How to control ADD without high Adderall doses?

This is TJMOD and I have ha ADD for as long as I can remember. I was proscribed adderall for a while as a kid. The medison was supposed to help my ADD, and it did…for about 3 months, after the three months it had verry little effect so the doctor upped my doseage to the point of 225 milligrams of adderall per day. It helped for a while, but I started to develop tiks, like playing/twirling with my hair and started doing this half cough thing, and with me starting middle school and a boy thoes were not good things to have. So I got removed from adderall and tried many other medictions to no avail. Soon I said forget it to medications and decided to try it out on my own. It is better now that I am older, I have learned to recognze when things I am doing are related to ADD and stop them.

I was talking with my Uncle and he told me what causes ADD/ADHD. It is caused by parts of your brain going to fast for the rest of it. The ADD/ADHD happens when things get lossed in the processing of the brain. What the medications do is stimulate thoes parts of the brain that are slower so they can keep up with the rest of it. Eventually over time the effect of the medication does not exist. So you need a higher dose to to do the same thing. Some things you can do to help with your ADD/ADHD are; get a good night sleep, drink plenty of Caffiene (stimluant), and try to pay atention to thoes things arround you.

ADD/ADHD is not a curse it is a lifestyle.

I have ADHD as well. I have had it pretty much all my life (its probably something that is passed down from parents etc) but I found out when I was in 6th grade. I have always had problems with concentrating in class and getting distracted. Also, I used to ALWAYS be extremely hyper. So when I started taking meds, I noticed a change right away. As the years went by, they moved my dosage up, as I became more used to it, it wasn’t as strong anymore. Often thats what happens. As you grow, and your body adjusts to the medications youve taken for so long, you will notice that it won’t work as strongly as before. In this case, it would be important for you to talk to your doctor as far as optoions go. He/she will probably either change your medication or move your dose up. Meanwhile, don’t consider ADD as a curse. Its just a part of growing up, and in most cases, people will grow out of their ADD. Those with ADD are said to be extremely creative and intelligent, they just have a harder time with concentrating, staying on task, and getting things done when they need to be. My suggestion would be to find a hobby you enjoy, and put that intelligence and creativity to good use! I paint on my free time. =] And about school.. If you have trouble with paying attention in class, chewing gum helps. I’m not exactly sure why, but when I chew gum, it gives my mouth something to do while I listen to the teacher and take notes. Otherwise, sometimes I tend to fidget with my hands and not pay attention. If your not allowed to chew gum, and your mind does tend to wander, the BEST advice I can give you, is to instead of drifting off imagining yourself on that perfect vacation… imagine yourself in the situation of what your teacher is talking about. For example, The civil war. Maybe you could imagine yourself in the shoes of one of the soldiers. And as the teacher describes it further, it adds more detail to your own picture in your head. This method is pretty successful, especially for people with ADD.

Anyways, just hang in there until you can see your doctor again. Remember what I said, and I wish you the best.

Dear cultureshock, If someone was correctly diagnosed with ADD the medication is a necessity. The purpose of the medication is to allow the brain to organize, sort and focus. Without it the person is frustrated and can express this with outbursts, depression and isolation. There is a miss conception that food, and therapy alone will alter the brain enough to function properly. I hate the idea of giving anyone medications they all carry side effects and can be a pain to figure out the right doses. If you are taking the medications and they want to up the dose it is because of his behaviours…getting counselling has been proven to help, teaching the person behaviour modification. Sue…good luck