Last weekend I went grocery shopping with L. She and I usually do the grocery shopping together. We can get it done in about half the time it takes if Beck goes along. She tends to spend a lot of time looking at every item on the shelf, I guess she’s curious about grocery products. Actually Lucia does most of the work, I pretty much just push the cart. I also spend some time looking for inspiration and I get the meat and produce needed for meals I have planned in the near future. But she’s the one that shops the aisles. She’s really quick at doing math in her head to figure out the best deal. There’s no doubt that she’s the most organized and efficient person in the family. Whose going to do the grocery shopping when she goes off to school? Who’s going to run the household?
I’m not so sure it’s a great idea to publish my adventures in therapy here. But since I already told y’all that I was going in for an ADD eval, I guess I owe you some words on the results. Before I made my appointment I spoke to a Psychiatrist on the phone who told me that they would probably do an MMPI before they did anything. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is a 400 some question true or false test that’s supposed diagnose a wide spectrum of personality disorders. I’ve taken it twice before, with mixed results. She then added that some people are so obviously ADD that they skip the test and refer you immediately to a psychiatrist. After talking to the psychologist for an hour he told me that there would be no need for the MMPI. He told me not to expect too much, that some people respond to the drug immediately, like a huge revelation, others get some benefit, not so dramatic and still others get no effect. He said that it was an experiment, I’d take some meds and if they worked, great. If not, go from there.
One interestig thing I found out was that they give Ritalin to fighter pilots. Actually, my tennis buddy who’s a shrink told me that, but I thought it was just to keep them hyped. What I found out yesterday is that it’s very common for fighter pilots to have ADD. The profession attracts adrenalin junkies and risk takers, which ADD people gravitate to, because the adrenalin gets there frontal lobes stimulated and they can focus and perform well under pressure. Competition stimulates the adrenal glands as well, that must be why I love hoops and tennis so much. I asked if the drugs would stifle my creativity. He assured me that they wouldn’t.
Sorry that I’ve not been keeping with my reading and commenting lately, I’ve been pretty busy. It’s not that I don’t love y’all. (I’m thinking that with a little effort, I could have made that sentence into a triple negative)
Peace.
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the husband and i always grocery shop together. it is a lovely hour together and neither one of us likes grocery shopping alone. princess L will always remember shopping with you. i miss those kinds of things i did with my dad.
That does explain a lot about my niece. She has always had buzzing energy, and is active in the military. She thrives on adrenaline. Her father, my brother-in-law, was diagnosed as ADD at around age 50.
I love grocery shopping, husband and I go together every 2 weeks. It makes me feel rich, somehow.
i go shopping with my dad all the time- it’s one of the things i miss most about being in a different state as him most of the school year- but as soon as I come home, that’s one of the first things that we do. as weird as it sounds, it’s our way of connecting and coming back to common ground after i’ve been away for awhile.
you will still be creative on ritalin- and if it doesn’t work, there are others out there. good luck!
:::hugs:::
Liz
Luck to you, hope the treatment works as needed.
Here’s my favorite “ADHD Inventory” story: I filled out the questions, and the psychiatrist came back and said “obviously” and I asked “what does that mean?” and he said “well, you clearly hit the ‘diagnosis’ score” and I said, “what’s the scale?” and he said “1-4 is typical, 5-9 is standard for boys under 14, 10-11 is borderline, 12 is the ‘diagnosis point'” so I asked, “what was my score?” he said “35”
but one real thing: none of the meds worked for me until I was in a program with intensive follow up and learned to track my own stuff and figure out when to take, what to take, and how much. Remember that ritalin and all similar stuff is really just faux cocaine and that you crash off it when it drains from your system, so stay aware of what’s going on (in my case they had people follow me for three weeks tracking everything I was doing, weird but fascinating).
If I work at it hard enough, I might be able to get Jessica to carry that kind of load around the house, just in time for her to leave.
That’s interesting about the fighter pilots. I never had Ritalin for an extended period of time. My doc said that adults don’t tend to get that drug. But sure enough, it’s a bit of a trial and error thing. The best part is the diuretic effect a lot of them have. Plus, you get drymouth, and you drink more. So you end up taking a piss about 20+ times a day. I’m waiting for that blog.
I agree, wow about the fighter pilots. I thought adults with ADD received Aderol (or however the hell you spell it), but I guess I was wrong. I think everyone has a touch of ADD, but there’s no question that others have it quite strongly.
i always liked to go grocery shopping, and bill and i try to go together when it’s convenient. that’s the only time any actual shopping gets done; if i go myself i just wander in circles fondling the food. ADD, what?
rache! If you didn’t indulge in that “herbal relaxant” before you went shopping, that might not happen.
Good luck there fighter pilot. Hopefully your creativity will not be hampered, and the grocery shopping will still give you ideas!!
Ok ‘pops’, you even commented on it and didn’t pay attention? I see how it is.
DON’T LET THEM TOUCH THE CREATIVITY! DON’T LET THEM!
Feel free to explore your therapy adventures with me any day. I am a big proponant of therapy. I mean, we are not born with many of the skills we need to cope with the situations our complicated lives toss at us every day. I mean, I try to fix my sink. It doesn’t work. I try again to fix my sink. If I can’t fix my sink, I will hire a professional plumber to do it – or I will take a course on how to. That is my theory on therapy.
I do think that many people can figure out how to cope in a healthy way. Unfortunately, most people just DEAL – which is not really coping and usually does not work very well. And it is extra hard for those with actual chemical imbalances.
Good luck with all that!!