A quick note from an askme beneficiary. April 20, 2010 3:20 PM   Subscribe

I just wanted to say that the sidebarring of the ADD/ADHD thread changed my life, and to thank all of you who contributed.

I never would have read the thread, bc I always thought of ADD/ADHD as a disease concocted by companies dying to sell medication. But as I commented in that thread, reading everyones' comments was like reading the story of my entire life, and motivated me to haul ass to a dr. Now I'm on medication, and everything is much, much different, and very much better. I finally have the larger portion of my life under control in a way that I never dreamed possible.

Most importantly, I'd just like to express how grateful I am to the Mefi community, for you all solved a very vexing issue that had me suffering for years.

Good on all of you, and thank you all so much.
posted by nevercalm to MetaFilter-Related at 3:20 PM (41 comments total) 38 users marked this as a favorite

That's awesome news, nevercalm. I'm so glad it helped you out.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:23 PM on April 20, 2010


Awesome!
posted by snsranch at 3:26 PM on April 20, 2010


Yay!

nevercalm, I think you're entitled to a free change of username :-)
posted by lukemeister at 3:40 PM on April 20, 2010 [24 favorites]


Delighted to hear it!
posted by corey flood at 3:45 PM on April 20, 2010


Wonderful! And you're not alone in the 'medication changed my life' camp! It's great to discover that what you think is a problem is *actually a problem*, and one that can be treated at that!
posted by spinifex23 at 3:48 PM on April 20, 2010


That is wonderful to hear, I am so glad for you.

nevercalm, I think you're entitled to a free change of username :-)

laserfocus? autotune? thosearoundmelosingtheirs?
posted by longsleeves at 3:51 PM on April 20, 2010 [2 favorites]


nevercalm, I think you're entitled to a free change of username

Honestly, I hadn't thought about it before, but that's pretty much dead-on. Kind of a bummer, considering how much of my web-presence is under that moniker.
posted by nevercalm at 3:56 PM on April 20, 2010


i didn't realize it was sidebarred.

glad to hear you're well. seeing another mention of the thread reminds me that i should be making an appointment. i've been unmedicated for a long time now, and that thread was a reminder to me that there may be help available to me.
posted by TrialByMedia at 4:02 PM on April 20, 2010


That's so cool, glad your life is doing much better!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:12 PM on April 20, 2010


Truly great news. It's wonderful that you've been able to get help for yourself. Glad you're doing okay.
posted by zarq at 4:13 PM on April 20, 2010


Kind of a bummer, considering how much of my web-presence is under that moniker.

Wear it with pride as a reminder of your where you came from.
posted by SpacemanStix at 4:14 PM on April 20, 2010 [2 favorites]


nevercalm, I think you're entitled to a free change of username

Honestly, I hadn't thought about it before, but that's pretty much dead-on. Kind of a bummer, considering how much of my web-presence is under that moniker.


Just drop the "n".
posted by philip-random at 4:24 PM on April 20, 2010 [6 favorites]


One of us! One of us!
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:25 PM on April 20, 2010


I will now read nevercalm forevermore as a blend of 'nevertheless ever calm'. So there.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:32 PM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


K, I diggit.
posted by nevercalm at 4:37 PM on April 20, 2010


great news. askme is teh awesome.
posted by desjardins at 5:10 PM on April 20, 2010


that thread freaks me out, nobody (including myself) has ever suggested I might have ADD but some of the stuff there really resonates. Especially the bits about drinking to make all the voices in your head shut the hell up.
posted by jacalata at 5:19 PM on April 20, 2010


eponywonderful!

How spectacular for you. I love when stories like this come from this community just being this community.

re: namechange--I suggest (n)evercalm.
posted by tzikeh at 5:35 PM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


> One of us! One of us!

I keep this bookmarked for occasions like this
posted by mrzarquon at 5:35 PM on April 20, 2010


Very good to hear. Quite often if you've dealt with undiagnosed ADHD your whole life, there's a great weight lifted once you're diagnosed. Just having more clarity on what is going on on can help connect dots that you might not have even realized were unconnected.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 5:37 PM on April 20, 2010


Congratulations! I'm very happy that you've found some relief. I had a somewhat opposite epiphany after following a bit of dodgy advice in an old anonymous should I eat this thread. Unfortunately, I didn't survive to update the thread, so it remains unresolved to this day.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:07 PM on April 20, 2010


Just having more clarity on what is going on on can help connect dots that you might not have even realized were unconnected.

Yes! So much so that I'm battling some serious feelings of shame. This has been a huuuge wakeup call.
posted by nevercalm at 6:16 PM on April 20, 2010


congratulations... mefi is a great place, for a lot of reasons...
I've not found many communities online or irl to match... good for you and good for mefi!
posted by HuronBob at 6:21 PM on April 20, 2010


DIRTY, SLIMY, FREAKS!
posted by idiopath at 6:26 PM on April 20, 2010


Also, congrats! I've been on a similar trip recently, having been treated for ADD in the past, but stopping it because "I could manage" and just realizing recently that I needed more help than I thought, and that medication helps drastically.

Speaking of which, I went to the grocery store just now to pickup said meds, only to return with sushi, beer, and forgot about the medication completely.
posted by mrzarquon at 6:45 PM on April 20, 2010 [7 favorites]


heh, I've been trimming some of the habits that I find in that thread and I've been much more productive today.
posted by hellojed at 6:53 PM on April 20, 2010


This parallels my own experience with finally choosing medical treatment for my depression so strongly that I have tears in my eyes. I'm so glad, (n)evercalm, and I'm so happy for you. Life on the right meds isn't perfect, it's just sooooo much easier.
posted by KathrynT at 6:53 PM on April 20, 2010


I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon, that i made largely due to that thread. Have considered meds several times in the past but always managed to talk myself out of it.
hearing everyone's stories was a great motivator. thanks.
posted by St. Sorryass at 8:00 PM on April 20, 2010


I'm on the "ongoing migraine prophylaxis" trip after two years of "two Tylenol, five cups of coffee, and toughing out the aura," and it's been pretty similar-- marked improvements in focus and anxiety, thanks to the meds.

It's weird to feel better when you didn't realize there was a better.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:22 PM on April 20, 2010 [4 favorites]


That's great to hear! It ended up helping me too; I finally saw a psychiatrist about all the problems I couldn't seem to solve that I saw cropping up in that thread. It was particularly timely for me as I'd just realized how bad things had gotten for me and had begun to feel a bit hopeless about it. I've been on 10mg Adderall for nearly a month now and it's been amazing and life-changing; I feel exactly the same except I'm able to get things done now. It also solved my periodic bouts of anhedonia, as far as I can tell, and my constant sleeping even if I got 12 restful hours a night; it seems I had a dopamine problem. My emotions are also less muted than they were, and I finally feel that happy feeling that everyone says you're supposed to get when you exercise; when I would exercise before I didn't hate doing it, but I would just feel somewhat tired and I didn't get any mood boost from it.

A childhood friend that has always had similar problems to me was indirectly helped by the thread, too, since I talked to her about what helped me.

So, thanks guys.
posted by Nattie at 9:24 PM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


It's weird to feel better when you didn't realize there was a better.

That's so true!
posted by Nattie at 9:25 PM on April 20, 2010 [4 favorites]


Dammit. I seriously just remembered that I was going to post in that tread, but I got distracted by Trial By Media's post when I googled outcome based education and then I mentally bitched out my mom for not getting me into something like that and then I bitched her out again for being so adamantly against getting me diagnosed and medicated for ADD when I was a kid and then I probably got hungry so I went on vacation or something.
posted by The Potate at 10:32 PM on April 20, 2010


I just said I was going to post in a "tread." Damn the fact that this medicine necessarily has to stop working sometimes because my doctor wants me to get some sleep.
posted by The Potate at 10:40 PM on April 20, 2010


Just in to say: Me too.

3rd day of the trial and I did 6 hours of work in 9 hours, instead of 16. Emotions fucked up, but it should get better.
posted by dirty lies at 1:27 AM on April 21, 2010


This is good.

I was and continue to be amazed at the positive change that being diagnosed and seeking treatment for my ADD has made in my life. I hope that it goes the same for you. The effects are pretty immediate, but they continue to build as you gather your life about you. For me it's been like piecing together the person I always knew I was, but never was quite able to access.

So much so that I'm battling some serious feelings of shame.

If yours manifests in any way like mine, you've had far, far more than your share of shame in your life. Constant, crippling shame. So battle it; you'll win this time.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:06 AM on April 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


It has been suggested before that there are so many of us on MeFi with ADHD that we ought to start up a separate site just to talk about ADD stuff--I think that could be really helpful.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:52 AM on April 21, 2010


But then people who don't realize that they have ADD/ADHD wouldn't see it, and one great thing from that AskMe is all the people who recognized themselves in it and are now getting help.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:10 AM on April 21, 2010


For anyone wrestling with shame or any other variety of "okay, so what does this actually mean about me and who I am?" feeling, I recommend this post from the (now closed) Creek Running North blog: Just stop being lazy:
…the diagnosis of ADD undermines the worst things I have believed about myself.

From as early as I can remember other people have informed me of the reasons I don’t finish things or pay attention. I lack discipline. I am stupid. I am incapable of understanding complex concepts. I lack motivation. I am obviously not cut out to take part in the intellectual work required for me to succeed in the elite school for which my father shells out his hard earned money to pay my tuition. I am emotionally disturbed. I am lazy.

I plead no contest to the last two accusations. I am embarrassed to admit how much stock I placed in the others.
posted by Lexica at 10:21 AM on April 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


I guess those of us who don't have ADHD but are still lazy... we're just kind of screwed eh?
posted by desjardins at 11:15 AM on April 21, 2010


Exercise can also be helpful. Here are a couple links: "Riding is my Ritalin" and "Using yoga to manage ADD."
posted by aniola at 2:37 PM on April 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Oh, I didn't mean to replace AskMe, corpse, I meant in addition!
posted by ocherdraco at 6:16 AM on April 22, 2010


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