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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 29, 2017 23:45:24 GMT
Ah, the what should I do vs. what would I do question... Absolutely, you should have the cup of tea, to avoid making the host feel uncomfortable. And I'd have done the exact same thing as you
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 29, 2017 23:03:56 GMT
Having just put myself through the weirdly obsessive ADHD heart thing and had it broken *again* Someone talked to me for more than about 30 seconds and the next thing in my head I'm naming our grandchildren and the dog we'll walk on the beach when we retire etc etc. Only for reality to crash around my ears when it became obvious that I'd *completely* misread the situation Oh, how a heart can rise so high and fall so low. Anyways, guess that makes me completely qualified. Hmm, apart from the "I'd *completely* misread the situation" part which marks me as completely unqualified!!! Oh yeah, and I'm not a girly Hmm, not that I can even provide a male view either as they are complete aliens to me! Ah well, the thought was there
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 29, 2017 22:48:44 GMT
Hi Dude,
Sounds like you are caught in the spiral, the slow accumulation of stress and pressure, the gradual erosion of confidence and with it the strength to tackle things.
Your details are different from mine, but I recognise that feeling, every day seemed to bring a new club to beat me with. No-one in real life to confide in, no-one who understood, each day the problems got bigger and I got smaller.
Like you a few years ago, I've now had my dx and started treatment and life is slowly improving and with it my shattered confidence, abeit very slowly.
What helped me through that bad time? This place, people who really understood, the understanding that comes of living it.
That and escaping for a while, heading off for long days on the bicycle or on foot, even if it was just to walk to the next town. If I had a dog he'd be called Stumpy now he'd have walked so far.
Either way I was away from the places I associated with the pressure, free, a chance to forget.
No advice other than to say remember you were good before, you can be good again and in the mean while, do what we always do, muddle on, one foot in front of the other and try to find yourself some space to breathe.
And stick around, lots of good folk here
Good luck
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 29, 2017 22:15:56 GMT
I'm trying to stop smoking! And I've run out of Concerta (my fault, I phoned too late) and today has been kind of weird... Anyway, back to Champix In the list of possible side effects it has and I quote "decreased appetite, increased appetite" WTF? Make your mind up! Later on it's no more decisive, "constipation, diarrhoea". My imagination balks at the horrors of that combination! No, No No, that's just plain, No Anyway! Bloated stomach and flatulence, oh yes My lower tummy is now resembles a small Zeppelin, if there was a jet propelled one. There wasn't but I sadly am. It was funny for the first day or seven but that humour is wearing off. Just like I smell... Part of me wants try lighting the farts but I fear going up like the Hindenburg itself. Anyway! "increased appetite" I think the thinking behind this drug is... You eat yourself silly, a ravenous hunger that just won't stop, so much so that you don't have any money left for ciggies. I passed 6000calories about tea-time. Actually, I should be more accurate about that... I'd eaten 6000calories by tea time, 10 jam donuts, packet of chocolate biscuits, bar of chocolate, some proper food and some vain attempt to limit the damage food - dry crispbreads... I have however discovered a way to control the hunger, thankfully before I gnaw my own limbs off. Chain Smoke!!!
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 20, 2017 22:02:01 GMT
ADHD previously known as ADD is not just a problem in children. 50% of adult females & males have it.
Really?
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 16, 2017 21:54:28 GMT
*snigger*
196 ...
I tend to have about 17 "projects"* in various stages at any one time, the open tabs serve as a visual reminder that I can scroll through ( bookmarks don't work for me, they are just meaningless lists of titles that most often don't trigger the memory )
*I say projects cos that sounds better than "things I've started but will probably never finish"...
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 14, 2017 0:37:11 GMT
Hi Tracey, Your post isn't visible yet, awaiting the moderators to approve it as not-spam. But rather than have it hidden the whole weekend (as often happens)... Hello I think my partner has ADD - he is undiagnosed, not particularly interested in being diagnosed but is getting help at the moment for depression. I suspect I also might be mildly ADD (daydreamer, procrastinator, high academic achiever but never settled down into a 'career'...) , and also my son (who is dyslexic) shows some signs. I am interested in coming to the support group on 1st Feb, I've put it in my diary though it's always a bit hit and miss trying to juggle childcare etc. I just wanted to say hello in advance, incase I do make it! Glad I found this website, feeling very low at the moment...
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 13, 2017 23:50:28 GMT
This might be completely irrelevant but...
When I was initially prescribed Concerta, my blood pressure was a little on the high side, now having been told in the past I had low iron, high cholesterol etc (essentially malnourished, a diet of digestive biscuits and ice cream will do that...) I went on one of my banzai health kicks - this involved knocking seven shades out of myself on the bicycle and cutting out dairy products, mostly replacing them with soya ones.
It being cold and wet my knees started to hurt so I started piling back the glucosamine, calcium, iron and multivitamin suppliments.
I started getting palpitations!
The timeline didn't match with me starting the concerta, but it did match with a few weeks after my health kick started, looking at the suppliments and what I was actually eating I was crazy over on Vitamin D and Calcium! It didn't help that one particular brand of Soya milk also had supplimental levels of both of those!
Immediately calming down on those suppliments stopped the palpitations! The milk I still drink regularly but the top up pills are now weekly rather than daily
No palpitations since and that's even on my current regime of concerta, guarana and caffeine! Yes, the concerta dose needs increased...
Short version... look, if you haven't already, at everything else as well
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 13, 2017 23:11:00 GMT
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 13, 2017 22:26:29 GMT
But that would be boring!
I mean, who wants to watch outwardly normal people try to organise their lives, hold down jobs and quietly struggle with the everyday tasks that most people take for granted?
Charicatures and stereotypes make for much more sensational telly!
Dude, don't think about the educational possibilities, think of the ratings!
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 11, 2017 23:28:05 GMT
Hi Susan,
Looks like something went wrong with your post and bits of it are missing.
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 11, 2017 22:23:42 GMT
Use an ad-blocker in your browser! As well as reducing the amount of visual noise you'll find pages load faster as well. An invisible side benefit is an improvement in your computer security and your browsing privacy. ( As well as adverts being an unvetted route for possible viruses etc they are also used to track your movements from site to site ) This site, proboards.com, deserves a dishonourable mention as well for the amount of adverts and tracking it sells out. ( Yes, it enables the site to be free but you can take things too far! ) aadduk.org(As proof in point, hover over the link above and you'll see the url is wrapped by viglink.com who are a tracking service!) If you use Firefox, uBlock Origin is free and works very well indeed.
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Post by easilydistracted on Jan 6, 2017 22:18:43 GMT
computermandan, absolutely +1 on the practice papers. I too have a hell of a difficulty staying on track reading notes, so doing the practice papers and only flicking back to the notes if I have a problem works very well for me too. The questions tend to be shorter as well during the exam than in the practice assessments (mine are AAT - accounting*). So if you can do them you can do the ones in the exam much more easily. The practice papers will also expose you to all the different ways the question might be posed. *Which is kinda comical given my crazy poor attention to detail... but another part of me also finds the patterns and rules in the numbers really easy! Written questions (as in answers in writing) are however, for me, a whole new category of hell that I don't know how I'm going to get through.
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 22, 2016 0:05:58 GMT
Take a highlighter to all the symptoms that apply, if you find you've just done a lot of highlighting then it's time to ask about ADHD.
Look at 1.2.2.1 again, "are not explained by other psychiatric diagnoses (although there may be other coexisting psychiatric conditions)"
The first part says can the other things you've been diagnosed with explain the symptoms you've highlighted?
The second says that having other things ( that do not explain them) does not prevent you from having ADHD!
(sorry I'm tired and I can't make a more readable sentence than that at the moment)
BTW, the GP who referred me was a locum!
night night
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 21, 2016 23:13:00 GMT
Hi stresshead75Regarding the diaries, I did something similar as well. Get it all down, in effect painting a picture of your head. Don't edit it! Yes, there may be cringeworthy things you scribble down but at the moment you wrote it it felt important enough to write down. Let them sort out what is relevant! If it raises other issues then fine! It's because those other issues needed raised and possibly addressed. It's about getting the right diagnosis. Talk, this may seem obvious but for me this was something new. Years of avoiding/denying/pretending there wasn't an issue and inwardly panicing and trying to paper over the cracks meant that talking about it did not come easy. For me, putting it down on paper, in my own words, knowing that I couldn't later deny it was a big step. Good luck
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 21, 2016 21:39:32 GMT
Be happy! At least you didn't reply "Well, that's because 90% of what you say is utter bollocks" It doesn't go down well
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 21, 2016 20:54:11 GMT
You called m'lady? Hi stresshead75 It looks like you may come under the same health trust as I do, Pennine Care? www.penninecare.nhs.uk/There is an ADHD service, it's out-sourced, but there is a pathway for diagnosis and treatment. Some areas don't have that so we are really quite lucky here. The GP said she would refer me to the MHT about the ADHD question, this went quiet for some time, so I phoned the GP to ask what was happening and was told I was now with the ADHD service. It's taken about a year from start to diagnosis, that too is quite short from some of the horror stories on this forum. I understand that might have been even quicker had there not been other issues that needed consideration as well. I've had a relatively easy go of it, that said, I did need to go to the GP armed with the NICE guidelines, school reports and angry letters from work in order to get that referal. In my case, the GP simply did not know that anything *could* be done for me. Things you may find useful, print out and take along with you. The GP seeing these in a format they are familiar with helped I think. www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/Pages/Symptoms.aspxwww.nhs.uk/Conditions/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/Pages/Diagnosis.aspxwww.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG72/chapter/Recommendations#identification-pre-diagnostic-intervention-in-the-community-and-referral-to-secondary-services(Section 1.2.2.1 is the relevant one) Get happy with the highlighter pen beforehand! As much documetary evidence as you can, yes, it will seem like you are cataloguing your failures and really you are! You are providing documentary evidence of how this has been a life long problem. Good luck
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 20, 2016 1:08:00 GMT
Resisting the Bah Humbug urge!
Mark Mothersbaugh - I Don't Have A Christmas Tree
Sorry, no neat video for this one
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 19, 2016 19:23:28 GMT
Sorry to hear that it's not working for you gc7, but glad also the side effects are easing off. My side effects were much more mild, loss of appetitie, a bit of tinnitus and a worsening of my focus towards the end of 18mg. To the extent that had that been the end result I would have come off it too. It has markedly improved since stepping up to 36. It is still early days though, but I am optimistic that it's going in the right direction. It also seems that while it does seem to make me more prone to tinnitus it's my personal stereo that's kicking it off so I've had to make some changes there, lower volumes and much less treble amd that has helped a lot. No, I would rather walk naked in the street that go without my tunes! It's more than just music it's an anchor and a happy* distraction. *carefully chosen choones only, no wrong songs!
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 15, 2016 12:38:36 GMT
Ok, this probably should be somewhere else rather than Introductions but...
After those initial positive signs on 18mg it then became a bit more random, actually random to the point I really was questioning whether to continue!
Today I stepped up to 36mg, a day earlier than planned, two reasons - to have a spare 18mg to drop back to should I feel necessary but also that I'd do this on a work day where I have a framework and routine to keep me straight.
So how is it? Well, in short WOW!
I'm calm and focused! I seem to have got more done and I've stayed at my desk most of the morning!
Couple of things I wasn't expecting at all, my hearing seems to be pin sharp, having to re-tie my shoe laces as I could hear the ends tapping!
A colleague did something that really annoyed me and then sat there yabbering. I did not lose my temper, weirdly, like I knew my temper was on the horizon I got up and walked away before I was at the flipping out stage.
I'm calm, deliberate and focused, wow!
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 11, 2016 10:22:44 GMT
heh, chase that referral It all sounds very familiar! And welcome
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 9, 2016 23:15:47 GMT
You said you only recently got your dx, have you told your work yet? My work certainly has a few people who are "allowed to go for a wander every now and then..." When they said they wanted a paperless office I said NOOOOO! If it's important I print it and put it front of me ( alas it all to often gets buried in the pile of important things in front of me, but for a short while it works... ) I haven't had my dx through in writing yet, at that point I'll tell the work ( it also allows me to try the medication for a couple of weeks without feeling like I'm be watched ). At that point the work will then get in an occupational therapist who will no doubt make my life a hell of rules, my company likes rules. Anyway! Looking at the above, what have we? printouts and wanders! My big problem is I read, think I know the answer, jump to that....and I haven't read it properly. Or the stats...I get frustrated and jump to conclusions rather than take it step by step. Yep, same here! To be honest, the exam you describe may not be the worst kind of exam except in duration, 3 hrs is a long time. At 54 seconds per question, leaping to conclusions might be your best bet.
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 9, 2016 22:06:50 GMT
Hi gc7Sorry to hear of all your emotional turmoil. I've not had that so am possibly taking a more optimistic view that it's as a tolerance builds up so the benefits wear off. As such I'm impatient to move up but accept that the body possibly needs time to adjust as well. Yes, I know that kind of makes no sense at all - that I want my body to adjust to it but not my head - but that's what I'm hoping will happen. On that front I've also been extra careful of my diet and made a point of going to bed at a more sensible time than I used to - slept 6.5h last night which is good for me. I want the quiet calm at the start to return!
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 9, 2016 21:42:09 GMT
Hi alienI too have been lucky enough not to have endured general anxiety or prolongued depression. If anything I've floated by this far oblivious to life. That said... I am very uncomfortable around people in anything remotely unstructured, anything more than a 1-1 will generally have me moving towards the wall followed by as quick an exit as I can. I don't know where social anxiety and quite selfconscious/lack of social confidence start and stop so, cannot answer that one really. On the depression front, apart from the end of a relationship knocking me sideways in a way I never thought possible and for the best part of a year too which could suggest possibly Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria? I've escaped that as well. That I don't mix well, see (1), and have consequently withdrawn from society in many ways has spared me getting sucked into many of the things, see (2) that could have pulled me down. That withdrawal isn't entirely painfree, sometimes it hurts a lot and (1) means that I don't have a clue how to change that. So most of the time it's just me and my little bubble, drifting through life
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 9, 2016 20:28:08 GMT
200 questions in 3 hrs??? That's 54 seconds per question!!! OK, that's good and it's bad Bad first... Keeping yourself going for the whole 3hrs will be the hardest part, you need every weapon in the armoury. Your dx, redbull and sugary sweets! In that order! DX, ask, *now*, for permission for a short walkabout or two, not too long, you want to keep your head in as much as possible, but it's there if you need it. Extra time too, same. Caffeine is slow and relatively stable, start tapering that in half way through. Sugary sweets, last half hour, no earlier, you'll rocket and crash. The Good (and it's a very good! ) Well, 54 seconds per question, the questions will be short - you won't have time to scroll or highlight, it's first answer is best answer and that's where we are best
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 9, 2016 19:33:22 GMT
Hi gc7Today was also my least useful day so far, by this afternoon no focus at all at work and I don't think I managed a continuous 5 minutes at my desk. Not helped at all by transitioning off caffeine this week, I think I am now worse than I was before. No I think about it, I am And a week to go before moving up to 36mg... Bad timing as it is, the last week of 36mg straddles the Christmas holidays meaning if I don't know what happens regarding the next appointment. I think I'll be braving the phone to speak to them early next week
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 9, 2016 19:11:53 GMT
Hi Tyke Unfortunately your post is hidden waiting moderation ( just in case your post is trying to sell fitted kitchens or viagra, or both... hmm, does your kitchen excite you? No? Then try these! ) It does look like your post is valid so I'll brave the wrath of the admins K, this is of personal interest to me too, I also have to take computer based exams, frankly, they suck for all the reasons you've said. Actually, no-one likes them for all those reasons. You are allowed paper and pencil? If it's numbers scribble them down (yes, I know this another opportunity to introduce errors but... it's better than scrolling up and down the screen, you can then cross them off/circle etc. You have a DX, speak to the examining body, they may permit you more time. Heck they may even give you a copy of the printed test paper. If all else fails, try my method, arrive late and full of red-bull! Has worked for me so far Good luck and tell us how you get on. Even better, register and stick around
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hi
Dec 6, 2016 23:17:55 GMT
Post by easilydistracted on Dec 6, 2016 23:17:55 GMT
Hi again Yep, like you say, understanding the underlying cause. I'm certainly a heck of a better now than I was, I now know why I'm driven like that and can rationalise it out. Knowing the beastie's name and the games he plays are the first steps in beating him Thanks for bringing this up, it's not a topic I've seem much mention of in this forum, how common is the risk taking?
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 5, 2016 23:16:20 GMT
Hi skillspickle Welcome to the board Heh, your comment about not having a off switch Oh, yes! That I know only too well! My own red flag is pretty far down the line, way beyond what is safe or sensible, as well. Managed to stay at the functioning stage for a few years too before the benders were getting longer and the gaps between them shorter. Wasn't till I screwed up everything (and still trying to repair that mess 7 years later ) that I managed to kill that particular demon and it's only the fear that I might not be able to step back again that stops me having another drink. That demon of excess is still there though... And he is a dangerous, dangerous one ( not to others, only to myself ( just in case anyone is wondering! ) ), compelling me on to push it further, to have another one. It's only the fear that keeps him in check, the fear of really over doing it and the knowledge that my body has now less ability to bounce back ( I'm older than you and I reckon I carry a few scars from him as well ). And he's still there, he's on my bicycle with me sometimes, hurtling amongst the traffic when I know if I misjudge it it's gonna really effing hurt, but wow, what a buzz! hmm, sorry Edit... This kinda wandered off track a little... what I meant to say was... Fingers crossed, for you, and for me, that treatment helps us tame this little beastie of ours.
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Post by easilydistracted on Dec 5, 2016 22:05:50 GMT
TheBlackParrot - Citizens Already - I'm Not (TBP Remix)
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