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Might I have ADHD?

F

Fox5

Diamond Member
Hey all,

So ever since about Middle School, I've always had extreme trouble getting work done. Prior to Middle School, I was basically perfect in getting everything done (and then some) well before anything was ever due. Around Middle School, I both started to get fat, and found that I couldn't get work done until I was so tired that despite being sleep deprived, I could muster sufficient concentration on it. Prior to that point, I'd be incredibly indecisive as well as unable to concentrate. I still managed to be basically an A student all throughout high school, but the amount of sleep deprivation I needed to get work done increased, where I'd regularly get less than 4 hours of sleep a night.
Additionally, to lose weight to the point where I was a normal weight for my height, I had a diet consisting of basically a bagel in the morning, peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and a 4 ounce steak for dinner. On top of that, I put in about 4 hours of exercise a day, including running cross country.

I'm now in my senior year of college, and things have gotten much worse. To maintain my (much higher) weight, I typically eat less than 800 calories a day (not healthy food though, just not a lot of food) and exercise an hour to 2 daily (gym or running, sometimes both).

On the getting things done side, it's progressed to the point where I often get less than 2 hours of sleep (the bare minimum I've found I need to function), and will occasionally go a day or two without sleeping.

I've been regularly described by my friends and even those who don't know me as well as being ADHD like, as I have trouble following along with conversations and well often wander off or start fiddling with things in the middle of them. At my last job, I was told that my recommendation had described me as "An ADHD kid, who will often take interest in very little, but work harder than anyone on things that are interesting." I typically start lots of little projects and rarely finish any.

Now, from a personal stance, I was raised not to think ADHD is real, and that children are just misbehaved. My parents trained me to be quiet when in public (so much so that I didn't start initiating conversations until the end of high school), and as a child I frequently recall sitting quietly in a room, counting the dots on the wall or making up conversations and interactions of people in my mind.
However, from reading I did on the subject, while there doesn't appear to be any consensus on the 'cause' of ADHD (and the ADHD seems almost laughed at outside of the US), there seems to be a connection between of an excess of sugar in the body and ADHD. Apparently a significant number of people diagnosed with ADHD have a metabolism disorder that is prone to storing fat and releasing excess amounts of sugar into the brain upon activity, causing the brain to become overactive. People with this metabolism disorder tend to have trouble losing weight. This can apparently be combated with:
A. An extremely strict diet and exercise (no fats, no sugars, many small meals throughout the day, high protein)
B. The drugs used to treat ADHD apparently cause the metabolism to store less fat and produce less sugar. Detrimental to those without a metabolism disorder (and a strong reason many psychiatrists frown on giving the medicines to kids going through puberty, a time when bodies typically store fat and produce sugar), but corrective to those with a disorder. Makes sense, adderall started as a diet drug, right?

While I would like to just be like "Ok, well I'll try harder and get things done on time," my procrastination and indecisiveness has grown to a point where it's extremely detrimental to my life.
 
I find that working out helps my focus. I'm diagnosed ADD, but not ADHD (only one like that I've met), but refuse to be medicated.
 
Dude, go to a doctor.

Go to a doctor, tell them what you told us. Track your caloric intake, your exercise, and your weight for a month. Go back to the doctor and show him only the truth. Don't delete food entries because they were too unhealthy or too calorie heavy.

Your doctor, or possibly a nutritionist, can help you find a balance.
 
1. Go see a doctor to get a diagnosis for ADHD.
2. If you are a normally sized person (or even overweight, as you seem to imply) who exercises several hours a day, there is no way you are consistently eating only 800 calories per day. You'd be dropping weight like crazy, have no energy and basically be starving. No disease could change that.
 
Well, the 800 calories a day was a guesstimate. It's not unusual for me to eat a single (size small) fast food meal a day, or even half a box of granola bars.
I've always been way above weight of my friends who eat the same amount as me, and eat way less than those the same weight as me. I typically do eat more than that when I'm exercising often though. I'm currently 5'9", between 180-190 lbs, and on the verge of getting a double chin. When I was running cross country, I was at least 20 pounds over the next guy of my height, putting in the same mileage and eating habits. I ate more on season than off, and always gained at least 10 pounds by the end of the season, which I'd have to go on a heavy diet to burn off. Losing weight has never been easy for me (compared to most runners who seem to be twigs), though gaining muscle is very easy. While hitting the gym regularly, I can build up lots of muscle while maintaining weight, but I can never seem to slim down.
 
You think that you eat less calories than your friends.

A small McDonald's meal might be 800 calories by itself. Half a box of granola bars could be anywhere from 500 to 800 calories. You are saying that is all that you eat in a day? I find that extremely hard to believe. Start using a calorie counter and log every ... single ... thing you eat.

If you are eating 800 calories a day and gaining weight, you have a fucked up metabolism and should consult a doctor/nutritionist.
 
Not every day, but a couple times a week at least. Rest of the days will usually be two meals in a day. I only occasionally eat more than 2 meals in a day, and don't eat meals as large as my friends the same weight as me. (for instance, if they have a cheesesteak, I'll eat half a cheesesteak, if they have bacon and eggs for breakfast, I'll have buttered toast, if they get a large value meal I'll get a small one)
Or so it seems anyhow, I should keep a log of everything I eat to find out for sure what my calorie intake really is.
 
Originally posted by: Fox5
Not every day, but a couple times a week at least. Rest of the days will usually be two meals in a day. I only occasionally eat more than 2 meals in a day, and don't eat meals as large as my friends the same weight as me. (for instance, if they have a cheesesteak, I'll eat half a cheesesteak, if they have bacon and eggs for breakfast, I'll have buttered toast, if they get a large value meal I'll get a small one)
Or so it seems anyhow, I should keep a log of everything I eat to find out for sure what my calorie intake really is.
Click to expand...

The problem may be that your metabolism has dropped to accommodate your lack of calories. Therefore, your lack of eating has made you gain weight. If you keep your calorie count in only a slight deficit, while exercising/lifting, then you will lose the weight, I can guarantee you. You should probably fix your diet among other things before you decide that your problem is ADHD. I've noticed that people who do not exercise/eat right/etc have many "fake" problems that are agitated by lack of sleep and such. Lethargy, lack of concentration, etc are common symptoms that can come from treating your body as a trash bin.
 
Go get evaluated stat.

And, eat better. You have to take care of yourself. Life is short and you only get one chance at it.

I'm diagnosed ADD and since I got diagnosed, my life has started to get so much more even-keel, even though I was doing pretty OK to begin with. But raising a family, getting diagnosed was really important.
 
I call bullshit on 800 calories, 2 hours of workout, 2 hours of sleep and sometimes going without sleep for multiple days. Sorry. Somehow you've lost track of what you are doing and you need to open your eyes. Even if you are doing that, then I've found your problem because that sure as hell isn't healthy. I used to be like you, I failed out of college because of it, I'm now 27 and spent most of my 20s fixing all the shit I fucked up. I was also labeled ADD as a child because of a hyperactive allergic reactions to red dye 40. I also gained weigh from high school into college.

Looking back on it is much clearer then looking forward. It's funny how at the time I thought I knew everything, I thought I was working out hard, I thought I was eating low calories. But then I started really analyzing everything in my life (and it took several years) and learned that I had so many bad habits.
 
I agree with SC on the metabolism dropping due to lack of calories. Your weight/fat gain and short attention span is likely connected to your lack of sleep. I used to be a teacher (middle/elementary school) and worked with a lot of kids who were labeled as ADHD. While it's tougher to nail down exactly what's going on with a middle schooler with that label, it's usually easier to diagnose once that person is older. It sounds like you have a fair amount of evidence/symptoms. Dude, take all that info to a doctor and head this off before it becomes a real problem.
 
You're starving yourself if that calorie count's accurate. When that happens your body actually retains weight, trying to hold onto what it still has. Try to get 2000 a day for a week and see how you feel.

Also, just because you match the symptoms doesn't mean you necessarily have it. I've actually been diagnosed as borderline ADD, but that was int he height of my depression. Now that I'm out of it I have no trouble at all concentrating on anything given enough sleep/energy. No trace of ADD. The Lethargy preventing me from focusing was entirely the depression and it's secondary effects.

I'm not saying you're depressed, but definitely speak to a nutritionist and eat more.
 
Well, missed my doctor's appointment today. Along with all my classes. Fell asleep midday after pulling all-nighters all weekend trying to catch up on work. It's getting way too typical.
 
The two biggest things that helped me were (1) Sleep and (2) Diet. Going to bed before 10pm is a key thing for helping me focus. You can usually tell right away what your problems are by how much you refuse to do them, so if you're thinking "I'm not going to bed early, no way" in your head right now, well there you go 😉

Diet was a very large key for me as well. I discovered last year that I have a severe Dairy allergy and once I got off that, my focus was boosted incredibly. As I've learned how to eat better and maintain my energy, my focus has improved. It's still a struggle, but cleaning up my diet and sleeping habits have helped TREMENDOUSLY. Try it for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference for you. Again, mostly what we struggle with is our own dumb decisions not to pursue the proper course of action, so if you can give healthy eating a try plus an early bedtime, I bet you'll see some positive results. But it's really hard to make that change, so you really have to want to do it...
 
I would guess you have hypothyroidism. As a person that has hypothyroidism, I can say that you pretty much match what happened to me in college. I was tired all the time. I ate nothing and still gained weight. My concentration was absolutely horrible - despite exercising, eating healthy, and trying to sleep. My sleep schedule was totally fucked up.

At first, I was diagnosed with ADD. They gave me time-released Ritalin (Concerta 27mg) for it and they gave me some sort of sleeping pill to take every night. It helped somewhat and allowed me to get through college. After college, I swore off the Ritalin (have a career where I get interrupted all the time and the ADD doesn't hurt me too much).

But, I kept gaining weight.. and I would eat the world's healthiest breakfast, lunch, and dinner.. (I never really did gain a lot of weight.. I'd go a whole day without food to maintain if I had to.) But, finally, my doctor gave me a blood test to check my thyroid levels after I described having IBS-like symptoms. Sure enough, my levels were through the roof - meaning I went years without being treated for hypothyroidism.

After being on medication to treat hypothyroidism for about a year and a half, I can say that I have had more energy, a better sleep schedule, a clearer mind, more motivation, and a generally better outlook on life than I've had since high school (when my metabolism was awesome).
 
So for the last 10-11 days I've been eating relatively healthy. Stopped all fast food, and mainly eat whole wheat bagels (sometimes with ham, turkey, cheese, etc) and lots of fruit. I lost a few pounds the first couple days, then stopped losing weight. However, I've been feeling more and more alert and even stronger every day. It may just be an illusion, but even though I haven't been exercising or losing weight I can swear my muscles have gotten more defined. And I tried doing some pushups and was able to do even a bit more than I could when I was actively exercising about a month ago.
My sleep schedule seems to have normalized somewhat too. Rather than being unable to sleep at night and sleeping excessive amounts during the day, I've been going to bed around 9 or 10 and getting up around 4 or 5, and on the I got cut short on sleep (one day I only got 3 hours) I feel still rather alert instead of very groggy and nauseous. It's weird that until this past week, I wasn't able to recall the last time I was up early enough to eat breakfast.

And oddly enough, my life is becoming more organized. I've been making it to class not just at all, not just on time, but early. I've also found important items in my room that had been missing for a month or more that had been sitting out in plain site. Very odd to have multiple "I go over this area every day, and I've never seen that before!" moments.
 
Originally posted by: Fox5
So for the last 10-11 days I've been eating relatively healthy. Stopped all fast food, and mainly eat whole wheat bagels (sometimes with ham, turkey, cheese, etc) and lots of fruit. I lost a few pounds the first couple days, then stopped losing weight. However, I've been feeling more and more alert and even stronger every day. It may just be an illusion, but even though I haven't been exercising or losing weight I can swear my muscles have gotten more defined. And I tried doing some pushups and was able to do even a bit more than I could when I was actively exercising about a month ago.
My sleep schedule seems to have normalized somewhat too. Rather than being unable to sleep at night and sleeping excessive amounts during the day, I've been going to bed around 9 or 10 and getting up around 4 or 5, and on the I got cut short on sleep (one day I only got 3 hours) I feel still rather alert instead of very groggy and nauseous. It's weird that until this past week, I wasn't able to recall the last time I was up early enough to eat breakfast.

And oddly enough, my life is becoming more organized. I've been making it to class not just at all, not just on time, but early. I've also found important items in my room that had been missing for a month or more that had been sitting out in plain site. Very odd to have multiple "I go over this area every day, and I've never seen that before!" moments.
Click to expand...

You would be absolutely amazed at what we're discovering about how diet affects individuals. Cutting sugars and processed foods out of people's diets often leaves them feeling more alert, more "in control," more focused, and less depressed.

Congratulations!
 
I guess I should try eating better as well. I've been the same kid from the OP my entire life, and its effects have plagued me throughout my academic and professional life. It's always been very difficult to deal with, frustrating to those who care about me, but I feel powerless to change without mind-altering prescriptions. Hopefully something as simple as eating better can make a difference, exercise has helped to a degree.
 
Most models of ADHD link its underlying cause to various difficulties and dysfunctions in the prefrontal cortex, largely dealing with delayed internalization of self-directed speech as a child, inability or reduced ability to delay gratification and inhibit immediate responses in an effort to better meet long-term goals, and a few other areas. This is the reason ADHD symptoms nearly always begin in early childhood.

I've never heard the sugar metabolism hypothesis, although honestly, it sounds to be of the same vein as "research" linking refined sugars and/or dyes and onset of autism or ADHD.

I agree with interchange that your best bet would first be to get a physical. With the age of onset of your symptoms, and the difficulties you're encountering (lack of sleep in particular), it sounds like the issue might be more nutrient/hormone/physiology-based than neurophysiologically-based.

Beyond that, just a little general info on ADHD--while the term for the condition has changed multiple times, the condition itself has been known about for nearly 100 years. Its existence and key symptoms have been consistently found in most industrialized countries (to the best of my knowledge), but the presentation is one that can often be mistaken for different disorders (conduct disorder and learning disorder are two big ones).
 
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