I am 58, and attention deficit has always been a part of my life....

I am 58, and attention deficit has always been a part of my life. I am the space cadet type, ADD but not ADHD. I discovered it had a name when I was 45. Adderall is something I take to keep myself on track and actually get things done. Before Adderall I self medicated with lots of sugar, caffeine and occasionally pseudofed when I needed to focus. What I wanted to add to this discussion is this: those with ADD have a different response to stimulants than those without it. When I was in college, some of us scored some funny white powder ( yes, the Real Thing (grin)) to try out. I found everyone else running around talking nonstop, eating like crazy and prancing around the room. I was filled with an immense inner calm, and finally went outside for some peace and quiet. It was the first time I felt clear headed and connected to the flow of time around me. The good news was I was a student, without a job or money, and with ADD, so I never got around to repeating the experiment or I could easily have become addicted to the stuff. The moral here is to remember different folks have different responses to the same drugs. My personal opinion is that if stimulants make you feel agitated, you probably don't have ADD. If you drink 6 cups of coffee and four colas then sleep like a baby, you might consider getting checked out.