Ah one of those days... and I haven't had one

[nadinbrzezinski]

in a long time.

I don't know if this was lack of sleep or my once a year can't do a damn thing because mind is going OOOHHH SHINY... but today I have been more easily distracted than usual

It got so bad that I gave up on trying to achieve anything of use, oh and coffee has had zero effect on me today... (and I am talking more than a few cups. Ok it is starting to so I might be able to get SOME work done)

But this is the reality of the SHINY and living with ADD, and the down side of REFUSING to take meds. Oh and been very hungry too...

But for those who think we folks with ADD make this up, well imagine a day when you are able to do exactly zippo all day because you are so easily distracted that noises that you usually filter out sound like a full orchestra, and even clothes feel itchy and you just want to scratch... and it is just getting in the way. Why am I bothering to post this? Well we have a group of folks here who claim that this ritalin lifestyle (I don't take it for the record) is because parents don't know what they are doing and shit junior, if properly disciplined, will grow out of it.

:sarcasm: I wish I could invite you to exchange the day with me... and for you to live in my damn shoes even if for half a day.

Oh and for the record, my Get Things Done system has failed me today... as in I have been able to do mostly nothing... oooh shiny...

I hate days like this. And this has not happened in a LONG time... But for the record, this reminds me of the worst of my days as a teen, trying to get homework done... ooh so many shinies and easily distracted...

Oh well, hope tomorrow coffee will finally have the usual effect, and I wonder... oh never mind...

[tabatha]

1. Do you compensate for all the vit B that coffee destroys?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. I am usually fine with two to three cups

not the full pot of today.

Oy.

And yes I do, take a multi vitamin.

[tabatha]

9. I had to swear off coffee,

because it either hyped me up or exhausted me or both.
I really love the drink, but have it only occasionally when I feel like spoiling myself.
I find Yerba Mate perks me up without any let down.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Coffee calms me down and focuses me

it is my cheap speed.

Now Yerba Matte might be speed too. Might have to try it.

[tabatha]

13. Maybe you have excess Vit B that needs to be controlled with coffee :-)

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Nah I got Attention Deficit Disorder

so I can drink a pot of coffee and sleep like a baby.

:-)

This is the effect of speed on people with ADD... whether this is Aderal (ritalin) or Coffee, speed is speed is speed.

[tabatha]

20. My sympathies to you.

I hope you keep well.

[PDJane]

3. You don't get poked fingers from me..........

I've seen both sides of this. The school system decided that they were going to put my very bright son on Ritalin when he was in grade school.....I had to have an independent psychological assessment written into the school records.

On the other side, I've seen children and adults who are ADD, and have seen the kind of work that it takes to try and concentrate enough to read or accomplish anything...or converse in some cases...and do know that Ritalin and drugs like it can be a lifesaver for some.

It's a frustration, yes.....and it's a thing that should be administered carefully.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I took it, as well as off use Welbutrin

these days it is MY choice to rely on coffee...

but if I got a week like this I will talk with my doctor.

[Odin2005]

5. 27mg of Concerta keeps me from going insane at work/college.

"well imagine a day when you are able to do exactly zippo all day because you are so easily distracted that noises that you usually filter out sound like a full orchestra, and even clothes feel itchy and you just want to scratch..."

Thank you for describing my world! And for me, without my Concerta, going back and forth between unfinished tasks without trouble is impossible.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. You welcome

for me usually two to three cups of coffee is enough for me to be able to filter it out. That and an organizing tool, and exercise... and accepting some pain since I do not want to take meds.

But IF I am tired as in short of sleep... the worst of it comes out. That said when I was younger all that I do did not work... so I did take meds for a while...

Also it does not help the Y is in the midst of construction... but I am usually able to filter them out.

[DesertFlower]

7. i've had chronic fatigue syndrome for

20 years. even after 10 hours sleep it's hard for me to get up. some days i stay in bed most of the day. i'm very thankful when i get a good day -- a day where i can go out for a few hours and get some things done.

i have trouble concentrating. my mind wanders.

[Hekate]

8. Hugs, Nadin. My world is full of shiny objects as well.

:hug:

But only mild to moderately. :eyes:

Discussions came into our family when my sister's toddler was diagnosed before kindergarten. This kid was a real curtain-climber. My sis, in an effort to get a grip on the situation, did a family tree of the traits and found that everywhere she looked, ADHD and ADD were in her son's lineage. My #1 brother, in spades. Her husband's brother. Our dad. Probably my daughter to the same degree as me.

I am now 62 and mom has passed on, but I still grit my teeth when I remember how my mom from back in my childhood used to say she felt like she "failed as a mother" with her first 2 kids (me and #1 brother) but she "got it right" with her second 2 (my sis and #2 brother). Well shit-all, sometime about 15 years ago I figured out that was because her second two kids were as hyper-focused as she herself was -- my sis became an engineer and my #2 bro became a geologist -- so of course they were on the same wavelength from birth. D'oh.

The amount of armchair psychoanalysis I got from mom as I grew up haunts me to this day. On nationally standardized tests I scored in the high-90th percentiles, but my grades were all over the map; therefore I was passive-aggressively rebelling against her. Oooh, and the late assignments.... :blush:

My #1 bro would have benefitted enormously from both medication and psychological counseling. However in the early-mid 1960s all of this was unheard-of, along with things like dyslexia. About 15 years ago I figured out that what he was doing at age 12 when he started smoking was probably a form of self-medication. I've read that nicotine really does help some people focus; too bad about the side effects.

As for me, I developed a number of self-help techniques, like To-Do lists and meticulous note-taking in classes. I'll bet you have Post-It notes all around your computer screen too, Nadin. :P

This tongue-in-cheek Unitarian "hymn" is for you and me, kid:

Coffee, coffee, coffee,
Praise the strength of coffee,
Early in the morn we rise with thoughts of only thee...
:donut:

(There's several more verses, but you get the idea. )

Hekate

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Nah I stopped doign the post it notes

a while ago, mostly they got really bad, and keeping track of them was like impossible.

I have an IPOD, which I use for a GTD machine.

I have Informant on it for the get things done thingy.... been thinking of omnifocus

And a few note taking devices, as well as notebooks. (The real thing, moleskin)

[kestrel91316]

15. I do GTD, sort of. I have Outlook set up for it, but I do paper do lists

a lot also. And my "in" box at home gets emptied twice a year, lol. Bad me.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. There is a reason I gave up on the IN box

:-)

You know what is funny is that we all do things that work for us, but as I told my brother, he is a doc. You missed on going to the support group, where you could have learned how OTHERS deal with it.

[cry baby]

12. I hope tomorrow is better for you.

:hug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. I am sure it will

will go to sleep soon, to make sure...

[Cleita]

14. Sometimes you just need to let go of the getting things done.

The dust and other chores needing to be done will still be there tomorrow. But just one day if you are out of it, don't beat yourself up for not getting things done. Also, I haven't drank coffee in a long time, but my employer who drinks a lot had a caffeine crash yesterday. I walked into his office and he was almost passed out. I woke him up and he said it was a caffeine crash. He's a doctor and also has a specialty in anesthesiology, although he doesn't practice it anymore, but I guess he knows his drugs. So, caffeine may not be your best friend.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Oh caffeine is my best friend

as a person with ADD, who refuses to take the schedule II drugs... trust me, it is.

And I have a day like this when I am very tired, or about once a year...

[Mike 03]

21. Kick and Rec, and I appreciate the honesty in these posts, so I know

I am not alone.