I dont have ADD, at least i dont think so, but I have a slight problem in staying focus, or paying attention.  I can never stay interested in anything for to long. I have some pretty intense dreams and daydream alot.  Its getting to the point where i can hardly sit threw a movie at the theater, any one have any suggestions to help overcome this.
217855
I think you do have ADD. go to your Dr. tell them the same info. try the med. if you don't like the effects of the med. discontinue using it and try something else.(if you tell the Dr. the same story your sure to get the med.)
525738
=you may have ADHD.  Do you have a learning disability as well and find it hard to read and focus while in school.  Check out the link below it is loaded with information.  Good luck.
494775
Hi Kat...\n\nIf you've had significant changes in your concentration recently, you should definitely talk to your doctor or therapist first.\n\nOn the other hand, remember that inability to concentrate, by definition, is hard to measure.  After all, you've never been inside someone else's head!  Also, like any physical and mental characteristic, there's a natural range that occurs within the general population.\n\nFor example, I had an engineer that worked with me who had tremendous focus and concentration.  Trouble was, he was oblivious to nuance and change.  At the same time, I had a sales and marketing guy working for me whose mind was always "somewhere else".  But he'd bring back great ideas (and orders) from those flights of fancy.\n\nBoth guys were important contributors in their own way.  Surely we need those with steel-trap minds and laser focus.  But we also need dreamers and out-of-the-box thinkers to invent the things that the engineers will work on and react to change and challenges with spontaneity and nimble thinking.\n\nInspiration is rarely found in the humdrum here-and-now.  Maybe you're just a poet, being too hard on yourself?
235417
Im the same way too. Even in class, somedays I'm fine. But the other days Im trying to listen to the lecture, but my "mind keeps running in the background". I cannot stop what I am thinking and focus on the lecture alone. When I am at home I keep fantasizing and daydreaming while studying. ( When I do listen to a lecture, with 100% of my mind, it feels really, really good. )\n\nIve noticed that eating more protein, especially in the morning before class helps. It helps "ground" me. Ive been eating 2 eggs in the morning. But since they have lots of cholesterol, try taking out one of the yolk, if you plan on doing this on a regular basis. Also, try to eat some sugar in the morning ( a blueberry muffin). \n\nAnother thing Ive noticed is that I have a better time concentrating after midnight. So, if you really need to get something done, try staying awake for a couple of hours after midnight. And yes like somebody mentioned ( about having a pen in your hand), you might want to study 2 things at once, or something like that.Keep two books open, and when you start daydreaming, switch to the other subject. Once you start concentrating, you won't start fantasizing for a while and youll be interested in studying more.( personal experience  )\n\nAlso try exercising. It will empty your mind and make you calm enough to concentrate. ( experience )\n\n\n\nP.S. One other thing, STOP watching tv at all costs. It will help you in the long run. But you may also want to try turning on the tv in the background, putting it on mute and studying.  I'm not sure, but this technique might work for you.
509213
I was diagnosed with AD/HD a few months ago and like you I was skeptical.  I have a few mental illnesses as well so many of the same questions were running around in my mind as well.  I think it's when you have a lot of the symptons.  I know people who are lazy and disorganized but that is because they choose to be.  AD/HD people just can't grab the concept.  We try our best to do it and it's a real struggle.  The one that hit me was the concentration one.  I say ignorance is bliss!  I could do three things at once and easily jump back and forth, if I got distracted I just happily went off to what ever distracted me and came back to what I was doing, if I couldn't remember what I was doing oh well!  After I was diagnosed I was trying really hard to write an email and was concentrating so hard to make sure I got everything in there that I needed too.  The phone kept going off and my YM messenger kept blinking and I was distracted and couldn't remember what I was doing!  It is frustrating when you know you have to try really hard to concentrate and you still can't!!\n\nI realized I self medicated in school and still do! (In college)  I take a big soda with me into classes so I can stay focused.  If I don't have that caffeine I am fidgety and am unable to focus on what I need to.  My mind wonders.\n\nThe way I understand it, so far since I am still learning, is that our brains don't have the stimulators that everyone else does, at least not as many, and our minds are searching for outside stimulation to get what it needs.  That's why stimulators such as caffeine and ridolin have the opposite effect they give our brain the stimulation it craves and we are able to focus on what we need to other than it reving us up.\n\nI haven't recieved any medications for AD/HD yet because I'm slightly apprehensive about it making me drowsy and I love the high energy that I have.  I believe that the high energy is just who I am as a person and the AD/HD just adds a little something to it.\n\nI know many AD/HD people are highly creative and they go off their meds when they need to be creative.  I'm also afraid my creativity will suffer from it.\n\nHope this helped!  Feel free to contact me :)
230915
Think of concentration improvement as a three-step process:\n1. Learn the causes of poor concentration and decide which apply to you;\n2. Understand what you can do to control these factors; and\n3. Make your control habitual.  \n\nLEARN THE CAUSES\n\nCONTROL THE CAUSES\n\nExternal Causes\n\nEnvironmental distractions: TV, chairs that are too comfortable, snacks, other people, etc.\n\nLeave or re-arrange a distracting environment. Go to a library or a classroom when you seriously intend to study.  \n\nNoise: Music with words, conversations\n\nTrain yourself to study away from others and in silence.\n\nInternal Causes\nPhysical distractions: hunger, drowsiness.\n\nPlan to study when you are most alert. Eat a high-protein snack. Do five minutes of light exercise to wake up.  \n\nBoredom, dislike, disinterest\n\nFind a reason which satisfies you for taking the class; talk with other students and the professor.  \n\nAnxiety about studies\n\nMake sure you know how to study effectively. Put the course in perspective.  \n\nIntimidating study tasks\n\nBreak up large tasks into achievable subtasks. Do the most intimidating task first. Give yourself rewards for progress and punishments for avoidance.  \n\nDaydreaming\n\nSeparate daydreams from studying. When your mind starts to wander, write down the interrupting thought and continue studying. Or recall important points and then turn away from your book and continue to daydream. When you're ready to read again, do so. The trick is not to daydream and read at the same time.  \n\nPersonal worries\n\nIdentify and define the problem and develop a concrete, specific plan to resolve personal worries. Talk with someone who can help: a friend, a counselor, a specialist.\n\nMAKE CONTROL HABITUAL\nEven if you lapse into old habits of distraction and daydreaming, keep insisting of yourself that you concentrate using these controls until you can routinely concentrate well on your studies for fifty minutes of every hour.
529440
Turn off the TV, or go to another room without the TV there. Make sure someone else is on a computer in your house so it won't be available for you to use. Ask your parents to take you to a Doctor to get tested for ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), and if you have it, get some medicine prescribed to you to treat your ADD. It will probably be so much easier for you to do your homework now.
213372
Fish oil is great for brain function. Kids with add take this and show great improvement. Go to a health food store and ask for advice they will be more than happy to help.
407111
I am Like that, tell me the best answer, J/K. I'm not trying to make fun of you but by the way you write it seems like if you might have dyslexia. I think I have that sometimes. let me tell you my problem. I read but i read subconciously, my mouth says the words yet my mind thinks of something/someone else. when I read and find out i was daydreaming, i notice that I have read a whole paragraph and I KNOW that paragraph didn't have anything about X-Men or pokemon...i subconciously think while reading. I think music does help but not the songs with lyrics. and have the music low. \nhave a specific time to study and homework. I will try to take my own advise.
491042
Me too! Make a time schedule for yourself and block out hours of the day to do things. Give yourself more time than you think you need to complete assignments. That should help. Also, find out how you focus: do you like constant background noise or no noise at all. That should help.I have ADHD and working with a consistent backgroud noise works for me.
443068
pull allnighters, take lots of caffeine, kill the tv and computer and phone, and most importantly take aderol or some equivalent anti-ADD (attention deficit disorder) prescription drug ---this stuff makes ur brain a sponge. oh and don't forget to use study guides and your notes/textbook.
16583
There are many different medications for ADD. My little brother tried Adderal XR, but it had WAY TOO MANY EMOTIONAL SIDE EFFECTS. (But keep in mind that everyone is different!) He is currently taking Concerta and the emotional side effects have disappeared!
257636
My son had/has ADHD...he is now 19. I would give him a cup of strong coffee or 1/2 an espresso, which counteracts the hyperactivity. He told me that the 'rushing' feeling inside of him was gone, so he didn't feel so restless and could focus on tasks.\n\nAlso, having a list of activities/tasks/responsiblities for the child can help structure their day. As soon as I used to see that idle glare in his eye I would suggest something from the list. As he got older he would look at the list himself instead of me having to suggest choices. \n\nAnother thing is since my son was very physical, when we were out in public if he was too restless I would make him do 5 back-flips, which would use-up that energy. You could use push-ups, jumping jacks, whatever the child can do or is age/situation appropriate.\n\nI always carried a Rubic's Cube or some type of puzzle game once my son was older too, when we were in situations where sitting/waiting were involved i.e. dr's office/dentist, etc.\n\nGood Luck!
177972
I'm in the same situation as you.  I think you have to take matters into your own hands, but that requires motivation.  And the lack of motivation is where I'm stuck at right now.  Sorry, this isn't much help.  But I just want to let you know that there are other people who have the same problems.
442252
I don't think that your problem is terribly uncommon.\n\nYou might try discussing this with your doctor, who might be able to refer you to a specialist.  Some people might just attribute this to being unmotivated or even lazy, but it might simply be a result of a neurological or chemical imbalance that could easily be treated with medication.  \n\nIt would be a shame if your "motivation" and focus problems could be quickly solved with a prescription.  Maybe this won't solve your problem, but it would be a good first step in ruling out possible causes.  Good luck to you.
76589
Hi. I have RP also. I am 35 years old and was diagnosed when I was 22. I had always been nearsighted and struggled with imperfect vision, so when I got the diagnosis - it did not really have an immediate impact on me. Now, however, I am really struggling in so many ways. Of course, there is the obvious - not being able to drive anymore - but there are many other things that have changed for me as well. I feel isolated both physically and emotionally from the rest of the world and I find that it takes so much more effort and determination to do just the normal things. I suffer socially in most situations because I bump into things and people, I trip over people's children - hurting them,  neglect to shake someones hand when it is held out for me (because I can't see it), and cannot often even follow the most mundane activities because visual cues usually guide most activities. I am exhausted from having to explainn all the time, and even though I don't want special attention - I worry that people see me as demanding it if I try to explain too much. As a result, I no longer feel like I am a part of the normal world and I often choose to remove myself from social situations. It is just exhausting, and most days, I don't have the strength to deal with it.\n\nAlso related to the issue of feeling isolated is the way people relate to you once they know you can't see much in front of your nose. I think that although most people are very well intentioned, they cannot help but be over solicitous. They start treating you differently - like something fragile, broken, or they just act afraid to say or do the wrong thing. Sometimes I get the impression that some people are uncomfortable just to even be near me. Maybe they are afraid it is contagious. Another oddity I have found is that I have often felt the pressure to be a spokesperson for blind people - needing to explain to people that, yes, blind people can actually have regular jobs, be married, have children etc. \n\nThose close to me have reacted in differing ways. My husband is very loving and supportive but totally in denial and cannot seem to remember to stop trying to hand me things - holding them out for me to grab. Drives me nuts. To my kids, I am just mom, but I think it frightens them to see me become so dependent. They forget to warn me of stairs, doorways, cars, you name it when we are out together in unfamiliar places. As a result, I am always falling, crashing into things and hurting myself.  Onlookers just think I must be mentally deficient or something. I have a sister in law who won't acknowledge my eye problem. She told me "I don't want to hear about it - there must be something you can do!" She thinks talking about it means I am whining about it. Yet another relative told me that I needed more faith in God to be cured and because I am still losing vision, my faith is not strong enough. Still other relatives open every conversation with "How are your eyes?" as if there is no more to me than my eye problem. I feel like saying, "Fine, how are your bowels?"\n\nI still work, but only marginally. Because we live in a small town, I am pretty much confined to working from home.  I do some contracting work for a news monitoring company but it is very low paying work. In the past, I was a professional with a college degree - now I am barely able to make $400 per month. This is bad for the self esteem.\n\nThe state I live in has special services for people who are visually impaired. They'll set you up with adaptive aids and teach you how to put raised stickers on your stove so you don't overheat the mashed potatoes, but there is nothing anywhere that can teach you how to be a blind person. From A-Z, I need to relearn absolutely everything and there is no resource for that. \n\nAs far as how I am doing - I am angry, frustrated and feeling utterly isolated. There are days when I feel completely useless and there ar
147357
Be careful with the meds. There are non-drug alternatives for ADD/ADHD treatment. One I have heard great things about is biofeedback, sometimes referred to as neurofeedback. Try a Google or Yahoo search on the those 2 words.