Clearing up the fog around ADHD Medication.

I’ve always been willing to answer questions regarding ADHD medication, but I’m not a health care professional. I’ve read a lot on this subject, but I’ve always had to qualify my answers.

So it is with great pleasure that I get to tell you all that today’s blog, and Friday’s, will be answers to some of the questions that I’ve heard most often. And these answers will be given by someone whom I am honored to have share her expertise on my blog.

Laurie Dupar, PMHNP, RN, PCC is a certified ADHD coach and a nurse practitioner. Her web page can be found at www.CoachingforADHD.com and her contact information is there as well (at the bottom of her page).

Beautiful Sky ...

“Isn’t that a beautiful sky?” I said to myself last night as I backed into my west-facing driveway.

I turned off the engine and as I undid my seat belt and opened the door I realized I’d spoken out loud. Well, it was a beautiful sky.

I’m doing that more and more these days, talking out loud when I’m alone. I had done it less when I started taking Concerta, but I’ve been doing it more since my wife died.

The gift of ADHD

Some say ADHD is a gift. Some say it’s a curse. We’ve had this discussion before. Many say it’s a gift with serious issues, and others say it’s a curse with some bright spots.
I say … Enough!
I’ve weighed in on this issue before and my final judgment was that ADHD is a set of symptoms, problems really, that cause complications in my life.

These complications have had definite negative effects. But they also cause me to think differently, and that allows me to see things from a different angle, in a different light.
Up side, down side …
Sometimes this skewed vision allows me to solve puzzles that others struggle with. Sometimes it leaves me looking like an ass. Sometimes I’m too self involved to be able to tell you which situation I’m in at the moment.

If you’re planning to move your family always look for a rock facing north. These offer the nicest neighborhoods. If you can’t afford a rock in this price range, look for a north facing crack edge on an east or west facing rock.

The internet offers a great, potential benefit to those of us who seek information on ADHD. There are, of course, problems with misinformation on the “infobahn,” however it also offers us the wherewithal, usually, to determine the truth. How very much like the real world.
But how do we tell what’s true?
When I was a child, it was pretty clear cut. If you heard it in the school room, from your grandparents or parents, or read it in a text book it was true. If you heard it out back of the school, from a friend while out camping or hiking, or read it on the back of a comic book, it was probably suspect (I’m still waiting for my real two-man submarine and my x-ray glasses, I’ve sent changes of address every time I’ve moved).

So the internet is like the real world, an extension of the same, if you will. There are things that are true or factual, and things that are patently false.
Note that I distinguished between true and factual

It's about time ...

“I remember that movie,” my boss said, “how did it start? I missed the beginning of it … ”

I looked at her, she looked at me, and we laughed.
How did I get here?
It’s been an unusual progression. My marriage afforded me with an executive function, my wife’s. This meant that I always had things to do. After her passing, I was left at loose ends, as they say.

I ended up helping out at a local café in exchange for a place to write and hang out in the day.

Please take the time to comment ...

It’s easy for us to be down. Part of the diagnosis for ADHD stipulates that there must be evidence that one’s symptoms cause persistent negative interference with regards to school, work, and social interaction throughout one’s life.

We all know about persistent negative interference, right?

A comment by “Anonymous” last week reminded me how easy it is for us to be depressed. I’ve been there. Things that would bother a norman briefly can weigh on us like an anchor. And things that are specific to ADHD are constant burdens. Like compound interest, our ADHD problems make non-ADHD problems worse.

I like to find the unique views, and I'm not afraid to climb to find them ...

I climb on things – all the time. I have no idea why, no idea what the attraction is. I’ve tried to figure it out.

I know I like adventure, but that’s why I cook, that’s why I read and go to the movies, that’s why I buy lottery tickets … when I remember to.

Climbing on things, around things, over and under things, that’s adventure too, but it’s not just adventure.

Okay, there might be a hint more adventure involved. I do like hard to reach places, I love the unique view I get from the middle of the river. If I can get there without getting wet, that’s better. Still, there’s more to it than just adventure.

When I was young I loved to climb the spruce trees out in front of my home. I loved to sit quietly, looking down at my house. I remember being up so high I could see both sides of the steeply pitched roof of my home below me. These giant trees were at least 70 feet tall, and I was well up there, maybe 50 feet, maybe higher.

photo credit: melancholy rose

I’m exhausted. I’d like to say I’ve been working hard. I have been working. I just haven’t been working harder than usual.

Truth is, I didn’t sleep well last night. The mice were running in the wheel inside my head when I went to bed. And I think maybe that squeaky axle needs a little grease.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m a liar
I’m always saying I don’t have trouble sleeping, and I don’t – usually. Trouble sleeping is one of the more common ADHD traits, but one I rarely have to deal with. When I do have trouble, I usually know why. Stress!

A screen full of deadlines ...

The word dichotomy keeps popping up in my mind. I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago called Dichotomy; ADHD Style and though I knew I hadn’t covered all the possible oxymoronic quirks of this disorder of mine, I didn’t think I missed anything glaringly important …

But today, I was thinking about my reactions to different jobs that I’ve been given. I’m fully aware that I respond differently to being given jobs based on whether the job itself interests me.

How much admiration or respect I have for the person who assigns the task is also a factor. But all things being equal, I’ve discovered there is another issue.

Remember when you were young and you played three wishes with yourself or with friends? “If I had three wishes, I’d wish for … ” For people my age, this was fuelled, if not inspired entirely, by 60’s TV shows like Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeannie.
Like throwing gas on a fire
And it didn’t take much to fuel the ADHD mind. My third wish was always for three more wishes. My friends told me I couldn’t wish for that, so I changed it to “I wish that I could have everything I want from now on.” Needless to say, that also was put on the list of things Kelly wasn’t allowed to wish for.