Lifelong trouble with ADD & Depression... Can Anyone help me?

I was offically diagnosed with ADD when i was 8 but my mom knew i was a bit off when i was a toddlerhaha
the meds i tried & the effects:
ritalin-total zombie, no personality, no appatie, massive mood swings(durring 2nd-6thgrade)
adarall & concerta - same as ritalin, but ate less & mental havoc! (7th&8th)
Stratterra-not a zombie, but no focous(highschool)
Focalin (by itsself & w/ stratera) - not a zombie, but no focus (college)
i dont want to be a zombie but i need to focous.

add often has a 'partner in crime' and isnt usually found alone, my adds counterpart is depression. it gets rather severe, it appeared in full force 7 years ago. im on the generic brand of an antidepressant. 3 months now, and my depression worsened, with sucidial thoughts and actions.

ive had enough of my mental issues, i want to learn how to love myself and succede in life, my add&depression is getting in the way with school & everyday life

im at my wits end.

is there any hope? any new advancements in meds?

thank you all so much for the feedback.
and as brock so curtly pointed out, i was focousing alot on medication.
which i did not mean to do. haha

i was also wondering if any one knows of any coping skills, or good habits, or !Something! that i can incorporate into my life to beat these annoying little mental quirks.

or maybe helpful things concerning school.

and contray to brocks opinion, i refuse to let this completely consume my life, and i refuse to get caught up in pity, but frustration is another thing.....

plod on ...there is no "perfect drug" for ADD or depression Also therapy can help Also a coach can help Sometimes you gotta just check yourself into a hospital for suicidal thoughts until it gets under good control
Not lecturing you and this may be absolutely redundant and/or not pertaining to you at all but:.....anyone being treated for these issues needs to make sure he is following the instructions for those disorders ,like taking meds ontime, reporting side effects to doc instead of just stopping, getting into regular sleeping hours(whatever is normal for you ANd is not unreasonable-like if one says "3 hours is all I need".. I dont think so), avoiding alcohol or street drugsetc
You may need a complete checkup to make sure the diagnosis is still the same and accurate for you. There are other diseases that can mimic ADD and or depression like bipolar disorder/schizoaffective disorder etc etc.You may have(or may NOT have) other co-existing conditions. Report report report your symptoms to the doc!!!DOnt keep it a secret. The nature of ADD is that you want it fixed NOW but it may be that it takes more time,more trial and error to find out what works for you The lack of persistence can lead you astray. It may help if the doctor/therapist/coach reminds you occasionally about keeping track of meds and activities or to give you a follow up call after a change in meds so he/she can really get a "feel" for how you are doing. And the patient has the responsibility to try to follow the treatment plan.
As far as advancements I suggest you log onto NAMI website and research it. Some of the "older" antidepressants/antipsychotics are being used more now nd getting more popular to use in some cases. Some like patches and or long acting shots so they can avois missing doses and going down a spiral or instability. Best of luck and keep seeking out the help while working on it.

very good, keep it up and keep in touch
with the community here Report It

http://www.anxiety.com

I don't know much about ADD but I do know about depression. There are several new medications that deal really brilliantly with it.

You need to be referred to a psychiatrist; they are the real experts with medications. They will evaluate you properly and prescribe the anti depressants and anything else you need for the ADD.

Remember that many of us have to try several anti depressants before finding the right one, so don't be too anxious if this happens with you also. But do get the referral to a psychiatrist; this is the first step to turning your life around!

I also have both problems. I have found that Wellbutrin is helpful for both. I also occasionally use adderrol. The effects you are describing from adderol sound like the same as mine when I take too much. This happened several times when I was figuring out my appropriate dosage.

Wow you have been to the moon and back my heart goes out to you .you have been on so many drugs,andyet you are a smart very smart person and I am so proud of you to know that to love yourself is the way you have brought me to tears you must see a psychiatrist and be evaluated and then let him get on the right track god bless and iwill pray for you...love kara doll

you need to show your doctor this post. If your current MD isn't finding a solution, u need to find a new one. Maybe someone u could talk to and do some therapy, support groups?

I've had depressiuon for many years. It has affected my life more than once and yes I've been suicidal. It took 4 years to get on the right medicine and right dosage. I can feel happy and sad - when appropriate. I look forward to tomorrow.
Some of the medication didn't do anything for me. Some made me feel drunk. It took a while but I'm happy with what we finally worked out.

Keep working with your psychologist and keep track of the feeling and sysmptoms. Give each med a month to build up in your system. Report all this information to the r when you see him each time and he'll be better able to find the drug or mix of drugs that works for you.

Keep trying. Please keep trying.