Humiliation symptoms and conditions

My side effects: Humiliation and Anger.
I take the generic form of Ritalin. I started taking it in 5th grade. Then decided that I was too embarrassed to have to go to the nurse to take my meds at school and stopped. I had a C average and teachers constantly complained of my lack of attention all through my elementary, middle and high school years. My parents allowed me to choose for myself whether I wanted to be medicated or not and I thank them for that. Wanting to ready myself for college and real life I again began taking Ritalin my senior year of High School and achieved my first ever straight A report card. At that time I had a conservative doctor who seemed convinced all I wanted Ritalin for was for recreational use, she was not an ADD specialist and only prescribed it to me after insisting I try various other drugs including Prozac! Eventually she gave in and prescribed it for me since I had been diagnosed by a specialist in the past. She was not happy to help me and I was always made to feel extremely untrustworthy and insignificant by her. Needless to say once I graduated college and got a job with my own health insurance I got my own doctor and haven't had a problem with any of my doctors since her. However, the stigma of taking this drug and the shame which comes with it is something I have never been able to escape. Regardless, I have been taking it ever since my senior year of high school at the same dose. 15mg in the am and 15mg at noon. I am 31 now and the only side effects I have had is a feeling of anger anytime people who don't know what it is like to have ADD voice their "expert" opinion or insinuate that it doesn't exist. I also get frustrated with people who like to say "Oh I am so ADD" after they do something dumb. I am humiliated by these types of people and afraid to let anyone know or see me take my medicine to this day. I understand that the same treatment for every person is never the correct treatment and some people may have negative physical side effects from this drug. For this reason everyone should be treated as an individual and a diagnoses of ADD should not be handed out by anyone but a specialist over a long period of study. My teachers and doctors began taking notice of my problems in Kindergarten and I was sent to many doctors and psychologists before they finally came to a diagnosis in 5th grade. It isn't easy to walk around with your head in the clouds only hearing the random insults tossed your way in moments of painful clarity when your inattention has drawn so much attention. It is equally painful to walk around knowing that in order to perform at the level at which you are expected to you must take a drug so stigmatized that you choke on the bitter pill every time you have to lie and tell some one it is just Claritin, when you would much rather tell the world that what you are really allergic to is their intolerance and insensitivity.