Post by mrbuildy on Sept 7, 2014 12:34:18 GMT
Rather than give you a "War and Peace" length journal of my life up to and just after diagnosis, I'll attempt something that has always been difficult and be "brief" (although possibly stretching the definition of the word to new and uncomfortable lengths).
Struggles up to diagnosis.
- Always had "day dreams too much" on school reports.
- frequently got in trouble for "being a smarty pants" as instructions I was given was not specific enough (or what I deemed specific enough) and so things got lost in translation and were not done properly. - This is something I still battle with, though much better now.
- Trouble saying what I mean simply
- Procrastination level: Ninja
- Multi interested (vast interests, something which has only grown with medication, but is easier to manage). Qualified sports massage therapy, PADI dive instructor, commercial and industrial diver, nutritionist, personal trainer, first aider, self taught miniature sculptor (my profile pic is one of mine) and this is before I even touch school qualifications or my degree.
Getting diagnosed:
Sister was diagnosed first and then relayed to me the number of things that were relevant to myself and ADHD (and an even larger number applies to my dad, who was never diagnosed). As I result I went for it and was diagnosed too.
Post Diagnosis (things that are still a problem and I want to address):
- Procrastination, I've sculpted less than I did pre diagnosis, this is a huge problem for me and something I really want to sort. Unfortunately it's not something I can do in small bursts, ideally I'd need at least 3 hours for one sitting.
- Actively doing anything, I can doing nothing, nothing, nothing and then all of a sudden I'll clean the whole house, no idea why or where this comes from, but I can go from 0 activity to productively unstoppable. The big one though is anyone who interferes or interrupts me, mid flow (helping while I'm doing it is not an issue however).
- Sticking to lists, although I can get most things done, I never finish a list in its entirety.
Experience of Concerta:
- I've found I pick at peeling skin a lot more than I used to, no idea why.
- Much more assertive, less likely to give way (especially if someone is being rude/nasty to someone else), although it's more of a positive thing, initially it was verging on aggressive (but without shouting), passionate might be more of an accurate description.
- Increased appetite, might be because of training too, but not sure, it's not been a negative factor though.
- only had stomach cramps once and this vanished within a matter of minutes.
- I think my overall benefit/improvement, is recognising and understanding my own behaviour and saying what I mean rather than assuming the other person knows, or should know. This has stopped/saved so many arguments, making life better for everyone.
- I've also noticed I do a lot more chores, it's just that getting started part and the procrastination I struggle with.
I deliberately left out my experiences with co-workers and the like regarding ADHD, but it's mainly because on-one has had issue with it, people tend to be more curious than anything else.
Struggles up to diagnosis.
- Always had "day dreams too much" on school reports.
- frequently got in trouble for "being a smarty pants" as instructions I was given was not specific enough (or what I deemed specific enough) and so things got lost in translation and were not done properly. - This is something I still battle with, though much better now.
- Trouble saying what I mean simply
- Procrastination level: Ninja
- Multi interested (vast interests, something which has only grown with medication, but is easier to manage). Qualified sports massage therapy, PADI dive instructor, commercial and industrial diver, nutritionist, personal trainer, first aider, self taught miniature sculptor (my profile pic is one of mine) and this is before I even touch school qualifications or my degree.
Getting diagnosed:
Sister was diagnosed first and then relayed to me the number of things that were relevant to myself and ADHD (and an even larger number applies to my dad, who was never diagnosed). As I result I went for it and was diagnosed too.
Post Diagnosis (things that are still a problem and I want to address):
- Procrastination, I've sculpted less than I did pre diagnosis, this is a huge problem for me and something I really want to sort. Unfortunately it's not something I can do in small bursts, ideally I'd need at least 3 hours for one sitting.
- Actively doing anything, I can doing nothing, nothing, nothing and then all of a sudden I'll clean the whole house, no idea why or where this comes from, but I can go from 0 activity to productively unstoppable. The big one though is anyone who interferes or interrupts me, mid flow (helping while I'm doing it is not an issue however).
- Sticking to lists, although I can get most things done, I never finish a list in its entirety.
Experience of Concerta:
- I've found I pick at peeling skin a lot more than I used to, no idea why.
- Much more assertive, less likely to give way (especially if someone is being rude/nasty to someone else), although it's more of a positive thing, initially it was verging on aggressive (but without shouting), passionate might be more of an accurate description.
- Increased appetite, might be because of training too, but not sure, it's not been a negative factor though.
- only had stomach cramps once and this vanished within a matter of minutes.
- I think my overall benefit/improvement, is recognising and understanding my own behaviour and saying what I mean rather than assuming the other person knows, or should know. This has stopped/saved so many arguments, making life better for everyone.
- I've also noticed I do a lot more chores, it's just that getting started part and the procrastination I struggle with.
I deliberately left out my experiences with co-workers and the like regarding ADHD, but it's mainly because on-one has had issue with it, people tend to be more curious than anything else.