Am I worrying too much? Afraid doctor may not believe me...

[kdreptiles]

About a month ago, I had a very long discussion with my cousin during her visit. I found out she was diagnosed with ADD as an adult, and went through all sorts of counseling and tests to make sure she was truly ADD and not just depressed. I was nearly in tears because of how she describes her issues... EVERY specific ADD related issue she described was EXACTLY like my issues that depression medications haven't helped with since I was diagnosed with depression in 6th grade. There's another, more convincing detail that makes me believe it is ADD but not sure I can share that here.
The thing is, I'm starting my freshman year of college this August. I'm going to use the college-issued health insurance to go to the doctor. But I know there are a ton of high school and college students that use Adderall and Ritalin for an extra boost in focus or energy for studying when they really don't have ADD. I'm afraid the doctor won't consider even listening to my symptoms and just assume I want the prescription for illegal reasons, or that it's blasphemous to be concerned that I may have it based on one conversation with a non-professional. I've taken multiple tests online, but of course those are easily discredited. You can google "stomach ache" and be entirely convinced you have stomach cancer, lol.

Am I just worrying too much like I always do, or is there anything I can say or do besides listing these symptoms to help the doctor see that I have a genuine concern? I must ask this because I don't have much of a way with words..

[patientz3ro]

Based on your post, it almost sounds like you've got a slight "generalized anxiety disorder" going on. I hope you don't take that as sarcasm, I certainly don't mean it that way. That aside, if you go to a decent doc, they'll be better able to diagnose and treat anything you might have going on. I DO think you're worrying yourself a little too much, though. It's not really that difficult to separate the drug seekers from the patients with a legit concern. Besides, if your doctor refuses to listen to your concerns, you really shouldn't waste your time and money with him. He also might want to consider a different line of work.

[4Ballz]

I've been dealing with ADD since I was a young boy. My parents had me on meds for a bit, then took me off as it made me have "zombie" type side affects. They meant, I wasn't active, and really not being me. It's a matter on how you deal with it. It's not going to kill you, and you just have to understand your symptoms. By realizing ahead what you are or about to do, try and have something to remind yourself. I get caught up in moments, and realize I have other things to do. The worst thing I noticed with my ADD is reading. I've been a terrible reader since I ever started to learn how to read. I am aware, but it just takes longer.

I find the whole breeding rats/mice and now bps, it's helping me focus on things easier. Explain to your doctor your symptoms, but research the meds. My friend took meds for his ADD, then went off the charts. I was actually afraid for his well being. We used to talk all the time about his depression, and I spent hours trying to help him. He took those meds (not sure the name) was doing great, and we haven't spoken in a month or two. I thought he was going to kill himself. So, please understand what you have first, don't google search as you start to build more headaches and wrong symptoms for yourself (as you mentioned).

See a doctor, and don't overwhelm yourself with it ruining your life. I'm 33 now, and I'm happy I'm not on any drugs.

Best of luck

[mainbutter]

No doctor will take the concerns of their patient lightly, feel free to ask any questions, and don't worry you won't look like a drug addict.

[kdreptiles]

Thanks a ton for the input and sharing your experience. Patientz3ro, I will definitely see if my anxiety is what I should be mainly concerned with.

[Vasiliki]

If it helps, try to write down things that are troubling you. Keep a notebook with you and jot down any concerns you might have that arise. Feelings, situations and your reactions to them (if they interupt your daily activities and quality of life), etc. You may not be good at describing what you're feeling when you're put on the spot, but if you have a notebook full of things you can draw off of, you can remember things more clearly when you re-read it, and have it down in writing to avoid forgetting something critical.

I did this when I was having problems with mood swings, headaches, and generally feeling like garbage. Went on for months. My moods were chaotic at best, and often negative (towards myself). I have been through depression before, but this didn't feel like the same traits. It wasn't the same.

Took months before my doctor really believed me enough to get tested (ALWAYS trust yourself over your doctor. YOU know your body. Your doctor is just making educated guesses based on education to TRY to figure out whats wrong.) It turns out that I was Hypoglycemic. When I did more researching on the topic, I discovered my medication was being linked to causing cases of Hypoglycemia in less than 1% of cases.

So even though my condition was affecting my moods and behavior, it was related to my blood sugar acting crazy. It was only after I started writing down exact details that we were able to pinpoint everything.

So, trust yourself. If you don't feel right, then something is off. It could be minor, or major, it could be a condition or it could be just symptoms that are compounding to make it more serious than it really is. Moods and behavior are all connected to how our body is handling something. If something isn't in tune, yes, we can be affected. And dramatically.

If your doctor tells you it's no big deal, then you need to find a doctor that will listen to you.

[Navy]

It's incredibly easy to self diagnose.
Every time I have a cold I think I have AIDS, well not really.
If you go to the doctor, they'll take you seriously. If you truly have ADD it won't go away on it's own.

[chimp54321]

Anxiety is fear. When you have faith you can't have fear. A lot of the times doctors over prescribe medication because they get kickback's from the big pharmaceutical giants so they can take a nice family vacation. I have a ton of experience with anxiety and how to recover from it and it's not easy but nothing in life worth doing is. angrycoast@gmail.com is my email send me an email if you want to talk more about it

[Raptor]

..Anxiety isn't something that can be fixed by "faith", and it isn't fear. Fear is something that is short lived and goes away on its own. Anxiety is something that lingers and doesn't go away.

[Herp_Herp_hooray]

Try sitting in silence and just think. I like to consider that my meditation


Jason Rossi
www.rossireptiles.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rossi-...app_2309869772