[ezf]

Yes. I suspect that the incidence of ADD on this forum is much higher than average. The diagnostic criteria are not that high.

As far as treatment -- stimulants help absolutely everyone focus better, regardless of whether or not they have ADD. I am not exception. My personal belief is that ADD is mostly just a catch-all term for people at the lower end of the spectrum of focusing.

My advice as far as medication is to get Ritalin or Focalin or Concerta, not one of the amphetamine based drugs. Don't bother with the non stimulant drugs. Amphetamine (Adderall, Vyvanse, Dexedrine) is a very serious, hard drug to be taking every day and it can do odd things to your ability to experience pleasure.

I am prescribed twice daily short acting Ritalin 20mg, though depending on how much I want to focus I take it less often and/or in a lower dosage. If your schedule is flexible and you know you don't want to be stimulated for 12 hours at a time, then ask your psychiatrist for a short acting medication rather than one of the extended release ones.

Finally, you should always get mental health advice from a mental health professional. Please see a psychiatrist, not your primary care physician.

[j_baker]

"As far as treatment -- stimulants help absolutely everyone focus better, regardless of whether or not they have ADD."

This simply isn't true. I've never met anyone without ADHD who has taken stimulants that enjoyed it. Anyone who is taking stimulants and enjoying it probably has undiagnosed ADHD.

"My advice as far as medication is to get Ritalin or Focalin or Concerta, not one of the amphetamine based drugs."

Bear in mind that everyone's brain chemistry is different. One man's miracle ADHD drug is another man's serious, hard drug.

In fact, statistically speaking, you're more likely to get the best results from an amphetamine-based drug. It actually gets better results than a lot of non-psychiatric drugs. That's why doctors tend to prescribe it first.

But as I've noted, everyone's different. It's not uncommon to have a bad reaction to amphetamines. That's the main reason why there's so many ADHD drugs on the market. Different people respond differently to different treatments.

Truth be told though, I take Vyvanse and it's done wonders for me.

[Falaina]

Very true about everyone being different. When I saw first diagnosed with ADHD-I, my pschyiatrist began with Ritalin. While it definitely helped me focus more, the come downs were absolutely awful and I'd feel incredibly depressed when it wore off.

Adderall worked much better for me in this regard and the come down was much less harsh. I take 20 mg IR a day - I try to keep it down to 3-4 days a week to stave of tolerance as I'm very worried about it.

[bwd2]

I started Adderall recently, and it does an excellent job of helping me to focus.

[paraschopra]

Downvoted you by mistake, sorry. Wanted to upvote!