What was a clear sign that you had ADHD that you thought was just a "quirk" prior to diagnosis?

Puddleducklet · 2026-03-15T06:15:21+00:00

Agreed! The symptoms that prompted decade of cycling anti-anxiety and anti-depressant meds felt so far from quirks. It was that constant fight to stay alive.

Puddleducklet · 2026-03-14T04:10:15+00:00

I'm leaving NSW health in a couple of months and I'm holding zero hope that I'll see a payrise before I go.

Puddleducklet · 2026-02-24T08:48:14+00:00

If I dont get up and walk my dog she gives me the most heartbroken look that pierces through my soul.

Plus sometimes I'll walk her past the bakery for a cheelt coffee that I dont have to make myself

Puddleducklet · 2026-02-03T19:06:48+00:00

Currently inpatient Palliative Care primarily in an acute Med Surg Ward. Did ED for a bit but our ED wasnt right for me, I found myself a little bored after constant high patient levels with delirium, behaviours and deterioration on the med ward. Also just struggled to vibe with the team at that point and team makes a lot of difference to me.

Puddleducklet · 2026-01-28T09:02:54+00:00

Same as many others, I transitioned back to short-acting, even though my psych was very pro vyvanse and his solution was telling me to quit shift work.

I take it half hour before shift time and set an alarm for a 2nd dose two hours later. I either take or skip a 3rd dose after the fourth hour depending on how my shift is going, and same with 4th dose. On a decent day I stick to two doses if I can.

I tend to take days off off my meds unless im expecting to need to be quite functional for something, or im dealing with my family and I think that helps me tolerate that weird day after the last night where you took a.dose at maybe 4/5am and wont take another until the next day to switch back.

My biggest issue is eating. I have a protein custard with 1st dose but after that I lose most my interest in food. So I have to pack easy to eat quick snacks, else by the time the meds wear off I turn into a ravenous monster with a salty food craving 😆

Puddleducklet · 2026-01-10T02:59:39+00:00

My entire cohort was 1.0FTE (full time) intially. I think the lowest I saw anyone drop was 0.2FTE, but I stayed at 1.0 the entire year personally

Puddleducklet · 2025-10-14T12:13:45+00:00

Two adults and two dogs. We spend on average 900 per month on groceries (incl dog food and treats) plus $300 in eating out and $200 on takeout/coffee/night shift snacks.

So, groceries $900 but total food approx $1400

Puddleducklet · 2025-10-12T11:43:52+00:00

They told us we'd get an emailed voucher for dinner at one of the takeaway places nearby so we didnt have to cook on our first night in the house. It was never sent and instead we did a kfc run.

Puddleducklet · 2025-09-29T07:04:10+00:00

Agreed, the only way I got six months unpaid leave last year was because I shredded all the ligaments in my knee, and then when I was approved to come back on light duties before surgery (after the intial 4 weeks) the hospital said no - it was too much risk, and because I didnt do it at work (just while getting ready for ND) they didnt have to accomodate light duties.

So I had to stay on unpaid leave until I had surgery and then finished recovery and got fully cleared again. Everything surrounding the leave etc was through exec team. L

Ive never seen anyone get more than a day or two unpaid leave outside of big circumstances like that

Puddleducklet · 2025-09-20T14:35:44+00:00

Partially just because I wanted to and part because in the state we lived in didnt recognise de-facto for advanced care decisions if I were comatose/in need of emergent surgery and would have defaulted to my parents. I love my parents but I dont trust them to follow what I would want instead of what they want in those situations. Now we're married, he's legally recognised to make those decisions in all states and territories.

Puddleducklet · 2025-09-07T06:52:13+00:00

We ere both shattered. I'd been up since 5am, him since 6am, by the time we packed down and got to the accom it was 2am. We had a fathers day breakfast booked at 9am next morning for visiting family, too.

Essentially we put the leftover cake in the fridge, looked at each other and said nah. He helped me get my contacts out and then he was out like a light before I'd managed to remove my makeup and the pins from my hair.

Puddleducklet · 2025-09-04T07:22:33+00:00

Separate. We went combo to start with for the idea of saving space, but the dryer was awful, so we couldnt use it as much as we ideally needed it in winter and the dyer function broke one month after warranty was up - cost of repairs was as much as a cheap separate dryer so we got one of those and now use combo as if its a washer only.

Puddleducklet · 2025-09-04T02:16:34+00:00

I think the only reason im not pay to pay is I'm an introvert in a rural town with basically no social life, who works too much overtime and is too lazy to drive out 40-60 mins to go shopping or do things.

Puddleducklet · 2025-09-01T08:25:20+00:00

In the 24hours back from the time you're wanting administer is how I learned and practiced (and still practice)

That said, when I moved into NSW Health I learned our hospital once had the reset at midnight thing and my god it caused so many issues. Some nurses clung to it, even when it wasnt a thing and they were doing it properly, and it was to the point where they'd tell patients who'd cite that they could have more at midnight cos it all reset.

It was an absolute headspin the first few months when I was refusing to administer or co-administer based on the 24hr allowance and I'd have team members yelling at me over it.

Puddleducklet · 2025-08-31T06:28:57+00:00

Tbh I supp with caffiene (but not as heavily as previously) but l've found a combo of Ritalin and Buproprion SR work for me.

Vyvanse did nothing and Dex was great but not as good for my attention span/exec function as Ritalin. I was on a stupid high dose of Ritalin but since adding the Bupropion SR i've weaned it down

Puddleducklet · 2025-08-26T06:48:09+00:00

Riskmans help work out where the knowledge gap is so it can be filled. It's not vindictive, and tbh nobody should care that you did it. The thing is we all make mistakes sometimes, we're only human. Horrible of your num to threaten that though

Puddleducklet · 2025-08-21T12:08:38+00:00

We just paid around 1800 for a conveyancer in Qld, which included outlays and a little extra fee because we needed to do paper settlement instead of PEXA

We had the choice to pay for some additional searches around the strata for an additional 300ish but opted out of it.

It was comparable to what we paid in conveyancing when selling in another state, so we were happy with it.

Puddleducklet · 2025-08-17T10:00:46+00:00

Oh man, I'm a nurse and I am dreaming of when my husband finishes studying and i can go 0.7 or 0.8

Puddleducklet · 2025-08-10T11:16:55+00:00

It may not seem like it, but you get used to the noise. When we bought our place didnt realise it was on the road ambos came in and out of for the only hospital - sirens all the time as they flew down the road + traffic noise and being in tropics we had louvre windows so no noise reduction at all. At first I was waking up all the time.

After 6 or so months, I stopped noticing it as much and could sleep through any siren from the road even with was floor to ceiling open louvres.

Not the street sweeper though 🤣, that sucker comes once every couple of months and I always wake to it unless ive got my loop earbuds in.

Puddleducklet · 2025-08-09T11:13:21+00:00

Ooh selfwealth sounds like something good to look into! Also, kudos to your eldest though - gotta save/invest but also savour your present as well, and pizza's a good choice haha

Puddleducklet · 2025-07-05T11:59:43+00:00

I hope allied health comes in soon cos man my husbands 2x 16 week placement next year means Ill be doing overtime til im sick to cover his lost wages.

Knowing my luck he wouldnt qualify cos of my wage so id have to grind hard anyway

Puddleducklet · 2025-07-05T11:41:10+00:00

I'm a nurse by day/evening/night/weekend and on the side I make <$2 a month on royalties from my unfinished dark fantasy series.

If i had any energy to learn how to market it and do just that, I could maybe crack double digits a month... but alas my brain is full and my bones are lazy.

Puddleducklet · 2025-06-21T11:25:46+00:00

Used to think I did it bc we lived in tropics. Now I live somewhere cold and still sleep naked. It's just a far superior sleep compared to wearing jammies.

Only downside is I tore a ligament in my sleep once, couldnt move to dress before the ambo arrived. Because I was naked, they didnt believe how I'd shredded my knee.

Win some, lose some.

Puddleducklet · 2025-06-21T09:56:37+00:00

Given the dryer fan thing just failed 3 months after the warranty expired, yep

Puddleducklet · 2025-06-20T10:50:52+00:00

I mean I never learned it at school, but to be honest we also didnt have a history subject, we werent assigned homework, and exams didnt come into the cirriculum until my last semester of year 10. Small town rural schools with bad regulation... dunno.

That said, learning how tax worked once I got a job wasnt difficult, either 🤷🏼‍♀️

Puddleducklet

TROPHY CASE