Well, Hello There! New diagnosis and confused

Intros
#1

Hello Brains!!

I’m Francisca, and I’m from Dallas, TX. Born outside of the US in Chile I’ve had to live the “gifted child” stigma for a long time, until college sent me crashing. I had a “soft” ADHD diagnosis then, just after a few talks with a neurologist and spent the next 4 years on Ritalin… it was a nightmare!! Constant headaches, messed up sleep schedule, no focus at all… I ended taking 4 pills a day when I decided to just stop it because I could not function.

Many years later, I’m here in the US and from some fellow ADHD friends I start hearing about “Executive Disfunction”… that lead me to the how to ADHD channel and when I saw your TedTalk I could cry of relief…

A couple of months ago I finally got a formal ADHD diagnosis as a side effect of my depression and anxiety diagnosis… I’m starting with therapy and a neurologist again, but I have to tackle those 2 first because I’m a new mom (11 months old), with only my husband as support… all of our families are 10 hours away by plane and all out friends are responsible people that take covid very seriously, so I’ve had almost no human contact outside our self imposed quarantine…

Any other new parents here? I need to know not only how to deal with my own unholy trinity (ADHD, depression, anxiety), but also how to prepare for when our daughter starts with it as I’m pretty sure it will happen (we are both ADHD). I’m kinda scared, kinda panicky… I don’t want to subject her to what I went through.

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#2

Hi @MFrancisca Welcome to the ADHD forum.

I live in the UK !

I was upset last February 2020, that I had ADHD . I got my diagnosis in August 2020, aged 41. I am aged 42.

I have received a diagnosis of dyspraxia aged 33 , May 2012. I knew I had dyspraxia, aged 23 I thought it was just being clumsy. I have aspergers traits.
I am taking medication , Concetra

I spotted something was not right.

I was sad but I know realise life moves on. At least you know . You can move on and work with the diagnosis and treatment .

I know how it feels.

If your daughter has ADHD, she can hopefully get a diagnosis and any treatment .

I think over 85 % of adults with ADHD are undiagnosed and untreated . Some will never know they have ADHD !

Life might be enhanced by your diagnosis and treatment.

There are people on the ADHD forum who can support you !

We are there for you.

You are not alone !

Good luck !

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#3

Agree lol.

Congrats… I guess never know how to respond.

This has to be so hard for you. I am lucky that I am still doing swimming so I still hang out with my friends but we all have set in rules for our practices.

Nope

If you can get them a diagnosis young then if you guys work with like the school that she will go to then you might be able to get accommodations needed to let her have an even playing ground for chance at success. I am still in High School and I am glad that my school is nice enough to help me with my ADHD.

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#4

I believe, the support for ADHD is amongst the best in the world in the USA. It is far from ideal . There is a lot of work to educate people about ADHD.

@

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#5

@MFrancisca if your daughter, has ADHD, she can achieve what she wants, there is a less risk of ending up on the margins of society and unemployed, it might require a different sort of parenting.

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#6

First of all, welcome to the HowToADHD forums, @MFrancisca!

Congratulations on having a new baby!
To start with, while ADHD is passed genetically, there isn’t a 100% certainty that you child will have it, or have the same ADHD traits as you.

Knowledge of your own ADHD is a great start. Keep educating yourself, make sure that you get whatever assistance that you need and is available to you. Getting help for the anxiety and depression is certainly necessary. Of course, keep getting help with the ADHD as well.

There are a lot of helpful books, podcasts, YouTube channels… And forums like this one. (I, for one, really like this HowToADHD community.)

In this time of isolation, I believe it is very important to reach out and connect with friends, family, and whatever social groups that you are a part of (church, etc).

I’m a parent, but not a new parent (I have four kids, ages 26, 18, 8 and 6).
I also grew up with a “gifted child” label and did well in school, but then floundered in college and career as an adult.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2020 at 45 years old, at the same time as being diagnosed with anxiety. The anxiety had been building up for 3+ years of work-related stress, and had become debilitating. It amplified my ADHD symptoms about 3-to-5 times worse than normal, so the ADHD was easy to diagnose.

  • The same counselor who first diagnosed me with both Anxiety and ADHD saw me at my worst (before counseling and medication), all the way through until I was at my best (on effective medication and after I no longer needed counseling). She told me that my ADHD by itself was mild-to-moderate, and it was no surprise to her that it was overlooked for so long.

My three younger kids are my natural kids, and each shows my Inattentive ADHD symptoms, but all to a lesser extent than I do. (The eldest daughter is not my biological child, so she didn’t inherit my inattentiveness. Many people suggested that she has ADHD due to her high energy level as a kid, but it wasn’t debilitating, so she was never tested for ADHD.)

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#7

Same!!

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#8

@MFrancisca think of the positives of ADHD !

See

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#9

you always gotta think about the positives in life. even if everything looks like it is going bad there is always something positive to look forward too!

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#10

@MFrancisca

Watch this video !

https://youtu.be/Cclau3BMQ-k

These are lots of famous people with ADHD !

Take your pick !

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#11

Hi Again,

It has been long months! I had almost forgotten this formun XD, but we moved to Austin, i got a new job and I started meds for my unholy trinity (ADHD, depression, anxiety). The change has been amazing, I feel that finally I’m getting control of my life. I’m finding time to craft even!!

Thank you for all responses, feeling all the support has taken a huge weight off my chest.

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#12

Welcome back to the forums!

Glad to hear that the change in meds has been so good for you.