Anyone here with ADD/ADHD?
Weird question, I know. Just wondering if anyone here has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). And, if so, what effect (if any) the ADD or meds have on your DJing?
Aren’t the meds for ADHD basically speed? In which case, I can’t imagine it would be too detrimental…
I have an extreme case of ADHD and high anxiety. Then i also have slight parkinsons/the shakes. In my case im on a high dossage of adderall xr and regular adderall then also small dossage of prozac. I have not let any of these things effect something i have a passion for.
@fullenglishpint Is Dexedrine speed? If so, then yes. The only thing is if you have ADD, it makes you calm rather than hyper. It does seem to improve my mxing skills but I only take it when I have to focus. Otherwise it messes with my other meds 
@chrisw I used to take Adderall when I was living in the States (and preferred it) but my GP in the UK told me it was unlicensed here. The ADD means my choices are often strangely tangential. Hehe. Now I’m learning to rein in my impulsive tendencies and not change styles too much, it seems to work for me.
Isn’t Adderall bad for Parkinsons?
Wow, personal psych meds being discussed on an internet forum, Are there no sacred boundaries anymore. 
and yes most of your commonly perscribed ADHD/ADD meds are amphetemines, but saying that if you have add amphetemenes are going to make you calm is pretty obvious, go look at someone that occasionally does low amounts of speed, the same effect just magnified a bit…(Not trying to say anyone isn’t what their doctor says they are or anything)
yeah its not good for parkinsons. But it helps me keep myself together.
As far as I know, the ‘paradoxical’ calming effect of stimulants on ADDers is not experienced by normal people. I wouldn’t be the one to ask though, as I’ve never been normal.
Meds aside, I was more curious about the negative (or positive) impact the condition might have on DJs. As for boundaries, I don’t see it being any more controversial or taboo than a physical impairment. It’s not like I’m discussing a persistent Chlamydia infection :eek:
My son has ADD, for years I tried to treat it in various natural manners, mostly diet and staying on top of him to focus, and got okay results, but he still struggled at school. I finally gave in and switched him to Ritalin and he’s gone from a solid C student to an honor roll student.
Right…normal people get hyped up on them.
Aderall is racemic amphetamine, which means it’s a mixture of detroamphetamine and levoamphetamine salts. dextroamphetamine is speed…leveoamphetamine is the mirror-image of the same molecule that ends up a lot weaker and slower acting in humans. Dexedrine is another name for dextroamphetamine used because organic chemistry is weird and people just kinda make shit up sometimes.
Aderall XR is the same thing with different shit in the pill that affects how long the pill takes to dissolve in your stomach.
Ritalin and concerta are methylphenidate, which is a different drug.
As far as the condition goes…it’d probably be harder to practice, and you probably get bored with songs before your floor does. The meds will help those issues similar to how they help (or possibly don’t) the rest of your life.
If you’re misdiagnosed as ADD, Adderall can be a lot of fun. To normal people, it’s like mild speed that isn’t cut with carpet cleaner.
Disclaimer: drugs are bad, mmkay.
I can drink a shit load more before my hand eye coordination lowers. And the medication doesnt really affect my mixing cause i usually dont take a full dose on the night i mix.
I got some crazy ADHD, but I don’t really take my meds. They make me feel mindless, and that is a real drag when I sit down to make a track and end up organizing my desktop by icon color. Meds are for when I need to sort my music collection 
@OP: Yeah man, I feel ya. I have an awful case of attention defi…
OMG, that picture is totally on beat with the snare in this song I’m listening to.
case/point
Organise your desk by icon colour? Hehehe. Sounnds familiar. That is what I find myself doing. Getting distracted by ugly icons in my dock and scouring the Internet for new ones. Especially absorbing when there is something else, more important, to do.
It’s true. I don’t really drink but, if I do (and I’ve taken my meds), I can drink odious amounts and still remain sober. I guess the stimulant counters the depressant effect of the alcohol in some way. They cancel each other out. I like to avoid both when I’m playing out, though. Alcohol blunts my hearing whereas my ADD meds just, well, change it.
@ mostapha Great explanation. Now I understand why my doc referred to Adderall as a ‘mixed salt’.
@photojojo It’s great the meds are working for your son. I wish I had been caught earlier. My grades were OK but I have a photographic memory and got by on that. Don’t you have to be careful about the meds stunting growth, though?
I was playing at a big club in London and the doorman searched me and found my meds in my bag. They had my name on but he told me to collect them on the way out. Not cool. Worse still, when I went to collect them at the end of the evening, half of them were missing, a fact denied by the rather ‘animated’ bouncer. Shameless!
Very likely, he only takes them on school days and not over the summer. I think if had started taking them when he was eight or nine that may have been more of an issue. Since he just started taking them regular this year and just turned 16 and is the tallest person in the house I don’t think we need to worry about that a whole lot. 