IT Professional with ADHD

BroadcastStorm

Just curious to find who are in this profession and have the condition.

The Future of Adult ADHD

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earweed

I'm not currently employed in IT but do freelance work on the side. I work a regular non-IT job full time and starting my last term at WGU. I've been diagnosed with adult ADHD (Actually ADD)

Hypntick

Diagnosed with ADD as well, tried medication which shot my blood pressure through the roof. So I just try and do my best to deal with it and ignore it. Makes it pretty hard to study sometimes, that's why I enjoy labsim it changes things up pretty good.

eansdad

ADD since 79-80 (at 3yrs old ... I was that bad) and have been on Ritalin, Dexedrine, Cylert and Adderall. Stopped taking meds in 96. The hardest part is the impulse control, I've had to learn to bite my tounge and keep money from flying out of my pockets. I like some of the things we can do like hyper-focusing and retaining information from more then 1 source at a time. Although I have thought about going back on the meds to drop some weight ... 5'7 300lbs isn't to healthy...

BroadcastStorm

I find my niche in the networking world, since it gives me the capability to simulate multiple things in my head at once :P plus the diversity of being a network admin it's another perk where I am able to leverage... There were issues that I solved and understood stuff senior level techies missed, plus I read alot that we think outside of the box, put the negative into a positive flip it around and it empowers...

http://www.netplaces.com/adult-add-adhd/finding-the-silver-lining-of-adult-adhd/tapping-into-special-adhd-gifts.htm

veritas_libertas

ADD and IT seem to go hand in hand.

demonfurbie

Look over there something shiny

mikedisd2

Battled ADD all my life but never sought meds for it, although I had another thread looking for ideas:
http://www.techexams.net/forums/off-topic/56491-add-problems.html

Since then, I decluttered by house and commenced a routine at the local gym. I believe this has really reduced the problem, although it still manifests itself during the quiet times and stressful times.

Diet and exercise are extremely important in dealing with ADD.

BroadcastStorm

It would be a great idea to start a thread for people with gifts just like me, and we can then share routines that help us with our profession and make us successful, especially that I've been seeing alot of us are into computer/science field.

Maybe the moderator can put a sticky thread or just something where we can all go in and post stuff related to this stuff besides the site main theme is to empower IT professionals, not sure please let me know your 2 cents lol :P

kiki162

Have to agree with mikedisd2 on the diet thing. I've had ADD for as long as I can remember. Basically had to change my diet all together, dropping the soda, junk food, and alcohol, which was hard at first.

Sometimes I have issues every now and then, but keeping a routine every week when it comes to work, school, and home stuff helps.

BroadcastStorm, if you need some other advice offline, let me know.

dynamik

kiki162 wrote: »

Have to agree with mikedisd2 on the diet thing. I've had ADD for as long as I can remember. Basically had to change my diet all together, dropping the soda, junk food, and alcohol, which was hard at first.

Sometimes I have issues every now and then, but keeping a routine every week when it comes to work, school, and home stuff helps.

BroadcastStorm, if you need some other advice offline, let me know.

Sleep, exercise, and keeping stress low helps too. The more things you have going against you, the more pronounced the effects seem to be. I've had good luck with implementing some organizational techniques, and doing things like keeping work areas uncluttered and clean seem to make me more focused. Check Amazon or your local book store. I may give Concerta another shot because I'm still not where I want to be. You can make significant improvements on your own without medication though.

earweed

It's true that diet and exercise help. I quit drinking 4 years ago and that improved my symptoms a lot. I'm still on some medication but not like before.

BroadcastStorm

So you guys completely removed alcohol in your life? I am going to purchase a book called, "more attention less deficit" I read alot of good reviews on this, as well buy a programmable/intelligent watch that does reminder etc., although my initial search I find really cheap looking ones, the vibrating reminder is appearling to me.

dynamik

BroadcastStorm wrote: »

So you guys completely removed alcohol in your life?

Not remotely. I've made serious strides in sticking to a sleep schedule, getting a decent amount of exercise, and improving my diet. I try to minimize drinking during the week (there's always trivia on Tuesdays), but I definitely have cut back overall. The better you can align yourself with a healthy lifestyle, the less pronounced your symptoms will be. That doesn't mean you have to be perfect in every regard though.

tpatt100

I started going to counseling last month for my "ADHD" and I use quotes because I am not sure I have it. I was asked some questions by my doctor and did some reading and for some reason cannot focus.

BUT back in the day when I was not making a lot of money I could sit in Barnes and Nobles ALL FREAKING DAY studying the flash cards I made for my IT certification exams.

And when I was going a Redhat upgrade project I sat in the labs all day and even held off taking a leak because I was so focused.

I was taking Adderall and it did nothing for me, they upped the dosage and nothing. My counselor said it works even for people who don't have ADHD. So we did some more sessions and he thinks I don't have it but wanted me to take the actual ADHD test which was an all day test and an IQ test. So I am going to do that. He thinks like the article says it might be several things that together give the appearance of ADHD.

One of them is anxiety, which I think is what the problem actually is. I don't organize my thoughts like I used to because the work I was doing was boring as hell. It involved worrying about my grammar more than anything technical. So I would procrastinate because I could since my job involved me managing my own time and dead lines which if you are doing something you find boring means wait until its kind of late and freak out trying to get it done.

kiki162

I've pretty much cut out all drinking together, and have one maybe every few months or so.
But the bigger reason I stopped was because I stopped hanging out with the people with the same habits and lifestyle. Once you start cleaning your system out (meaning no more soda, alcohol, cigs, and junk food) the better you will feel and the easier it will be to function.

Think about it....the more crap you consume and the more meds you have in your system you won't be able to function long term.

mikedisd2

BroadcastStorm wrote: »

So you guys completely removed alcohol in your life?

I did quit completely for six months a few years ago. After that, I lost all interest in the taste of alcohol. Now I only have 1 or 2 every few weeks. No need to fully remove it from your life but just be in a state where you can either take it or leave it. Same with caffeine/energy drinks. That stuff will also rot your teeth.

Like soft drinks, beer/wine/spirits is full of sugar and that can do all sorts of things to your physiological being. Like Kiki said, you need to remove the crap from your system to function best naturally. Only then should meds be a consideration.

Forsaken_GA

BroadcastStorm wrote: »

So you guys completely removed alcohol in your life? I am going to purchase a book called, "more attention less deficit" I read alot of good reviews on this, as well buy a programmable/intelligent watch that does reminder etc., although my initial search I find really cheap looking ones, the vibrating reminder is appearling to me.

I unfortunately had to cut alcohol out of my life entirely. It doesn't play well with my meds, and can do nasty things with my blood sugar, since it converts to glucose quite quickly.

I'm not sure I've ever been ADD. Though I suppose I show quite a few of the symptoms. I'm always reading 3 or 4 books, I have many side projects going on. And I can jump from one thing to another without skipping a beat. I largely attribute this to the boredom factor, however. Most things that are intellectually related come to me pretty easily, and always have. Once I satisfy my curiosity about a subject, the pieces just sort of fall into place, and I can conceptualize whatever it is I'm doing from start to finish without actually having to do it. I've had to learn to keep my mouth shut when it comes to things like tv shows and movies when I'm watching them with others, because I usually have things figured out in short order. Every once in awhile I'm pleasantly surprised and find out I'm wrong, but those are few and far between.

Following through with things usually just confirms the conclusion I'd already come to, so I've had points in my life where follow through was very hard. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I hate being bored and I'd rather do something that I find interesting. When I do find something that interests me, it tends to grab my total attention.

Personally, I don't think this is a bad thing, it's been very beneficial to me. I have the ability to pull together multiple symptoms of a problem, correlate them in my head, and reach a likely conclusion. Some folks thing I'm just very intuitive, but there have been several times where I've been able to correctly pick up on what the problem is just because of what I'm seeing right now, and I combine that with a conversation I may have had weeks ago. It's not at all intuitive, it's just good data parsing, but if folks want to think I have the jedi thing going on, I'm perfectly content to let them believe it.

This makes me very good at my job when something breaks, and I've solved problems within minutes of sitting down and looking at it when others have spent hours banging their heads against the wall. If I'm not spot on off the bat, I'm usually in the ballpark, and it only takes a little bit more effort to refine my conclusions to the correct one. This is probably why I'm so good at networking, taking pieces of data and connecting them to form a logical and orderly flow lends itself to the profession quite well.

I've had to change my diet and exercise regime recently due to other health factors, but honestly, I don't think they've made much of a difference. I don't feel more focused or anything like that. It has helped me to sleep better, and I will admit that's made a difference in how I feel overall. When I get a good nights sleep, I perform better, and I have fewer nights where my brain keeps me up because it's busy chewing on something. I don't think I ever realized it much before because a bad sleeping schedule was just a way of life for me. When I don't get a good nights sleep, it tends to cascade, and it can take weeks to get back to a good sleeping schedule, but overall, I'm the same as I've ever been, I just don't scare my doctor when she gets my blood work back anymore

earweed

I had to cut alchohol out entirely as I just had a problem with moderation (don't really do anything in moderation well) and alchohol is actually GOOD for you in moderation. I'm also bipolar with depressive tendencies so have also cut sugar out and limit carbs and fats due to health. This helps all my symptoms of all my disorders as well as getting me off high blood pressure and cholesterol meds. Can sometimes barely function without ADD meds but take less now since I've implemented lifestyle changes.

ericcumbee

i have ADD, i would probably not have made it to high school with out medication. i do not know but i feel like i have grown out of it or have at least figured out how to cope with it. i have not taken medication for it since freshman year of college.

mikedisd2

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I've had to learn to keep my mouth shut when it comes to things like tv shows and movies when I'm watching them with others, because I usually have things figured out in short order. Every once in awhile I'm pleasantly surprised and find out I'm wrong, but those are few and far between.

Lol, me too. But that may be because TV/movies are so formualaic and predictable. It's just one of the reasons I don't watch it; I've over-intellectualised it and can't enjoy the show. I'm often insulted by how the writer's lamely try to manipulate the viewer's emotions through typecast characters and contrived scenarios.

I'm the same with music. My mind breaks down songs until all I hear are predictable chord progressions and tired melodies. I have to be careful as I do tend to ruin these things for others.

Panzer919

I have had ADD since idk when. I got diagnosed a few years back but I knew something was different for a while. I am in the networking side of things and at times it can be a great help, others its the biggest PITA.

When it comes to creating documentation or designing something I can spend days going over and over the stuff tweaking and moving things around until I am satisfied (which is usually never). I've learned one of the ways I can help with the multiple thought process is to draw pictures of what ever I am trying to figure out. makes things a lot clearer.

The biggest downside comes when I try to study. It takes me a while to get past the distractions and start reading, when I do start i'm usually OK unless someone buts in and breaks my concentration. once that happens its back to square one. Music seems to help some, I have to listen to something that doesn't pump me up or bore me. Another things I found is that if its something I've listened to alot, I don't focus on the lyrics or the ups and downs of the song I just zone out.

I watch quite a few TV shows and Movies and often times not only find myself figuring out whats going to happen next, but I will also find most patterns in the plot. For some reason my mind will hone in on a pattern in almost anything if there is one. Drives my wife nuts when I start pointing out the patterns to her cause she could care less. Shes been good about understanding that sometimes I do random things that don't always make sense.

DevilWAH

I would be really intrested to see how people with ADHD score on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale test.

I would also be intrested to see hwo I score in an ADHD test as I know I show some symptoms of it.

The reson I ask is that I am dyslexic, in fact I score as severily dyslexic (lets not use spell chsck or do a re-read for this post

how many mestakes are there?)

But on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (which is kind of a bit like an IQ test), I socre in the top 2% of the population for abstract and visual resoning, while in the bottom 5% for working memory. In fact acourding to the tested it was one of the widest descrepencies she had seen.

But it does explain why I am good at IT things. Most IT is moduler (in fact it can all be broken down to yes no answeres) and a coping stratogrie for a poor workign memory is to be able to break things apart in to simple blocks that you can then use to build up ideas from first princible. So IT isa great subject to work on for some one like me, History on the other hand is a no no as its remembering seperate facts, some thing I find increadable hard to do.

But the fact I have such a Split in high and low functing part of my brain means that while some tasks I get overly engrossed in and can spend ever miniute of every day workign on, completly oblivious to people talking to me or the world going on around me, while other tasks can take me days to get in to, and the slightest distraction around me will make me lose my concentration. seems to corralate strongly with many symptoms of ADHD.

So my feeling is that ADHD is not jsut a condition in its own right, but much more to do with how an indivual brain work.

From my point of view I love it, it give me a way of seeign the world that seems to pass every one else by, in my mind its all linked togather and you see pattens repeted in the most unlilkly places. Its the breaking things down to there first princibles I mentioned before, you start to see different thinks breaking down to the same core ideas. Which comes back to IT, take any area of IT and strip it apart and before long you are down to 0 and 1, weither its 3D graphics or network switchs.

My only issue with how my brain works is that I get depressed if I am not learning, bordeom and depression go hand in hand. So if there are no asks around that I can get stcuk in to and all I am doing are the taks I find hard to concentrate on. Then I will quickly fall in to depression, and although now I know the danger signs and can do soem thing about it. I did spend many years in the depths when I was in my early 20's.

I still think ADHD / Dyslexia / autisum are simple extreems of the range of brain functions, and often to gain in one area you lose out in another. Hoever from a personal point of view I like the way my brain works, even with the issues it brings.

I always wonder what would have happend to people like Enstine and Van gough if they had lived today. Enstine for instance would have been dignosed with ADHD and dyslexic and aspurgeus almost deffently.. And for all the great work he did, he did have many issues. I just wonder if he would have been quite as great if he had been treated and medicated to control his "condition"?

Persoanly I am a bit old and the ADHD and Dyslexia "epidemic" was not around when i was at school. So I was jsut called lazy and poor at english.. I wonder how I would be if I had been put on medication and all the rest?

Panzer919

DevilWAH wrote: »

I would also be intrested to see hwo I score in an ADHD test as I know I show some symptoms of it.

When I was diagnosed, my wife had to take a test. It was a few pages long and asked her if I did certain things or acted certain ways to determine if I was ADD/ADHD.

BroadcastStorm

It looks like there's alot of us.

I am an Adult ADHD I lived with an ex. who is a suma cum laude PHD Psy-D for 2 1/2 years and was told by her that ADHD I gots it, given her curriculum and that she probably noticed all my weird behaviour I do believe her.

Just like you Panzer I can seat for days tweaking out a network design/documentation of a particular process or project, given this it's probably going to be good to shoot the CCDP, since I'm able to see the big picture with multiple PIP inside it.

My Doctor hit the spot when she mentioned that my brain is trying to move so fast that it's trying to go to the next part/conclusion or wants a result right of the bat even when it's premature, how do I explain this, a car without breaks as a result it misses it exits, if you try to make a turn it does it wildly, you're able to slow it down but it takes alot of work, this is what usually leads to compulsiveness, or perhaps distraction, that lead us doing multiple things at once.

Anyway I also got the vibrating watch reminder, called Watch Minder 3, it has programmed memories/training, although the text are not programmable, and I am looking for something where I can preset multiple reminder in a day that I can program myself instead of a preprogrammed reminder/training, the watch looks ugly but hey :P if anyone knows of the this type of watch please please post it here.

There's no getting off this roller coaster ride :P In the other note it looks like beer works well for Mike haha!!!

Panzer919

an old boss of mine couldn't wrap her head around ADD and how it worked with our thought processes. My example was it was like standing in a large box, all of our thoughts are constantly bouncing around like balls and we try to look at them but then our attention goes over to another. When we finally are able to grab a thought it is all we think about (hyperfocus). I said taking an ADD medication was like slowing all the balls down so that you could reach out, grab it and actually look at it without trying to focus on any others.

lochmoigh

mikedisd2 wrote: »

Lol, me too. But that may be because TV/movies are so formualaic and predictable. It's just one of the reasons I don't watch it; I've over-intellectualised it and can't enjoy the show. I'm often insulted by how the writer's lamely try to manipulate the viewer's emotions through typecast characters and contrived scenarios.

I'm the same with music. My mind breaks down songs until all I hear are predictable chord progressions and tired melodies. I have to be careful as I do tend to ruin these things for others.

Its Ironic you say that about music, I listen to Techno and occasionally NIN and find that it relaxes me, the consistent beats and melodies are what I like and my wife cant stand it.

Panzer919

it might be because your mind knows whats going to happen next, less to think about so your mind slows down and relaxes a little bit. Tool does that for me.

Monkerz

I think I have AD/HD, but I am too cheap to go pay someone to tell me that I officially have it.

ilcram19-2

in my time ADD/ADHD was call spoiled little kid and you fix that with a few spanks,
i cannot believe that people believe in that crap lol is so funny!!!! for an adult is also call
Lazy, disrespectful, irresponsible (LDI) lol

Monkerz

ilcram19-2 wrote: »

in my time ADD/ADHD was call spoiled little kid and you fix that with a few spanks,
i cannot believe that people believe in that crap lol is so funny!!!! for an adult is also call
Lazy, disrespectful, irresponsible (LDI) lol

Yet you post a disrespectful post like this? Listen to your mother and hold your tongue if you have nothing nice to say.