Im currently on meds for depression, ocd and anxiety. But i have many of the symptoms of ADHD. Could i possibly be depressed because of the lack of motivation, not finishing building my deck, etc... ? Im constantly forgetting things; names sadly, (my exits) to work, appts. I feel im taking the wrong medicines. Possibly diagnosed wrongly. Point being when im at therapy its hard to express my feelings. Therefore my therapist isnt getting everything. Please, any and all help is appreciated.
Rawboots
How do I approach my therapist about ADHD ?
Question posted by rawboots on 20 Sep 2010
Last updated on 12 March 2012 by MandyDele
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
5 Answers
MandyDele
13 March 2012
Hi! I used to have a different doctor for every problem I had, and NOW I see only 1 doctor who treats Me physically, mentally, psychologically, emotionally, and in a way spiritually. I attend AA, and he is the ONLY MD I receive medication from. He monitors every medication I take, what is going on with all My physical problems, etc... And he is a smart man, working not only as My MD, but the town's coroner, and the for town's jail/prison. Anyways, I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, and after all these years He has found out that I have thyroid problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, and recently an autoimmune disorder and it all has played a part in My ability to get going and motivated, and also I was diagnosed with narcolepsy years ago, and the medicine I take for the Dystrophy I have plays a part on My low metabolism, so He had no problem prescribing Me Adderrall 20mg 2 X day...
It has made a great difference! My neurologist used to prescribe it for Me, and all those past various MD's all knew what meds I took or were added. I would see a neurological MD, or someone besides a therapist, nothing against them! It's just therapist, psychiatrists, etc all think ADDICTION ADDICTION ADDICTION!!! And Myself having addiction problems, such as gambling, among other things is why I love just having 1 MD who knows Me inside and out and monitors everything I take and handles every need I have! And God help Me if He retires, because nobody knows or understands Me like Him! Plus addicts can take medication effectively without abusing it in any way and be responsible, especially if they have a MD who monitors all of their medication, making sure no medication interferes or clashes with the other, and I make sure My MD counts My pills everytime I go, just to see that I'm taking taking it correctly, and responsibly, and I insist He do it! You can ALWAYS get second or third opinions... If You ever need to talk, lemme know if j can help. I'm NOT an expert in ANY way, but I am an expert at being a patient of doctors from Here all the way to Florida, 18 hours away... I finally found a wonderful MD, and hope o don't jinx that by writing this, that's just My luck! Good luck with everything! I know how You feel, I've been there!!! Mandy ;)
Inactive
12 March 2012
In order for your Dr. to treat you properly he/she needs to know everything you are feeling. The worst thing you can do is to not communicate with your Dr. Communication is the key skill for your Dr. to prescribe the right medications for you.
I would tell you to ask your Dr. your exact diagnosis and then tell her that you have some concern about ADHD and why you feel you may have it. She then "should" ask you some questions to determine if you do or do not have ADHD.
I have a very good relationship with my Dr. and it's because "we talk"... about everything I am feeling at every Appointment.
Inactive
11 March 2012
Some medications make you forget at times, don't be so hard on yourself. Start journaling it helps me a great deal. Before you go to your doctor write everything down and hand it to them. Number them 1 being the most important and so on . Don't leave until your feel comfortable with the out come. I have had to do this myself several times to make sure he had a complete understanding as to what is going on.
Good luck
Inactive
20 Sep 2010
I sometimes have trouble getting all the things out with the counselor also and am going thru some depression now too. I write things down that I know I need to talk to her about, I also do this with the regular doctor because when I get in there, I feel better or get nervous and side tracked and then when I leave, I remember the stuff I needed to say. It helps me, thought it might help to tell you you don't have to write a huge outline on it, just enough that you will remember what you want to say. When I am depressed or anxious, I am almost scared to say the stuff I fear the most, like if I say it, it will come true or make it worse.And it won't, but, that is some of why I don't say things also. I have come along way, I stopped having panic attacks with therapy, no meds for that anymore. I never thought that would happen. I do better sometimes with group therapy, right now I am doing individual.
In group we did something called Adlerean therapy, it is based on Eugene Adler. I had stopped taking pain killers (rx) and quit benzos too and had to deal with all the problems it had caused as well as having to look at my family and see that alot of my problems were caused by their alcoholism and them not being loving or even good parents/grandmother. When our counselor asked if anyone in group had alcoholics/addicts in their family, most everyone said no, they were the only one in the family. Then we had to tell about our parents and we were all shocked to finally see that the gene for that was hereditary, as most of us realized there was addiction/alcoholism, depression, and chronic anxiety in our families. We all felt the guilt of us being the only one and once we figured out we weren't, we worked on getting over the guilt. My Mom had OCD, I have it and I have a nephew from one sister that has it and a niece from another sister. Most people with OCD are pretty smart, so, at least feel better about that. We also tackled individual issues in group and got more comfortable with each other. She had a basket with paper notes asking simple things like, if you could be something else (career wise) what would it be and why, or if you could live somewhere else, where and why. Each person's said something different but all of us would have a turn to answer. I think that was to get us moving past the problems and thinking to the future. The clinic I went to folded, or I would still be in that group.Anyway, your meds could be causing some of it, you can look up any meds here, on wikipedia, and sometimes even on Youtube.com, people make videos about getting on or off meds, or general topics like depression. Pharmacists can help you figure out if the meds may be interacting, or producing a troublesome side effect, and you can work with you therapist and doctor to change them. And there are plenty of people here, Like Maso(Andres) who are smart and like to help. You're not alone.
rawboots
20 Sep 2010
Patti
I too almost always forget everything i wana talk about with my therapist until im already gone. Since ive cn her ive bn writn things down. thank you also for the info. i will wikipedia my meds n c how they could possibly be interacting with each other and myself. thanks again Patti. much appreciated
Rawboots
Inactive
20 Sep 2010
Ok there are 3 different types of depression as you must be aware.
Major depressive disorder (also known as major depression, clinical depression)
Dysthymic disorder (or also referred to as Dysthymia) – Nearly constant depressed mood for at least 2 years accompanied by at least two (or more) of the following:
decrease or increase in eating
difficulty sleeping or increase in sleeping
low energy or fatigue
low self-esteem
difficulty concentrating or making decisions
feeling hopeless
Symptoms do not occur for more than two months at a time. Generally, this type of depression is described as having persistent but less severe depressive symptoms than Major Depression.
And the one I have manic depression also know as BPD-Bipolar disorder. This kind of depression includes periods of mania and depression. Cycling between these two states can be rapid or only mania can be present without any depressive episodes. A manic episode consists of a persistent elevated or irritable mood that is extreme, which lasts for at least one week.
So having said that , I am 42 years old, I do not have all the answers, no one does, not even doctors, for they are human beings too.
Your memory is being affected by the meds, you say you have anxiety, you must be on some kind of benzodiazepine, which are very addicting and affect short term memory, I take 2 and my short term memory is very poor.
So you are not the only one, plus I also take many other meds as I also suffer from PTSD, OCD, anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia..etc.
If you do not open up with your doctor, he / she will not be able to help you at all, you are wasting your time and money. You must feel uncomfortable with your therapist otherwise you would let it all out, you want to get help and get well, but first you have to help yourself and be honest with yourself with regards to what you want and what you expect out of a more precise diagnose and treatment.We are not doctors are we ?
If you believe you have the symptoms of ADHD, talk about it openly, there is no shame, it is not your fault, I was born manic depressive and have learnt to accept it with all my other conditions, it has no cure at all, but with the proper treatment you can say I am a productive individual, the point being, I opened up and let my psyachiatrist in... trust.
From what you say you are not letting your true feelings out, therefore your doctor does not get the full picture, is it you or is it him /her, I am repetitive open up..let it all out so you get the proper diagnose and treatment.
You have ocd, so do I , and you did not finish a project, there is something not right there, well first of all the ocd, but then again this obsessive compulssive disorder must have driven you to finish, at least that is what happens to me,most of the times, but remmember, depression does make one tired and so do the meds, stress the everyday living, and if you are not accomplishing your objectives, of course you will feel depressed, it is a fact, and that is not good for you.
Advice;
If you are not comfortable with your therapist, find one that you feel you can let your emotions out, your true feelings. Someone you can trust.
All the best
Inactive
20 Sep 2010
I forgot to mention the other depressions, kind of late where I am:
Post Partum Depression
Anxiety Depression - Not an official depression type (as defined by the DSM). However, anxiety often also occurs with depression. In this case, a depressed individual may also experience anxiety symptoms (e.g. panic attacks) or an anxiety disorder (e.g. PTSD, panic disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder).
Atypical Depression (Sub-type of Major Depression or Dysthymia) -
Chronic Depression – Major depressive episode that lasts for at least two years.
Double Depression – Someone who has Dysthymia (chronic mild depression) and also experiences a major depressive episode (more severe depressive symptoms lasting at least two weeks).
Endogenous Depression – Endogenous means from within the body. This type of depression is defined as feeling depressed for no apparent reason.
Situational Depression or Reactive Depression (also known as Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood) – Depressive symptoms developing in response to a specific stressful situation or event.
Agitated Depression – Kind of major depressive disorder which is characterized by agitation such as physical and emotional restlessness, irritability and insomnia, which is the opposite of many depressed individuals who have low energy and feel slowed down physically and mentally.
Psychotic Depression – Major depressive episode with psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations (e.g. hearing voices), delusions (false beliefs).
Melancholic Depression (Sub-type of Major Depressive Disorder) - Main features of this kind of depression include either a loss of pleasure in virtually all activities or mood does not temporarily improve in response to a positive event. Also, three (or more) of the following are present:
Depressed mood that has a distinct quality (e.g. different from feeling depressed when grieving)
Depression is consistently worse in the morning
Waking up earlier than usual (at last 2 hours)
Noticeable excessive movement or slowing down
Significant decrease in appetite or weight loss
Feeling excessive or inappropriate guilt
Catatonic Depression - (Sub-type of Major Depressive Disorder) –
Take care
Inactive
20 Sep 2010
I read your profile... me too!!!
rawboots
20 Sep 2010
maso
For being 42, you know your sh*t ! but thank you. this was very helpful. i appreciate your help. thanks again. i see my therapist next week. shes awesome n like you said, i just need to open up. i get nervous when put on the spot so is gona take some time. fyi, im 33 and none of this is easy to cope with. glad there are peple like you ouy there. talk to ya soon,
Rawboots
rawboots
20 Sep 2010
Maso
thanx for the advice. its not that i dont trust or dislike my therapist. im shy thus its difficult to open up to a complete stranger. she is a great person and as u had said, i need to totally open myself to her. it'll take some time but i will. i spoke of building my deck and not wanting to finish. according to some info i read, one of the symptoms of adhd is starting projects and not finishing them but then moving on to other ones and so on. thats me all the way. i wana finish these projects but since the fun parts are already done, its the cleaning up and finishing that loses my interest. im nagged to finish it and that alone causes me to just wana not even deal with it. i guess i have much to talk about with her. thanks for listening (reading). your a gerat person. thanks again
Rawboots
Inactive
20 Sep 2010
My friend, I completely understand, but you, bit by bit need to put your shyness on the side so you can get the help you truly need. You can PM me anytime you want and we can chat and help each other, you have also helped me... one who helps other helps onself... just the way it goes.
Best of luck, you have my friendship and full support.
Related topics
depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), generalized anxiety disorder
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