ADD and trying to focus

I took 20mg of Ritalin 4 times a day for around 12 years until I had a stroke. This ended my thoughts of using medication to control my ADD. So I have had to try and cope with a severe case of ADD since 2002. I have it so bad my doctor wrote a letter for Social Security trying to get me disabled. Of course with 3 Strokes now to my name, Myasthenia Gravis, Uncontrollable hypertension, Double Vision, Diabetes II, Peripheral Neuropathy, unable to maintain my balance and Arthritis I was Able to get disabled, and retire. Since being off the Ritalin I have since found out it changes your brain waves and has other side effects I was unaware of while taking the meds. Before 2002 with the use of the Ritalin I was able to go from an Aircraft Mechanic to an MIS Manager of a major company. I had a sigmoid resection just before my stroke and an infection in my system caused septic shock. I was reopened and cleaned out then forced to heal from the inside out due to the infection. I almost died from that episode, and it took forever to get well. After the surgery all the rest of my problems have since been developed. Well that is basically my story of course seeing all of it on paper it does not seem as bad as the experience of actually dealing with it. Now that I have broken the ice and vented my frustrations, I think I will relax and let someone else write for a while!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Never trust someone that has something to gain!!

Wow ....

Billy, that is QUITE the chronology!  I cannot imagine how you've managed to keep your sanity with all you've been through!  I can sympathize with what you must have gone through getting off the Ritalin ... going from being in control and focused to being at the mercy of this wacky disorder is pure HELL.  I've done it several times (whenever the doc decides to switch meds) and I can agree that it's not a picnic.  To deal with that on top of all the other physical problems you've experienced, I think you deserve some sort of MEDAL or something!!

Welcome to this little fledgling of a "group."  Perhaps, if I can get myself together enough to find the mouse that the cat lost in my dining room/office, I can concentrate long enough to post something that will actually HELP someone.  In the meantime, if you ever want to just VENT about what is (or isn't) going on, please DO.  At the very least, I think people like us need all the sympathetic, understanding listeners we can find!  Thanks so much for joining and I look forward to hearing from you on how you're managing WITHOUT your meds - maybe we can share suggestions on how to cope with the way the ADD interferes with our daily lives.  In the meantime, I hope this finds you feeling better for having vented!!

:)

~~Nancy~~

Venting frustrations

Venting only lasts for so long, and normally I am a happy kind of guy. It is just that I was stopped at a stop light and got hit from behind. She was going 40 and did not have time to hit her brakes before she ran into the back of me. It broke the back of my seat and knocked me 10 feet forward. My neck, head and back is still sore. Of course they totaled the car, and all this cause me ot be disorganized. So I am trying to relax and bring my life back into a stable invironment, since I don't do well without the Ritalin any more. Thanks for the kind words too. I am just happy I was in a van otherwise it could have been a whole lot worse.................

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Never trust someone that has something to gain!!

Ok, that took longer than it should have ...

Well, I had hoped to stay on top of this, but I find my ADDled brain awash in too much young-person 'angst.'  And, I really DON'T cope well with all the DRAMA.  In fact, with my ADD, Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis and a 17 year-old son who can't stop bugging me about cars, I've had a lot on my plate.  It doesn't help that my daughter, who also has a raging case of ADD, as well as some Obsessive/Compulsive tendancies, has been having her patented 'nuclear meltdowns' on almost a weekly basis of late.  Such is life with teens, however!

My apologies to anyone who might've taken a look hoping to find something useful here.  My next post will deal with the subject at hand, I promise!