Ode to Vitamin-R

Oh ye wonderful little tablet. Offering recovery from hangovers, compensation from poor sleep, hours of high strung work, and general cleansing of a tortured spirit that has the channel change in one's head 20 times per second.

I have never loved nor hated a medicine as much as this. It is far too easy to take, and far too easy to take too much. It can make your heart race, your body temperature always feel hot, and sweat profusely. But it can also help limit that damn remote for the channels in my head that fly faster than the Concorde jet. Where is the return line at that damn factory?

ADHD - it stands for Attention Deficient Hypera... Hey look at the chicken! I think you get the point. I first started taking it in 2000, but quit a couple of years later, not wanting to really be attached to it. But what a lovely disorder. I can't read a paragraph without re-reading it twice, or staring at the walls, or stopping to pick up my guitar, sending an email, solving world hunger... wait, what the hell was I talking about?

That's pretty much the scene of my life. I also have an enormous metabolism, which means that any med I take I either have to take a whole lot of it at once, or a bunch during the day. The beauty of this little pill is that while it DOES help, it pretty much guarantees you won't be able to go to sleep when you want to, even if you feel tired. Thank you very little, vitamin-r.

But, what would I do if I didn't have it? I'll tell you. Rather than the channel changing 20 times per second in my head, it really only goes about 3-5, and I can deal with that. Also, mood swings are real popular with ADHD. I actually think I'm a really decent guy and pretty nice, and most people in this world would say that about me as well. But of course I do have a flash temper, and it just happens faster than I can realize that I even do it. I do wish that people in this world would realize that I do feel pretty bad about it when I have one of those episodes and end up tearing into someone. They probably walk away thinking I'm an ass when that really is not me in the least.

That said, there are some great things to embrace with this disorder. My brain thinks faster than 99% of the people on the planet, and as an idea guy, that is a tremendous trait to have. Often people just as smart or smarter than I come to the same conclusions I can, but I get there far faster than others. I can also dog-cuss someone that really does piss me off faster than, well, you get the picture. But, with this disorder has come what I consider to be one of my few true talents in public speaking. Other than an incurable problem with speaking too quickly, I tend to be able to embrace the channel changing and be able to not only speak and read slides, but also to write down questions and thoughts, and all the while "reading" the people in the audience and changing the message on the fly based upon how they are reacting.

So, in all, its a big PITA with the mood swings, and some days the channel changing is unbearable making the mood swings and focus issues even WORSE. But, luckily I've got the good 'ol vitamin-r to help smooth the way, and it even helps make those few skills a bit more finely honed.

When you come to the realization that doctors are really just high paid plumbers, you remember that YOU have to dictate your care, but you should still listen to what your doctor has to say (hey, I listen to my plumber when it comes to issues that might result in backflow of sewage). The doctor I have right now is TREMENDOUS, and has really helped me get my head back on straight again with this disorder. I can't say the same about the other doc. So, if you have this disorder and haven't gotten a handle on it yet, keep with it. Find a new doc, learn new techniques, but better yet, learn to embrace the strengths that it can bring as well and use that to your advantage.