Where to Begin.........

I suppose the best place to start is with my name....Steve my wife is Laura and Brit and Mike are friends from college who have seen us at our worst and at our best and everything in between. Mike and I have ADD, our partners don't.

Brief History of Steve

ADD has been a force in my life before I can fully recollect, my mother told me that in pre-kindergarten in 1986 that the teacher told her I may have Attention Deficit Disorder, from what I was told there was not much in the way of treatment back then so it was chalked up to me being a wild kid. As a kindergartner I was told I spent almost every day in the principals office, I couldn't sit still, I couldn't stop talking, I drew red dots all over myself to convince my teacher I had chicken pox, and this was just through kindergarten. My educational journey has if nothing else been colorful, attending catholic school for 9 years left school authorities thinking they had just spent 9 years in the presence of the antichrist, none the less I made friends, headed the student council, and achieved good grades. The same can be said for my overall experience in high school as well. College was a much harder endeavor for me, no one watching, no one taking attendance, and tons of distractions resulted in a semesters starting with 12 credits and ending with 6.

During my prolonged stint in pursuit of my bachelors degree I managed to meet an Intelligent, beautiful, compassionate, and trustworthy women whom I somehow convinced to be my wife. She is the most amazing person I have ever met, She is my best friend, and truly the reason I get up every morning. We have been married for 2 years, 10 months, 21 days and together for 5 years and 7 months. We have been grown together as a couple, as a family , and as individuals. This phrase is overused and undervalued but I truly couldn't have dreamt of a more ideal partner. We have experienced some devastating lows, and exhilarating highs, my ADD has affected us emotionally, financially, and in ways I am sure I cant quantify, but for some reason unknown to me my best friend has stood by me and believed in me when I was at the absolute bottom, she has shown me what love and commitment truly means and I will never be able to express to her how much that means to me.

The decision to treat my ADD with medication has turned out to be the savior of my marriage, family, and personal relationships. To say I was destructive before would be an understatement, and with the new found clarity of thought provided by my dopamine enhancing friend I can see clearly how my actions have affected my partner, my family, my friends, and myself. This has been a blessing and a curse, looking into the mirror and being disgusted by what you see is not easy to deal with, but I have found it is a necessity.

The road to my amphetamine induced nirvana has been challenging to say the least, Adderall was not my initial attempt at medicating my disease. Adderall came along after botched attempts at self medication (both prescribed and un-prescribed), along with countless personal and professional struggles.

My goal with this blog is to provide an outlet for my partner, our friends, and anyone who wants an understanding of the affect on the daily lives of those living with or with someone who has ADD.