I have been newly diagnosesd with ADD and have been treated for anxiety with antidepressants for the last 10 years. My doc thinks I have both but that ADD might be spurring on the anxiety to a higher level. It is somewhat common to have both from what I have been told. I have been off antidepressants for the last 6 months and am now trying to find a drug for my ADD which is pretty frustrating.

Overall, I think the only way to find out which you suffer from is to treat them both with medication seperatley and at different times. Kind of a diagnosis by elimination....and since it takes longer for antidepressants to work, I would tackle the ADD first.

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I have simular symptoms but with depression included. Though out my life I was and still pleagued with these symptoms until recently. I have alway's reasearched my symptoms and taken note how I felt. I then used various scales that measured depression, anxiety, and of course ADD. After gathering all this information I made appointments with my physician and discussed my situation.

I am currently on Dexedrine Spansules@20 mg and Cymbalta@60mg. This works very well for me and I have had great sucess using these medications. The depression is completly gone and my anxiety is under control.

Good Luck and discuss your symptoms with your family doctor now! Take control and you will eventually get your symptoms under control! I am living proof! I

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You raise an excellent question.

Before I found the proper med levels to treat my ADHD, my anxiety was just another element of my messy life. Once I found the appropriate med levels for ADHD, my anxiety eventually revealed itself more clearly.

While the failures and frustration from many years of undiagnosed ADHD contributed greatly to my anxiety, I am starting to learn to separate behaviors that are due to ADHD and those which are due to anxiety. I would say that the two most helpful steps were getting the right level of medication and talking to an ADHD coach. Even if you're not diagnosed with ADHD, it might be useful to talk to a coach who has worked with a variety of people with ADHD.

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