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Cornering Impulses and Focusing ( A How To Guide for dealing with ADHD Un-medicated )
Drswords
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Okay. Here is the situation I am currently in. First a little background.
I was diagnosed with ADHD when i was 8 years old. Unlike most kids that were diagnosed with it, i actually have trouble focusing, i have bursts of pitched frantic energy, and i am not only easily distracted, but i have extreme trouble controlling impulse behavior.
I was diagnosed Bipolar in addition to ADHD when i was 18. Though many doctors say a lot of ADHD behavior problems are hand in hand with Bipolar, my treatment for both has always remained seperate, as when im properly treated for Bipolar, it doesnt necesarily get rid of the ADHD problems.
I was diagnosed Schizophrenic ( Schizo-Effective Bipolar ) when i was 19 after i started becoming alarmingly paranoid, and started hearing voices. I have since been on proper medication for this, and though the paranoia is an ongoing problem, the voices have ceased to be.
Recently i was put on the drug Vyvanse for my ADHD. I started on it in August, and to be honest it did a wonderful job. I could focus, calm down, think straight, and i was far less impulsive.
Unfortunately over time as i was on the drug, intrusive and compulsive thoughts of harming myself became more and more abundant. As my doctors figured out when i was hospitalized recently for acting on these impulses, that the vyvanse was not a drug a Schizo-Effective person should be on for those reasons specifically.
So now.. its been 6 days since i was in the institution. And ive been on all my regular medications, EXCEPT for anything for ADHD.
Ive felt hyper ( near manic at times ), ive had trouble concentrating. I cant even sit through a movie. Im extremely impulsive and obnoxious again, which is causing me some trouble at home and with friends. And generally im just completely wound-up.
I could use some advice on how to deal with this behavior and curb it, since it will be 2 more weeks before i can see my psychiatrist for my follow up appointment, and possibly get on anything else to help stop the problems.
My symptoms are:
Hyperactivity
Impulse thought and behavior patterns
General lack of attention span
Inability to focus
Having trouble curbing obnoxious behavior
Please help with any advice you can give me to occupy my mind, or get me to calm down.
I was diagnosed with ADHD when i was 8 years old. Unlike most kids that were diagnosed with it, i actually have trouble focusing, i have bursts of pitched frantic energy, and i am not only easily distracted, but i have extreme trouble controlling impulse behavior.
I was diagnosed Bipolar in addition to ADHD when i was 18. Though many doctors say a lot of ADHD behavior problems are hand in hand with Bipolar, my treatment for both has always remained seperate, as when im properly treated for Bipolar, it doesnt necesarily get rid of the ADHD problems.
I was diagnosed Schizophrenic ( Schizo-Effective Bipolar ) when i was 19 after i started becoming alarmingly paranoid, and started hearing voices. I have since been on proper medication for this, and though the paranoia is an ongoing problem, the voices have ceased to be.
Recently i was put on the drug Vyvanse for my ADHD. I started on it in August, and to be honest it did a wonderful job. I could focus, calm down, think straight, and i was far less impulsive.
Unfortunately over time as i was on the drug, intrusive and compulsive thoughts of harming myself became more and more abundant. As my doctors figured out when i was hospitalized recently for acting on these impulses, that the vyvanse was not a drug a Schizo-Effective person should be on for those reasons specifically.
So now.. its been 6 days since i was in the institution. And ive been on all my regular medications, EXCEPT for anything for ADHD.
Ive felt hyper ( near manic at times ), ive had trouble concentrating. I cant even sit through a movie. Im extremely impulsive and obnoxious again, which is causing me some trouble at home and with friends. And generally im just completely wound-up.
I could use some advice on how to deal with this behavior and curb it, since it will be 2 more weeks before i can see my psychiatrist for my follow up appointment, and possibly get on anything else to help stop the problems.
My symptoms are:
Hyperactivity
Impulse thought and behavior patterns
General lack of attention span
Inability to focus
Having trouble curbing obnoxious behavior
Please help with any advice you can give me to occupy my mind, or get me to calm down.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Drswords on
0
Posts
exercise a lot, ride a bike the to mall for something totally insignificant, go to the basketball ring and shoot hoops for a while, throw a football with a friend
Best thing to do is exercise and stay active so your mind can rest.
Also avoid situations that will make the impulsiveness come out. Like I (try) to avoid going to certain stores because I am a compulsive spender. My girlfriend keeps me in check about it too though.
Which is actually good advice. Have someone on standby to talk to about your feelings and why you are acting the way you are.Make sure it's someone you trust.
All the best.
3DS FC: 5343-7720-0490
my advice (Phd, School of my subjective life experience) is to try adderall or concerta in extended release form at the bare minimum dosage. i found that going to a smaller dosage was ultimately best for me, since it can get weird when the drug starts acting really strongly. XR form also gives it a less perceptible "on the drug" feeling.
there's also a non stimulant ADD med called strattera. Maybe that would be more appropriate for you? can't personally vouch for it though.
Personally I've found that lists are your best friends in the getting shit done category. That and coffee.
I have to advocate for the tried and true on-when-you-take-it, off-when-you-don't ritalin.
I was put on concerta (and then strattera) during college and almost instantly went into depression (matter of weeks; my roommate and a good friend said the change was pretty fast), basically because the effect is always on, and I've read of others experiencing the same. Some people do not react well to the potentially mood altering effects of constant treatment as opposed to intermittent "on demand" treatment.
Since that experience in college I've taken 10mg of methylphenidate twice daily on days when treatment is necessary (ie, work days) and I find that it strikes a good balance between treating the behavioral symptom without running into deeper mood issues. Once you can get into a work-week cycle the "on the drug" feeling becomes just part of the routine.
For the focus/attention span stuff, I try to keep my brain working on the important stuff by distracting it with something meaningless and non-disruptive. So whatever i'm supposed to be focusing on and then something to occupy my body/mind on a different level than what i'm supposed to be doing.
ie. If i'm trying to study/homework, i'll have no music or if I have to nothing with vocals; and a pen to spin, or a ball underfoot to push around
if i'm doing physically active work but not mentally i'll make a phone call or listen to audio tracks like a podcast or audiobook while mowing lawn/doing laundry what have you.
I try to keep in mind (heh) that it's not so much that I can't focus on anything, it's that i'm going to focus on whatever is most interesting in any given second. So I try to remove fun stuff to do in places I need to do mental/boring work. Studies done show a fair amount of boredom is misattributed to distraction, so if there's less competition for your attention whatever you're doing seems more interesting and thus easier to focus on.
The impulse stuff I don't have much of a handle on, I don't really know how to manage it
When im feeling ansy or unfocused, i go for a quick walk. Just a little exercise to occupy myself.
When im trying to concentrate, ive been blasting death metal to drown out all other distractions.
Im writing things down in lists. I have sticky notes all over my computer monitor edges. It helps.
As far as impulses go... Shopping wise: Ive erased my credit card data from Steam, and given my debit card over to my mom for now. Conversation wise: Ive decided to count to three before saying anything. Doesnt matter what it is, if i can rethink it in 3 seconds i give myself the time to do so.
So far... im still losing my mind as manic and hyper as im getting but i seem to be taking it in stride. Hopefully i can get on something to help this soon, though i dont see my psychiatrist until well into next week.
Thank you for your advice people.
What the fucking fuck is wrong with your doctors that they would prescribe a stimulant to someone with diagnosed schizoaffective bipolar disorder?! It's already incredibly risky (aka fucking stupid) to diagnose a stimulant to someone with bipolar disorder; why the fuck would you do to it someone with aschizofuckingphrenic syndrome on top of it?
Seriously, what the fuck. Get new doctors.
I wasn't aware there was a large risk involved there. Could you please elaborate on the risks and dangers?
Uh... well, the short version of the story is that self-injurious behavior and suicide are such high prevalence risks when stimulant medication is given to people with bipolar disorder that psychiatrists are supposed to give at least a brief screening for bipolar disorder to anyone they're prescribing stimulant medication, just in case they have undiagnosed bipolar disorder. This isn't the usual "run down the checklist just because protocol demands it" kind of thing-- most people I know who get stimulant medications had their psychiatrists do a legit screening.
Do you see the preventive measures being taken just in case there is unknown information? From what you said, you made it sound like your doctors prescribed it knowing full well that you had bipolar disorder, and a particularly dangerous subset of it at that.
Wow. I hate my doctors. Im already thinking about switching to a new psychiatrist after todays therapy, in which my therapist upon hearing my dissatisfaction with my current medical professional, suggested a new one that takes medicaid.
But now that i think about it the psychiatrist in Shannon Behavioral said first thing about the vyvanse, that because it was a stimulant he immediately took me off of it. And i was FINE after that.
OMG. OMG. All those years i wrestled with cutitng myself and suicide attempts. I was on a high dosage of Methylphenidate, prescribed by my old psychiatrist, knowing full well i was bipolar.
OMG. Im... livid. Im ... oh my fucking god.
I... omg. I think im going to scream.
EDIT:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant_psychosis
I just read this after googling "Bipolar Stimulant Dangers".
I have been on a stimulant in one form or another, a substantial dosage in fact, since i was 8 years old. Starting when i was 8, i have suffered from suicidal depression. I have also dealt with paranoid delusions, hearing voices, severe irritability, grandiosity is just one of those kinky traits ive gone through over and over. I have had horrible struggles with anxiety.
When i was put on an antipsychotic some of these problems lessened, but at the same time i remained on a substantial dosage of a stimulant during those times.
The more i think about the possibility that perhaps the majority of my problems could probably be linked to stimulant usage, the more angry i get.
I mean a lot of this stuff goes along with Bipolar and Schizophrenia, but ive had major problems with these problems since i was a child. And they refused to diagnose me bipolar or schizophrenic until i was an adult. They didnt want to diagnose a child with the disorders.
Im... disgusted. Angry... i dont know what to think. I mean maybe im being paranoid, but everything i continue to read on the subject plays out a little too well with my history of problems. And ive never been told about this, or warned, or anything. The first i ever heard of a stimulant being a problem possibly was from my psychiatrist this last time at Shannon Behavioral.
Shit. SHIT SHIT SHIT. Christ... i cant deal with this right now.