Assessing the damage: Month 2

It’s that time again.  Time to look back over my February resolution and see how I did.

The goal was to address my ADD.  Here is what my plans entailed:

• Read some books and articles recommended to me by a psychologist who specializes in ADD –  CHECK!  I’m still reading So I’m Not Lazy . . . and it’s very insightful. I researched several online articles and read photocopied articles given to me by a psychologist.  I will continue to read and research as needed.
• Visit my general practitioner to discuss my evaluation and possible drug therapy – CHECK!  Tried Adderall and hated it.  Now trying Vyvanse.  It does help me follow through with tasks rather than getting interrupted and diverted and my stress level has markedly gone down.
• Implement some organizational strategies in my home (which may entail a trip to IKEA!) – Still working on this.  My handyman has gone AWOL so I haven’t installed any of the hooks that I’ve bought and I still need to meet with my mother figures to go over storage and clutter-reduction ideas.  IKEA is still in the future, but I need to budget for it.  I haven’t given up on this goal, but it’s taking longer than planned.
• Develop some coping tools – KINDA CHECK.  I am gentler with myself, I catch myself from exploding with my kids and am more patient, I assess what I need in stressful situations and ask for support, I’m using my phone to schedule and alert me, and I’m writing lists and remembering to bring them on errands.  Since I haven’t met with an ADD coach, I’m not sure what other tools could be useful, but I do know I am open to filling my virtual tool chest.
• Maybe even have a consultation with a professional organizer – NO.  I can’t afford this, but would enjoy it.
• Map out a weekday schedule – CHECK!  I do this on Monday mornings.  This week I am relying more on my phone, but I’m looking at my day before I get started.  The result: I feel more in control and happy.
• Don’t feel like a loser by bedtime – CHECK!!  My self-esteem really has improved.  I feel calmer despite a month of craziness in front of me.

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Vyvanse!

Got the medication and tried it today.  Drumroll . . . I am pretty darn pleased.  No racing heartbeat.  No speeding train in my brain.  No jitters.  I actually felt, what’s the word, calm.  This afternoon I was able to help my daughter organize her routine: piano practice, homework, then a craft.  What’s even better, I never got frustrated with her or with my son’s constant interruptions.  Calm.  Earlier this morning, I had precisely one hour to write and guess what?  I wrote.  I didn’t surf Facebook nor check email, except to refer to a pdf document that an administrator in my graduate program sent me, and it was related to what I was writing.

I could get used to this.

In the mean time, my buddy Liz sent me a fascinating article on ADD and creativity from The Wall Street Journal.  Enjoy!

Bother Me, I’m Thinking

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One step forward, one rocket ride through last week, and limbo

My doctor and I are already tinkering with the ADD meds.  The Adderall makes me feel like a rocket is attached to my heart, so she deemed it a fail.  Perhaps I’m more sensitive than the average bear.  We’re looking at some newer meds and I just made the call to the insurance company.  Looks like Vyvanse might be the winner at $35/month and fewer side effects.  But here’s the thing, I’m all for trying the medication (so long as I stop feeling like a mad dog), but I really want to find an ADD coach.  That’s right, I said coach.  The widely-read ADD magazine ADDitude recommends it, the authors of You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Crazy or Stupid recommend it, most ADD researchers recommend some form of behavioral therapy, but I’m having trouble locating said coach.

Hopefully not my ADD coach

When I told my doc that I have two friends willing to help me with organization, she thought that was nice, but told me I need a medical professional who is trained to help adults with ADD.  Looks like I’m emailing my friend’s husband, the psychologist who read over my evaluation.  He’s the local guru on things ADD.  An ADD coach will help me schedule and prioritize.  I’m not sure why it needs to be a medical professional.  Maybe my psychologist husband can answer that one.  Or maybe you can.  Can you?  Have any of you ever used an ADD coach?

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