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Does anyone have ADHD and OCD?


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I just wondered if anyone else here has ADHD as well as OCD. I'm going to be trying medication for ADHD soon. I'm already on a high does of venlafaxine for the OCD. Interested to see if the medication helps but a little apprehensive about it making my OCD worse. Luckily I think you can stop the ADHD meds a lot more quickly than anti-depressants, so I'm not stuck on them if they don't work out.

Edited by Slowcoach
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I don't have a diagnosis, but do have some traits. I'd actually be interested to know if ADHD medication helps with the intrusive thoughts and getting hung up on cycles of thoughts. I once talked to a researcher who believed that people with OCD might have sensory/stimulus gating characteristics that aren't neurotypical.

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10 hours ago, BelAnna said:

I almost certainly have ADHD but I don't have a diagnosis yet. Do you find that the ADHD impacts on your OCD?

Well, I don't know as I can't really compare it to not having it. Certainly I have very intense intrusive thoughts, but I guess a lot of people with OCD do! As a combination, OCD and ADHD make it very hard to get on in life though. ADHD makes a lot of jobs very difficult (mine is inattentive subtype), and OCD knocks your confidence / desire to go for any jobs which are a bit more doable. It's a struggle

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On 28/07/2020 at 09:30, Slowcoach said:

Well, I don't know as I can't really compare it to not having it. Certainly I have very intense intrusive thoughts, but I guess a lot of people with OCD do! As a combination, OCD and ADHD make it very hard to get on in life though. ADHD makes a lot of jobs very difficult (mine is inattentive subtype), and OCD knocks your confidence / desire to go for any jobs which are a bit more doable. It's a struggle

Yeah, that makes sense. 

My life has been severely affected by difficulties with Executive Functions, which in combination with OCD meant I left University without a degree, despite achieving mostly A grades. Were you diagnosed as a child or recently? 

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I was diagnosed about a year ago or slightly longer (age 39) - I diagnosed myself first and can't remember the dates exactly now. But yeah got an official assessment too - mine is the inattentive type, so probably less easy to spot.

I went to university a couple of years later than normal so was a bit more settled and managed to stay on, although undiagnosed OCD made the last year and half really miserable and I got a lower grade and missed out on making a lot of friends and so on.

Have you looked at getting an assessment? Without medication it's helped me, I did a CBT course on the NHS. It's hard work building all the stuff into your life, needs a lot of willpower. Curious to see if the medication will help or clash with the OCD. I still find it impossible to make serious plans. My friend asked me yesterday what kind of work I was looking for, and I had no idea what to say. It changes every time I think about it!

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I havent been diagnosed but I am sure I have always had adhd. My parents always said that when i was younger I had ADHD traits and I feel like as an adult its turned into more racing thoughts and hyper/lack of concentration. I kind of feel like ocd and having extra racing thoughts can sometimes make be more anxious than usual however I dont have any experience with knowing for sure x

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If it makes life difficult for you then it might be worth looking into a diagnosis. In my case I really struggle with organisation, sleep and many jobs. Between that and OCD it's really made life hard. 

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