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Holistic methods of keeping ADD under control?
Syzygy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've had ADD (Or ADHD, I keep reading psychology journals that flip flop on whether they're one and the same or not) my entire life and it has always been a major detriment to everything I've tried to do. The only time I was ever a straight A student was my last two years of high school because I finally was able to get on adderall and it worked, albeit it took my appetite away which caused my doctor at the time to take me off of it.
I was told it would get better as I became an adult but it hasn't. If anything, it's gotten worse. Even things I enjoy have become a struggle to maintain attention on. Most days I remain so unfocused and switch from one topic to another or one point of interest to another so rapidly I feel as if I'm in some sort of permanent fugue state. For the last three years it's even started to affect my ability to hold down a job and to complete my engineering courses. I did so poorly last quarter that I've essentially dropped out at this point because I simply cannot control this on my own. I already lost two jobs because I keep making stupid amateur hour mistakes that I know better than to make but my attention keeps lapsing constantly.
I really, really want to get back to using what works, but I don't have medical insurance at the moment (Thanks USA healthcare, or lack thereof) and thanks to a series of financial emergencies my fiancees family caused her and my dog getting herself injured, I don't really have enough to go get diagnosed again AND pay for medication out of pocket.
Until such a time, I've been looking for more holistic methods of controlling or lessening the symptoms of ADD/ADHD but nothing I've found online has really worked. Caffeine works some of the time but usually within a week of regular drinking it loses all effectiveness and I need to drink more and more to get anything out of it, which is unacceptable since it also messes with my sleep schedule. Meditation is just straight up impossible for me. I've been trying for ten years and my mind is impossible to quiet long enough to make it habit.
I just don't really know what to do at this point. If this continues, I'll probably lose my current job before I even qualify for it's medical benefits, and then I'll get stuck in a cycle of "I require medication to do the job I can't do because I don't have the medication to allow me to focus enough to do my job".
Would anyone here know of anything that be cheap or DIY that would work for an extreme case like myself?
I was told it would get better as I became an adult but it hasn't. If anything, it's gotten worse. Even things I enjoy have become a struggle to maintain attention on. Most days I remain so unfocused and switch from one topic to another or one point of interest to another so rapidly I feel as if I'm in some sort of permanent fugue state. For the last three years it's even started to affect my ability to hold down a job and to complete my engineering courses. I did so poorly last quarter that I've essentially dropped out at this point because I simply cannot control this on my own. I already lost two jobs because I keep making stupid amateur hour mistakes that I know better than to make but my attention keeps lapsing constantly.
I really, really want to get back to using what works, but I don't have medical insurance at the moment (Thanks USA healthcare, or lack thereof) and thanks to a series of financial emergencies my fiancees family caused her and my dog getting herself injured, I don't really have enough to go get diagnosed again AND pay for medication out of pocket.
Until such a time, I've been looking for more holistic methods of controlling or lessening the symptoms of ADD/ADHD but nothing I've found online has really worked. Caffeine works some of the time but usually within a week of regular drinking it loses all effectiveness and I need to drink more and more to get anything out of it, which is unacceptable since it also messes with my sleep schedule. Meditation is just straight up impossible for me. I've been trying for ten years and my mind is impossible to quiet long enough to make it habit.
I just don't really know what to do at this point. If this continues, I'll probably lose my current job before I even qualify for it's medical benefits, and then I'll get stuck in a cycle of "I require medication to do the job I can't do because I don't have the medication to allow me to focus enough to do my job".
Would anyone here know of anything that be cheap or DIY that would work for an extreme case like myself?
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There is no quieting my mind, only drowning it out.
Headphones seem to help keep the parts that want to bark like an idiot at passing cars busy, checklists help keep the parts that like to pontificate and invent reined in.
Stress is an exacerbating factor. Falling behind is stressful, so catching up helps as well. (Or at least I don't feel as bad about reduced productivity)
As for anectdotal chemical solutions: I normally drink 2-3 energy drinks worth of caffeine in an 8 hour period; but I find I am at my best with a 5 hour energy type thing, a *-ade drink. This is actually less caffeine, and probably entirely psychosomatic because I only get that cocktail in times of great stress, which usually means I'm leaning harder on the music/lists.
A suggestion on the lists: Don't use Trello. Don't use some piece of tech. Don't use something that requires any thought or invites creativity, as it may just encourage thought about it instead of what's on it*. Pen and paper. Scribble tasks on paper, throw out the paper when done.
*(I actually use erasable magnets on a white board because you can stack them up in order and- do you see my point?)
Side note:
Taking my Adderall right after a full meal really knocks down the appetite suppression; and if nothing else it ensure you eat at least one solid meal.
Just be careful and learn your personal tolerance as you figure what you need- it takes about 10g of total caffeine to kill you (10,000 mg), but pay attention to what your body's trying to tell you, too.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
So use it, but maybe also titrate to tasks at hand.
If you have to write a paper - caffeine yay!
If you have to get out of bed and have a headache - caffeine has taken hold and owns you now.
I'm not a big fan of relying on caffeine to focus because the benefits are short lived and you're self medicating at that point. Which is still medicating. Better off getting a prescription for something that works and probably costs less per month than drinking Red Bulls and 5 hour energy's.
Generic Adderall is about 100$/month and you may be eligible for assistance with that. I've seen manufacturer coupons get that as low as 30$.
I definitely wouldn't go hard on energy drinks for more than a day. Even without the sugar things like Taurine and Guarana aren't great for you in big quantities, beta-alanine in pre workout will make you itch and the vitamin b and stuff in a 5 hour energy isn't even a stimulant, it's marketing.
Yeah, I've tried teas, coffees, straight up caffeine pills. I need this managed daily, and like Shivahn said, after a week my body builds a tolerance and now I'm just ingesting caffeine to get rid of the headache caffeine gave me.
You are the hero I needed
So I got through almost all of school without medication. (That's not bragging- it was very very hard. Needlessly hard, too. Especially in college.) I had dyslexia tutoring, which in retrospect kinda doubled as ADHD tutoring. And that really helped. I also got really good at inventing my own coping mechanisms. So I've written a list of what's worked for me. Hopefully some of it helps.
Oh, and because it's actually super relevant- I probably started as mixed hyperactive/inattentive as a kid. The hyperactive stuff was mostly trained out of me, so I'm almost entirely inattentive now, and that affects my coping mechanisms. So don't feel bad if this isn't helpful.
Also a couple of things about getting medication:
Oh god this so much. I have to lock up my phone and keep my work computer cut off from the internet or else nothing gets done, and even THEN I can always somehow find something to dick around with instead of staying on task.
Glad to see you've dealt with this too. For me, part of the reason I got a dog (other than dogs are just plain great and all of them need all the love forever) is that I have a reason to stay active. Every day I take her out twice and throw the ball around or take her on a run and wear us both out.
Out of the question for me, unfortunately. The only one who has access to my medical records would be my mother, and I had to cut her out of my life about 6 or so years ago. BPD, rampant narcissism, and definitely some level of sociopath only added to my problems growing up and trying to function as a young adult, and she refuses to seek help or even try to change. I'd rather just go through the trouble of getting re-diagnosed than ever darken my doorway with her presence again.
Appreciate all your advice and experiences though, best to leave no stone unturned in my books.
You can call the county or provider/physician and find out how to get a hold of your chart. They're required to provide it to you if you ask and go through the proper paperwork and identity verification.
The law recently changed here (FL) so that I now have to go see my doctor to get a refill (woo...). I don't know what that visit would add to the costs, but you might look into whether there's any free clinic options?
Absolutely do this. If you don't remember the doctor, call your most recent doctor. If you're in school, you had to get your vaccination records from somebody. Which means you should have access to paperwork with your teenage doctor's name on it. Hunt that shit down and get a copy of your diagnosis.
I know it's a pain, but getting diagnosed (or rediagnosed) is an even BIGGER pain. Likely involving hours of exhausting cognitive testing. You want to avoid taking a sit-down test for 3+ hours, right, and paying for that test, right? (Yes, I'm trying to leverage the avoidance tendencies that go with ADD/ADHD. That's another trick I use. Convince yourself you're actually avoiding/procrastinating on something really big and awful by doing the thing you ACTUALLY need to be doing. Like, how exhausting would it be to explain to a professor/partner why you stopped doing homework? Might as well do homework to put that off.)
Then, if you're still enrolled in school, call Student Counseling and ask for whatever free session they're offering. Take your paperwork to them, and ask for help. They'll talk you through the best local options for people in your situation.
That's... Wait really? Huh. Neither of the two schools I've enrolled in ever asked for my vaccination records. Is that a new thing made law in response to anti-vaxxer craze?
It's not new. My alma mater needed my vaccination records when I was a freshman, and that was (oh my god) nine years ago. And I needed them for my Master's too, a couple years back. (Actually, I forgot to send those in and almost got blocked from signing up for classes second semester of my first year.) I did my undergrad at a private school, Master's at a public state college.
Now, both times they didn't ask directly for them. (Which is how I forgot about sending them in during my Master's.) But they were required. Some religious places don't ask for them, but I think most of the time vaccination records are mandatory. (Colleges DON'T like meningitis outbreaks.)
Your parents might have sent them into your first school for you, and just not said anything. (That's what happened when I was an undergrad.) But I don't know how long they keep student records at colleges. I think it'd be worth calling your last school, and maybe even your high school (that one's a long shot, but it's worth trying.)
Unless you already remember who the doctor was/where they practiced. Then you can just call directly and request your health records.
If you remember the doctor's name, but not where they practiced, try doing a google search with the doctor's name and the name of the city/area where you lived when you were their patient. If they're still practicing, they should come up.
If they're not still practicing, do a google search for doctors and hospitals in the area surrounding where you lived at the time of your diagnosis. Then use Google Maps to look at the building. If something looks familiar, call that place and explain you're trying to find your health records, you think you were a patient at their practice around ______, and you'd like to know if they can help you.
This is a treasure hunt. The prize is avoiding cognitive testing for a new diagnosis, spending less money, and getting treatment faster. So, a pretty big one.
Just want to echo my thanks to you @Ceres for this!
I was just diagnosed with ADHD LAST YEAR (at 40!).
It was such a crazy revelation to me and helped explain SO much about my life. That said, I'm still finding myself struggling with a bit of self-loathing and anger at having not sought a diagnosis sooner, and having to force myself to look forward with hope instead of back with regret.
One of that Youtube Channel's guests said it best "there's nothing to be gained from mourning a life that never was". I have to train myself to be glad to have made this discovery about myself, and apply that new knowledge towards towards bettering myself for the future, instead of dwelling on the missed opportunities of the past.