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Comment by n1000 | Hacker News Reader

Hyperfocus is actually one of the odd trades of ADHD. If people with ADHD work on a topic that motivates them, they can easily loose hours just like you describe. However, if the task is too mundane or overwhelming, I can easily procrastinate months on them.

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^ This. As a 45 year old recently diagnosed with ADHD, I realize how much of my life was described by things like this. The more I learn about ADD/ADHD, the more sense I make to myself.

Same. Some jobs I was hailed as a 10x programmer. Others I was worthless. Or even same company but different projects.

Pair programming was a massive benefit as it kept me on task all day.

Being bored was a physical pain for me. Meds took that pain away. Even after I stopped meds I was much improved as I no longer had that pain Association with boredom. Jus regular tendency to get distracted easily.

Isn't that crazy, that one could go 45+ years without knowing they had ADHD? It wasn't until I was... > 50yrs until someone I was talking to said "sounds like you have ADHD" and I was like "what???" But sure enough, after seeing a couple of specialists and reading up on it, turned out I had all the classic symptoms and was coping with it in a number of suboptimal ways. Knowing about it and treating it has improved my life immensely.

Almost exact same boat here, other than treatment; only diagnosed, still awaiting and finding treatment. But I think I can answer that question. Perhaps we assume that others are the same as us and have the same mental environment and are just better at navigating it? I assumed I was lazy. And considering the amount of substance abuse among adults who have ADHD, people often look at that as the problem rather than a reaction. Mental environments are invisible. The higher functioning people tend to work hard or be lucky. The folks on the margins or who are failures have no voice.

This sounds very much like me. Give me interesting work and I won’t stop, give me mundane work and I’ll find more interesting work till I have to do it. I’m 27, how did you end up getting diagnosed later into adult life?

I was your age when I was diagnosed, and it changed my life. I had suspected for years, and one day a friend gave me an adder all. I felt like everyone else seemed. I then found a psychiatrist that would let me book via email, and was near my work. I told him everything, including the illegal adderall, and we walked through questions and I believe his words were "you are the poster boy for adult ADHD". Within a year I had taught myself some new skills, within 5 years my salary had more than doubled.

The hardest part is making the appointments, if you have someone who will help you, ask them to. If you don't just force yourself.

Though as I put on another comment I might delete, ADHD isn't really about mundane vs interesting, at least not always. Sometimes I find myself focussed on the mundane, or ignoring the interesting and enjoyable. The pills aren't magic, and there is no cure, but if you suspect it I recommend finding help. Also, intense cardio exercise, high protein low carb diet, lots of water, and vitamins. I don't stick with any of them for long periods of time, but whenever I do it makes life easier.

A new coworker, who was recently diagnosed, said to me "you have a lot of the traits that I have that led me to getting diagnosed." So I talked to my doctor, filled out a short questionnaire, and it was official. Before seeing the doctor, I mentioned it to my adult daughter and her response was "Well DUH." Seems like everyone knew but me lol.

Damn. I spent $3000+ dollars and went through 7 hours of testing.

I hope getting treatment was that easy for you as well.

Are you in the US? I spent something like $200 on the initial appointment in the SF Bay Area. This was done without insurance, so that was the total cost. And I think I spent slightly less than 2 hours undergoing evaluation.

Yes, in the US. It was a very thorough evaluation. My niece's recent evaluation was similar to yours. My testing was conducted by a psychological services group that was recommended by my primary care providers, which is a service for generally poor people, like myself. Kind of weird but I don' know the process. Nevertheless, I hope the very thorough and documented diagnosis is worth it, as it makes clear the need for treatment and a prescription, and also distinguishes between types of ADHD. I have heard getting a prescription can be difficult. When you are poor, healthcare providers often suspect substance abuse. I have no healthcare insurance either.

Your doctor charged you $3k and diagnosed you with a mental illness but is unwilling to prescribe medicine? That feels like theft to me.

Can you at least see if they can start you on a non-stimulant pharmaceutical? Some people really like Strattera (I tried it and had horrible side effects that landed me in the ER, but I know other people who love it). Unfortunately I think Strattera is still patented, so it’s pretty pricey if you don’t have insurance. Make sure to look for coupons that will save you about 90% of MSRP.

I think they will, but they may be too expensive for me to continue with. I only had the verbal report in a video meeting with them. In about a month I will get the written report, along with my regular doctor and my counselor.

They are not the only org that uses a process like this. Many have a longer, more thorough, more expensive process. I don't have a map of these services to navigate, so I'm a bit blind. I went with who was recommended to me. Hopefully having a thorough diagnosis that can travel with me wherever I go can be helpful. If this ends up helping me to address this and have some sort of success in life, $3k will be peanuts.

Not OP, but I suspected ADHD starting from my late teens. Looking back as a child I had impulsive behavior issues and caused harm to other children. Perhaps if I had been in a public or private school I would’ve been diagnosed earlier. But anyways as an adult I was really nervous to go to a shrink. Wound up going in my late 20s and received a diagnosis.

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