Does anyone else here have ADHD?

I do, and it affects my ability to stay focused on the golf course. To avoid having my mind wander to other subjects, I always walk, so I do not have to engage in "social" conversations with my playing partners.

Don't doctors prescribe Aderol for ADHD? A couple kids in my school have it and they take that. They say it works wonders. It could help.

I do, I have been taking Aderall daily since i was in the 2nd grade so almost 10 years. Its helped me in school to focus, on the golf coruse i cant really say how much it has helped me however. And honestly i do not feel any difference for when im on or off the medication anymore. My mind does wander on the course but when im over my ball or thinking about a shot im able to stay focused on what im trying to do there.

I do, and I no longer take my medication for it ( I couldn't stand the way it made me feel, I was certainly more productive, but felt like a zombie).

I definitely feel like it affects my golf game. I know the times when I can concentrate I play very well. Other times when my mind is going 100 mph my game certainly struggles. The good news is, golf, unlike other sports or requires my concentration a few moments at a time, so if I can really force myself to concentrate I am ok. It helps me to have a cup of coffee before I tee off as well.

Some other remedies I employ is supplementing my diet with fish oil which can help ease the symptoms of ADHD. And 200mgs/daily of Phosphatidylserine (PS), may help improve your golf game, because phosphatidylserine may help dampen stress hormones, allowing you to concentrate better.

*tees up ready to go*

O LOOK A KITTY



jk It was real bad when i was little, i wanna say i dont have it anymore cause i dont wander like i used to and i dont get all hyper anymore, but they tell me you dont grow out of it? i dunno

altho i do have a mild case of turrets, more like ticks

I dont scream or anything lol

I just shrug my arm alot and sometimes blink alot lol, they say its nervousness

but im not shy at all, and i do it all the time even when im not nervous, so i dont even know lol

the human brain is confusing as all hell

I Have ADHD too... But I really don't think that it really affect my play.... If it does it would be that I tend to go crazy and totally forget about my course management...

Thanks for the posts. I am not taking any medications, and I am one of those who refuses to take anything because I do not like medicine. When I was diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure that can lead to blackouts), the doctor prescribed a medicine and I took it for two weeks, and then stopped. My blood pressure was 145-150 over 90, whereas my normal reading is 110 over 75. I felt weird and did not like it. When the month was up, my wife said it was time to get a refill. When I responded that I still had half a bottle left, she became quite ticked off, and called the doctor and made an appointment for the two of us!!

When we got there, my doctor said that he agreed with what I did!! And he told me to keep monitoring my pressure and if it stayed normal, to not take the medicine again. My wife was really ticked off that he agreed with me. I have been fine now for the last 3 years, and have had no blackout spells. In 2005, I had 5 of them, 4 in one month that necessitated staying in the hospital for 3 days of tests to make sure I did not have strokes, heart atacks or seizures.

My ADHD must be a mild case, compared to other people that I have read about. Therefore, I have not talked to my doctor about it, and he is not aware that I have it. My wife knows, and reminds me about it fairly frequently. She likes to "play doctor" with me.

By the way, the late Payne Stewart was diagnosed with ADHD later in his career, when his caddy, Mike Hicks, told him that he had a bad tendency to let his mind wander, except when he played in the US Open. That is why he had the best record of any player in that Major in the 1990's, including two wins (1991 and of course, 1999, and two seconds---1993 and 1998, losing both to Lee Janzen). I believe that it was on "Golf Talk Live" where he discussed it with Peter Kessler.

I am not recommending that everyone do what I did. For me, it was the right thing. I had to feel "different", and that medicine did that to me, and I could not stand it.

I am not sure but I might have A...

You may just be ADD?. Actually when involved many ADD and a few ADHD individuals concentrate at an extreme level. In any situation where they are not completely involved, bored etc forget it. For example many ADD individuals will excel in one or two subjects in school and flunk everything else. ADD and ADHD individuals tend to be a bit more creative and score well in pattern recognition tests, often a sign of intuitive thinking styles. There are a couple of newer medications that are not stimulants for those opposed to stimulants. An extra cup of coffee, etc can even help a little for those with mild symptoms.

Good post, and you are right about coffee. I actually hate the taste of it, but drink it for the caffeine "kick". In high school and college, I trained myself to concentrate and did very well in all courses, and was high school valedictorian. In college, I struggled at first, because I would not discipline myself to do the tremendous amount of reading that was required (my major was government or "political science" as most schools call it). We did not have minors, but I took many, many courses in economics, and enjoyed the math part of both macro and micro. Even though my blood pressure is on the low side--sometimes 100 over 65, but normally 115-120 over 75-80, my metabolism makes me hyper. I talk fast; walk fast; try to do too much, and try to think way ahead of anyone even in casual, social conversations. Without any medicine, I have trained myself to s--l----o---w down, and let other people talk. I have tested as a Type A personality and like to run things and be in charge. That is why I own my own golf business, which is part-time. I like to make all decisions--finance, planning, selling advertising, etc. In my golf magazine, I am the main writer, and I enjoy doing that. So, I guess that I do have a mild case of ADHD and can function well in society and at home (although my wife will contest that---when I keep on talking, she asks me to leave the room, or better yet, leave the house)!!

thats amazing that you taught yourself to concentrate, how'd you do it?

I cannot concentrate for the life of me, but i dont have ADD or ADHD. In fact im suppose to be finishing my homework right now.

thats amazing that you taught yourself to concentrate, how'd you do it?
I cannot concentrate for the life of me, but i dont have ADD or ADHD. In fact im suppose to be finishing my homework right now.

It occurred over time. I would start reading a chapter in my history book on the Civil War, and the next thing that I knew, I was thinking about my golf game or the next basketball game. That ticked me off, so I would apply SQRR---survery, question, read, and review. In this way, I had an idea of what the chaper was about. Then, I would ask my self questions--eg. why did Lincoln have trouble finding the right General until he appointed Grant? Was Lincoln in favor of freeing all slaves or only those in Southern states? Did Lincoln believe that blacks were inferior to whites?

I never had a problem with math because you have to stay focused in that subject. On the golf course, I always walk, and usually away from the players in my group. I will think of other subjects until I approach my ball, and then I am "in the zone".

Its always interested me this. here in the Uk it seems nowhere near as frequent that people are diagnosed with ADHD. And prescribing of these medications, ritalin or whatever it is that is prescribed now, is much less frequent. How can there be so much more of this condition in the US?? Or are people being misdiagnosed? It really worries me that kids are put on Amphetamines for life, particularly when their bodies are developing.

Im on a medication for depresion-been on it for 7 years and dont know how the hell Im gonna get off it. Although its helped me, I do wish Id exhausted all other options such as therapies etc before I went on it.

As for taking a medication to help golf-thats stupid!!!! Unless you are a pro.

Thanks for the post, the observations, and the information on the UK. Our parish priest here in Ilion, New York, is Anthony Barratt, who is from London. I work with a fellow who was born and grew up in the cockney section of London, near the Thames. Finally, when I went to college at Harvard, one of my friends was an older fellow (about 55 years old!) who had come back to finish up earning his BA! I have enjoyed talking with all three about life in the UK. Here are some of my conclusions: 1. Our pace of life here is more hectic and fast paced than in the UK. We have "road rage" where people are in such a hurry that they cut people off, tailgate, get speeding tickets, etc. It has become a real problem, and not just in large, urban centers. 2. Americans are "hooked" on taking medicines. Some people take pills for every ailment. Our Villlage has only 8,000 people but we have four pharmacies, or drug stores! Some old-timers, like me, do without medicine, but many others are always looking for some new pill to help them. Are people in the UK like us in these two respects?

See, I really HATE ADD/ADHD it's such a "catch all" type of diagnosis.

***** Please give me a second! Don't get mad at me and let me explain why I say this *****

TRUE ADD/ADHD is caused by a chemical imbalance that effects regions in the brain that causes the sufferer an inability to place a higerarchy in the importance of tasks that need to be accomplished. This manifests itself in several ways, more commonly it causes the sufferer to outwardly appear to not be able to "pay attention" to the task at hand, when in reality they are "hyper attentive" to all of the other tasks that they need to and can not prioritize and seemingly bounce from task to task to task.

TRUE ADD/ADHD also manifests itself in another common way, most sufferers of ADD/ADHD are very disorganized, sometimes bordering on slovenly, in their personal lives (unkempt living quarters, a lack of true organizational skills, etc.).

(That 6 year-old in the corner of the classroom who is bouning off the walls and can't sit still to get his work done - probably NOT an ADD/ADHD sufferer, he's 6 and you are trying to make him sit still doing something that isn't challenging or interesting to him ... )

Because of the complexity in diagnosis of TRUE ADD/ADHD the State of New Hampshire has mandated that any child who has been diagnosed with the disease by an M.D. MUST, MUST have a confirming diagnosis by a Psy, D. in order to get help in the school systems (a.k.a. an Individual Educational Program - I.E.P.); because, according to the Board in NH, MDs are illequipt to make the call on this diagnosis.

****** To those of you who truely have ADD/ADHD ***** I understand that it makes life very difficult , and I agree that it's a real disease . I am not talking about people who truely suffer from it.

My biggest beef is with the Doctors who openly say,"ADD/ADHD" without a proper diagnosis/medical/psycholgical workup and then just throw drugs/medicine at it ...

Ooops, looks like I got off on a tangent ... *picking up soap box* sorry fellas ... as you were.

I do have a background in this area. I just chose to make some common sense explanation and suggestions rather than polarize the issue. Actually research has not been able to establish that ADD/ ADHD is caused by a chemical imbalance. The same neuro transmitters which are factors in everything from simple depression to major psychiatric illness such as bi-polar, ocd, schizophrena etc may play a role? However it seems more likely that specific areas of the brain are not functioning properly in ADD / ADHD. It appears this is from incomplete development or undiscovered causes. Medication is undoubtedly over prescribed, but that is most likely because responses to mild cases such as coaches who teach behavioral responses and other non medication responses are actually more expensive. In a world where both parents are often at work and with todays children often in daycare or understaffed schools, medication becomes the easy answer. Your description of the functioning of ADD ADHD is I feel inaccurate. There is a very clear issue of impulse control that has very little to do with Hierachy in these individuals, an inablilty to postpone reactions to stimuli of many different types. This could be described in your manner, but the truth is many ADD / ADHD individuals teach themselves to be very organized as a defense. This effort, can place the persons under considerable strain, as can any act of willpower. Trying to shed weight for example. The frustration and stress can have many undesirable outcomes, depression for example.

Why yes I, Uh..........What was that you asked?

I'll give you that, at the time that I was "educated" in this area it was the popular theory under evaluation ... this was a few years ago, and science is an ever changing area.

That's just the problem though ... some of these medicines tend to create more problems than they fix (weight gain, for example, is a common side effect and could destory a child's self esteem forever - leading to even more, possibly more serious, issues in the future) ... the "let's throw drugs at the problem and hope that it fixes it" approach is, borderline, irresponsible, especially when children (and adults for that matter) are unnecessarily medicated, when a simple change in their environment may help alleviate many symptoms.

Not so much as a "defense" but rather in an aspect to give themselves the feeling that they are in controll of something that they feel that they have very little, if any, controll over. And I agree with you on this point, but what I was saying is that a child just can't be looked at in one particular setting and be diagnosed as "ADD/ADHD" I feel that to have a true diagnosis the symptoms have to be present in all aspects of a child's life. A child who can't focus in a classroom, but has no problems in other areas of "daily routine" CAN NOT be classified as having this disorder, the symptoms can not be present in only one setting, rather must manifest in many, if not all, areas of the child's life for a proper diagnosis.

Agreed! And, at points, borders on OCD behavior.