Minor Disorders

[Muad'Dib]

Alright, I know there's gotta be plenty of you guys out there who have a disorder like ADD/ADHD or Asburger's Syndrom (sp?), or other things of that kind. Well, I'm officialy calling ya'll out ~_^.

Alright then, to the point. Having ADD (and extrmely mild Asburger's(sp?))myself, I know that sometimes these "minor disorders" can be 1)incredibly annoying at times, and 2) a hinderence to your social life on occasions.

First off, how many of you have one of these? This means anything from ADD to, heck any disorder you can think of that isn't major. I mean, not that these disorders shouldn't be taken seriously, but, ya know... there usualy not too bad.

Maybe give us a little personal history that might have been caused and/or affected by your particular disorder. Personaly, ADD has seriously handicapped my social life for well over... umm... since kindergaten I guess. BUT IT'S GETTING BETTER! Well, technicaly, the disorder never "get's better", but I'm adapting to it ^^.

OK, I admit... half the reason I made this was to see how many people would go into the ADD/ADHD group, but this may lead to interesting discussion.

Knock yourselves out... no, I didn't mean tha-... ohh, ouch.

[Winter]

Never had anything like that other than chronic depression, but I had a thing to say about that disorder.

Its really misrepresented. And misdiagnosed. I knew of an old friend throughout my years in catholic elementary school, in where growing up, he had anger problems and was really irritable. Immediately a few teachers recommended he be put on meds for ADHD. Turns out that he actually had a really infectious buildup in his ear, which led to hearing complications, which led to frustration, which led to simply acting out.

They cleaned his ear, gave him meds for the buildup, and magically the "ADHD" disappeared.

My point is, too many people resort to certain disorders without a proper investigation.

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=darkviolet]This topic was being discussed on Ricky Lake this morning so I sat and watched and heard people complain about medicating their children.

I'm sort of on the fence about medicating a child for ADD (Attention deficite disorder) or ADHD (Attention deficite hyper activity disorder) since sometimes the meds can become addictive. Other times the medication will stay in the child's bloodstream and do nothing to help.

I have ADD, but it's not too bad, The worst thing that happened was in the public elementary school I went to before my parents switched me over to the private school I went to. However, they didn't decide I had ADD until 2nd grade (my pediatrician, the one I had since I was three did it.)

I don't think it's done anything to hurt me socially, I never really gave a damn about fitting in, and I still don't. I think it's stupid to think that somethng so minor in some people yet so intense in others will inhibit your ability to succeed in a normal existance.

My husband has ADHD. It hasn't hurt him either. Well, atleast not that I know of.

I think the person I know of who has been worse affected by having ADHD would be my brother. Or maybe more accurately, my mother since she had to deal with everyone thinking that my brother was a bad kid since he was brought into our family as a foster child. My grandma told her that my brother at age three needed and exocercism becasue he was so hyper. Another relative told someone that she shouldn't let her son play with my brother because he was a troublemaker.

Well, that's it from me. I was going to bring up this topic prior to seeing it, but I guess I was too slow.

PS, Winter is right tho. At times some peopel just look for a quick fix for their children's miss behaivior and blame it on a behavior disorder instead of just a behavior problem. Or in his friend's case, an ear infection. Parents and pediatricians should look into other options before assuming that the child has ADD or ADHD.

The best way in my opinion to test this is give the child caffeine. If the child gets even more hyper, it's something else, but if the child gets tired, it could be either ADD or ADHD. [/color]

[Fushigi Rockna]

I have ADD. very mild, thanks to the doctors and my parents treating it when I was young. My only problem is when I don't take my pills I have a hard time focusing and I get distracted.

I cna also be a tiny bit hyper when I don't take them, but I'm not that bad.

[Farto the Magic]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I have a severe case of ADHD. I can't pay attention and I am freakishly hyper. Hooray for Ritalin! That's how they solved everything in the '90s.[/COLOR]

[Muad'Dib]

Heh, knew this discussion might get good...

Right, anyway... I guess it's true that a lot of people use things like ADD/ADHD and similar disorders as a cover up for simply hyper and/or bad childeren. Well, not that you can truly call a kid 'bad', but that's another discussion...

But that's not always the case. Well, obviously... anyway... a friend of mine has ADHD, meaning he's very hyper most of the time, and you can TELL. I think he takes pills for it, but he's still pretty crazy most of the time. Not a trouble maker, just.... happy. Ironicaly, he was one of my first friends in a new school a few years ago...

OK, I'm throwing the discussion off a little, so I'll go ahead and stop talking... I mean typing.

[StarShine]

I have ADD and perhaps a small case of ADHD at times. It hasn't really effected my social life in a bad way, but more of a good way. I'm on concerta and it's really helped, but when I don't take it I tend to talk more and what not.

My brother also had ADD and ADHD, only worse than I do. He's on Ritalin LA, then he has an afternoon pill, and he takes clonodine at night to help him sleep. I'm worried that he might be on too much medication, but we really can't control him when he doesn't take his pills. I've had nightmares about him dying from some weird side effects, and I feel really guilty, but there's nothing I can really do...

[Fate]

[color=teal]A subject I know plenty of...

I have ADHD. It's really annoying when I find out that I'm not paying attention when I should be. I have to take Ritalin, which brings me to a semi-normal state. To do my best at school, though, I have to take these focus pills to keep me on track.

It's difficult, yes, but at least my grades are better than everyone else's.[/color]

[Corey]

[size=1][color=#2F4F4F]I have slight muscle spasms in my neck.
All they do is make me twitch at random times. It only started happening in the last year or so. It doesn't hurt and the doctors say it isn't damaging anything, so I'm not going to worry about it.[/color][/size]

[Vegitto4]

I was classified with Acute Adjustment Disorder. My psych didn't want to give me Bipolar, because he said I wasn't crazy enough. Any of my manic episodes were to mild to actually fall into the BD category anyway.

What AAD actually does is it makes small changes difficult. The big things like completely changing my life are easy enough to cope with. When somebody makes random little changes though, thats when I seem angry, or I get over-stressed all of a sudden. People tend to think I'm an asshole at that point. As if I don't care about anything at all. Like felings dont matter. They do matter, but I have to work on taking care of myself first.

[/venting stage]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]I am against taking medicine for ADD. Okay, so maybe you have an extremely bad case and you just cannot get on with life if you don't have your ritlin, but I think it's ridiculous. My little sister was diagnosed with
ADD when she was younger and when she was on ritlin she would cry about everything. She would always yell out that no one loved her and that she hated her life and she would just go on and on. As soon as she was off, she quit doing that crap. You tell me.[/color][/size]

[Muad'Dib]

That may be an example of someone who was diagnosed with ADD but doesn't actualy have, hence her reaction to the medication. Or maybe it was just some weird side-effect... you may never know ^__^

[Ryu_Sakura]

I'm not sure if I have A.D.D. or not, but a few people think I do, the shrink I vist says it may be why I don't pay attention in class and don't do homework, but that's not true... I'm on the internet or reading a book! lol Sorry, had to say that. Anyway.. a few of my friends have mild cases of A.D.D. and a few have other stuff... Me... I'm the one who has everthing but a metal disorder. I have a skin condition that if not treated could lead to somthing not very pleasnt, my right eye drifts slighty to the outside, or inside if I'm not focusing and just staring into space not thinking about anything (it's probaly a muscle thing), not to mention that I'm missing a bone in my wrist, my average body tempature is below normal, and... I don't get cold or hot (kinda weird ain't it?) Anyway... From my knowlage I do not have a mental disorder, but am going to be tested for one.

[Skye]

^^ So you started a thread! Well, I MIGHT have ADD, and I know my friend(he's called shereaza sp? here) has ADHD. ^^ I might have that one. I don't know. But I seem to loose my trail of thought very often, and I am bad at paying attention.... Huh? Oh, right. Anyways, it is okay, seeming as it is mild... if I have it at all....

[Fyodark]

I have mild Aspurgers, or Asburgers, or w/e its called. But yeah, I don't really have a hamper on my life because of it at all.

Basically, it just puts an interesting twist on how I see things and think, they way others see it. Everyone just sees me as eccentric, and quite frankly I'm damn proud of it... I dunno, I just like the way I think. Its not as if I'm crazy, or unstable or anything like that, I'm just easily goofy, and then I can turn around and suddenly be thinking deeply enough to intrique people and so on and so forth and so on and so forth.

And yeah, all in all I guess I'm glad to have it, even though its a so called "disorder", I just see it as a cause of alot of my personality traits... so really I don't like to think of it as Aspurgers, or a disorder, or anything, I just see me as me, and everyone else just see's me as me.... so yeah s'all gravy.

[Gelgoog Pilot]

Yep, ADD right here. Hard to pay attention in class even though I try (sometimes) and once in a while it'll cause a little sufferage in my interaction with g/fs. I took Adoral (sp) but it just made my thoughts more scattered. But i do ok with it. Im learning to control it a little. I'll tell ya what though when I was little Mom would tell me to do something and I'd completely forget like everytime.........man did I get grounded alot!

[Muad'Dib]

OK, can't resist this... has anyone else seen the news lately? There's aparently some kind of theory that a child watching too much TV causes ADD... my answer? BULL-SH**!

They're just trying to find another excuse to diagnose kids with ADD, I swear it... who else has an opinion?

[Balinese]

[QUOTE=FirePheonix727]OK, can't resist this... has anyone else seen the news lately? There's aparently some kind of theory that a child watching too much TV causes ADD... my answer? BULL-SH**!

They're just trying to find another excuse to diagnose kids with ADD, I swear it... who else has an opinion?[/QUOTE]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]i think it's hilarious when a doctor has no clue what's with a kid, so they diagnose ADD/ADHD. i can't follow the logic there. :laugh: (man, i wish this forum had a :hahano: smiley like the other one i was on...)

i have several different diagnoses, the most recent of which is Bipolar disorder. Not a big deal in itself, but before that they diagnosed me with 'atypical ADHD'. what does THAT mean? 'uh, well... um...'

ha. ha. ha. idiots.

so yeah. i have OCD, PTSD, and 'atypical ADHD' on top of bipolar disorder. that's my two cents. [/FONT]

[King Ansem]

I have ADD but I have meds but I know 3 kids that have it

[Dragon Warrior]

I don't believe I have any disorders, but one of my good friends has ADHD. Actually, come to think of it, I find school boring a lot, but I don't think that has anything to do with attention span. It's just lack of interest in a certain subject.

Wait! Is being very sexy a disorder? XD

[coconuts1977]

[quote name='StarShine'] he takes clonodine at night to help him sleep. I'm worried that he might be on too much medication, but we really can't control him when he doesn't take his pills.[/quote]

Hm, Clonodine. That's a tricky one. It's probably the best choice if he was having trouble getting to sleep because of his ADD/ADHD medication. Clonidine is an anti-hypertensive that regulates the adrenal glands. It's pretty safe taking into terms just plain old sleeping pills.


I have ADHD. I take Adderall XR and sometimes Dextrostat at night and on Sunday. They can help a lot. They give me the ability to study if I choose to. Some people, I think, think that stimulants MAKE you study. That is not the case, you still have to have the self control to begin studying.

Another thing...just because you are able to concentrate better and stay alert better when you take Ritilin/Concerta (methylphenidate) or Adderall/Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) DOES NOT MEAN that you have ADD/ADHD. Anyone who takes those meds will find their concentration and attention span to be increased, it is just more of a markedly evident change in those who have ADD/ADHD.


Oh, by the way,
I'm really against meds like SSRI or Tricylics for people to take. I'm even more against anti-psychotics. Part of me wants to go back to the old days when they didn't have all this ****. I think a lot of people are just brainwashed into thinking they have a problem. We're overmedicated and that's the bottom line. Media and other sources have just made hundreds and hundreds of 'disorders' for people who the pharm. companies can sell drugs to 'fix these problems.'

I'm actually sorta hypocritical about it, but not really. A drug that's coming to mind right now is Valium. It, and the other drugs in it's class, are pretty miraculous. I take Valium every now and then when I get super stressed and it calms me right away. There are always people out there who abuse it and screw the few who might actually need it over. Then again, I think it's always handy to have some Valium around, never know when you're going to get a little stressed. (anyone read Valley of the Dolls or heard the Rolling Stones' song 'Mothers Little Helper'?)

I'm getting off on a tangent, and I apologize. I'm just really on the fence. I do think though that 75% of the people out there that are on psycoactive meds, don't need them. In fact, I know from experience that a lot of the drugs out there will just make your problems worst.

[Muad'Dib]

[quote name='Dragon Warrior']Wait! Is being very sexy a disorder? XD[/quote]

No, D-Warrior, I don't think it is... we should research that.

I would like to present the award for longest post on this topic to coconuts1977. Be proud brothah.

Right, anyway...

[quote name='coconuts1977']I think a lot of people are just brainwashed into thinking they have a problem. We're overmedicated and that's the bottom line. Media and other sources have just made hundreds and hundreds of 'disorders' for people who the pharm. companies can sell drugs to 'fix these problems.'[/quote]

Very very good point. We may never know the truth, but it does seem everytime we get someone who's just way out of the ordinary, the psyciatrists and doctors have to make some wacky disorder for it. Hell, half the time it's probably to help some psycotic fruit-cake in a trial by pleading insanity... (lol, didn't mean psycotic.. then they WOULD have a disorder of some kind...) Or just to make money off of desperate parents wanting a 'cure' for thier 'abnormal' child.

Or, maybe they're right, and all this crap does exist. Maybe the human mind is just that complex. But come to think of it, since humans are so complex, it's possible these aren't disorders, but just a different way of acting. Just likethe difference between a passive and an agressive person.

The world may never know. -- Tootsie-pop copyright.

PS: pardon my french.

[The_Ghost]

I was seriously thinking about starting a thread like this! Weird...

I personally don't have ADD, but my brother, Matt, does. Living with that was interesting enough. By the time I was six I knew more about ADD and ADHD than anyone else my age.

My brother didn't have ADHD, (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) So he wasn't bouncing off the walls, thank goodness. He just always had trouble remembering stuff. Especially when he got in trouble. He?d feel sincerely sorry, but later he?d forget and do it again! Did I mention he was my older brother? And my main influence? Together we destroyed more stuff on our farm than any natural disaster. :laugh: Good times.

At least until I was eight or nine. I started to figure out that if I broke stuff on purpose, I'd get in trouble. Unfortunately, Matt never learned that. I had to start watching out for him and keeping him out of trouble. He was four years older than I was, but I was probably ten times more mature. At first I resented him, hating that I had to take care of him. But, as a middle child and a peacemaker, it was in my nature. I soon learned how to deal with him much better than my parents ever did, and they would come to me for advice on how to help him in school (which he was still barely passing, even with the meds.) I found out that he wanted to be a mechanic, and that he loved already could do that well. So I told mom and dad, and they got him a scholarship (because he had a learning disability as well as the ADD.)

Matt is now in college. I was nervous about him being away from home. At first, it was horrible. He was skipping school. He wasn't doing homework. One more missed class and he would loose his scholarship. I was almost sick with fear. I didn't tell anybody, because I felt like I'd be complaining. Eventually, after my parents scared him straight, he finally started to care. I think he's doing ok. Basically, I've completely stopped helping him. He has to live his own life, and I have to live mine. I still feel protective of him, but he has to learn. Maybe he'll end up a bum, (at least that's what my parents always say) but I hope not. Oh well.

[Muad'Dib]

:twitch: I've got a friend... named Matt... with ADHD... weird.

Right, so that was probably the most perfect (does 'most perfect' make sense?) story of ADD ever posted... *sniff* be proud... be proud. lol

Must have been tough trying to control someone four years older than you... like... chaos. It sounds like he had a pretty bad case of ADD. With most of us, it isn't that bad... well, most of the people I know... umm... no idea what the actual statistics are.

Anyway... who knows of any other disorders, besides ADD/ADHD, asburger's, or any of the others mentioned above?

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]I probably know some other disorders, but I'm not comin' up with any right now. I think I have some OCD tendencies (I've become obsessed with washing my hands), but doesn't everyone? My cousin has ADHD, and he takes Ritalin for it. When he doesn't take it, he's off the walls, and can't concentrate at all, but when he takes it, I swear, he's practically lethargic. @.@

I agree that doctors misdiagnose some kids who are just "odd" or "different." And I feel like every sign of one little eensy problem, and doctors are prescribing something for you, when you probably don't have it. This also poses a problem to the people who actually [b]do[/b] need help, because they aren't getting the correct attention they need. Kinda reminds me of the "OMG I'M SUICIDAL!!!" epidemic at my school, where kids say they are, but aren't, which takes away from the students who really are depressed and need help. But hey, all this is just my two cents. 0.o[/color]