I've been on various anxiety meds throughout the years, although I've only been diagnosed as ADD in the last 2 years. Not hyper, but certainly not anywhere near focused! :) So I have a little experience in learning if a med is working or not.

If your housework is getting done, but you only feel a little spacey, give it at least a month on any new med. If it were really wrong for you, you'd be zoning out, getting nothing done or bouncing off the walls so hard you'd never settle down to get anything done. Also, talk to your doc about how you feel.

Let me know what you think about Vvanyse (sp?). I've only recently read about and am interested in asking my doc about it, as lexapro works for anxiety but not focus so much. Meds are always a trial and error issue and it can take a couple of months til you feel "normal" again, but when normal includes a clean house, it's awesome!

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When starting on a medication for ADHD or anxiety the doctor should be able to tell you roughly how long it will take for you to make a determination as to whether it's working or not. Some have immediate effects and others take a while. When that time comes, it's time to evaluate how well it's working. In some cases it might be the right drug but not the right dose. Other times it's not the right drug at all or there's a better option available.

I find that an experienced ADHD coach, or one that works with your doctor, can speed up the process of determining the right medication and dose significantly. In any case, there should be a clear time frame for evaluating the drug.

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Hi, A younger ADHD, not so newly diagnosed.

You'll feel well in order to go back to life you left. It'll take time and you need to be patient. I stopped my studies 5 years ago, after my ADHD became so worse that I couldn't even read a book. So no way to get my driving licence, studying law or foreign languages (two subjects that I deeply love). It took the time for me to find the right psychiatrist, and this is even worse when you have a psychiatrist you have no confidence with. But with tenacity and patience, I found my dear psychiatrist. She works in coordination with also my dear GP. I really like both of them, with their own style to practice medicine but with the same passion for medicine and her patients (passion for her patients in the sense she wants the best for the patient's interests). After 6 years, I start going back to the life I left when my ADHD worsened, and even better because I fight for a law to change in France, the country I've been raised and I'm currently living. And in France, resources for adults with ADHD are so limited that you have to rely only on yourself, and your family if you have one : in two words, it's "walk or die". It'll take 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 years to feel better ? Never mind : the important is that you do everything to feel better, and it's the most important. With this fact, you will feel better. The time it takes has not so much importance.

First, find the specialist and the PCD (Primary Care Doctor) you feel confident with. And the rest will come naturally. If, after a few appointments, you feel absolutely no confidence with him, shop for another. When you find a psychiatrist you feel confident with, keep him. Same for any physician. Ask questions, search, keep the will to learn : knowledge is power. There is no dumb question : you'll never be dumb because you ask question, you are indeed more intelligent if you ask than if you want to guess or invent the answers. If the psychiatrist is nervous when you ask questions and ask him to check his answers, it's a good red flag to say : "time to change". It's your health, so empower yourself. Remember that knowledge is power : the more you know about yourself and your condition, the better.

I also suffer from Single Sided Deafness. My ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor has never left me alone with my questions : he knows now that the more I know, the more secure I feel. But denying the problems has never helped anyone, moreover it creates more problems than it solves.

Empower yourself, read, listen, learn everything you can. Learning helps you feeling better. And the diagnosis seems a earthquake, but instead, you know what is your enemy, and that you can find solutions to fight it. Time is our friend, not our enemy : you'll feel better, because as soon as you know what you are suffering from and how you can get the help you need, you made the biggest step to feel better.

Never give up hope : after the rain, comes the sun and the rainbow. After the night, comes the dawn (in Italian : "dopo la notte, viene l'alba"). You are at the dawn for a new and better life, and maybe for doing something you thought you'll never be able to do.

So never give up ! :D

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Hi Giulia,

I like reading your posts. It sound like you are getting the right doctors and moving back to what feel normal for you.

I was curious about what forms of treatment that you are using? I can see that you are taking meds and they are helping. That is great! Right now I can't really afford meds or psychiatrists so I make due in other ways. Some days I do pretty good. Others not so much. I write about and research ADHD a lot but don't have much money for some of the treatments right now.

What other things have he doctors recommended? Stuff to help you get organized and feel better physically? retraining bad habits with therapy? If you are doing something like that and having success that would be good to hear about.

a skateboarder with ADHD that learned how to control his symptoms! mostly! http://www.adhdaction.com/

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Thanks to those who posted replies. I'm finding it very useful hearing about experiences of anyone who has been living with ADHD.

Regards L

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