I can't fucking pay attention (ADHD)

[Eel Snave]

I've had ADHD for a very, very long time. It's not the hyperactive kind, it's the inattentive one. I'm sitting here, supposed to be working, and I can't get my brain to focus on the task that I'm supposed to be doing. I'm beyond frustrated.

I tried to get medicated a few years ago, and I tried two separate meds before trying a stimulant. The first one drove me to some CRAZY INTENSE suicidal thoughts and the second made me feel really nice but did jack for my attention span. I asked my doctor for the stimulant, and he said that he wanted me to bring my blood pressure down before trying the stimulant.

I've tried everything and nothing is helping. I doubt my blood pressure has dropped, but it's getting out of control and I need to figure something out. I have coping mechanisms, but the stack of paperwork sitting on my desk that needs to be done is telling me that they ain't working.

Anyone else struggle with this?

[gbasden]

I've had ADHD for a very, very long time. It's not the hyperactive kind, it's the inattentive one. I'm sitting here, supposed to be working, and I can't get my brain to focus on the task that I'm supposed to be doing. I'm beyond frustrated.

I tried to get medicated a few years ago, and I tried two separate meds before trying a stimulant. The first one drove me to some CRAZY INTENSE suicidal thoughts and the second made me feel really nice but did jack for my attention span. I asked my doctor for the stimulant, and he said that he wanted me to bring my blood pressure down before trying the stimulant.

I've tried everything and nothing is helping. I doubt my blood pressure has dropped, but it's getting out of control and I need to figure something out. I have coping mechanisms, but the stack of paperwork sitting on my desk that needs to be done is telling me that they ain't working.

Anyone else struggle with this?

Yes. The past two years have been exactly the same for me. I'm not sure if it is a side effect from my head injury, something about aging or something else but it's hard as hell to focus and I'm having a lot of trouble getting work done without the pressure of a looming deadline.

[hitbyambulance]

some obvious things;

* usually i find my attention is incredibly, exponentially worse when it's something i do not want to be doing. that is a larger issue that needs attention and effort (like, say you can't pay attention at your job. i find this is because i hate my job and changing it is really the only solution, no way around.) things i want* to be doing i have an easier time at it, but it's still short periods of interest. in that case,

* for everything else - meditation. this gets mentioned over and over and over but that's because it really does work. and it does take perseverance to master this. it's hard to communicate the benefits if you've never really tried it before, consistently.

* shed the distractions. social media is straight out, and i cut down gaming quite a bit, and have shifted attention focus to reading. i've now managed to read the entirety of James Joyce's _Ulysses_, for what it's worth.

[Daehawk]

Had it since I was little. Back then I was a problem not a kid with a disease. That was the 70s in a small town. Id be listening then my mind would just wander off somewhere. Made school shit.

In my older age I really have nothing to learn or concentrate on that requires a long attention so Im good. I became forgetful when with my wife and she became my brain. Id go to the kitchen for a cola for her and it would take me 3 trips because by the time I got there I was thinking of other things. Now alone Im forced to really concentrate and learn some things so Im actually better in that regard.

[dbt1949]

About 20 years ago I had ADHD. Couldn't say how it happened. My wife remarked about it and then just accepted it and let me do my thing. I never gave it another thought other than knowing I had it.
I had some trauma in that our house was hit by lightning and burned down.
Then 5-10 years ago I noticed that I didn't have it. Don't know what happened. The only reason I noticed is that my wife has it now. All her friends notice it too. We just let her do her thing and don't say much. After all she is 74.
Maybe it's catchy?

[LordMortis]

I've had ADHD for a very, very long time. It's not the hyperactive kind, it's the inattentive one. I'm sitting here, supposed to be working, and I can't get my brain to focus on the task that I'm supposed to be doing. I'm beyond frustrated.

I tried to get medicated a few years ago, and I tried two separate meds before trying a stimulant. The first one drove me to some CRAZY INTENSE suicidal thoughts and the second made me feel really nice but did jack for my attention span. I asked my doctor for the stimulant, and he said that he wanted me to bring my blood pressure down before trying the stimulant.

I've tried everything and nothing is helping. I doubt my blood pressure has dropped, but it's getting out of control and I need to figure something out. I have coping mechanisms, but the stack of paperwork sitting on my desk that needs to be done is telling me that they ain't working.

Anyone else struggle with this?

I don't have ADHD but I do have constant exhaustion which hampers my ability to stay on task/concentrate/pay attention. We went through a number meds including a maximum dose of adderol which didn't even dent the symptoms. After a few years of failure with various head meds, one freak out, and getting treated for sleepapnea at the shrinks request we found modafinil helps. It's not Jesus or anything but it helps me be "more present" as we have come to describe it. Sadly, my work switched insurers and my shrink wasn't in Aetna, but my sleep doctor is allowed to make recommendations for my PCP and to date I can still take the meds. I have no idea how long that will last, as Aetna's formulary keeps shrinking and declining my prescriptions as time goes on. Med by med they are deciding that is my doctor wants me to continue the recommended treatment, then I need to pay for it out of pocket. (4 meds in three years)

Anyhoo, while I seem to be outside of every normal (so much so my PCP recommends getting generic screening for pharmacy purposes, also not covered by Aetna) modafinil has at least helped for over three years running.

[em2nought]

I absolutely hate multi-tasking. I like to do one thing at a time, but the world isn't set up like that anymore.

[Daehawk]

The best advice I have is this...just........SQUIRREL!

[AWS260]

[Sudy]

I've had a lot of issues with focus and "brain fog" the past few years. My doctors and I presume it's related to stress and/or side effects of various depression and bipolar medications I've been on. While my family doctor did at one point say, "Hey, what if it's ADHD?!", I've never experienced most of those symptoms and we quickly abandoned it as a possibility. However I was prescribed adderall twice and modafinil once as adjunct treatments for depression. I was like, "Nice! Legal stimulants/cognitive enhancers!" But... I didn't really notice a difference when I was on them.

Unfortunately I've had that response to a lot of depression treatments over the past decade. They either seem to completely miss the mark, or I just judge their effects very poorly (which seems unexpected). I often feel as if I'm chasing after moods and mental states that simply may not exist for me anymore (if they ever did). That said, I've been on lithium for bipolar 2 for a year or two now and I seem to have stabilized. But I'm still not where I want to be, and I was never certain of the bipolar 2 diagnosis to begin with (they seemed to base that on one hypomanic state I thought I might have experienced... in my entire life).

But all you can do is keep trying, and searching. I really hope you find the breakthrough you need.

[Blackhawk]

I've been the same way lately. It made DMing RPGs a real headache, and it gets in the way of everything else. I've been trying to improve my sleep, change my gaming habits, and I even have meditation queued up (it really is effective.) It's hard to diagnose, though, as so many ADHD signs overlap with autism.

[hitbyambulance]

i got medicated for OCD some years ago and that was an eye-opener. i finally got to feel what it was like to not care at all - nice mental break, but not sustainable. the dose was reduced, i learned some coping strategies through cognitive-based therapy, i had a supportive group of friends... and i transitioned off a year later. i feel like i have some control over my mental processes now.

also, being diagnosed as hypothyroidic and going on Levothyroxine pretty much fixed my depression.