Tag: ADHD

woman, murder, and stuff

As a rule, I don’t link to this guy; as we have had issues in the past — not to mention other stuff —  But, this one is a big story.

Go read: Massacre: Ronald Haskell Murders Six Members of Texas Mormon Family : The Other McCain.

Now, I feel the need to write about this; because I happen to know a good deal about disabilities and such. There are some out there, that would like to place me in the same class as this guy. If you don’t believe me, check out the links above in the first line of this blog entry. Anyhow, I simply have A.D.H.D. which is basically a learning disability. It mainly affects me in the math department. It also affects my ability to concentrate and stay focused on one particular thing at a time. I have also switched medication for my condition; as much as I hate using that term, makes me sound like I have disease or something. 🙄 Anyhow, so far, so good on the medication change.

As I wrote in this posting here, sometimes bloggers, including the one linked to here; can be downright cruel. This is one of the reasons why I simply do not wish to be part of their “cool kids club.” Because if being a part of that clique means that I have to say things about people, that I really do not know; that are cruel; I want nothing to do with it. When I started my blog “Political Byline” and even back when I ran my first blog, “the populist“, I had walked away from a relationship with the “Church World”, because I had been “done dirty” by a Baptist Pastor. As a result of that, I was angry, very angry —- and I needed a diversion.

….and diverted I did for six long years. I went in, head first; tossed my Christianity in the back seat and went to war against what I thought was evil. In the process of that; I let myself go. One only need to read the archives of my second blog and you will see f-bombs galore. Same goes with my first blog too; what little you can see of it on the wayback machine.

Sometime around 2011, when I closed my second blog and for about a month left the blogging scene; I really had to sit back and take a long look at myself. What I saw — was a mess. What I did was ask the Lord for forgiveness for letting myself get to that point. After that, I made a promise to the Lord, that if I started another blog, that I would try my darndest to let people see Jesus Christ in me; and not me, the sinner, saved by grace. Have I always measured up to that? No. I have failed at it many times. If I sit here, and counted the many times, when I blew my testimony on here and on my previous blogs, I would be here all day writing this posting. All I can truly say is: Thank God for Grace. As I need it every day of my life here on earth.

All I can say about those who believe that I am in the same class as this person above, that did these murders is this here: I know that I might have said and did things in the past that might have given that sort of impression. I can assure you that I am not. Most of what I did was based upon things that others did themselves and I was reacting to it. At the time, my actions were justified, I felt. However, looking back, some of those actions were a bit of an overreaction. I guess that comes with age and maturity. It also came with a change in a medication as well.

Desipramine is the medication that I was on for A.D.H.D. It worked well; but there were side effects. Dry mouth, issues in the sex department; see Viagra, if you know what I mean. This dates back to when I was dated my ex-girlfriend. It also too, tended to make me have a bit of an attitude. I tended to be a bit of a “Hard A$$” with desipramine. Ritalin made me paranoid; more so when I was older. Desipramine was different. I was laid back; but I could be a hard butt. I did not like it at all. Which is why I changed meds with my new doctor for the ADHD.

Another thing that I noticed about this murder story is that this guy killed this family —- over a woman. This is one thing that I will never understand at all. Why would anyone want to commit a murder, over a vagina? I will never understand that one at all. I mean, having sex and the stuff that goes along with that are wonderful. I have been there and did that; and I loved it! However, when a relationship or marriage goes south; just cut your losses and move on. No woman is worth taking a life over. Breakups can hurt; I know, I’ve been there. But, murdering some woman and her family; because she decided to leave you? That makes no sense to me at all.

Yeah, I know, I rambled a little, so what? 😉 😛

 

The A.D.H.D. Chronicles: Changing Medication

As I have written on here before, I have adult A.D.H.D  and as I have also written on here before, I am now covered under Michigan’s expanded Medicaid. Today, for the first time in about 20 years; I went to see a Doctor — not just any doctor, but a MSN, PMHNP-BC kind of a Doctor. One that I talk to about my A.D.H.D. I have to go about every 6-8 weeks to see her. Fun Fact: She is one beautiful woman and really nice; and very white. Believe you me, that is a plus; especially for me.

We talked a bit. I told her about my blog and politics; and my Christianity. She thought it was great. I think she might be either a Christian and a conservative. Although, she didn’t tell me and I really did not ask her at all.

So, having wrote all that, I wanted to tell my readers, what little of you that actually do read here —– that there are going to be some changes. First off, I am going off of Desipramine 50 mgs twice a day. I am going on Wellbutrin XL and generic name for it is buPROPion 150 24 hour tablet. She is also dropping the Desipramine to 25 mgs, two pills a day for a week and then 1 pill daily for another week and then off of it for good.  I shared some issues with the Desipramine; which I do not really care to share here. So, my doctor is basically phasing out the Desipramine and going with a new medication for A.D.H.D.

What that means for me and this blog: Well, for starters, I have no idea how this medication well make me feel. So, for the next few days. I might be silent, while I adjust to the new medication and see how it makes me feel, concentrate. I don’t know how intense the concentration level will be. So, I shall be doing that touchy feely, touch and go for a few days. I might post something letting everyone know that I am still alive. My doctor wants to ease me into the new stuff. I might end up being put on something else; If I don’t like this one. We will have to see. Either way, I will keep everyone up to date on what is happening with me.

Wish me luck! 😀

 

Study: Childhood ADHD tied to obesity decades later

I can vouch for this study, I have ADHD and I am under a Doctor’s care for it and Yes, I do take medication for it. I also did have weight gain, when I started into my early teens.

The Story:

Boys who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in elementary school are more likely to grow up to be obese adults than those who don’t have the condition, a new study suggests.

Researchers surveyed two groups of 41-year-old men and found those with a history of ADHD were 19 pounds heavier than their non-ADHD counterparts, on average.

The findings are consistent with past studies that looked only at children or only at adults and linked ADHD to extra pounds, researchers said.

“There’s definitely been enough research now where it does appear there is some connection between these two disorders,” said Sherry Pagoto, who has studied ADHD and obesity at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

via Childhood ADHD tied to obesity decades later | Fox News.

I always did suspect that this was the case for my weight gain, although, I figured it was due to my family relation as my parents are both overweight and I figured I was just taking after my parents. It is interesting how ADHD might have played into all of that.  I also should mention that my ADHD is a bit better than it used to be, when I was around 19, I had a very short temper, and I did not have the patience to do anything that involved any sort concentration. Nowadays, I am able to keep my cool and finish a project that I start without any sort of problems. My temperament is a bit better as well, I have a long fuse, but I still am known to lose my cool at times.

Here as of late however, I had noticed that the littlest thing was setting me off and when it did, I felt like a pressure cook that was about to blow its top!  I recently found out why, I have high blood pressure and most likely diabetes. So, I am going to the doctor here on Wednesday and am going to let them tell me what I already know; that I am diabetic and have high blood pressure and need to start taking pills to treat it. Diet helps too, I already know that; but I much rather let modern medicine do its job. I will not do any of that alternative medicine stuff; I have seen people do that, and I happen to know that stuff is a one-way ticket to the graveyard.

There is a lesson to be learned here

I will get to that in a second, but first the story:

His mother, Nancy, collected them. She showed them off to her landscaper.

“Guns were her hobby,” said Dan Holmes, the landscaper of Nancy Lanza’s sprawling yard here on the edge of town. “She told me she liked the single-mindedness of shooting.”

Holmes said she even spoke of taking her son to the firing range to practice his aim.

As details of her son’s troubled life trickled out Saturday, the day after he gunned down 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School and his mother at their home, the portrait emerging is one of a detached killer who knew his way around a trigger and of a family that feared outsiders in the home.

Holmes said Nancy Lanza, who was divorced and had reportedly worked in finance, never invited him inside. She would pay him in the yard. The landscaper never laid eyes on Adam Lanza, a skinny, withdrawn, socially awkward 20-year-old who excelled in academics but apparently not in forming deep friendships.

“I would ring the bell on the front door, and she would come out the side and meet me,” he said. “It was a little weird. It’s stranger now thinking back on what happened.”

When she wanted to show Holmes an antique rifle, she proudly brought the gun — in its case — outside. How many guns Nancy had is not clear, though authorities say several were registered to her, including the ones used in the massacre.

Her former sister-in law, Marsha Lanza, told the Chicago Sun-Times outside her home in Crystal Lake, Ill., that Nancy Lanza wanted guns for protection. “She prepared for the worst,” Marsha Lanza told the newspaper. “I didn’t know that they [the guns] would be used on her.”

via Newtown school shooter’s mother collected guns, was loath to let people inside home – The Washington Post.

The lesson is this; if you have a mentally ill relative, do not have guns where that said person can get to them. Obviously this guy had issues and obviously he had access to the guns; and that was a problem. One thing I will say, someone posted a interesting piece about her son, and she was unsure if he had ADD or not.

Well, I can tell you from personal experience; that is not ADD or ADHD. I have ADHD and I take medication for it and I have never done anything like what she wrote at all. If I did, my Mother would have given me over to the state a long time ago. Honestly, it sounded like he had some sort of serious temper related illness, not mention being a bit rebellious. I am not expert in that area, but I can tell you that I never did any of that sort of nonsense.

ADHD is simply a learning disorder that affect different people different ways. With me, it is  Math. I can do English rather well, diagramming sentences rather well — well, I used to, when I was a kid anyhow! — but, math? I sucked at it. I could plus and minus with the best of them. But when it came time for the times tables and division, I just could not grasp that at all. Because of this, I had to quit school when I turned 18. I just could not go any further.

The ADHD runs in my family, I get it from my Father’s side of the family. Like I said, it affects different people different ways. My Dad, his brother and my cousin all cannot read very well at all. This is how the ADHD affected them. My cousin, who does have ADHD, but does not take medication for it, is just opposite of me. He does not read very well, but Math? He is excellent at it. He also, unlike me, talks a mile a minute. Yackity-yack-yack-yack. I love him to death, but man can he talk your ear off. He also tends to be a bit bossy. I do the same thing. I think that’s the ADHD, or just a personality trait of the family.

Again, it is a tragic thing that these kids and adults died in Newtown, CT. But the only person to blame in this situation, is the shooters Mom. She should have never had that kind of firepower in the house with a son in this sort of shape. It was negligence on her person and no one else’s. Also too, to all the liberals who are going to read this. The guns were legally purchased by the shooters Mother. She is the one to blame here, not the guns themselves. No amount of law could have stopped this from happening at all.  It is simple-minded to think otherwise.

Others: The Moderate Voice,The Atlantic Online, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Addicting Info, The Other McCain, Mashable!, Towleroad News #gay,Feministe and Booman Tribune (Via Memeorandum – Twice!)

 

 

On Homeschooling

I will be straight and honest with you all, because that is how I do it around here. I was homeschooled for a short period in my life. I also attended Christian Schools for a good deal of my life. I also happen to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I take medication for it. I will be very honest with you; homeschooling is not for everyone. I used the ACE curriculum and I will say emphatically that ACE Schools are not suited for Children with learning disabilities. Furthermore, I have very mixed feelings on Christian Schools; if they are staffed with qualified teachers, they can be a good experience. If not, they can be a nightmare. Believe me; I have seen both sides of that coin.

For those who wonder, the A.D.H.D. affects my ability to excel in math. I can plus and minus with the best of them. However, when it gets any tougher than that, I do the run for the calculator. I am getting better with it, as I get older; my checkbook is always balanced. However, I will not be volunteering anytime soon to be solving any sort of complex scientific problem. In other words, if NASA were relying on me to get to the moon, we would be lucky to leave the drawing room!

However, I happen to notice this article over at Salon.com about how homeschooling your children would be a horrible thing and a slap in the face to the big Government public school system. There are a few things, that stand out in this article and I will touch on a few of them. When a parent takes his child out of the public school system and decides to homeschool them, that parent is saying that the school system that he is enrolling in is a failure and that child is unable to learn in it. Which is ironic, because when my Mother withdrew me out of the Christian School that I attended to homeschool me, which was done at my request; I was saying the same very thing about the school that I was attending at the time.

Another thing that stands out in this article is the nuanced dog whistle assertion that if your child is homeschool that he will grow up to be some “right wing extremist militia” type. My friends let me be clear; that assertion is absolute hogwash. It just so happens that I only spent like 2 years in public schools. The rest of educational years were spent in various Christian Schools, and I when I turned 18 years of age and registered to vote; I voted Democratic Party up until the year 2008. Yes, I did eventually did change my political views. However, the changing of my political stance had absolutely nothing to do with my Christian Schooling or my Home Schooling; my change in political philosophy was warranted by the idiocy of what was happening in the Democratic Party in the 2007 primary. Furthermore, my departure from the status as a Democratic Party voter was the utter hapless treatment of our United States Military and its service members that served in it. There are many more reasons, but for the sake of brevity, I will just list these.

Therefore, to my fellow Conservatives, libertarians and tea party friends: do not be bothered by this article. It is simply a progressive buffoon attempting to keep the Government union-backed public sector employees employed. Perhaps it is a sign, that the progressive left is feeling the heat and fears losing the overall battle of the political discourse in this Country. This in this writer’s humble opinion would be a good thing. As the far progressive left, as far as this writer is concerned has driven this Country into a state of ruin, and on top of that, lied their way into controlling that car. It is time for change and for a new discussion — an erasing and washing of the blackboard, if you will. The progressive way of thinking and operating this Country has failed and it is time for a massive redo. The progressive left knows this and this is why articles like this one are being written.

Do not be dismayed by this, we on the right in this Country; on the righteous side of the political discussion are armed with the truth, the left only has lies and propaganda. We shall prevail and we shall be victorious. Homeschooled youth usually have higher IQ’s; excel in most subjects and go on to do many great and important things. I was not the rule; I was the exception to that rule. Just because I suffer from a learning disability, which was diagnosed long before I ever started schooling; does not mean the entire idea of a homeschooled child should be thrown out. To do this would be to take away a parents right of individual choice and that, in a Constitutional Republic is very unacceptable.

Others: American Power, Vox Popoli and The PJ Tatler