Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson
Oddly enough...

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heh

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Kind of like God?

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I don't know if that feels surreal to him. You'd have to ask him.

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How is being irritating going to solve anything?

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Well, if you're going to be in pain, might as well use it.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 239

quote:

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Originally posted by Toby
Well, thanks for the praise, but I'm not sure what you mean by my being critical of you as an individual. I honestly don't recall ever saying anything about you.

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No, you haven't, and I didn't mean to imply that you had. I was using myself in a hypothetical sense, instead of picking another person that I thought you had been critical of in the past. I couldn't figure out the right combination of bold and italics to get my voice inflection across. OK, OK, I could have used the word "hypothetically", but that would have been far too easy...

Up the voltage!

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Soul Raven - "Sm� hjerne, stor gl�de"
Wherever you go, there you are.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by Soul Raven
No, you haven't, and I didn't mean to imply that you had. I was using myself in a hypothetical sense, instead of picking another person that I thought you had been critical of in the past. [...]

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

quote:

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Originally posted by Toby
heh...if all husbands who tune out their wives occasionally would suddenly be diagnosed with ADD, I bet the Ritalin manufacturers are going to make a mint.

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Ha! My best skill as a wife (okay, one of the many ) is tuning out my husband while giving the impression that I am glued to his every word. This is a skill I developed by watching my mother listen to the sermon in church on Sundays. (Just kiddin' Bobby-Mike). You men just don't bother to pretend to be listening!

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: McLean, VA USA
Posts: 216

Dick,

I was diagnosed as "Hyperactive" as a child (early 60's) long before the ADHD acronym came along. I was on Ridilin (sp?) for about 6 months, but my mom didn't like what the medicine did to me. I basically went from Speedy Gonzalez to Teddy Tree-Sloth. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD. We had him on medication when he was younger to help him focus in school. He is currently in high school (junior next year) and as such gets special attention. He has options to take oral tests and such. We DO NOT have him on meds anymore. My mom was told when I was young and I later comfirmed this with research, that a person that has ADHD is NEVER truly cured. They usually learn to control the impulsivness and such as they grow older. I am still very impulsive, but have learned to take an extra step or two between thinking something and acting on it. Those extra steps are where I question my motives and the possible outcome of my actions. Now, if I could only get my son to learn this lesson.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: forget the meds and try to learn some techniques that will help you to deal with the impulsiveness and other symptoms of ADHD.

Hope this helps!!

Craig

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What the Heck! It's what I want!

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

K.Cannon wrote:
"Ha! My best skill as a wife (okay, one of the many ) is tuning out my husband while giving the impression that I am glued to his every word."

I think many women (at least the ones that stay married!) learn when it's ok to tune out and when it's important to be "right there". Listening to me drivel on about stud spacing on pre-ballon framed houses, or how much extra horsepower you can get out of a Nissan Skyliner without internal mods can't be the most exciting thing to listen to, but my wife is kindly and puts up with it without any sighing. (of course I tend to jump around alot in the course of a conversation too!.)

and then wrote:
"This is a skill I developed by watching my mother listen to the sermon in church on Sundays. (Just kiddin' Bobby-Mike). You men just don't bother to pretend to be listening!"

He (the minister) was probably very happy that at least one of his flock was actually listening! I can remember, more than once, waking up right after my head hit the pew in front of me. Talk about discouraging the minister!

d-r, one of the things I forgot to mention was that having kids REALLY helped me to focus on things. I still stay up long hours and read an amazingly diverse bunch of stuff (while getting in some games, working on my book, sketching out ideas for our house renovations and working on new designs for our business), but I also make sure what needs to get done, done. (I could never get a planner to work with me- my Vdx actually has helped immensely- enough so that less than a month later my wife commented on how I was managing to juggle all my balls without too much droppage!)
I'm not suggesting you go out and make babies until you feel that you're focused enough (your wife might not think it's the best possible solution!)


Michael

syntax and grammer

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

quote:

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working on my book,

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__________________
We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
...I'm not suggesting you go out and make babies until you feel that you're focused enough (your wife might not think it's the best possible solution!)

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Um...too late.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

At least I get a lot done on the nights I'm up late.

Attachment: this is my hard drive:documents:web pages:pix:cook-out.jpg
This has been downloaded 73 time(s).

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson

Um...too late.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

quote:

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Originally posted by K. Cannon

Are congratulations in order??!!

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Don't like somebody? Click "Profile" on a post and then click "Ignore "so and so's" posts". Voila!

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

No congrats needed. I'm talking about the same model I've had for a couple of years.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

Yeah, well, we didn't know you then, so "Congrats!" Does your offspring exhibit signs of the alleged attention disorder?

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

d-r wrote:
"No congrats needed. I'm talking about the same model I've had for a couple of years."

I remembered that you already had a munchkin, I meant keep having more until you got REALLY focused. (it seems the more you have on your plate, the more valuable your time, so you tend to spend less time procrastinating. at least in my experience.)
It took two kids for me to start to get that focused. Number three put us into hyperdrive!

Homer wrote:
"quote:
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working on my book,
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Well, fill us in"

No.

Just kidding. It's a really involved story. I don't have an 'elevator pitch' for it. It's a fable about redemption and salvation. Imagine a world (far far away....) where technology has faded from view, where mankind is about as far from us as we are from the Sumerians, The story of Christ is a dim memory at best and Evil (don't touch it, it's concentrated EVIL!) is afoot in this world in a big way.

I've been working on it, off and on, for over 14 years (one of the reasons I bought my Atari 520ST was so I could use it as a word processor), so don't expect me to be finishing it this year.

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 89

quote:

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I can remember, more than once, waking up right after my head hit the pew in front of me.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

quote:

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Originally posted by Marfu
Josh with regards to ADD: I watched a program a couple of months ago about a doctor who was treating patients with ADD by removing their tonsils. Apparently the arrangement of their tonsils caused them something akin to sleep apnea. This disrupted REM sleep so much that they were never fully rested. The "punchy" state they were continually in never let them focus on anything unless it was highly stimulating, thus the ADD diagnosis.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 32

Sorry, I just noticed the subject.

As someone who has had an attention deficit disorder, as well as extreme hyperactivity and dyslexia my entire life, I personally find it very hard to belive that you are just now getting diagnosed with this at your age.

Of course, all of this varies wildly from person to person, but people with what is now being called ADHD (or whatever), process information in a very different way than "normal" people, and I am rather dubious of a diagnosis that comes this late.

Either way, my personal recommendation would be to just ignore what a doctor is telling you to do, and get on with your life. I have been through just about every treatment that was in vogue in my youth, short of getting drugged up, and in the end none of them did anything but try to get me to act more like a "normal person."

Once I came to terms with the fact that I was processing information differently than most people, I was able to figure out how to use that to my advantage, and have led a successful, rewarding life ever since.

I am extremely glad I have my "learning disabilities" because as far as I am concerned they give me a decided advantage in today's information rich world. I think the biggest mistake made by the mental health care industry, is in considering these things as disabilities. It is simply a different way of dealing with a flow of information.

If you have made it through school, and into a career you enjoy, then obviously, whether you are ADHD or not, you have learned how to work in accordance with how your brain processes information, and I don't really see what someone else can do to really aid that process.

I had to talk to a lot of doctors growing up, and none of them ever had anything to offer other than labels and platitudes. When it came down to it, I had to find my own way, and I am very glad I did!

In short, you are who you are, and if you are happy with that, then what need do you have for a doctor or labels? ADHD is something that can be very difficult when you are growing up, and very useful once you are in the real world. If you are already out of school, then don't worry about it, and enjoy your life.

p.s. Yes it is most certainly genetic. My mother's side of the family is thick with hyperactive relatives, and my mother has always been both hyperactive and ADD.

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The goal is to overcome the deliberate nature of the process.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

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I personally find it very hard to belive that you are just now getting diagnosed with this at your age.

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I was diagnosed at 27. I have a good friend that was diagnosed at 30.

In my case, it was probably ignored. I wasn't screend for glasses until 9th grade. I grew up in small town USA where I don't think the schools really were screening too carefully for things.

It never occured to me that I had ADD, I just accepted the fact that I was fidgety, couldn't concentrate and was a procrastinator. I hated myself at times because of that, but life went on.

It wasn't until my wife finally encouraged me to go that I started looking into it seriously.

It's like all physical ailments, I think we all ignore it as long as possible.

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I think the biggest mistake made by the mental health care industry, is in considering these things as disabilities.

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I agree. ADD isn't necessarily a handicap, just a state of mind, really. For some it IS a handicap, for others it is not, and for others, it is advantageous.

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If you have made it through school, and into a career you enjoy, then obviously, whether you are ADHD or not, you have learned how to work in accordance with how your brain processes information, and I don't really see what someone else can do to really aid that process.

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Well, not necessarily. I certainly made it through school...with great grades, and have had a succesful career, but I clearly see where being able to better cope with my condition would make me much more productive. Whether that be through coaching or medication, I don't know yet, but I do look forward to trying out some new ways to deal with this.

I can make it through the day just fine without my glasses, but that doesn't mean I couldn't do better if I were to wear them.

That's not to say that I don't agree with you. I think a lot of what you say rings true. I'm just throwing out a slightly differing opinion.

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

They always wanted to throw me on Ritalin while I was in school. My mother (who has a masters in psychology) flat out refused. I think it's always been acknowledged, but like homer said, always ignored. But I do agree with you that if I've gotten this far, what's to prevent me from going farther?

I dislike driven to distraction. It's too droll. Answers to Distraction is a whole different story, however. I like the Q&A format. It's a good read, ADHD or no. My wife's reading chapter 8. Said it's rather insightful. I skipped that one because I'm not the spouse of someone with ADHD.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

My shrink changed the appointment to next friday. The suspense must be terrible for you guys.

j/k

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.