i hope everyone is starting to feel better with the imminent spring. I have not been on this site in ages as i was very depressed this winter and i lost hope in even looking for help in the forum. i was suicidal and made several attempts at ending my life. I was at a stage where my doctor was either going to put me in hospital or for me to take two weeks off from college and take clonazepam which completly sedated me and allowed my prozac to kick in and i miraculously got better. . However now im starting to feel really stupid and hopeless again. I strongly believe that i have a.d.d but my doctor denies the existence of a.d.d within adults. my doctor puts it down to the depression but i have noticed my poor attention span when i am not depressed. Im just wondering if there is anyone on this that believes they have a.d.d too?? Im am only twenty one and i have suffered full blown depression five times( five winters) i am writing this because i feel like im going to head back into my suicidal state if i dont get some form of concentration back-i have just tapered off the clonazepam and i believe my loss of concentration might have been triggered by my withdrawal. Has anyone been in this same situation??
You could very possibly have tapered off the clonazepam too quickly. When did you take your last dose and what was your tapering schedule like?
Others here will disagree with me but ADHD and SAD are symptoms of things in the system that aren't working right. I saw a naturopathic M.D. last weekend who told me that many cases of winter depression are down to hypothyroidism. I didn't know this but apparently the thyroid works twice as hard during the cold, dark days. So someone who is hypothyroid could feel OK in the summer but lousy in the winter. He even explained how light therapy helps to ease the symptoms, though he got rather technical and lost me a little there.
What is your diet like?
Has your doctor given you a thorough checkup? If not, ask him to get your thyroid, sex hormones and adrenals tested. If he won't, you can look into having these things done privately. In the meantime, diet is often a large factor in people's illnesses, physical or mental, and it is almost always a key part of the cure.
HTH. You might try reading the topics here on diagnosing SAD and Nutrition Info.
I sympathise with you, truly. But in a way these problems could be the spur you need to start putting things right. You are young and there are so many things for you to look forward to. Don't lose hope.
I was thinking along the lines of it being a possible side-effect of a medication rather than a sudden presentation of ADD. That's not to say I really know enough about ADD to be certain. Just a thought, really.
Please be very careful with tapering. It must be quite gradual. I'm no expert, tho. Are you in good communication with a doctor who can help you out?