Am I overdoing it..

[Kochanie]

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So I went from a terrible student (only learned from lectures/never on my own) to a decent student (scoring higher than averages) and finally found out I have ADD.

But this quarter is easy for me. 1 lab, 1 Biology course, 1 Religion course, and 1 Spanish course.

Next quarter I am planning 5 courses instead of the usual full-time 3-4:
Calculus-based Physics
Multivariable Calculus
Biochemistry (First quarter Organic required)
A Biology Lab
Spanish (last required, WOO!)
Classics (class does not meet, self-paced, memorizing medical definitions).

Am I screwed?

Also, Biochemistry... Everyone I talked to told me it is purely memorization and unlike the Biology I am taking now (conceptual), but does it require a good knowledge of Orgo?


I'm nervous because I did terrible in Organic 1 (1/3), but I am confident-ish in my knowledge of the first quarter material, just waited to long to learn it...

 

[midnight0il]

Are you taking meds for the ADD or otherwise learning to work around it?

 

[kyamh]

Are you asking about your schedule? It's fine. Mental health? Wrong forum...

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

Lol, it's hard for me to study by myself so I must have ADD. Time to take some drugs.

 

[Ashley1989]

Lol, it's hard for me to study by myself so I must have ADD. Time to take some drugs.

And I'm sure that you know more about the OP from one paragraph than their doctor who diagnosed them, right? Smh

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

And I'm sure that you know more about the OP from one paragraph than their doctor who diagnosed them, right? Smh

Just because someone with a MD next to their name prescribed some type of drug doesn't mean its necessary. Its hard for me to concentrate in lecture and i get distracted and go on facebook and twitter while studying. Does that mean I have ADD? I could go get an Adderall prescription easily within a week. Hell, I could go to California and tell the doctor my back hurts and get prescribed medical marijuana. Does that I need to take it because a doctor prescribed it to me? Does that mean I have an actual problem?

Open your eyes. A majority of college students"diagnosed" with ADD do not need to take amphetamines like adderall. ADD is a mental health disorder. Just because you can't concentrate while studying or your doing bad in your classes doesn't mean you have ADD. It's called being normal. Why would you want to fill your body unnecessarily everyday with a drug similar to meth? Legality doesn't mean anything. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's bad for you and just because something is legal doesn't mean its good. It's OP's body and he/she can do what she wants, but I'm just saying this only treats the issue rather than curing it. Overtime the problem will get worse without the drug, and there are health and mental hazards involved . No one 30 years ago took this stuff but suddenly its now a common thing? lol, don't shake your head at me .

 

[Ashley1989]

Just because someone with a MD next to their name prescribed some type of drug doesn't mean its necessary. Its hard for me to concentrate in lecture and i get distracted and go on facebook and twitter while studying. Does that mean I have ADD? I could go get an Adderall prescription easily within a week. Hell, I could go to California and tell the doctor my back hurts and get prescribed medical marijuana. Does that I need to take it because a doctor prescribed it to me? Does that mean I have an actual problem?

Open your eyes. A majority of college students"diagnosed" with ADD do not need to take amphetamines like adderall. ADD is a mental health disorder. Just because you can't concentrate while studying or your doing bad in your classes doesn't mean you have ADD. It's called being normal. Why would you want to fill your body unnecessarily everyday with a drug similar to meth? Legality doesn't mean anything. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's bad for you and just because something is legal doesn't mean its good. It's OP's body and he/she can do what she wants, but I'm just saying this only treats the issue rather than curing it. Overtime the problem will get worse without the drug, and there are health and mental hazards involved . No one 30 years ago took this stuff but suddenly its now a common thing? lol, don't shake your head at me .

Clearly you know nothing about ADHD aside from some unqualified bootleg theories if you seriously think it's just "having a hard time concentrating in lecture"

 

[midnight0il]

This is not the thread to be debating this.

 

[Kochanie]

I'm just wondering if it's doable. No, no drugs and I have kind of worked around it, but my light schedule might be the reason I'm doing better so I'm a bit worried.

 

[Kochanie]

Just because someone with a MD next to their name prescribed some type of drug doesn't mean its necessary. Its hard for me to concentrate in lecture and i get distracted and go on facebook and twitter while studying. Does that mean I have ADD? I could go get an Adderall prescription easily within a week. Hell, I could go to California and tell the doctor my back hurts and get prescribed medical marijuana. Does that I need to take it because a doctor prescribed it to me? Does that mean I have an actual problem?

Open your eyes. A majority of college students"diagnosed" with ADD do not need to take amphetamines like adderall. ADD is a mental health disorder. Just because you can't concentrate while studying or your doing bad in your classes doesn't mean you have ADD. It's called being normal. Why would you want to fill your body unnecessarily everyday with a drug similar to meth? Legality doesn't mean anything. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's bad for you and just because something is legal doesn't mean its good. It's OP's body and he/she can do what she wants, but I'm just saying this only treats the issue rather than curing it. Overtime the problem will get worse without the drug, and there are health and mental hazards involved . No one 30 years ago took this stuff but suddenly its now a common thing? lol, don't shake your head at me .

The difference is I procrastinate by staring at a book or taking five hours to do something that takes two. I don't Facebook and I hardly go out of my dorm on weekdays.

 

[midnight0il]

I'm just wondering if it's doable. No, no drugs and I have kind of worked around it, but my light schedule might be the reason I'm doing better so I'm a bit worried.

Your schedule is doable as long as you have your health issues in check. A heavy course load can exacerbate mental health conditions.

 

[Kochanie]

How necessary is Organic for Biochemistry?

 

[Ashley1989]

So I went from a terrible student (only learned from lectures/never on my own) to a decent student (scoring higher than averages) and finally found out I have ADD.

But this quarter is easy for me. 1 lab, 1 Biology course, 1 Religion course, and 1 Spanish course.

Next quarter I am planning 5 courses instead of the usual full-time 3-4:
Calculus-based Physics
Multivariable Calculus
Biochemistry (First quarter Organic required)
A Biology Lab
Spanish (last required, WOO!)
Classics (class does not meet, self-paced, memorizing medical definitions).

Am I screwed?

Also, Biochemistry... Everyone I talked to told me it is purely memorization and unlike the Biology I am taking now (conceptual), but does it require a good knowledge of Orgo?


I'm nervous because I did terrible in Organic 1 (1/3), but I am confident-ish in my knowledge of the first quarter material, just waited to long to learn it...

OP, if you have an option to lighten up the credit load a bit you might want to consider it. Since you have a history of not doing well in certain classes (even though you've improved a lot, which is awesome by the way) and because you have been diagnosed with ADD, and admit to struggling with studying due to your ADD I wouldn't risk it. Your GPA is top priority. In the meantime maybe you can explore more ways to study efficiently and cope with your ADD.


I myself have ADD and was diagnosed when I was little. I've taken many medications and I went off them completely last year because they were negatively affecting me due to another condition that I was diagnosed with. If you want to try medicine I would avoid Adderall XL for sure, maybe try a light dosage with a light quarter unit load and see how it goes. Talk to your doctor, if you have been diagnosed, medicine is not always bad.

I repeat: if you have been DIAGNOSED then if you decide to take medicine for it then it might be able to help you. It is NOT always bad. I know you say you have found other alternatives, but I just wanted to suggest that a dr may be able to prescribe something to help you. It didn't work for me, but maybe it can help you.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

Clearly you know nothing about ADHD aside from some unqualified bootleg theories if you seriously think it's just "having a hard time concentrating in lecture"

adhd and add are different...clearly you know nothing. Also, bootleg theories? lol, do you know what bootleg means?

to kochanie, if you're not taking any drugs for your ADD, then I applaud you. Try to form health habits and not artificial substitutes.

 

[Ashley1989]

adhd and add are different...clearly you know nothing. Also, bootleg theories? lol, do you know what bootleg means?

to kochanie, if you're not taking any drugs for your ADD, then I applaud you. Try to form health habits and not artificial substitutes.

I like the word bootleg 🙂

And you're an absolute numbskull. "ADD" actually is ADHD-Inattentive type. What YOURE referring to is ADHD-Hyperactivity. Many people call it simply "ADD" instead of saying "ADHD-Inattentive" so actually no, they are not "different" in the way that you're trying to say, as they are both ADHD. As I was saying, you are clearly unqualified to have such strong opinions about ADHD and medications to help it when you don't even understand/know the most basic terminology.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

I like the word bootleg 🙂

And you're an absolute numskull. ADD actually is a form of ADHD-Inattentive type

It doesn't mean ADHD is always ADD when you refereed to it previously. A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not always a square. ADD or whatever you call it does have to do with lack of concentration, procrastination, etc. Most ADHD has to do with hyperactivity.

All I'm telling OP is don't take add meds. They attempt to treat a problem and they don't cure it. They also come with live long side effects.

 

[Ashley1989]

It doesn't mean ADHD is always ADD when you refereed to it previously. A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not always a square. ADD or whatever you call it does have to do with lack of concentration, procrastination, etc. Most ADHD has to do with hyperactivity.

All I'm telling OP is don't take add meds. They attempt to treat a problem and they don't cure it. They also come with live long side effects.

"Most ADHD has to do with hyperactivity"

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Here, let me help you:
http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/types-of-adhd

You can have your opinion about the medication, but please put forth the effort and research it first before advising someone for or against that has such a big impact on their life. Let's just advise the OP from personal experience or just on their schedule.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

I'm not denying ADHD exists...reread my 2nd post I made and get rid of the bias you have from being prescribed medication for ADD since you have been young. Also, take a look at this article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/17/adderall-charts_n_4459341.html

How necessary is Organic for Biochemistry?

And for Biochem you should have to reactions and main idea of organic chem down. nothing in detail. You'll be fine. However, you should still brush up for the mcat later.

 

[Goro]

Only you can answer your question. Knowing one's limits and being self-aware are important characteristics of successful medical school candidates.

I'm just wondering if it's doable. No, no drugs and I have kind of worked around it, but my light schedule might be the reason I'm doing better so I'm a bit worried.

 

[Mad Jack]

Here, let me help you:
http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/types-of-adhd

You can have your opinion about the medication, but please put forth the effort and research it first before advising someone for or against that has such a big impact on their life. Let's just advise the OP from personal experience or just on their schedule.

ADD and ADHD used to be separate diagnosis. They were merged a few years back, which, as a person who suffers from what was purely classified as ADD, I have never agreed with. There is a lot of pushing to consolidate various illnesses into spectrums of disease in psych lately, which is great for billing and coding but a rather poor strategy in a world where mental illness is such an individual experience. Broader classifications result in people with severe disease lumped into same groups as those with minor disease or completely different symptoms, as with high functioning autism, low functioning autism, and Asperger's syndrome, which was recently reclassified as autism. My ADD had one and only one major symptom in common with ADHD, inattentiveness. The renaming of ADD to ADHD-inattentive this feels like a very inappropriate reclassification for a melancholy, low energy person like myself.

When dealing with psych, always understand that it is not yet an exact science, that diagnosis consolidation or reclassification can occur for reasons as strange as additional research funding or billing or political pressure, and that the words we use to describe mental illness are just abstractions that are constantly changing with the times. Unlike, say, cancer, where the illness is a fairly well understood physical process, mental illness is far more up for debate due to the very subjective and inexact nature of diagnoses that exists today.

 

[Microglia]

Just because someone with a MD next to their name prescribed some type of drug doesn't mean its necessary. Its hard for me to concentrate in lecture and i get distracted and go on facebook and twitter while studying. Does that mean I have ADD? I could go get an Adderall prescription easily within a week. Hell, I could go to California and tell the doctor my back hurts and get prescribed medical marijuana. Does that I need to take it because a doctor prescribed it to me? Does that mean I have an actual problem?

Open your eyes. A majority of college students"diagnosed" with ADD do not need to take amphetamines like adderall. ADD is a mental health disorder. Just because you can't concentrate while studying or your doing bad in your classes doesn't mean you have ADD. It's called being normal. Why would you want to fill your body unnecessarily everyday with a drug similar to meth? Legality doesn't mean anything. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's bad for you and just because something is legal doesn't mean its good. It's OP's body and he/she can do what she wants, but I'm just saying this only treats the issue rather than curing it. Overtime the problem will get worse without the drug, and there are health and mental hazards involved . No one 30 years ago took this stuff but suddenly its now a common thing? lol, don't shake your head at me .

There is a rather large stigma against mental illness. Don't be one of those people that perpetuates it. Are ADD medications overprescribed? Yes. Does that mean every time someone says they have it you can judge them? Absolutely not, they deserve your respect.

OP, only you know whether you can handle it, but we'll be cheering you on.

 

[Ashley1989]

ADD and ADHD used to be separate diagnosis. They were merged a few years back, which, as a person who suffers from what was purely classified as ADD, I have never agreed with. There is a lot of pushing to consolidate various illnesses into spectrums of disease in psych lately, which I is great for billing and coding but a rather poor strategy in a world where mental illness is such an individual experience. Broader classifications result in people with severe disease lumped into same groups as those with minor disease or completely different symptoms, as with high functioning autism, low functioning autism, and Asperger's syndrome, which was recently reclassified as autism. My ADD had one and only one major symptom in common with ADHD, inattentiveness. The renaming of ADD to ADHD-inattentive this feels like a very inappropriate reclassification for a melancholy, low energy person like myself.

When dealing with psych, always understand that it is not yet an exact science, that diagnosis consolidation or reclassification can occur for reasons as strange as additional research funding or billing or political pressure, and that the words we use to describe mental illness are just abstractions that are constantly changing with the times. Unlike, say, cancer, where the illness is a fairly well understood physical process, mental illness is far more up for debate due to the very subjective and inexact nature of diagnoses that exists today.

Thanks for the insight. I work with the office of disability services at my school so I will talk to the program director and see what she thinks about this reclassification and if it might affect how we help the students. I think that for general terms it's okay to use the "ADD" and "ADHD" terms, but if I just say "ADHD" to describe both (or even all three) types of it to someone who has such strong opinions against the medication to treat it, I get annoyed if they say I don't know what I'm talking about because I said "ADHD"

I'm sorry that you too suffer from it as well. It's difficult, but for me personally the most difficult part is the smirks and snarky remarks I get when I talk about it or God forbid when I tell people that I took Adderall for many years.

I wish the OP lots of luck.

 

[Mad Jack]

How necessary is Organic for Biochemistry?

Biochem doesn't require you to be a matter of ochem. It is an entirely separate course that combines the brute force memorization of biology or A&P with the poorly explained mechanisms presented in ochem 1 that you don't really learn the reasoning behind until ochem 2.

Your schedule is doable for some, but not for others. If you start classes and begin to slip a bit, you might be served well by an early withdrawal in a course, as one W looks way better than a bad semester.

As someone who has dealt with ADD and not used medication my whole life, I can say that it is possible to master difficult and voluminous material with ADD. It did require me to completely retrain my brain over several years. I was initially unable to read more than a page or two at a time from textbooks before my focus would wane and my retention would drop. I just kept at it, forcing myself to read and study for hour after painful hour, year after year, until I just kind of got good at it. To this day, I can't read more than a 10 page block from a textbook without needing a short break, but what I read, I retain.

Work hard to learn the limits of your mind and body as they relate to academics. One you find them, slowly do your best to expand them. Don't try to study like others, because you might always need a little break here and there to regain your focus. Just know it can be done, and have faith in your own abilities. Good luck.

 

[capit]

How necessary is Organic for Biochemistry?

Do you think you'd need a lot of extra time with the memorization? If you're confident with the ochem prerequisite material, your main consideration might be your overall course load.

Ochem helped me a lot, but I took an upper-level biochem course because the intro one was full.

 

[Mad Jack]

Thanks for the insight. I work with the office of disability services at my school so I will talk to the program director and see what she thinks about this reclassification and if it might affect how we help the students. I think that for general terms it's okay to use the "ADD" and "ADHD" terms, but if I just say "ADHD" to describe both (or even all three) types of it to someone who has such strong opinions against the medication to treat it, I get annoyed if they say I don't know what I'm talking about because I said "ADHD"

I'm sorry that you too suffer from it as well. It's difficult, but for me personally the most difficult part is the smirks and snarky remarks I get when I talk about it or God forbid when I tell people that I took Adderall for many years.

I wish the OP lots of luck.

I always kept it to myself, so for me the hardest part was always dealing with a mental health system that offered no options aside from medication. I really do believe there could be effective behavioral therapies for ADD, but the system currently favors hard treatments like medication over soft ones like therapy and behavioral modification. I had to fix myself as best I could, and to this day I still fear my disease might eventually be my downfall. I just hope my blind efforts and hard work are enough to get me by in med school.

 

[Microglia]

I always kept it to myself, so for me the hardest part was always dealing with a mental health system that offered no options aside from medication. I really do believe there could be effective behavioral therapies for ADD, but the system currently favors hard treatments like medication over soft ones like therapy and behavioral modification. I had to fix myself as best I could, and to this day I still fear my disease might eventually be my downfall. I just hope my blind efforts and hard work are enough to get me by in med school.

The lapse in psychiatry compared to other fields goes back to Freud and beyond. Many of our medications were developed by trial and error and the pathophysiology and mechanism of the drugs are largely mysterious. It's only recently starting to catch up, especially with the growing amount of MD and MD/PhD research in psychiatry, as well as neuroscience as a field entering the fray. Really a tragic past for a field, but with a very bright future.

 

[Kochanie]

Biochem doesn't require you to be a matter of ochem. It is an entirely separate course that combines the brute force memorization of biology or A&P with the poorly explained mechanisms presented in ochem 1 that you don't really learn the reasoning behind until ochem 2.

Your schedule is doable for some, but not for others. If you start classes and begin to slip a bit, you might be served well by an early withdrawal in a course, as one W looks way better than a bad semester.

As someone who has dealt with ADD and not used medication my whole life, I can say that it is possible to master difficult and voluminous material with ADD. It did require me to completely retrain my brain over several years. I was initially unable to read more than a page or two at a time from textbooks before my focus would wane and my retention would drop. I just kept at it, forcing myself to read and study for hour after painful hour, year after year, until I just kind of got good at it. To this day, I can't read more than a 10 page block from a textbook without needing a short break, but what I read, I retain.

Work hard to learn the limits of your mind and body as they relate to academics. One you find them, slowly do your best to expand them. Don't try to study like others, because you might always need a little break here and there to regain your focus. Just know it can be done, and have faith in your own abilities. Good luck.

Thank you, that is what I'm doing now. Reading little by little everyday. It just takes so much more time than other students. :/

 

[Kochanie]

Do you think you'd need a lot of extra time with the memorization? If you're confident with the ochem prerequisite material, your main consideration might be your overall course load.

Ochem helped me a lot, but I took an upper-level biochem course because the intro one was full.

I'm great at memorization. 🙂

 

[Gregor Wiesmann]

Why are you cramming so many hard classes at once? Are you pressed for time or what? We don't know you, and we don't know how many classes/credits you can manage. If YOU believe that taking on this course load will be too much, then don't risk getting the sub-par grades. I know that I wouldn't attempt that schedule, but you may be different from me.

 

[Ismet]

Moving to WAMC.

Also a reminder that SDN is not for medical advice.

 

[Bacchus]

Please keep this to WAMC. No debating of the ADHD diagnosis. No medical advice.

 

[487806]

I'll ignore all the useless posts regarding the ADD.. which frankly are off-topic and unwarranted.

So I went from a terrible student (only learned from lectures/never on my own) to a decent student (scoring higher than averages) and finally found out I have ADD.

But this quarter is easy for me. 1 lab, 1 Biology course, 1 Religion course, and 1 Spanish course.

Next quarter I am planning 5 courses instead of the usual full-time 3-4:
Calculus-based Physics
Multivariable Calculus
Biochemistry (First quarter Organic required)
A Biology Lab
Spanish (last required, WOO!)
Classics (class does not meet, self-paced, memorizing medical definitions).

Am I screwed?

Also, Biochemistry... Everyone I talked to told me it is purely memorization and unlike the Biology I am taking now (conceptual), but does it require a good knowledge of Orgo?


I'm nervous because I did terrible in Organic 1 (1/3), but I am confident-ish in my knowledge of the first quarter material, just waited to long to learn it...

Technically, you're taking 6 classes (I figure the lab and biochem are separate courses?). As I mentioned previously, physics and calculus are very doable if you're willing to put in the time and have the interest and willingness to work hard. Since you're great at memorization, biochem should be straightforward for you. I assume you're comfortable in continuing Spanish. These 4 classes are enough on your plate. If Classics is easy (not sure how memorizing medical terminology is a Classics class but whatever), then go for it. But I honestly recommend you to postpone a bio lab for later on. Or keep the bio lab and postpone classics class. Unless you're not confident in physics, you can postpone that off for later.

 

[touchpause13]

How good are you at math?
Your schedule seems very math heavy.

 

[Kochanie]

How good are you at math?
Your schedule seems very math heavy.

Pretty good.. Haven't taken too much here though. Just one class that I also tutor.