ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

My answer to that question will come across snarky or "the medical profession appealing to authority," I'm afraid, because I'd like to see your remarks entirely removed as medically harmful. Your purpose is clear from your other, more to the point remark: if only it had been for a random HN commenter who's never been to medical school speculating about two entirely unrelated diseases based on the presence of a common hormone, you might have avoided the diagnostic history and pain in your family that you report. That's a ridiculous position, both interpersonally as well as scientifically, but I know that engaging on it with you will look like I'm trying to steer people to my field rather than encouraging independent research of our discipline.

I'm here because I'm learning to write software, but I wouldn't pretend to understand the paper or mathematic theory behind, say, Paxos because I recognize some terms in it. I know my limitations, and all I ask is that you consider them, as well. The problem with raising awareness as you are is that it's difficult to objectively remove yourself: Segawa's is _incredibly_ rare, making all of the events in your family difficult to explain. Scientifically, transferring your experiences to others is a very tall order without much further study (and I hope you, and your family, are being studied, specifically because the genetics of Segawa's are poorly understood). What people portray as medical professionals swinging the hammer on "the information that could make us irrelevant" is actually trying to stand fast to the exact same scientific discipline that you, and every member of this audience, does in _every single other context_.

Your speculation about the relationship between ADHD and Segawa's is so far off base that a second-year medical student could probably explain why; you just happen to have been diagnosed with both. Left unspoken: it is quite possible to have both, because they present and manifest in different ways.

If this article is an ADD test, I failed .i skimmed the article and skipped the middle. I dunno what I have but I will skim if I get the gist of what the author is saying. I Everyone's behavior is different. Some cannot focus, other lose focus too easily, others cannot finish.

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 12 and put on stimulants until I was about 23. I had the classic symptoms of not being able to clean my room, not being able to stay on top of bills, couldn’t use a calendar, bumped into things, changed topics constantly, etc.

One day, I did LSD and it permanently alleviated my major symptoms. I felt like my brain had a major reset, and I finally knew what it was like to be in the present moment. I stopped taking medications, and 9 years later, I’m doing fine.

I later learned from other psychedelics that traumas and not having emotional connection to my authoritarian parents contributed to my ADHD symptoms.

I can guarantee that psychedelic therapy will be huge for ADHD sufferers in the near future, especially with the potential effects like neuroplasticity and neurogenesis.

A pill that decreases the risk of cardiac arrest is very different than a pill that is psychoactive. Many people just can't relate to taking a drug that quite literally changes your behavior on a day-to-day basis, even if it has positive effects on your life.

This is something I myself have struggled with. I suffer from anxiety but I can't bring myself to take medication because I like the person I am and I don't want to change my behavior or personality.

No one should be stopping you from taking Ritalin, but each of us is entitled to our own opinion, so the only thing that is irritating is when someone calls out an opinion another holds even if that opinion has no tangible effect on anyone's life.

I was diagnosed in my 30s in part by the T.O.V.A. test, which gave me surprising insights.

The hardest part of the test for me was to stop pushing the button when it told me to. It's hard to describe how difficult that was for me. By the end I distinctly recall the familiar sense I had in school of feeling dumb, inadequate, and frustrated.

In the T.O.V.A. results I was normal range for Inattention and Reaction Time. My Inconsistency was 75/100 but the shocker was my Impulsivity. My commission errors put me at 52/100, what the psychologist said was more or less a mentally retarded range.

On 10mg of Adderall, I retook T.O.V.A. and scored normal ranges across the board.

That helped me better understand why I was a class clown underachiever who barely graduated.

I cried the first time I studied a tech manual on Adderall. It was as if my brain were a radio that tuned into a clear channel for the first time. I wondered if that was how "normal" people are able to concentrate.

Soon, however, the stimulant honeymoon wore off as my tolerance increased and side effects ensued. Today I take nothing. I've noticed the symptoms being less disturbing since my mid-40s.

A weird part about being on Adderall is it slowed down my brain and reduced my quirky left-field personality to such a degree that I didn't feel like myself anymore, though I felt much more confident. One of my children also has the diagnosis and says the exact same thing. He only takes Adderall as needed for school challenges that require extra concentration. An early diagnosis for him helped him dodge the co-morbid problems that plagued me for years.

I don't tell friends or co-workers about the diagnosis. Even my spouse has expressed doubt about it.