Excuse My ADHD

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Member of Scottish Parliament Daniel Johnson is a husband, father, and former business owner.  Mr. Johnson was diagnosed with ADHD almost 6 years ago after his wife brought the subject up.  He discusses how those with inattentive type that have flown under the radar for years begin to almost hit a crisis point once the structures of being at home and in school are no longer there.  As we get older, we begin our careers and start families with all of that comes stress which brings the symptoms more to the forefront.  Our forgetfulness, being so called ‘lazy’, disorganization, among the many other symptoms.  We talk about his route to diagnosis both with his experience with his private GP and now in the NHS system.  This leads to discussion of the lack of resources and the barriers to treatment especially in the more northern sections of Scotland.  Daniel is an advocate for medication as a first step alongside the skills for managing, he has a statement he references often “pills and skills” when discussing the need for combination treatments for ADHD.  Some of the other topics we cover are the disparities in gender, lack of education on ADHD for teachers and physicians for identifying/working with ADHD, need for mental health screening in prisons, and the stigma around medication. 

Full Show Notes Available On My Website: https://www.excusemyadhd.com/episode-5/

Article in learning disabilities today: https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/2019/adhd-diagnosis-and-medication-gives-msp-daniel-johnson-a-new-lease-of-life

Link to MSP Daniel Johnson’s speech to Parliament June 5 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFEYC3IiKOE

Full debate Portrayal of ADHD Treatment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwVBMnqfbs

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Rejection, Criticism, People Pleasing, Flooding, over excitement, flash rage, deep sadness, these are all words that describe or at least start to describe Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD).  If you are reading this and you have ADHD the chances are pretty high that you also have RSD.  Were you ever told you were too dramatic, a cry baby, too whiny, quick to anger, or that it just isn’t that bad you need to get over it?  If so, you may have RSD.  Growing up I was overly sensitive, criticism is almost excruciating for me, I tend to be a people pleaser, and flooding is a pretty accurate word to describe how my emotions take over. In this episode I go further into detail as to how RSD has affected my life from a little kid, my teenage years, College, and even now.  Please listen and then come over to my social media sites or my website and tell me how you deal with your RSD.  How has it affected your life and how do you try to manage it?  What are your triggers?    

As promised in the episode here are some links to articles on RSD:

https://www.thrivetalk.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria/

https://www.additudemag.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-and-adhd/

https://chadd.org/adhd-weekly/rejection-can-more-painful-with-adhd/

https://chadd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ATTN_10_16_EmotionalRegulation.pdf

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-00785-007

Also in the amazon (affiliate links) is a book about the biological side of ADHD, a book about overcoming rejection which I am waiting to read it's in my que.  Also when all else fails I love adult coloring books and the more curse words the better.  They make my immature brain happy.

If you haven't been to Dani Donovan's Instagram check it out she has a way of perfectly explaining parts of ADHD with her graphics.

Full Show Notes Available On My Website: https://www.excusemyadhd.com/episode-4/

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Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is a symptom of ADHD that most of us have but no one really talks about.  In this episode I talk about what RSD is and how it affects us and give examples from my life and how it has affected me. The emotions come hard and fast and can feel like a landslide.

Full Show Notes Available On My Website: https://www.excusemyadhd.com/episode-4/

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 As promised this episode is all about my experience with Pharmacogenomic testing and also the rest of my diagnosis and treatment to this point.  The title pretty much says it all.  I waited, and waited, then waited some more.  I got results and waited again.  Having ADHD and going down the medication road is a crap shoot you don't know what will work what won't and what side effects you will experience.  Then you also have to know how will this affect your other issues or medications. You may as well just sign up to be a research subject and get paid for all of the different medications and doses we have to try. Guinea Pig is an accurate description, and I don't know about you but I am getting tired of being one.  So come join me as I see if I can science my way out of this wheel. 

Here is some 'light' reading for when you can't sleep...aka science:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322304011011

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2413066/

https://pharmacogeneticstesting.com/pharmacogenomic-news/does-genetic-testing-for-adhd-medication-work/

Some easier to read articles:

https://www.additudemag.com/genetic-testing-adhd-medication/

https://www.additudemag.com/harmonyx-releases-new-genetic-test-for-adhd-meds/

Full Show Notes Available On My Website: https://www.excusemyadhd.com/episode-3/ 

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In this episode I will explain a little bit about why I am doing this and why you should listen. I will also cover the what, a description of the layout and format you can expect. Enjoy!

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"When the devil is on your back you have to Shake him off" Florence and the Machine 'Shake it out'

Shake it Out is about shaking out my fears and getting on this crazy roller coaster.  I discuss what drove me to finally see a doctor and how I went about getting my diagnosis. Learning to manage my ADHD has been interesting to say the least.  Starting with medication I went from from a non-stimulant to a stimulant and with each experienced adverse side effects that I am just not willing to put up with.  This episode ends a little abruptly because I know I can't sit and listen to much more than 30 minutes so I don't want to make you either.  I touch briefly on my decision to do pharmacogenomic testing which I will go into more detail on my next episode. In the mean time check this out below about what the testing is and can do. 

Pharmacogenomic Information:

https://www.additudemag.com/genetic-testing-adhd-medication/

https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/the-pharmacogenomics-of-adhd-treatment/

 
Full Show Notes Available on my website: https://www.excusemyadhd.com/episode-2/

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In the episode 'Everything I am' I discuss my major ADHD symptoms that make me, me.  I talk about what it was like going through school with ADHD and how it affected my grades, how my college career was affected and then finally work.  There are many more symptoms and stories I have but here are the few that I discuss in this episode; impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, hyperfocus, and working memory.  I also discuss the friends my ADHD hangs out with including the learning disability dyscalculia.

Below you will find links to the two books I mentioned in this episode as well a link to the ADHD Rewired podcast.

Here is a link for more information about the learning disability DYSCALCULIA 

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyscalculia

The two video clips I mentioned are in the video's section of the resources page.

Full Show Notes available on my website: https://www.excusemyadhd.com/episode-1/ 

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