Mental and Physical Health

[Guest Raidne]

...I just started taking the taurine you recommended; haven't noticed anything as yet, but I'm sure I just need to give it time.

I think any positive effect should be noticeable immediately, but I know nothing about dosing or intervening factors, etc. Definitely something to ask the doctor about - dosing, any other supplements that need to be taken or dietary changes made to get the effect (just read that B6 might be necessary to get the effect of taurine, etc.). I just noticed before that I was constantly reaching for Red Bull, it seemed to help me out a lot more than coffee or other sources of caffeine, and I can't chalk that up to anything but taurine.

[Guest Raidne]

Supposedly, salmon and tuna are the best foods out there for ADDers due to the very high Omega-3 fatty acid content, and I can believe it. Further, there are two types of Omega-3 fatty acids (from a Harvard website)?

There are two major types of omega-3 fatty acids in our diets: One type is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is found in some vegetable oils, such as soybean, rapeseed (canola), and flaxseed, and in walnuts. ALA is also found in some green vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, kale, spinach, and salad greens. The other type, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is found in fatty fish. The body partially converts ALA to EPA and DHA.

We do not know whether vegetable or fish omega-3 fatty acids are equally beneficial, although both seem to be beneficial.

Bummer. EPA/DHA definitely seems to matter, but I don't know about ALA. But good reason to actually take a fish oil supplement instead of an "Omega 3" supplement, to be sure you're getting the fatty fish-type that we know matters. To you and anyone else reading this - let us know if you know anything more about that or read anything else on which type matters, or both? Interestingly, I read recently that for ASD, it's the opposite - a low-protein, high complex carb diet is best, much like the pre-Atkins "Mediterranean" diet we used to hear some much about.

Do you think the Red Bull phenomenon is an example of the propensity of ADDers to self-medicate?

Well holy shit. I have no idea but it's a damn good question.

I have two friends who are crazy in love with Red Bull. One is diagnosed ADD. The other is not, but is definitely a person who uses "interest" to cover all motivational needs, which to me definitely raises the possibility - the lack of seeing having much distinction between (1) making yourself do something and (2) making yourself want to do something.

One thing I can say - getting a little off-topic - is that if you fall under option #2, for the love, find yourself a spouse who understands that. I'm actually sitting at the office right now trying to get motivated to do some major revisions to an article I'm working on, and I'm starting threads and posting like a mad (wo)man trying to get myself in the right creative mindset (which, honestly, is the whole reason I ever post on the Board). Seeing as my husband reads the Board, knows I'm doing this, and has to deal with the fact that I am nevertheless at work "working" right now and not at home on a Sunday night, this would very likely be a cause of much relationship difficulty where he not really great about understanding these things.

And that's good advice for any mental irregularity, IMO - do not have a serious romantic relationship with a person who doesn't get it.

[armidil0]

Today is the worst. All my friends blew me off. I couldn't motivate myself to get up and do anything. I just sat around with my dog all day. But he was asleep most of the time while I was bored staring into space. I couldn't even jump in to my story and fantasy worlds like I always do. If I can't do that then i'm fucked. It's the main reason why I wanted to cut myself. I was firmly planted in reality with no escape.

Whenever I tell someone I have depression they always blow it off like I'm just whiny. It sucks major balls. Half my thoughts are seriously just me wanting to hurt or kill myself. The only reason I haven't in a long time is because my friends threw all my razors away and my apathy has grown three fold in the last year to bother breaking another Gillette razor. I don't see my therapist anymore because he can't help me anymore. He said I needed medication and I agree, but my mom doesn't believe that I could be so sad about nothing (there is hardly anything to complain about) and refuses to have her insurance pay for the meds, and I can't afford it because I'm saving up for college and want to move out west a few years outside of college.

I've survived this long without help, so I can survive longer. Honestly I feel like as my will has slowly been chipped away and beaten by my depressing thoughts that my apathy has grown to take it's place. I have no motivation to do anything but wilt away and push everybody away. But hey, better than suicide? Even if I cut a little bit it's to relieve the pain and stop me from going to full mile. It's thoughts like these I want to get rid of.

[armidil0]

I have a friend with ADHD and he eats nothing but fastfood and processed junk. He's lucky he has a huge metabolism. I told him that it's nasty and totally unhealthy and he knows. He's not stupid. it's just how he was raised. I just said fuck that, if you want to change how you eat then change it. It will be nasty eating healthy for the first few months, I would imagine, but I told him I would help him through it. He just said he couldn't and dropped the subject. He takes huge doses of (I forgot what drug he takes). It really can't be good. (Like he doesn't know how many pills he will have to take in so many years because he is already taking two or three and starting to become immune to the effects already.)

I want to help, but I don't think I can. Just got to be supportive I guess.

[Guest Raidne]

I wonder with chronic depression issues, how much of it is a cognitive tendency to look at things in terms of "the rest of your life" or "your entire future" instead of just, you know, tomorrow. The idea of getting through just tomorrow is not nearly as daunting when things are bad.

I suspect there is some kind of time frame issue in many cases, and, you know, anything on a long enough time frame is pretty fucking depressing. And that is true with so many aspects of depression, no? It's not like the things that you think about when you're depressed are not, strictly speaking, true. Many things in life do suck. Sometimes our friends suck and blow us off. That is, in fact, fucking depressing. Being bored but unable to be interested in anything enough to distract yourself also completely sucks. All of these things are true. But those are just certain aspects of one day, and one day is just part of one week, etc., etc. And beyond that, even if many past days have been that way, tomorrow may be different, or the next day. And not because you need to "take charge" and "empower yourself" and make them different - sometimes things just will be different. A great movie will come out. A friend will be particularly good company. It's not all on you.

Having said that, Sci is really something with finding resources - definitely go back to the opening post in this thread and check out some of the information he has posted.

[Guest Raidne]

Like he doesn't know how many pills he will have to take in so many years because he is already taking two or three and starting to become immune to the effects already.

Strictly speaking, this cannot happen if you are properly medicated. I read this in a book by someone qualified to have the opinion and ran it by a psychiatrist and physician. And the reasons provided make sense.

On the other hand, if you are overly medicated for ADD - and it's very likely that the majority of people medicated for ADD are overly medicated - it is nearly guaranteed that this will happen. It's hard to get dosing right. I'm still working it out myself. So for the time being a take a day or two off on the weekends here or there to avoid building a tolerance, and that seems to work very well.

ETA: Further, while none of your reported symptoms are really ringing any bells for me, you might want to be evaluated for ADD as well just in case? It's easier to treat and the medication provides relief in period measured not in days or weeks, but in minutes, so it might be worth it to at least rule it out. I have no professional background whatsoever, but again, I book that I read by someone who is recommended that all people with depression and/or anxiety be screened for ADD just in case.

[Guest Raidne]

That's a seriously good bit of wisdom. I was never able to explain it to my ex-wife and now I'm having trouble explaining to my fiancee how going into my office and posting is a part of my writing process.

I'm not sure if I could not explain it to my ex-husband or if he really just didn't give a shit. In any case, I'm not sure I can really explain the whole "posting/reading things on things other than what I'm supposed to be working on" issue to myself very well. I think it's kind of like stretching or doing a warm-up lap or something, but for mental work. But also not really a great combination with the medication some times as 20 minutes can easily become an hour, etc., so it's not necessarily a very adaptive method, but there are ways to avoid that problem, also.

Raidne, is it just me or is ADD co-morbid with everything.

The book I just read (adult ADD factbook) lists all the co-morbid conditions, and it is a long list indeed.

Essentially, depression can be caused by many neurotransmitter issues. One of the possibilities is dopamine deficiency. Dopamine deficiencies cause a lot of various problematic symptoms. Stimulant medications "for ADD" increase dopamine production, so, in the end, if dopamine deficiency is your actual problem, ADD meds will "work" for you, and SSRIs and the like might very well make you worse.

A friend of mine was misdiagnosed for years because his symptoms manifested primarily as depression. He finally tried ADD meds (Vyvanse) and they actually worked. Naturally the medication regime does take some observation and fine-tuning, but it's a much less significant problem than his constant suicidal thoughts previously. A lot of people with ADD experience a lot of self-loathing for their inability to just "pull it together already" and a lot of frustration with themselves for being unable to manage seemingly simple everyday life tasks well.

[Sci-2]

Two new resources:

1) The administration has also launched a new website full of resources for those suffering from, or affected by, mental illness.

Obama also did a speech to kick off the White House's National Conference on Mental Health. Read more about the conference at CBS, NBC and NPR.

2) http://www.yellowpagesforkids.com/

“Find educational consultants, psychologists, educational diagnosticians, health care providers, academic therapists, tutors, speech language therapists, occupational therapists, coaches, advocates, and attorneys for children with disabilities on the Yellow Pages for Kids for your state.

You will also find special education schools, learning centers, treatment programs, parent groups, respite care, community centers, grassroots organizations, and government programs for children with disabilities.“

[armidil0]

ADD never occurred to me. I assumed it was depression since elementary school.

I've always had to have a special interest to do something. Even things I love doing. I hardly do anything just to do something. That's why I always liked school. It kept me busy, and gave me motivation (can't get bad grades). The only thing I really do for fun is read nowadays, and even that is slipping off.

[Sci-2]

Adding some stuff about emergency management for people with disabilities here in the other thread.

Couple more resources:

https://www.disability.gov/

• Benefits
  
• Civil Rights
  
• Community Life
  
• Education
  
• Emergency Preparedness
  
• Employment
  
• Health
  
• Housing
  
• Technology
  
• Transportation
  

=-=-=

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, State by State resources:

http://www.asha.org/advocacy/state/

[WillWork4NinjaPowers]

Raids- you read carbs are good for ASD? Did they mention wheat? My son acts like a terror when he eats too many carbs.

[Sci-2]

Pass it On Center, working for assistive technology (AT) reuse:

http://www.passitoncenter.org/

"The Pass It On Center is creating national and state resources to foster the appropriate reuse of AT so that people with disabilities can get the affordable AT they need in order to live, learn, work and play more independently."

=-=-=

2013 “Strengthening Healthcare and Public Health through Collaboration, Coordination and Communication” Conference(Scroll down for power points)

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/public_health_preparedness/11605/2013_strengthening_healthcare_and_public_health_conference/1471597

=-=-=

Just posted more stuff in the Emergency Management Thread that might be of interest. Went over some apps for smartphones and facebook, some stuff about preparedness for those with disabilities and preparedness in general.

[Guest Raidne]

Raids- you read carbs are good for ASD? Did they mention wheat? My son acts like a terror when he eats too many carbs.

Yeah - just to be clear, that's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), not attention deficit disorder (ADD). And I honestly don't know where I read it and it is really next to impossible to read anything reliable on autism in any case. The diagnosis covers dozens of different things that probably all have different causes and the parents of kids with ASD seem a bit emotionally unstable sometimes. There are a lot of people looking for someone or something to blame, beyond their own genes. It's different from attention deficit disorder that way.

[The Progressive]

http://askjan.org/

The Job Accommodation Network is a great online resources for people looking for indepth information and/or guidance about reasonable accommodations at the workplace for their disabilities.

[Sci-2]

http://askjan.org/

The Job Accommodation Network is a great online resources for people looking for indepth information and/or guidance about reasonable accommodations at the workplace for their disabilities.

Thanks!

Still adding stuff to the Google Doc in my sig, need to take all that info and put it on a website eventually.

More stuff:

Various materials on communicating with special needs patients:

http://disabilities.temple.edu/aacvocabulary/e4all.shtml

"Communication during times of emergency is critical. However, many individuals may not communicate effectively due to their disability, injury, or shock. For others, spoken English may not be effective as well.

Since communication is so important, we have developed free downloadable communication aids in English and Spanish. These aids can be used during times of emergency when spoken English or Spanish may not effective.

We have researched what words are needed during and after emergencies. These words can be found at http://disabilities.temple.edu/aacvocabulary/EMERGENCY.shtml. "

[Sci-2]

Some regional resources:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

[armidil0]

I had been misdiagnosed for years with depression until over a period of a year i started taking a razor to my arms with a vengeance. The last such episode landed me in the ER with over 100 stitches and subsequently in a mental hospital for 72 hours. Then I started seeing the doc that diagnosed me with ADD and haven't had the desire to cut in over ten years since I started taking the Adderall.

So I would definitely talk to your doc about a possible ADD diagnosis and, if you do have it, then I'd definitely pay for the medicine yourself if your mom won't. Believe me, you don't want to spend the rest of your life with dozens of keloid scars on your body or accidentally nick your brachial artery.

Ever since I stopped cutting I have been getting headaches and migraines like nobodies business. I only stopped because I was already teetering off of it and I hit a good even number (200 I know I counted, I'm weird). I never cut a major artery because I was always very picky about where I cut.

I recently got an offer to get a promotion and a raise (to a whopping 8.50/hour), and it would help pay for whatever. Finally talking about it again is actually giving me some confidence. I never have confidence.

[Guest Raidne]

Is it possible that cutting produces dopamine production?

[Sci-2]

Ever since I stopped cutting I have been getting headaches and migraines like nobodies business. I only stopped because I was already teetering off of it and I hit a good even number (200 I know I counted, I'm weird). I never cut a major artery because I was always very picky about where I cut.

I recently got an offer to get a promotion and a raise (to a whopping 8.50/hour), and it would help pay for whatever. Finally talking about it again is actually giving me some confidence. I never have confidence.

Looks like you've gotten some good advice, so I'll just mention that the link in my sig has lots of mental health resources.

[A lot of it is US centric but you can hopefully find something equivalent depending on where you are.]

-sci

[WillWork4NinjaPowers]

Yeah - just to be clear, that's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), not attention deficit disorder (ADD). And I honestly don't know where I read it and it is really next to impossible to read anything reliable on autism in any case. The diagnosis covers dozens of different things that probably all have different causes and the parents of kids with ASD seem a bit emotionally unstable sometimes. There are a lot of people looking for someone or something to blame, beyond their own genes. It's different from attention deficit disorder that way.

Well, I was talking about ASD, my son has Asperger's. I'm definitely not emotionally unstable, though, lol. You can really only treat the symptoms, so we try to do that with diet and behavior mods mainly, with some old and "safe" meds in small doses. And bribery. Can't even assume a correct guess as to a cause, but he does have all of my...guirks...dialed to a million. We stay gmo free for reasons other than ASD, wheat free as well.