How old was everyone when they found out they had ADD/ADHD?

[Adult ADHD]

I was 48 and wish I had been tested earlier in life...I feel like I have missed out on so much.

[Vicary Archangel]

Actually you are grown up with it, and ADHD shapes the way you are. It is hard to describe but the whole thing is not just plugging yourself with a part. You may find the trait has strength and weakness when compared to others, but hey, that's just you!

[T.RAIDER]

Well, I was 56 when I first realized what ADD was .... by buying a book and reading about what the meaning of that disorder is. Meaning it is a comination of physical shortcomings and mental shortcomings....plus some shortage of Spiritual connections between the two. Since then, I found out by my own experience that the typical treatment action of general therapists do not work. It took some real specialist in ADD that that specialist is in the same catagory of affliction (themselves). Only then, did somethings begin to click for me. And that awareness is the start...the start is a huge improvement....the daily chores to implement are the challenges.... taken with new inner-energies....and success is real.

[Jeanine Coffman]

i just was diagnosed this year but i have always known.. my son was diagnosed 2 years ago and when i started doing research i realized he is just like i was.  I agree that if i had been properly diagnosed (there was no such thing back then) i would have accomplished SOOOO much more.  I learned how to function very well w/ my adhd but no matter how hard you try to behave impulse control would sometimes cause me to make very stupid choices.  Especially in my finances.  Sooo here's to knew beginnings.  We cant go back, but we can go forward and i think you should definitely go back to school!!!!

[Jess Rozek]

It's interesting that almost all of you were diagnosed as adults. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 9 or 10. So, unlike many of you, I have essentially grown up on ADHD meds... the only time I truly noticed my ADD was when I went off meds for two years in college... which, gee for some reason, was a really bad idea. :D It was when I got back on them that I noticed the stark difference between my ADD me and meds me that you guys note when being diagnosed as an adult.

[Michael Wisor]

I was 35

[John Canada]

I was 52 when I finally got diagnosed. Talk about realizing how many missed opportunities there were!!!!  When I was 50, I was convinced I was ADD from taking the online quizzes. I happened upon an ad asking for children volunteers for an ADD medicine drug study. I called and they said the adult drug study would start after the first of the year. I was in!!!!  

 

The study was amazing!!! Luckily I was on the drug and not the placebo. I experienced remembering a three item list for the first time in my life!  I could not believe that I was remembering everything and not having to write everything down. I even had a 20lb. weight loss. It really reduced my appetite. Anyway, I was doing wonderful. At the end of the study I was informed that I was taking 100mg. of Strattera.   My doctor suggested that we also add Vyvanse to that, as he had great success in the past with that combo. I said yes and things have never been the same. As soon as the Vyvanse was added, all my old symptoms came back except for the fogginess. We have tried different combinations of drugs but there is no noticeable change. I continue to take 100mg of Strattera, and lament my decision to add the vyvanse when I did.

 

Has anyone else had this kind of thing happen to them?

John

[frank d. granati]

 Sixty two was the magic year for me. I was always aware that I had problems but then everyone does. I just thought mine followed me around. My early years in school were especially painful but slowly I learned to cope and digging one hole to get out of another hole became an art. It does seem as though adhd shaped the way my life has progressed. Some of it was riding high on the hog and sometimes crashing to the bottom of the pit. After using the meds for two yrs I am convinced that they can help. The real answer is how we live our lives. This truth is the same for people who don't have this mode of operation. Keeping stress under control is the road to success. Work at having the correct diet for you. Work at having the right vocation. The right partner. The right exercise. The right place to rest yourself and on and on. You do not have to be a disorder. At least I don't buy into that box. A successful life is one that is fore filling to you.  This is no easy task.  Good Luck

[Erikkaye]

Frank, you say some things I'd like to expand on.  I'm going to post a new thread; What is the right diet for you, etc?  vocation, exercise, partner, etc.  I'm getting it that some of us have been here for 20 or 30 years and have a lot of water over the dam.  So there's a lot of diverse experiences, and ways to answer that.  I'd like to hear what people have to say.  Don't answer here, look for a new thread.  Erikkaye

[Steven D Thibodeau]

wow. not to mnany people w/adhd talk about, let alone use strattera . i have beenseveral years and it makes the greatest differance without all the issues and side effects of amphetamines

[Veja Bozich]

I was 24.. And  I google it..  I had problems with some exams..With studying.. I couldn't stay focus.. Oh, better to say l couldn't start studying.. l started lying my parents and people around me.. And i realize that i very often use these small lies. To cover my inability to be "normal"..Because i thought, i'll manage to do it. I thought i just was lazy.But l wasn't.. Because i always try hard, but never was enough..And then i start wondering "Why?"..I'm smart, I should be better at university, I should be better in everything, but i wasn't.. And i started googling ..And it was so clear.. And then i went to psychologist ..

[Ratan Shetty]

'Totally empathise with you Ms. Vela Bozich.

Best wishes on the path to thriving with ADHD.

Cheers,

Ratan.

[Veja Bozich]

:)

Thank you very much Mr. Ratan Shetty.. 

Veja