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Adult with ADD on Adderall
My best friend was diagnosed by her primary care physician as being ADD a few months ago. She is 46 yrs old. He put her on a low dosage of Straterra at first but after 2 weeks the side effects required a change in medication. He put her on a low dosage of Adderall (18mgs per day). She also takes 450 mgs of Wellbutrin a day for depression and 100 mgs of Topamax for migraines. Add to that the fact that she drinks a few glasses of wine every night and you have quite a cocktail. Since being put on Adderall her behavior has really changed. Yes - she is more focused at work - but she is also quick to take offense and anger now too. If any of us dares to say that she may be overmedicated - she gets angry and defensive. She said the Adderall has killed her appetite and her libido but because she likes how it makes her feel and how much she is able to accomplish - she will live with those side effects. She has lost weight in the 2 months that she has been taking Adderall. She is 5'3" and has gone from 125 lbs to 119 lbs.
She has also broken up with her significant other of one year which was a shock to all her friends and family and especially to him, since things had been going very well. She's behaving like a 20 yr old. She stays up til all hours during the week and stays out till the wee hours on the weekends.
She swears that the addition of Adderall to her daily regimen has been a godsend....I'm not so sure. She was a different person 2 months ago. Is this a common reaction for an adult on Adderall? She has an appt with her doctor next week to evaluate how she is doing on the Adderall. She is going to make it sound like it's the best thing that has happened to her. Are we wrong to be worried?
She has also broken up with her significant other of one year which was a shock to all her friends and family and especially to him, since things had been going very well. She's behaving like a 20 yr old. She stays up til all hours during the week and stays out till the wee hours on the weekends.
She swears that the addition of Adderall to her daily regimen has been a godsend....I'm not so sure. She was a different person 2 months ago. Is this a common reaction for an adult on Adderall? She has an appt with her doctor next week to evaluate how she is doing on the Adderall. She is going to make it sound like it's the best thing that has happened to her. Are we wrong to be worried?
What I failed to say in my long-winded reply, was that if trblnfla still checks in, DBT would be excellent therapy for her friend. If she's taking the wrong medicines or abusing them, you learn very quickly about yourself in DBT.
Hello Candibahr and anyone else suffering from or knowing someone with ADD, depression, anxiety and anything else you can think that plagues your mind... Just read your (Candibahr’s) post and thought you might find info on your hubby's behavior by looking up Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The title was coined in the 1930s and hasn’t been changed to really reflect the dynamic nature of the disorder. Since there’s an 800 character limit to leaving a note, you’ll be getting a few from me ;-)
I am a 35yr. old female, diagnosed with ADD at 20 and had mood craziness before the diagnosis and Adderall use (20 mg 2 to 3x/day for past 2 years- seriously tried everything else but this is all that worked).
Recently, I was diagnosed with BPD, started Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) which is seeing a counselor and going to group once a week, doing homework and participating to make my life better. People in good DBT programs have to want to get better for the program to work. I know that goes w/o saying, but I think many people (myself included), end up going to talk therapy which helps for a while but doesn’t give you the tools to actually solve your maladaptive behaviors and crappy communication with others!
I was on Wellbutrin for ages and it stopped working. Went on Cymbalta for depression/anxiety (which through DBT I know realize was the root of my anger and crazy mood swings) and my life has changed completely. My husband says I'm a different (good:-) person. Maybe this will help your husband.
Books you can read: Stop Walking on Eggshells or even better, I Hate You, Don't Leave Me. Don't know authors off hand. My husband read these and it helped him deal with my mood swings. If your hubby has a history or a time he was abused (mainly during childhood-teens) physically, mentally and/or sexually as well as being a hyper-emotional/sensitive person, he may have BPD.
I'm what they call high functioning so I was able to "hide" my mood swings (mainly anger), depression etc. from almost everyone I know, except those closest to me- my husband became the battering-ram for all my emotional trauma. I know what it's like to be on both sides (one parent was physically/emotionally abusive and is BPD the other parent was an alcoholic).
Through DBT, I've learned to understand my emotions and control them better. DBT is great for anyone suffering, you don't have to have BPD. Oh, and my straight-forward opinion: you should go to counseling to learn how to deal with your husband. It “takes two to tango” and in this case, you may have fallen into a pattern (w/o knowing it) which keeps the situation from getting better or even making it worse. That's not putting the blame on you, it's just saying that if your husband isn't changing and you want change, don't want to leave him and want to make your life better, counseling for you would be a great start. It won't hurt anything.
I hope this helps you and anyone else who’s been diagnosed (or knows someone diagnosed) with 2 or more “mental disorders” but none of them seem to fit perfectly or help. DBT isn’t the quick fix or only fix, but it has helped me so much, I think they should teach it in grade schools. The stuff I’ve learned is like taking a class that was never taught, discussed or offered in or out of school!
Well, I better go! Ishould be working. Yup, ADD and Active Passivity (something I'm working on in DBT) strikes again! http://priory.com/dbt.htm - to get you started if you want to learn more about DBT and BPD. Gotta love those acronyms:-)
Before you can love and help others, you have to love and help yourself (DBT teaches how this can be done w/o guilt/shame or feeling selfish). Have a relaxing evening and remember to take care of yourselves, you deserve it!
I am a 35yr. old female, diagnosed with ADD at 20 and had mood craziness before the diagnosis and Adderall use (20 mg 2 to 3x/day for past 2 years- seriously tried everything else but this is all that worked).
Recently, I was diagnosed with BPD, started Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) which is seeing a counselor and going to group once a week, doing homework and participating to make my life better. People in good DBT programs have to want to get better for the program to work. I know that goes w/o saying, but I think many people (myself included), end up going to talk therapy which helps for a while but doesn’t give you the tools to actually solve your maladaptive behaviors and crappy communication with others!
I was on Wellbutrin for ages and it stopped working. Went on Cymbalta for depression/anxiety (which through DBT I know realize was the root of my anger and crazy mood swings) and my life has changed completely. My husband says I'm a different (good:-) person. Maybe this will help your husband.
Books you can read: Stop Walking on Eggshells or even better, I Hate You, Don't Leave Me. Don't know authors off hand. My husband read these and it helped him deal with my mood swings. If your hubby has a history or a time he was abused (mainly during childhood-teens) physically, mentally and/or sexually as well as being a hyper-emotional/sensitive person, he may have BPD.
I'm what they call high functioning so I was able to "hide" my mood swings (mainly anger), depression etc. from almost everyone I know, except those closest to me- my husband became the battering-ram for all my emotional trauma. I know what it's like to be on both sides (one parent was physically/emotionally abusive and is BPD the other parent was an alcoholic).
Through DBT, I've learned to understand my emotions and control them better. DBT is great for anyone suffering, you don't have to have BPD. Oh, and my straight-forward opinion: you should go to counseling to learn how to deal with your husband. It “takes two to tango” and in this case, you may have fallen into a pattern (w/o knowing it) which keeps the situation from getting better or even making it worse. That's not putting the blame on you, it's just saying that if your husband isn't changing and you want change, don't want to leave him and want to make your life better, counseling for you would be a great start. It won't hurt anything.
I hope this helps you and anyone else who’s been diagnosed (or knows someone diagnosed) with 2 or more “mental disorders” but none of them seem to fit perfectly or help. DBT isn’t the quick fix or only fix, but it has helped me so much, I think they should teach it in grade schools. The stuff I’ve learned is like taking a class that was never taught, discussed or offered in or out of school!
Well, I better go! Ishould be working. Yup, ADD and Active Passivity (something I'm working on in DBT) strikes again! http://priory.com/dbt.htm - to get you started if you want to learn more about DBT and BPD. Gotta love those acronyms:-)
Before you can love and help others, you have to love and help yourself (DBT teaches how this can be done w/o guilt/shame or feeling selfish). Have a relaxing evening and remember to take care of yourselves, you deserve it!
It should be noted, however, that there is plenty of evidence that the disability is being over-diagnosed. I don't care what tests they are using. If the results of testing come up with a high percentage of children troubled in this manner, then something is wrong with the tests, or the people interpreting them.
It doesn't sound like good effects and it sounds like she is very impulsive right now and a little out of control.
Absolutely not compnet. Add/adhd is still diagnosed by physicians and treated by them. People make reference to teachers diagnosing it but that is not the case. No teacher can make a diagnosis and write a script for medication. They can tell you they think this is what is going on and encourage you to act in some way to help your child. That is all. They do school level evaluations which involve observation and testing and is required for an IEP but this has nothing to do with a medical diagnosis and medication. Parents must take their child to a physician to be diagnosed and treated.
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