Is it just me?

[tschock]

Is it just me or does anyone else here feel almost guilty...kind of a restless guilt, when they aren't doing something?

I hurt my knee and have to sit here...I can't sit still!!
I need to do things...anything...my doctor just doesn't get it!
How do you make them understand?
They want me to have surgery and that requires staying off my feet for 6 weeks!!!
I CAN'T do that!!

I think I need to find a new GP...one that has ADD/ADHD...so that he'll understand.

[paying_it_forward]

lol sorry about the American Canadian mix up...see i have nooo idea about the abbreviations of the states/places over your side of the world...i really have nooo idea when it comes to politics or religion either...like seriously zero knowledge...

Today hasn't been a good day for me :\ i found out that a fella i went to high school with got killed in a car accident...i guess that sort of set the mood for the day. I did try to shake the bad mood off but i had other things going on too. and then my dad said he was coming up for a visit which stressed me a bit, and he's only coming because there's a car show on in town tomorrow that he wants to goto....and not once did he come visit me in the year and a half when i was recovering with the  whole pain killer thing...ah long story.

I didn't even realise the date...and the fact that i have an assignment due in 2 days. This insomnia is killing me.....

ahhh its just been one of those days i guess...

[tschock]

You remind me of me at that age...procrastination at it's worst.
Ever wonder how much is ADD/ADHD and how much is true procrastination? I think about that alot.
Oh, btw,  I'm not a Yankee...I'm a Canadian...and we call it high school too. Elementary is from grades 1-6 , junior high is grades 7-9 and high school is 10-12.

Hope you do well on your final exams. Those must be coming up soon eh?
I'm sure you will, as most of US are terribly smart...just can't focus. lol
If you keep away from the "normals" you should be fine. lol
I'm not prejuidice...I married a normal.  They can't help being that way you know...it's not their fault that they walk around like pre-programmed zombies their entire lives...they just weren't given the correct coding like we were is all.  I feel sorry for them...and for some reason they all feel sorry for us...kinda strange isn't it.

Conspiracy theororists claim that only "normals" will survive in the future...that anyone with any sort of "problem" such as ADD/ADHD,  Tourettes,  Autism, Dyslexia, just anything...anything that they don't consider "normal" will be wiped out...genetics will ensure that no pregnancy goes unchecked, etc. The future generations will all be "Normal".  
Guess that means that humanity will cease to exist then huh?
Normals don't take the risks that people with Tourette's and ADD/ADHD do.
Most of the important people in history were proven to have some sort of "affliction" or another. Some conspiracy theories claim that those that remain after the "cleansing" will be zombies/slaves. The government will control their every move, and they won't do anything about it. It's apparently people like us that start protests lol.
So the normals would be lost without us. Who else would they pick on anyway?
Life would be sooooooo boring without us, wouldn't it?

Ok young lady, back to work! lol

[paying_it_forward]

Some thing that never fails to make people laugh....shouting rather loudly any or all of the following words:
BOOGERS!
POO!
BUM!

Or alternatively....google funny cat videos....that NEVER fails to crack me up.

I definately (god i can NEVER EVER SPELL THAT WORD RIGHT...no matter how many times i type it) agree with you when you say that people don't understand ADHD...what its like...or just say "yeah it doesn't exist". well the can just go get well f****d, if they don't want to take the time to do a LITTLE bit of research on ADHD to better understand us then we obviously don't need crap like that in our lives.

Speaking of Tourettes....my dad actually has it...apparently he had it realllyyy bad when he was younger but from what i see he has learned coping mechanisms as he's gotten older, however he still has the facial and neck tic's/twitches...he swears ALOT but he doesn't have tourettes to the extent that he randomly swears out of nowhere. Its when he's watching the footy...fixing his car etc...sure everyone swears in those situations but my dad is definately different. I don't have tourettes though if someone or something annoys me very quickly (like if i'm in the car and my mum is driving and someone cuts her off) i will yell out a combination of words and swear words that don't actually make sense like..."c0ck.. f***ing....(then i'll stop and not know what to say after those two words)".....it's probably just an ADHD thing. I'm fairly certain my dad has ADHD too...

BUHHHHH....i have an assignment that i'm so close to finishing but i just don't seem to be getting to it .... ADHD at its best ...right there....

Speaking of school.....i never did really well at maths (or as you yankies call it..."math" lol) and dont even remember doing history subjects. Yet i did art subjects a year above my level....LOVEEEDDD woodwork and metal work, always got straight A's for those subjects. Even got an award for Welding in Year 10 (i don't know what you guys call that over there...but i would have been about 15 years old.....so mid school? we call it high school here).

But if you google "famous people with ADHD" you'll find that some of the greatest inventors, artists, actors...etc that have adhd have done amazing things....guys...this is US! Let's go kick butt! (not literally haha)....we've got the ability to do something awesomely fantastic....yeps

ugh .... guess i better get to that assignment...something that is not so fantastically awesome...and the other 5 assignments i have due by the 28th of THIS MONTH....  :S

POO!

[tschock]

LOL!! I am laughing way too hard over that last one paying!

Went back to see that annoying doctor yesterday and he says that I ought to get MORE exercise because I have osteoarthritis...how much more active can I possibly get???
First he wants me to sit still because of the knee...and now  he wants me to exercise and move as much as possible because of the arthritis! I think HE'S got ADD!!!!  lol!!

So we've cancelled the knee surgery for now. I had the bone density tests yesterday and he wants to see the results (7-10 days for them) before we go ahead with anything.
I got a cool new leg brace though! Feels like my foot is stepping on air when I walk.
Started walking around in the clinic and they told me to slow down...said I had to take it easy...ya right...whatever that means. lol

Doctors drive me crazy!
I hear ya kiaorana...I started my own business because I can't work for other people.
I used to get the strap alot in school just because the other kids couldn't keep up to my reading levels!  Well...it's not my fault that they all appeared to have a stuttering problem when trying to read **** and Jane...it was soooooo aggravating to have to sit through them sounding everything out.
I told my mom several times over the years that I wanted to drop out of school because of all the "slow moving/speaking/learning" kids.  I'm not talking about the kids that had "real" problems...just the "normal" ones. I understood completely why some kids had problems, but the "normal ones" were just so....stupid. Sorry if any "normal" people are reading this and taking offence...not trying to offend anyone.
I love/hate being ADD/ADHD. I'm more the ADD side, but I do have my very hyper moments. Was always quiet in school...hyper at home.
Love the fact that I seem to have more energy than my two year old. Keeps me young.
Hate that fact that "normal" people don't believe in ADD/ADHD and constantly tell me that I'm lazy...or whatever they call me.
My own mother doesn't believe in this. She says " you could focus quite well when you wanted to..."
" If you have this "thing" then how come you're so smart?" " How can someone who can't sit still or focus have such a high IQ ?"
"You could sit and play with Barbies for hours, but you couldn't sit still to do anything else..."

Uh mom...that's EXACTLY what this is all about.
I told her to watch the special  " ADD and loving it?"
Pat McKenna and the rest do such a wonderful job explaining it. I think everyone in the world should watch it!
The one thing that really bothers me is that, like with any "new"ly discovered disease/affliction, people get carried away, and they all claim that they themselves have it, or their kids have it.
I remember when we first heard about Tourette's Syndrome. My little brother was diagnosed 20 years ago with it...then several years later, as more people heard of it, everyone started to have it.
A lady I knew insisted her 2 month old son had it. My mother suddenly developed symptoms. A guy I knew suddenly started ticking and swearing...right after he saw some movie. I tried to explain to him that not ALL swear words were Tourette's related...but he knew better because he saw the movie...he just liked to swear, so he developed this affliction. He no longer has Tourette's...his new wife doesn't allow swearing in her home. lol

How often do you see teachers or parents "label" young kids with ADD/ADHD just because they have learning problems, can't sit still, get into fights, etc?
Half of the time they can't learn because they don't want to. Others can't learn because the parents/teachers don't realize that the child has a hearing or eyesight problem.
Some kids can't sit still because they have pinworms. Some have restless leg syndrome. But they all get diagnosed with something else...makes it easier huh?
How in the world can you tell if a 2 year old is ADHD? ALL 2 year olds are hyper to a degree. My youngest son is VERY busy. His pediatrician said that he probably has ADHD just because I have it ! UGH!  Don't label him just yet. I don't care if it's hereditary...he's only 2.
My third oldest was diagnosed when he was 8. My oldest two are "normal", and I believe that the youngest is as well.

Ok...let's hear some stories...I'm bored. Someone...anyone...need more funny stuff.

[paying_it_forward]

kiaorana is right...there IS a way around it...and you will find it! Believe you me!

I know i'm "new" to ADHD (just been diagnosed and i'm 25)...but I have been through a 3 year painkiller addiction (Nurofen plus, upto 30 pills a day) and got through the other side...after over a year of staying home and doing nothing mind you!...and this was before i knew about my ADHD. I am now studying to become a drug and alcohol worker/counselor. I know it's not really a relative comparison but i guess my point was...ANYTHING can be done... and we have bloody amazing minds!

I myself have had 2 knee surgeries...one was a major one...at the age of 17...and damn it hurt! I still have major troubles with it and because of my previous painkiller addiction i can't take painkillers when i do get pain....and sometimes the pain is unbareable.....sorry....getting off track lol...but i'm sure you know what thats like!

As far as the meds go...i'm on Dexamphetamine 50mg over the day and it's doing me wonders. My aggression levels have been great...i can sit and focus in class, less irritable.....and my sugar addiction is gone!!!! :D :D I've lost nearly 15kg's since mid-late march. However i keep getting the feeling like i have a lump in my throat and little hairs or fibres in my mouth...and its REALLYYYY annoying (anyone experienced this???)... and my sleeping patterns are pretty screwed up....though i think that is because of a mood stabilizer my body didn't like that i'm in the process of getting off.

Back to the point....you will find a way...it will get done...and everything will be alright *nods*

Ugh it's 3.15am over here in Aussie land...i really should try get some sleep...but my mother is snoring like Chewbacca on speed.....*annoying*

<3

[kiaorana]

Makes sense to me!!! - however - I'm now 68 and have lived with that crazy restlessness all my life - -- I remember one having been hurt in a car collision - and being strapped to a backboard because they thought I might have a serious back injury - within 15 minutes I was more than willing to risk paralysis rather than stay motionless on the board - so I undid (read - ripped off) the restraints and got up (read - exploded off the board) --  I was lucky :-) . . . . . . . and you and I both understand that burning, driving, restless and relentless fire that forces you to move even when the consequences may dire!

and for those who ask . . . .no, I don't want to take Ritalin - or anything else - why would I WANT to slow down and be like everyone else???  

tschock, you talked about the wonderful things you have -- I understand completely -- I wouldn't want to be different!!! - and those who don't have it - just don't (and can't) get it simply because they are so neuro-chemically different!.

But - at times - you have to find ways to deal with the ADHD (I'm mostly HD - you seem to have both).  I have learned to seek only jobs that allow me to move. I talk with my physicians (and employers, and friends) about the compelling NEED to move, I talk to the doctors about my weird reactions to drugs -- basically everything does the opposite of what it does to others - or does nothing at all.  When I have had surgery, I found that  morphine has a profound effect -- and codeine calms me enough that - after surgery I can "survive" the first few days when I really can't move - after that I can find ways to both stay within the limits set by my doctor and still get to move as much as I need WITHOUT dependence on drugs.

Another thing - your body is "smart".  If you have had surgery - it knows you need to rest and slows the motor for a while :-)  -- at least mine does.  Go back, talk with the Doc - develop a plan - there IS a way to do this!.  

You are going to deal with IT for the rest of your life - start developing strategies to enable the "who you are" to live in a slow paced world.  -- And NO, they will NEVER understand - at least not at a "real" level - intellectually maybe - but physically and emotionally they don't get it.  Sorry!  It will be YOUR job to find the way to cope.

[tschock]

I have no idea what they are doing to my knee, other than digging out a bone chip that has apparently been there since I was 12 years old...had an accident that summer and the pain has been there ever since...43 now...pain comes and goes. They finally did an xray after all these years of screaming my head off over the pain. Doc only said " Yup. I would be swearing too". when he read the results...nice. Ugh.

I can't sit still...the ants in my pants won't let me!
I have kids...youngest is 2...can't have surgery until he's 12...at least that's what I told the doctor. lol
How can I chase a baby around when I'm supposed to be sitting here doing nothing? Makes no sense.  Doc better give me some "downers" or something.

And why is it that they would give someone with ADD/ADHD "uppers"?
I tried some stupid pill a few years ago...couldn't sleep for weeks. I was bouncing around like crazy...and the doctor told me that this little magic pill was supposed to help...ugh.

Anyone else ever have an adverse reaction like that to their meds?
I don't take anything...not after that horrible experience. If people don't like my "energy levels", my fast talking, disorganized clutter, and all of the other wonderful things I have and do...well...they can "take off". lol

[Sandman2]

   I hear you.  6 weeks is nuts!  Is it an ACL attachment?  I think even with that a cast and crutches would let you move around.
  Try and find a orthopedic surgeon that works with athletes. They usually get them on their feet and moving as soon as possible.
  Worse case scenario - it's time to start scanning in all those family photos, converting those video tapes to digital, CD's, cassettes, records to ITunes,  etc.  
  Good luck, probably expect to see you posting a lot more on this forum!