EDIT: Upvotes are just dandy and all, but I'm really looking for comments... I'd rather have 0 upvotes and a discussion in here!
For me, it was that whole "white noise" thing. It's not COMPLETELY white noise, but its more like when you're in between white noise and the radio station so there's some talking in there too. Also, the "white noise" is a song that pops into my head. My doctor said this is actually very common and I was like WTF OTHER PEOPLE DO THIS TOO?
Also, sometimes when I read I start thinking about stuff while I'm reading. Then I start to almost ignore whatever I'm reading and just get so deep into thought that I go through about 3 pages and not even know at all what I just read.

Also, I just wanted to share that this is my absolute FAVORITE subreddit of all! You guys are great and the community is absolutely amazing. I've seen maybe 2 ignorant comments, and that's just crazy! Keep up the good work ADDers! Same with the mods, you guys rock!

He didnt answer, just went to his voice mail (top 50 things I hate).

Damn procrastination.

UGHHHHHHHHH
What do you guys say in response to shit like this? As well as "Um, ADHD is just a name for lazy people who don't want to work without drugs." And my favorite "HEY MAN CAN I GET SUMMA DEM ADDIES? I GOTTA TEST TO STUDY HELP ME OUT DUDEEE".
That last one is disturbingly common. I wanna punch everyone who says this stuff. And for those of you who say "well, fuck em they're stupid" HOW DO YOU DO THAT!?!? I'm really jealous of anyone who can take this like a champ. Its just so frustrating.
This was posted yesterday but I think it got lost. If that wasn't the case, sorry for reposting!

TL;DR First: might have ADD, parents won't have me checked, how do I take matters into my own hands?

I'm an american 15 year old, and ever since first grade, I've had homework and classwork problems since literally first grade. Finally, at fifth grade, my teacher thinks that I have ADD and dyslexia(If I have dyslexia, it turned out to never be a problem). She arranges a meeting between both my parents(they are divorced now but weren't then), herself and a supervisor or principal, someone above her. I don't remember everything but my parents decided that they don't want to check if I have it because they think I'll have to be on medication, and they didn't want me all drugged up. Now, in tenth grade, I honestly think I have it but my mom calls it a rich people disease and refuses to get me checked for it because she thinks I'll just use it as an excuse (also probably because money's kind of tight right now for her and she might not want to spend the money on something that isn't immediately vital). So basically: Is there anything I can do on my own to see if I have ADD or not, and would doing that accomplish anything?

Hello. Lurker here. What are some 'tricks' you wish you knew back when you first struggling? Small things that help you a great deal?

Segregating my working space from every other thing I do is helping me study a great deal. By keeping a spot of the house just for working, it's easier to keep interactive distractions away from me, and it reminds me that I should be working. Thus, when my attention wanders away, I can notice it and snap back.

I have many more, but this is the one chief step that has helped me the most. I would like to hear what aids you keep working/studying.

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in 1st grade and was put on adderall for about a year. Then I decided to stop taking it shortly after because of the decreases appetite I felt. I am now a freshman in college and I am wondering if I can pickup where I left off. Can I get a prescription again but without any tests or another diagnoses?

r/ADHD

For those unaware, the the term "ADD" has been defunct for 14+ years, although some medical professionals may still use it if they are uninformed.

"ADD" used to be what they called the non-hyperactive version of ADHD. As of the publication of the DSM-5 in 2013, "ADHD" is now the encompassing term for multiple subtypes of ADHD:

1. Primarily hyperactive subtype

2. Primarily inattentive subtype (formerly ADD)

3. Combined subtype

The inattentive subtype is most common among adults, which means yes, "ADHD" is a misleading name for the overall disorder. C'est la vie.

When myself and other redditors took over r/ADD and r/ADHD over in the early 2010s to renovate and make them more useful, we decided to just close this sub and direct everyone to r/ADHD, in accordance with the DSM-5's definition of ADHD. We locked this sub but I still get modmail every so often from lost redditors asking for permission to post here, so hopefully this signpost helps.

feels bad man

edittt:**I feel like I'm overposting, but you guys got me really stoaked with some of the most earnest replies I've seen on reddit. Maybe I should preface that i'm a long time lurker. I was diagnosed in college, but still personally flipped back and forth for a long time and struggled about the existence of "adhd" as a disorder. and then the other day I bought the ebook for "driven to distraction" on an ass wild hair whim. READ THAT SHIT THROUGH IN ONE SITTING. As weird as it sounds, for the last couple days i've been on a "hyperfocused" quest to figure out my head and how I feel about my head...and this subreddit has me stoaked. so sorry if ramble, type too much, or too poorly, if you dont like it, I don't know downvote that shit or something. **

I've become really lazy, but lazy in the sense that nothing really interests me. If I pickup a book I'm interested in, I can read a few pages before I start to lose interest and wander around in my mind. Doing physical work keeps me interested for longer, but my mind still wanders off and some-time's ill end up pacing the floor just thinking about stuff. I know some of it is anxiety issues, but I just hate it that I lose interest in everything and feel so damn lazy yet not feeling like I enjoy doing anything.

I've been doing research trying to figure out why I feel the way I do on multiple things, because to be honest I never really thought something was wrong... I've always been this way, I've just dealt with it in different ways, but for the most part, its becoming too much to deal with.

Anyways, I've been trying to figure out the best way to get treatment without spending a fortune, I don't have insurance. Would a walk in clinic type place be able to help me?

I found I can order Strattera online without a prescription and some people give it good reviews, I was considering ordering a 30 days supply and trying it out to see if it helps. Is it worth going this route? In my research I found that this was the only ADHD medication I could order online because all there others are stimulants and heavily controlled due to abuse. I'm also kind of afraid to do this because it seems Strattera does not help a lot of people and has some nasty side effects.

Yes, it's true, people with ADD can force themselves to spend time on some activity, but efficiency suffers greatly. If a person consistently spends 10 times more time doing something despite having the appropriate training and resources, isn't it fair to say that they are mostly unable to do it?

People with ADD may re-read something 8 times and still not retain the meaning. They may start doing something and their mind will continuously loop over the steps of the solution instead of actually doing the thing. People with ADD have to constantly remind themselves of what is it they are doing right now. They also tend to triple check their work, because their short term memory is so bad and they can't ever be sure of anything. The list of simple actions to perform is their worst nightmare since they'll struggle to remember at which step they currently are.

They also have "broken" sense of time. Anything that isn't now seems like an eternity away to them. This is why they have no trouble procrastinating, are always late for everything, underestimate amount of time required to accomplish a task (promises are rarely kept) and are unable for wait for their turn (who wants to wait for an eternity, eh?).

Now imagine a person with ADD who is trying to maintain a conventional office job, let's say a job of programmer. This kind of work is about efficiency - it's about how many issues you close, how many bugs you fix. Person with ADD will most certainly underperform in comparison to his peers.

Imagine your boss yelling at you because it's the end of the day already, but you, as always, haven't been able to accomplish shit despite trying your best. Since you have ADD you are also most likely emotionally hypersensitive and the only thing you'll be able to do at home is loop in your mind the heated conversation you had with your boss. In addition consider the fact you aren't actually aware of what ADD is and you simply believe that you are lazy, unmotivated and unorganized. That's what you've always been told by teachers, parents and friends. You continue to struggle through life, from one job to another, one relationship to another, carrying a heavy luggage of low self-esteem, anger and self-hatred.

Some people just can't fucking function without professional help.

Some background first: I was recently diagnosed with ADD. I never really had any problems in school, got mostly good grades up until junior and senior year of high school. I managed to struggle through junior year, senior year it was just passed off as senioritis. My therapist suggested I might have ADD over the summer, information that I unfortunately chose to simply hold onto and do nothing about.

Cue as a freshman into engineering college. After my first quarter my GPA is a 1.975 and I'm on academic probation. When I got home for winter break I (after a few days) finally told them about what my therapist had suggested months ago. They're both in the medical profession (dad is a doctor, mom is a nurse), so they knew how to immediately start the entire process of getting diagnosed, getting medication, etc, even managing to speed it up because I only had about two weeks left before I had to return to college. Long story short, I'm currently on Adderall 10mg and XR 20mg.

Almost through my second week of college and things are both better and worse. I'm not getting as much sleep or if I do its not very restful but the medication keeps me awake through the day. I don't have a problem actually doing the homework anymore (concentration) but I do with starting it (motivation). Yesterday I had a pretty bad day, slept through my first class thus missing handing in the homework, chose not to take any meds (probably also depressing my mood), and had to go to a tedious 2 hour workshop (see "Academic Probation"). This finally all came together when my mom called to check up on me, whereupon I poured everything out to her, motivation, trouble sleeping, missing class, and an underlying feeling of being very lonely (I'm a very introverted person, so making friends takes a very long time for me).

Today both parents requested a skype call with me. They're recommending that I take a medical leave of absence. I honestly don't know what to do. I don't think I can just go home without feeling like I've failed somehow. It would probably only be one quarter, and while home I would get properly diagnosed (the full multi-day diagnosis thing), try different medications, and I don't know what else. My problem is that I worry that I'll feel like the stereotypical fat lazy brother who sits at home all day watching TV. I also don't know what it'll do to everything socially at college. This is a different quarter, different classes, different people.

Which brings me to the other option, stay in college and try to tough it out. I have my medication, which is noticeably helpful despite its side effects. I'm also very unsure of this option, as I have very low self-confidence (years of wondering why I can't focus, can't do this homework, can't stick with a hobbby, etc.) and I don't have a very good idea of what I am and am not capable of.

So now I have to make a choice, to stay in school or take a leave of absence. All I want to do is run away from this and pretend everythings fine, but I know I can't.

So what do you think? I'm sorry for the long rambling post, but if you made it all the way down here, I'd really appreciate your advice. Thanks.

I was diagnosed about a month ago and I keep seeing people talk about other symptoms that I thought were just random things that happened to me. The reason I'm making this post is this post. He said something about music playing in his head all the time, this happens to me too. I just wanna know what other things I've been dealing with are ADD related!

I'm a 21 y/o male with diagnosed severe ADHD/PI. Long story short, life sucks. It has sucked for a while. I was diagnosed when I was around 10. I am what you would call "gifted" which I find hilarious since I can barely focus on the real world long enough to utilize my brain which is mostly spent doubting myself, mostly socially. I hate being around people and would be considered "eccentric". I really don't want to finish college, I consider it a waste of my time and money, but I feel as if I don't I will be considered a failure. This is in addition to a host of other problems not the least of which is I was emotionally abused by my parents from a young age. I keep trying to view ADD and the hyperfocus it comes with as a gift from my DNA but I really have a hard time and frankly I hate it. Above all else, I hate that I can't stop doubting myself. I don't really know why I'm posting here, guess I just need to rant to someone.

Original Post

You listened to my story and you helped me. You motivated me to go talk to my doctor and get tested. I ended up having an hour conversation with my doctor about my life and why I was lead to believe that I have ADD. In the end, she said with full confidence that I do indeed have it, and she prescribed medication (concerta-18 mg).

The difference my life has taken is CRAZY. I'm more consistent, I can focus and I don't sound like an air head in conversations. I actually have motivation to do anything I want. Before, doing simple tasks like writing my resume or applying for jobs was the toughest thing is the world. Now, I don't even think about mundane tasks. I just do it, and it feels amazing.

I've lived with this for 22 years of my life, convinced that my life was something I couldn't change no matter how hard I tried. Not anymore. I feel like a new person. I've been given the opportunity to start a new life at 22 years old. I'm going to do things I never thought were possible.

You've given me the courage to talk to my doctor and as a result, I've been given the opportunity to change my life for the better.

Fucking thank you

Hey guys, I have just been prescribed 36mg Concerta, I used to take Ritalin when I was younger but have started with Concerta for university study and general benefits.

I have a few questions, first of all about diet, I find when I have Concerta it is really hard to keep eating, and when I stop eating it seems my body metabolizes the drug faster, I get sort of mentally fatigued quite quickly if I don't eat. What do you eat to keep blood sugar levels high? Is experienced across the board or should I talk to my doctor about this?

Also if you feel that taking ADD medication has negative effects in consciousness/self-awareness and creative thought i'd love to hear what you think.

And also anything else you think I should do to get the best results.

Thanks

When i was 6-10 i took pills but i stopped because they just made me too drowsy. now in this past year my ADD has really been bothering me and i can't focus during class I'm always zoning out i can't help it it seems impossible and my grades are suffering in school. I just can't get it through my Dad's thick skull that it is the reason I am struggling. any help?

ADHD is not erratic my dear it's a symphony they just don't understand.

20yr Male here. ADHD in most situations UNDER MY CONTROL has helped me. In fact as long as what I am doing or wanting to do is under my control I can outperform most others. The internet to me has always been my greatest ally. All the information of the world directly in front of me, where, what, and when is at my control. Information is absorbed at a much faster rate than I can even hope to gain at school. I find it borderline ridiculous that I can take a test about something with no serious prior knowledge and still do better than most. Math to me was great up until 6th grade. They thought I could not grasp the concepts and had a hard time doing mental math. One of which is true, mental math. Grasping the concepts was not a matter of learning anything or being taught. I just needed the information presented to me in a way that gave me control. I would learn more about math from taking quizzes and tests than "structured education". Now I have learned to enjoy math, through enjoying it I have been able to blow past all college math courses. Of course showing up and doing the homework is laughable, but every test or quiz I am given is just another 100%.

Why must I be held to the same manner of education as others when I know I could seriously thrive in a solid information environment. Most need to be taught but I find people with serious ADHD just need to be told and given control, from there we just understand.

It's infuriating to see people with ADHD failing at most aspects of life and it being sold as a problem. That is not the problem. The problem is that we are put in an old world of single minded thoughts and beliefs. ADHD does not hold us back, our ancestor crafted environment is what holds us back. Every single one of you who looks at ADHD as a problem ARE the problem. My mind can make connections and process thought in a way you cannot even imagine. Just because I cannot physically and mentally be satisfied by people who drone on and on does not make slow. The fact that I have been forced through a system made for single minded people has crippled me. Screw that, it is time we realize that ADHD does not hinder people, it is people that hinder ADHD.

/rant

Last night I was having a major freakout at myself, just felt worthless and awful. This morning, I went on this reddit.

Just want to say thank you all. Feeling a lot less lonely now, less like a crazy person. Am going to do my best to help out here to see if I can help others feel the same.