day, somebody would have gone to make a new cup and taken out the old one).

I keep finding things I went to reheat in my microwave, that I then forgot about (and I ate something else).

2.) I have to edit to get my parenthetical statements down to a reasonable level in everything I write. You know, because I'm talking about XYZ and then I think something related and out it goes into the sentence.

3.) I like to be organized... I just can't do it. I'll have something in my hand and it magically disappears. I loose more grocery lists this way. I'll pick it up, fold it in half, go out the door, get in my car... and where'd it go?

I will honestly be in the middle of putting something away and forget I'm doing it.
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What concerns me is that things were manageable, and then it's like it got a LOT worse. I thought it was sleep deprivation (young kids and all that), but it just seems to be slowly getting worse despite improving sleep. Moreover, Amy mentioned above that hers got worse.

Any ideas what makes it get worse? Is it age-related? Having too many things on your plate (or not enough - which can be worse)?

I can't even imagine what this is like. That said, I work in a fire department, and I swear they are all ADD. One of my Lieutenants is the worst. His name is Kirk and we say he speaks "Kirkanese" because he can be in the middle of a sentence and change gears, expecting you to just keep up. Ironically, you do get used to it. The fact that I can have three conversations with this guy at once is kind of amazing.

At least once a day, someone yells, SQUIRREL! (Think of the dog in Up) because someone started talking about something and then went all, "Look, a shiny!" I don't know why it is, but somehow ADD is a bonus when you're a firefighter. It has to be, because we seem to have an inordinate number of them. I'm the accountant, so they completely baffle me. I find it fascinating.

I've found many very intelligent people have some form of ADD/ADHD/Asperger's. You learn to deal with them. You first have to learn to deal with your own problems though. ;-)

One thing that helped me get more focused was using the Franklin-Covey planning system. That helped get my work day more manageable.

As for caffeine, I can get breakfast at midnight, drink 3 cups of coffee, go home and go to bed.

Oh, and Amy, what does Lucy, good title, have on her collar?

I think I am a little Asperger's too. I test really high on the online tests. Though, clearly I do a lot of self-diagnosing and that has all the value of...

I tend to call myself anti-social because I can only handle so much of social situations. The reality may be that I am just an introvert (though very few of my friends would believe that).

I joke, that in my work, I have moments of brilliance. Those moments are short lived but seem to produce the same or more of my "normal" colleagues (they all think I am pretty smart and I think I am lazy and can't focus).

If I could maintain my brilliance...damn I long for that possibility.

I will honestly be in the middle of putting something away and forget I'm doing it.
Guilty. It drives me insane at least twice a week when I go to look for something, and it is absolutely not where I thought I had put it. Or in the second, third or fourth places, either. I finally got into the habit of hanging my keys in plain sight in the kitchen, and putting my purse in the same place every day on the counter, but other things that I don't use on a daily basis are sucked into a swirling vortex of "Neener neener, can't find me!"

I gave up long ago on being organized, and have settled on being quietly bemused. If I really need to remember something, it gets written on a note on my computer. Names, numbers, addresses, all sorts of stupid things each get their own little note with a big This is Joeschmoesaddress.txt. If I reallyreally need to remember something, I put multiple alarms on my phone and iPad. Then I wake up on the day of my appointment or whatever, and desperately run around because I forgot all about it til the last moment anyways.

What concerns me is that things were manageable, and then it's like it got a LOT worse.
My memory has gotten a lot worse because of various meds I've taken over the years, which has made it harder to combat the ADD. A lot of mood stabilizers whittle away at your short term/long term memory, and depression kills your ability to concentrate, so yeah, I've been noticing a downward spiral. I used to have a near photographic memory, it makes me very sad when I can't even remember the simplest word or phrase or name and spend 5 minutes searching my brain for what I want to say.

The getting worse thing makes sense if your under an increased amount of stress (even if you're just doing it to yourself because you've noticed you're forgetting things more and dammit that's stressful). When you get under stress (from any source) your brain starts shutting down functionality from the front to the back. The front part of your brain is the control on things like concentration and emotional outbursts. If you have ADD and ADHD then the front part of your brain isn't as active as a neurotypical person's to begin with. Caffeine and other stimulants help by lighting up your whole brain, the front part included.

More basic and instinctual things are further in the back of the brain. When you force yourself to develop a habit pattern, like Kat always leaving her keys and purse in certain places, the task will start in the front area of your brain and as it becomes more ingrained it takes up residence further back.

" Having too many things on your plate (or not enough - which can be worse)?" ~Shannon
Task overloading and underloading both cause stress. And as above, stress starts by shutting down the part of the brain that people with ADD/ADHD already don't have quite as active as normal.

Of course then there's the really fun part of ADD - the hyperfocus (seriously I love it). That's also a form of stress; positive stress, but stress nonetheless. It's also called "flow." You get so wrapped up in the task in front of you that the rest of the world may very well not exist. Time just disappears. It's why I can barely sit still for a 45 minute meeting, but I can play videogames all damn night. Everyone has experienced it and it seems to be a key to human happiness. People with ADD are much more prone to hyperfocus/ flow and I think it's because they are naturally closer to a physiological state of stress.

And I apologize for the comment that reads like a small book. It seems a little cruel in a post about ADD/ ADHD. (And I am writing an actual book on mitigating the negative effects of stress on the brain so I'm very full of words on the subject.)

Has the FDA and the War on Drugs finally run you out of adderall?

Of course then there's the really fun part of ADD - the hyperfocus
Oh, yeah, that too. I can sink into a game, or a book, and you could march a HS marching band going full out through the room and I wouldn't even notice. My kids got really good at asking for things when I was reading because they knew they would get an "Uh huh, sure." and I couldn't remember it later. So until I started making them get things in writing, they got over on me bigtime.

But it also helped with work because as a programmer analyst, I could make connections that other people just wouldn't see. I called it "Making a left turn at Albuquerque." (Thanks Bugs!) I could see how things went together instinctively, which was odd because code is supposed to be a logical thing.

But it also helped with work because as a programmer analyst, I could make connections that other people just wouldn't see. -- Kat at July 27, 2012 11:48 PM

Most of my co-workers have figured out by now that they should walk into my office -- stand there for about 10 seconds and then clear their throats or whatever so they don't startle me. And sometimes they still do.

Now here is a question: What do you ignore or not see?

Heh. My kids call it ADOS - Attention Defici--Ooooo, Shiny!

I don't think any of us have it, though. Maybe #2 has a touch of it, but she's been through the mill as far as testing goes, and she hasn't been diagnosed as ADD, ADHD or anything else, although she has been diagnose with PPDD - pervasive developmental disorder, which indicates delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. She has boundary issues that we're working on, but she hasn't been diagnose with anything so severe as to have been put on medication. Her counselor also thinks she might have mild ODD - oppositional defiance disorder, because she becomes argumentative and defiant at the drop of a hat sometimes. But she's not really disruptive or combative enough to warrant that, I don't think. She doesn't cause trouble in school or deliberately bait others, so it might not be ODD as much as it is just a defense mechanism when she things she's being picked on. I dunno. She's in counseling, we're working through it and I am hopeful that she'll be okay. I mean, she is for the most part but she still has some issues she has to work on. Other than that, we're just your typical family that puts the "fun" in disfunctional. And lately, I've discovered that I put the "pro" in procrastinate!

I don't know if I have ADHD, but I do sometimes get distracted in the mornings and put on a second belt, forgetting that I'm already wearing one.

Ooooh, hyperfocus! That's where people really get tripped up. I wasn't diagnosed til I was an adult, because when my teachers would say "Jenny appears to have trouble focusing" my parents would respond with "She's just bored and misbehaving---she can focus for hours at a time on books and legos; it's like she doesn't even hear us when we tell her it's time to put them away!". I often wonder if it shouldn't be called "Attention Regulation Disorder" or something like that, because so many otherwise smart laypeople look at their kid with hyperfocus and see that as evidence that he/she doesn't have ADHD; they don't realize it's actually a symptom.

That okay with you if I use it?

Of course, Amy! The girls will be thrilled!

It's the paradoxical effect of stimulants, for people with high levels of anxiety (guess how I know that). Stimulants make your mind focus, which banishes the anxiety. Then you realize how sleepy you are...

I have to juggle at least three things at once. Its why I love driving, so much sensory input. If I ever focus soley on just one thing I tend to fall asleep even when I'm not tired

Both my son and I have ADHD. A few things helped out tremendously.

1- Routine. 7 days per week I get up at the same time every morning and go to bed the same time every night. I take a benadryl every night to help shut down the whirling brain (plus no more morning sneezies).

2- Routine. Car keys go on a hook by the door every time. Eyeglasses only go in one designated spot when they are not on my face. Purse goes in one spot only. Shoes are either on a rack in the closet or on a rack by the front door.

3- Routine. I use online billpay for bills and I put envelopes for incoming bills on my keyboard immediately. Then I log in and schedule the payment the next time I sit down at my computer.

4- Calendar and lists- I have a large wall calendar that I put all appointments, engagements, plans, etc on. I check it every morning when I am sipping my first cuppa. My son has his own calendar right next to it that had all school projects, trips, half days, and now work schedules and other plans. We tried online calendar and phone calendars but they were not as good for the rest of the family to figure things out. I also have a small pocket size planner calendar that I keep in my purse.

I make a list of where I am going when I leave the house. I live way out in the pucker brush and make it into town maybe twice per week. I don't want to forget any of my stops or anything I wanted to get or do at them. List always goes in my right front pants pocket.

My coffee system is pretty cool and easy. I use the RSVP Manual Drip Coffee Filter Cone. It is a polycarbonate filter cone that holds a number 6 filter and brews directly into my thermal carafe (or thermos or air pot). Slickety slick and no glass to break. $10 on amazon. I've use it for two years and am totally convinced it is the best way to brew coffee. Electric kettle to heat water and hey presto!
http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-Manual-Coffee-Carafes-Thermos/dp/B000BUDDTY

I was laughing at "Attention Defici--Ooooo, Shiny!" I'm using that from now on.

Amy, thank you for saying the thing about microwaving food. I'm now blaming it on ADOS and not me turning into my mother.

Hyperfocus is awesom... except when I don't realize my kids are trying to get my attention. Even in 2nd or 3rd grade, I would be reading at night and think, "I'll finsih this chapter and then go to bed." About 2 hours and many chapters later, I'd go, "Gee that's a long chapter" and find myself somewhere much further than I'd intended. The most embarassing casses are when there's a big section break with a blank page and everything and I simply don't notice.

Nonfiction, though, is nearly impossible for me to read. Mark Twain's autobiography, 50 pages in an entire weekend. I just could not read it.

Oh, Amy, please note that the above paragraph is quite a compliment since I actually read your entire book without trouble.

I also agree with the driving thing. Finding the stimulus balance is hard, but driving is just about right.