My ADD has simply been OUT OF CONTROL. I haven’t been able to work comfortably for two weeks- this led to the simple conclusion that my Ritalin isn’t working anymore. I increased the dose to 15mg and that is obviously not enough. I will try 20 mg tonight and if that doesn’t work, I will switch to Adderall. ADD is painful. It’s physically uncomfortable- mentally uncomfortable and embarrassing. It makes you feel stupid- as though you could do better if you just tried. I can’t believe I let this go for another week. I assumed it was me- I wrote about my social media OCD on facebook- and it’s all true- but the foundation for this is that my ADD has come back en force.
What to do? I have my techniques from Get it Done When You’re Depressed. For example, I put myself in a place I can work. I go to a fabulous restaurant with a friendly bar, low light and sports on the TV.
But the biggest thing is that there is no internet.
This is the best way for me to focus these days. I can remind myself that this is my brain and not me. I am actually extremely focused when my brain is firing correctly. So, I talked with my nurse practitioner and my coauthor John and we agreed that I would up the Ritalin and see if that made a difference. If not, I will switch to Adderall. I wish I could deal with this ADD on my own. I hoped it would go away when my depression got better. But I guess it stuck around because it just likes me too much! I will keep you posted on my progress.
I may write books on the topic, but my brain doesn’t care. It’s still mean!
If you have questions about ADD, please visit me on my facebook page at Julie A. Fast. I have become quite the expert in terms of natural treatments and medications.
Julie
PS: ADD is interesting. It only happens in certain situations. I have no problem at all when I’m coaching on the phone or speaking. It’s when I have to choose a project and then focus on the project. People with bipolar have to be careful about taking ADD meds. The only way we can take them is if we are on a mood stabilizer or anti psychotic. ADD meds can lead to mania- so careful planning is needed before the descion to use ADD meds is made.
Do ADD/ADHD and BD often go hand in hand? I’ve been diagnosed with ADD 3 years ago and then with BD diagnosis a year ago and the more I get hypomanic the more I seem to be unable to focus. I’ve started suffering from a bad tinnitus ten days ago, following the exposition of my ears to a very loud alarm and was immediately started on a high-dose but shortish course of prednisone. This treatment seem to have catapulted me right into hypomanic lalaland and let me tell you: my mind is all over the place and I have not been able to complete any kind of task successfully…