Hope me Obi-wan, Ground Control to Major Tom, Insert other appropriate song lyrics here etc. etc.

January 2, 2008 10:52 AM

ADD treatment in the SF Bay Area – help! Also discussion...

Hi MeFis,

Without going into all the back drama, let me just give you the highlights and the good news. So I read one fantastic book over the holidays (here) and am convinced I need to get tested for ADD. It seems to explain a great deal of what I’ve gone through, and I’m not a hypochondriac at all, and reading the book cover to cover has made me want to explore treatment. I’m in the SF Bay Area, so if anyone has any local resources (doctors, support groups, anything, really) I’d appreciate them. Also any web sites etc. I’m getting a list together but of course I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’m a little bit hopeful though – perhaps treatment will help.

If anyone has any advice on dealing with ADD, what’s helped you (not necessarily what meds worked, although I’m open to that), tips etc. I’d love those. (yes, I’m reading the previous posts here about it). I’m trying to figure out if telling my boss at work would help; I’ll need some days off to go through the testing and want to help make treatment go well and get treated as soon as possible. I’m hesitant to tell any employer, although if this is something beyond my control it's not something to feel shame about, no?

Are there ‘idiot’s guides to living with ADD’ you found helpful? Anything about ‘ok, get tested, find a doctor, get on meds’ etc. step by step guides are handbooks? Again I'm primarily looking for SF Bay local resources, but at this point I'd love to get any info.

My email’s in my profile if you have questions or support.

Thanks!

posted by rmm to health & fitness (4 comments total)

UCSF has the HALP clinic, which specializes in evaluating and treating ADHD and other learning problems. They'd certainly be a good place to start (though I'm not sure they treat adults, I'm sure they could refer you elsewhere if necessary).

It's also helpful to know that the official name of the condition is always "ADHD," even when there's no hyperactivity. I've found that acronym turns up better search results.
posted by occhiblu at 12:02 PM on January 2, 2008

I always recommend this book to all ADHD people I meet. The authors are psychiatrists specializing in ADHD. Even better, they themselves have it! It's a great book that helps you realize there is hope after all. :-)

The best advice I can give is to stay on top of whatever meds you take and to be as uber-organized as possible. For example, consolidation is key for me. I recently got myself a cell phone that had a working organizer and note program. While I still keep all my tasks and important appointments on my laptop, I sync them over to my phone as well. This way, I have them all with me and can't use the "It's on my laptop/PDA and I left it at home" excuse.

Don't be afraid to write everything down. Keep a notebook on you, if you must. I can't count how many times my ass has been saved by the one margin note on page whatever. Believe me when I say that 9 times out of 10, you will forget what someone's just told you. It's not that you don't want to remember, your mind just moves so fast that it doesn't have time to hold on to new info well enough.

On the same token, don't get so wrapped up in whatever you're using to keep yourself organized that you spend more time doing that instead of really accomplishing things. If it takes you more than an hour a day to sort yourself out for the next day, you're spending too much time on it. Best way to do this is to put stuff in as it comes up. Then, at the end of the day, set aside one hour to prepare as you see fit. Then move on. Lather, rinse, and repeat for subsequent days.

I don't want to write you a novel about this, so if you want any further words of wisdom or just need to talk about stuff, my email's in the profile. Good luck! :-)
posted by arishaun at 1:10 PM on January 2, 2008

This might be out of the way for you, but Daniel Amen is doing some interesting work with ADHD and brain scans (fmri, if I remember correctly). He has a clinic in Fairfield. Using these scans, he's come up with 6 "subtypes" of ADHD. This is NOT research based, but supposedly he's done 40,000+ scans.

If you're looking for more information, look up Dr. Russel Barkley. He's based in Massachusetts but is one of the leading figures in ADHD research. He has a great series of instructional videos. I've seen "What Do We Know?" "What Can We Do?" and "ADHD in the Classroom," all of which were good to build up a basic knowledge. That "New Look at ADHD" video was fantastic, however. It completely changed the way I look at ADHD. I haven't seen the "ADHD in Adults" one, but if it's like all the others it should be good. They're expensive, but they also come in VHS format which is cheaper. Libraries at local universities should also have them.
posted by Nickel at 3:50 PM on January 2, 2008

I liked Thom Hartmann's articles and books (but don't take his assertions about the genetic origins of ADD literally.)

Reading The Now Habit and Getting Things Done is useful... the latter is very much compatible with arishaun's suggestion of having a single canonical location for your appointments/to-do list.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 10:05 AM on January 4, 2008