How do I know if I have it or not? I am procasinator and I just cannot study until tests are coming up very close. When i try to study in an 8 hour day sometimes I get 30 minutes of work done. I graduated undergrad and masters with a 3.7+ both and in Medical school now but I think I can't cram and I am not sure if it is me being lazy or ADHD for me :/
I spoke with my doctor about 3 months ago. He discussed ADHD with me and recommended seeing a psychiatrist or doing a trial of taking ACT-Amphetamine (Adderall). Don't be afraid of speaking with your doctor if you think something is up, I know I was at first.
I suffered with some of the same issues that you have and I didn't really have any perspective until I was diagnosed and medicated. I couldn't accurately describe what life was like without medication until I started taking medication for my ADD.
This describes my experience 100%. I couldn't see what was happening with me from within my own subjective experience. Once I got diagnosed and started taking something for it, I can "see" the difference between where I was and where I'm supposed to be. Going off my prescription can be fine if I'm not trying to do certain tasks, but if I'm trying to do those tough tasks without meds, it's now painfully obvious there's an issue.
Turns out that when my doctor said the diagnosis and medication would be life changing, that was not an exaggeration.
What medication do you use? Was recently re-diagnosed and the psychiatrist suggest adderall, but my PCP suggested Wellbutrin. Weird thing when my two health professionals disagree
I don't currently. I've been on a variety of medications in the past but many have undesirable side-effects. I was on Vyvanse for a long time but it ended up causing male dysfunction issues and heart palpitations. Recently I started taking Wellbutrin but it decreased my sex drive (which isn't really an issue when you're single but has become and issue recently) so I stopped taking it. As an alternative my doctor prescribed Strattera but it had some of the same effects as Vyvanse so I stopped taking it as well. I've heard good things about Adderall but I'm not sure that I want to start taking another controlled substance.
I have a Master's in Engineering with high grades and was a med school hopeful, but couldn't manage self-planning such a difficult application process.
You can be smart and still have ADHD. I was diagnosed at 26. The only reason I succeeded in university was because of the structure of courses based on their outlines. But I always felt like i was running out of time just to keep up; no part time job, no social life, no nothing.
Hoping meds will help when I get them.
TLDR: you can have a high IQ and ADHD. It's a misconception that you can't. While you're in school, ask to see the psychiatrist.
nobody enjoys studying and for most people "cramming" doesn't work whatsoever. the best way to study for me is to sit with classmates and go discuss answers on previous tests and stuff.
Have you tried walking around while studying or doing something else as you study? I talk out loud and exercise when I study and take a break every 20 minutes or so. My attention span is terrible and I'm also hyper. it's really painful to sit still unless I'm under immense stress. Graduated pharmacy school with a 3.9 though!
I think I just have motivational issues. If I go to a 4 hour lecture I can stay the entire time while only zoning out a couple of times but when I go home I'm just wasting time on the internet way too much. Or if I try to watch a recorded lecture an hour lecture takes too long as I always pause and distracted by other things.
If you want to figure out if you have ADD. Go to a room, a room decorated with a bunch of crap on the walls, and read an essay. Then leave the room and take a test about what you read in the essay. The test will also include questions about what was on the walls in the room.
If you have ADD, you'll probably ace the portion of the test involving questions about what kinda crap was on the walls but might struggle to answer questions about the reading material you were given.
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u/[deleted] May 30 '17
How do I know if I have it or not? I am procasinator and I just cannot study until tests are coming up very close. When i try to study in an 8 hour day sometimes I get 30 minutes of work done. I graduated undergrad and masters with a 3.7+ both and in Medical school now but I think I can't cram and I am not sure if it is me being lazy or ADHD for me :/