Zoë finds out a rose is NOT a rose! And generic Concerta is NOT Concerta, unless you’re in the province of Ontario

I admit it, just about the only thing I do every single day is get up. But – you think I’M inconsistent?! What about the coverage of ADHD meds benefits?

Ok, so today’s Pet Peeve is a good news / bad news story. While some improvements have been made in cost coverage of ADHD meds in Canada, there’s inconsistency in services, depending on what province you live in (and I’m pretty sure it’s the same in the U.S.A.).

And the cost savings of the generic over the original Concerta may not be worth it because it’s looking like the “generic” is not all it’s cracked up to be.  Researching this has just about cracked me up.

~ MISSED PART I? CLICK HERE.

9:38pm  Zoë    Humor can definitely show someone’s intelligence or lack thereof pretty quickly. I also find that the creativity of the humor can help me find like-minded people. If it’s ADHD I’m trying to detect, if I make really far-fetched connections between things, and someone gets it immediately w/o any difficulty, they turn out, more 0ften than not , to have ADHD too. It’s the way our brains fire, like we have a constant metaphor-machine running all the time!

9:40pm  Jeff   I like that concept…a constant metaphor-machine. I spend much of my life looking for the right metaphor(s) as a way to understand something.  I have a question for you…

© Jeff Siegel, 2010

8:46pm  Zoë   Since we were both diagnosed fairly recently, has your sense of humor or how you use your humour (see, I’m bilingual!) changed since your diagnosis?

8:46pm  Jeff    “Humor” is the only correct spelling.  ;)

8:48pm   Jeff  My humor is exactly the same. No change as a result of the diagnosis.

8:49pm   Zoë  I asked because my awareness of my sense of humor and my “control” over it has changed, big-time. I no longer say things when I’m really nervous that I think are going to be funny and aren’t, thus embarrassing myself.

I know a lot of you are newly diagnosed. I feel your pain. To help you navigate the wacky world of ADHD, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most commonly-used ADHD-related terms, phrases, acronyms and jargon. Wish I’d had a guide like this when I started out!

Please feel free to send in your own! After all, here at ADHD from A to Zoë, we’re nothing if not educational! Here we go:

What a woman.
~ Captain Rhett Butler

Well, fiddle-dee-dee, ever since I can remember, I’ve had a thing for Miss Scarlett O’Hara, heroine from the epic 1939 film Gone With the Wind. I always related to her, even though I didn’t know back then that I was a drama queen. I remember the first time someone called me that. I was so mad I could spit.

But how about that Scarlett, eh?! Great balls of fire that woman had spunk! (Not to mention loose morals). She defied the stereotypes, never gave up, used her creativity (OK, and feminine wiles) to create the life she wanted, and…well  – here – see for yourself. Maybe you’ll understand why a Chick-A-D-D like me can relate to Ms. O’Hara.

She’s misunderstood

Rhett Butler [to Scarlett]: I’ve always thought a good lashing with a buggy whip would benefit you immensely.

Nancy A. Ratey / Photo by Gretje Ferguson

Nancy Ratey is the quintessential blonde American bombshell. She’s educated, funny, and successful. But I can forgive her all that, because – damn it – I like her.

I first discovered Nancy about a year ago through her book, The Disorganized Mind, coaching your ADHD brain to take control of your time, tasks, and talents.

Recently, while prepping to review her book, I stumbled upon an announcement that she’d be the featured speaker during a live chat hosted by CHADD. I decided to join the conversation to get to know Nancy and her work. I found her to be endearingly kind and disarmingly down-to-earth. One of her first comments to the participants was, “Sorry I’m slow guys! This is new! …and excuse typos! LOL …”  (Nancy was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 19).

Photo by Zoë Kessler ©2008

After diagnosis, one of my first tasks was understanding my past in the context of ADHD. At one point, I had the impulse to go back and make amends. I’ve never been to AA, but I guess it’s kind of like Step 8, “Making amends.”

I haven’t tried this with every situation, but what would it look like if I did?

Let’s take that job interview I blew.

The day of the interview, I was bouncing off the walls. I was so pumped, I was practically manic. In the college president’s office, I couldn’t stop nattering.  The interviewer couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

A friend asked me the other day if I was worried that writing about ADHD so much would make me dwell on it. I admit, when I first considered blogging for Psych Central, I was worried about that. I mean, I’m a pretty seasoned navel-gazer at the best of times, but I was worried that constantly thinking about ADHD, and talking about the most difficult and challenging aspects of it, might make me downright morose.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a whiner. Especially if it’s me.

©Jeff Siegel, 2010

~ MISSED PART I? CLICK HERE.

He Said / She Said: Examining the ADHD Life – The “Education” of an ADHDer, Part II

9:44pm Jeff:    School was a !*$!@ing waste of my time and, I just remembered, the ONLY time it was almost worthwhile was when they tried to do something innovative for kids and it’s the one thing that stands out in my mind. I belonged to the Polar Bears. For my physical education class, we would be outside NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER!! Rain! Snow! Hail! Boiling Hot! And you know what? This anti-sports kid LOVED every minute of it and here I am, 52 years old, and it’s still the bright spot of my early education.

9:46pm Zoë:    Maybe that’s one of the reasons we clicked: we both have dogs, we both LOVE being outdoors, no matter what the weather. Very cool! Maybe ADHDers are weather-proof!! Ha ha ha..

When I first started writing for Psych Central, I was completely unfamiliar with the blogosphere. Now that I’m writing my own ADHD blog, I scarcely have time to check out anyone else’s.

I’m actually afraid to read other people’s ADHD blog posts, in case they influence me. I’m also afraid, if I read others’ ADHD blogs, that I might accidentally regurgitate someone else’s idea and subsequently be accused of plagiarism (see how paranoid I am?! Oh, you don’ t know the half of it!  Maybe I’m writing for the wrong section of Psych Central.  Maybe I should migrate over to the “Paranoid Delusional” section…is that insensitive? Am I angering someone out there? I’m so worried about that…)