08.24.09
Update – Yaz is not working for me
For men that don’t care to read about ADHD and menstrual cycles, feel free to skip this post! For everyone else, continue here: Read the rest of this entry »
05.29.08
“Finding Your Focus”
I just finished reading Finding Your Focus by Judith Greenbaum and Geraldine Markel. The fact that it took me a month to read does say something about the book – if I’m really excited about a book, I’ll read it in 2 days, so that means this book didn’t excite me that much.
However, I think the non-excitement came from the fact that this book really tells you how you are – the way your mom does – by saying things that are sometimes hard to hear, like “People with ADD can talk constantly… not allowing anyone else to get a word in edgewise.” How many times have I heard that in my life? Though these criticisms are difficult to read sometimes, the book gives some valuable and simple advice.
At first glance, the book is super-simple and almost seems stupid in it’s short-chapter to-the-point writing style – but the genius of the book is in it’s simplicity. It’s easy to skim and get to the areas you personally need help with, it’s easy to refer back to a strategy you read and want to re-visit, and it’s easy to just get to the “meat” of the writing without sifting through a lot of filler. They just tell you “here’s your problem” and “here’s a solution”.
You really do have to read it over time (I plan to refer back to it) because, as the authors encourage, you can’t implement all of the coping strategies at once. You have to make each strategy a habit and improve in one area, making small accomplishments, like always putting your keys in the same place when you walk in the door, before you can move on and tackle your next problem.
This book does not have a lot of “fluff”. Each chapter pretty much follows this format: example of a real-life person that has a problem, defining their problem in ADD terms, what is stopping them from solving their problem, strategies for attacking the problem, and worksheets for making a plan to implement these strategies for you. I really liked that the authors mentioned some very specific problems (most that I have) and a method for solving them. Here are some of the topics that resonated with me:
- Steps to De-Cluttering and Organizing (looks like I was on the right track with my method of attacking my piles of paper)
- Overcoming Procrastination (including rewards!)
- A Routine for Paying Your Bills on Time (I just might take a twice-monthly trip to the coffee shop to pay my bills)
- Talk Less – Listen Better (Lord knows I need this advice)
I also liked that the book provides strategies that can help people deal with ADD without medication.
So, overall, I’d say this book isn’t super-exciting, but it’s a good book to have around, and to refer to when you are ready to attack a particular problem in your life. If I could summarize my opinion of “Finding Your Focus” in one word, it would be: practical.
04.30.08
Bought a Book
Well, I’m supposed to be staying up late working, and I took a “short break” and checked my email. I saw an email with a coupon for 50% off a book at audible.com, so I clicked it and ended up browsing all over audible. Then, I wanted to see if audible had any of the books in my Amazon.com wishlist, so I went to Amazon, used those titles to search audible, and didn’t find any. Then, I realized I really wanted a book at Amazon.com, but that I thought I might find it cheaper somewhere else online, so I looked on half.com. After browsing all 3 sites and looking at all of the popular books, books in my wishlist, and books that have absolutely nothing to do with anything (and reducing my available awake-time for late-night working by an hour), I settled on this book: Finding Your Focus by Judith Greenbaum and Geraldine Markel
How appropriate that I wasted an hour of time and ended up buying a book about focusing :)
Anyway, I like that the book is written by women and that it has great reviews on Amazon, so I’ll let you all know whether I like it once I receive it and have a chance to read it. Has anyone else read this book? If so, leave a comment and let us know what you thought!
01.06.08
Waist-to-Hip Ratio, Omega-3s, and ADD
Joan, over at “Chaotic Order, Living with ADD” wrote a post, which is relevant to this blog, and is excerpted below. To read the entire post, click on this link: “She Get It From Her Momma“
The University of Pittsburgh and University of California @ Santa Barbara published a study suggesting that fat stored in the hips and butt are a privileged source of nuerodevelopmental resources. The study asserts that upper body fat particularly abdominal fat has negative effects and lower body fat (hips, butt) have positive effects on long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) that are essential for brain development. They used waist to hip ratio(WHR) as a marker for how much fat is located around a woman’s waist compared to how much is around a her hips, thighs and butt. They used the WHR to predict cognitive ability in women and their children. They used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which included data on body fat, body mass index (BMI), waist & hip circumference, results of cognitive tests of adults & children, demographics such as education levels, income, age, race and etc.
They analyzed the data controlling for factors that correlate with higher intelligence and found that women with lower WHR and their kids have significantly higher cognitive test scores and teenage mothers with lower WHR and their kids are protected from cognitive decrements associated with teen births.
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Omega-3 fatty acids are the main LCPUSFA involved in brain development. Omega-3’s contain DHA and ALA and are essential fatty acids because they can not be made from the body. They have to come from food or supplements. ALA can be converted to DHA by the body. ALA mainly comes from flax seed, walnuts, olive oils etc, while DHA is primarily found in fatty fish. LCPUSFA’s make up 20% of the dry weight of the human brain. DHA is critical for fetal and infant brain development which is one of the reasons they add it to infant formula while it is found naturally in breast milk. A recent meta-analysis report estimates that a child’s IQ increases by 0.13 point for every 100mg increase in daily maternal prenatal intake of DHA. A study in England showed a positive relationship between a mother’s prenatal consumption of seafood (high in DHA) and her child’s verbal IQ.
Gluteofemoral(hips/butt) fat has higher amounts of LCPUFA’s than abdominal and visceral fat. In comparison, abdominal fat decreases the amount of a desaturase enzyme that is involved in the synthesis of important LCPUFA’s from dietary precursers. Other studies showed that 60-80% of LCPUFA’s in human breast milk come from maternal fat stores, rather than from the mother’s current dietary intake, presumably because of the rapid rate of infant brain development relative to limited dietary supplies of LCPUFA’s.
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The most important points of this study is that Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for the brain development of fetuses, infants and in adults as well and also that having excessive abdominal fat reduces the availability of those fatty acids and raise health risks in general. Low levels of Omega-3 fatty acids have been implicated in contributing to ADD, depression, anxiety disorders, aggression, hypertension and etc. So make sure that you are taking in enough omega-3’s especially if you are pregnant. Mommies, some children’s vitamins now contain DHA.
10.11.07
Women-Only Post!
Hi ladies, this post is for us.
I was wondering if any of you female readers out there notice an increase in your ADD/ADHD symptoms before you have your period, as a part of PMS. I recently had a person close to me tell me that they know when I’m about to start my period, even though I am extremely irregular, because my ADD behavior seems to change for the worse – not just moody PMS kind of symptoms, but more distractability, more impulsive talking/interrupting, etc.
I’ve had hormonal issues for a while now, and my endocrinologist suggested going on a birth control pill to regulate my cycles. I have to go on a low-estrogen one since there is estrogen-senstive breast cancer in my family. One that was recommended is Yaz, and I saw on the TV commercial for it that it is supposed to help with PMS/PMDD in general, too.
Does anyone else notice a change in ADD symptoms at that “time of the month” and have you noticed whether birth control pills work to help?
I know this is a non-medication-centered blog, but going on this medication would be for another physical problem that is somewhat serious, and the medication just may have the side-benefit of helping with ADD problems also.
Just curious! Thanks for any input in advance!
Here are some related links for women with similar issues (note, these links may not reflect my own opinion and are just for informational purporses):
Book for Women with ADD by Sari Solden
P.S. If anyone knows of any medical studies conducted on this topic, please post in the comments!
