adult ADHD

[littlejj]

Is it possible for my 40 year old husband to have ADHD? My 12 year old son has been diagnosed with ADHD, and my 15 year old son is possibly too. He has classic traits of ADHD but has never been told he has it.If you need any more information let me know. Thnaks in advance.

[gemstone89]

Hey
Id say yes it is possible, My mum got diagnosed not long ago and she is almost 40. Im 18 and i also recently got diagnosed. I also know a family friend who is 50 and was diagnosed at the beggining of this year. ADHD is not just a child's disease, any person at any age group can have it. If he is worried just go see a psychiatrist for a second opinion.
Hope that helps reasure you
cheers!

[Psych_Student]

ADHD tends to run in families and most adults don't realize they have it until they have a child that is diagnosed with it.  About 60% of children with ADHD continue to have symptoms after the age of 18....There is a lot of debate about the disorder being possibly underdiagnosed in adults, especially in women.  The numbers are around 4-6% of adults are thought to have ADHD and only 1-3% are diagnosed...

[Kestra]

It is absolutely possible for adults to be diagnosed and treated for ADD/ADHD.  If this is a concern, I would recommend talking to a primary care physician or a neuropsychologist.

`Kestra

[plonkplonk]

i was diagnosed with add at 40. i have made an extensive study of it as part of my degree. i will help as far as i can having gone through the whole thing and now having the theory as well.

[BeeHealthy38]

My mother was diagnosed at about age 47, I was diagnosed at age 27.  Both of my kids have ADHD.  I still struggle with organization and time management, but medication has helped improve my concentration and focus, and I enjoy reading books now as I am less distracted.  
Undiagnosed ADHD can really zap your self esteem if it makes you feel spacey, flaky, irresponsible, messy, like you can't get your life together no matter how hard you try.

[MammaZuk]

A diagnosis for adult ADD/ADHD must show that the symptoms started in childhood.  For various reason many people with ADD/ADHD reach adulthood without an ADD diagnosis.  I was diagnosed after two of my children were.  I was in college as a psychology major at the time and did most of my research papers on it because I was worried about what that meant for them.  Most research and information seems to be geared toward children but it is being recognized more and more in adults.  I soon realized that I had many of the symptoms.  The addition of medication to my life has made a world of difference.  Things that I used to get down on myself about were related to the ADD.  I can't believe that I went through 45 years of my life suffering all the consequences of this disorder.  Now I have been on medication for 11 years and I am happier with myself and find my life to be much more productive.  I went on to complete a Bachelor's and Masters Degree and have a great job that I love.  

[Raj786]

I am 24 right now and after I came across the possiblity that I might have it, I read about it as much as I can on Wikipedia and everywhere on the Internet and the I seem to have most of the symptoms associated with it. So many of teachers when I was young had commented that I had the brains n iq be doing much better but I always would just barely get passing marks every year in school, I myself realized that I had a somewhat better Grasping power for things from my peers, in school, in college or even in the jobs I have held, (not saying I was Einstein here but yes, I had a bit more brains than so many of the average kids I grew up with)

While many of these completed college, got an MBA or whatever and then have by now started on nice very well paying white collar jobs, the friends and peers who did go through this route in life weren't any smarter than or maybe they were in the departments which also matter a lot:

In getting their priorities right, time organization, being able to go through things which bore them etc, this really hurts now, But I'd like to salvage all that I can even now ...  and after College was a complete disaster despite all the 'Potential' I had and have, I haven't become a college graduate despite wanting it quite bad. I have even had trouble with drugs/alcohol ever since I turned 18, I did go to a psychiatrist about 4 months back and told him I suspect this and he told me that there is every possiblity that I might have it, but the trouble is that I was at that point addicted to Pain Narcotic medication viz Codeine so we tried treating that first and then this psychiatrist went to Europe for lectures and other stuff for 3 weeks, he gave me 'Olanzapine' which I had taken 4 years back when I had truoble with pot and even Heroin and I hated 'Olanzapine' because of all it's side effects including "Apathy" , Weight gain and "Drowsiness" and told me to come back when he's back till that time I was supposed to get of off Codeine and I never made it back to his office after that and I am still addicted to Codeine and my life is a complete mess financially, I hate my self for not being able to control it but after reading about Ritalin and the exp's of many ppl here, may anybody who's gone through being diagnosed as having     Adult ADD and taking meds for it please give some advice on how do I really move forward from here and what it's like etc ... thanx a lot in advance ...

[MammaZuk]

I have been taking ADD meds for 11 years since I was 46.  I have had good luck with most ritalin type drugs.  It can be difficult to get Ritalin once you have been diagnosed with a drug problem though. You definitely need to get some type of treatment for that.  This will ruin your life faster than ADD will.  Try attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings to get help with that.  They are free and all over.  Look in the white pages of the phone book.  The newer ADD drug Straterra might be better for you since it is not a controlled substance like Ritalin.  I really liked Straterra better but had the side effect of constipation and had to stop.  Hope you have better luck.  Just an observation, sitting around feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to change anything.  You need to do something to help yourself.  Good luck.

[Raj786]

I know Ritalin has abuse potential and some kids snort it to get a cocaine like high, but having gone through painful addictions twice, I don't think I'll ever abuse any precription medicine, of course you are right in saying that drug problems run lives faster than Add will but the trouble is: there is in reality no treatment for it, I know about NA and stuff, detox programs etc etc but ultimately you have to 'just stop' using drugs, it's that simply complex. A very nice analogy is when you talk of procrastination and how to treat this procrastinating habit, the only way to stop procrastinating is to simply stop it, and then get on with whatever it is u might be postponing, And I have always had a big procrastinating issue as well  or to change bad or over eating habits, simply again stop them or change them, it all comes down to the will of the person, the focus he/she has also, how impulsive she/he maybe etc etc.

And if I am not wrong it is precisely such traits which ADDHD folks have issues with. Not that what you are saying about drugs is wrong but it is a platidude and so is what I am saying unfortunately and instead of being the Philospher here and then guzzling down some 300 mg of codeine next evening, I should throw away the stock I have, get through WD's

(I am on a week long vacation with GF in a country setting and I brought the junk along as well, but as soon as I get back to my regular life, I will n I will get myself off Codeine)

Let's just leave the drugs out of this, I know I will come of off them for sure no matter what. You mentioned that Straterra causes constipation but so does Codeine but it does not bother my stomach as much so maybe Straterra will not as well. You also said that you have experience with other things like ritalin and ritalin-like substances you have been taking for 11 years, I am vry very very very interested in knowing how it has helped you if it has, no matter what science journals say and wikipedia pages say, does it also impact life in a negative way even if minimally, is there any drowsiness or worse 'Apathy' as a result of these, did it get you 'results', say, you got some degree, did well in a startup or anything u wanted to do?, pls do let me know this, the fact that I couldn't get through college smoothly is the most soul-crunching for me (n I have busted this year's chances already, next opportunity comes next year) All of my family's well educated, so's my teenage years friends and peers and I am the only sucker when it comes to academic's ...