> > Is it possible that the symptoms attributed to ADD could have > been actually > due to tobacco use? > > > (Just offering an alternative hypothesis consistent with the > given data.) > > What I suspect, is that I smoked to treat symptoms of ADD as a youth. Since stimulants are typically the preferred medication to treat ADD/AHDD, smoking was a form of self-medication. I had a lot of symptoms of ADD before I started smoking (as a teen). Now that I am a mellowed adult, I have found methods to cope with the symptoms. Unfortunately, smoking is addictive, and is a short term 'fix' for ADD. The cycling all day long of getting nicotine every 1-2 hours during the day, meant that for a few minutes after smoking, I could think and react better. As many studies indicate, this capability would falter after 30 minutes or so, putting me into a more cloudy haze, which would require another 'fix' to make go away.
Now that I am nicotine free, and I have stopped taking Wellbutrin, I am suffering from more symptoms of ADD, but I am more aware and expressive. The fact that I have probably increased my posting to this list 5-fold since I quit taking the medication is a clue to what I was supressing. Now I may act and write more like a fool, but I am much more confident and frequent about it ;) . I have read that many adults with ADD have found enormous strength in the 'symptoms' related to ADD. Creativity seems to go hand and hand. I think I am happier without the medication, now that I have quit smoking. I guess I will see how next winter goes. Here in the Pacific NW this winter, we went a near record 35 days of rain. That got depressing. Wellbutrin has limited use for treatment of depression. I hope it does not come down to that next winter. Nick is taking the 'good' stuff. I find that I function in the "zone" when I have taken something like what Nick takes. Now I am jealous. Nerd From Hell
