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Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

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Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#251

Post by Ancapistani »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #31
afarviral wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD meds (psychostimulants) are fast-acting anti depressants. I hope the regiment works out regardless of the underlying condition they're helping you manage, but just another perspective.

ADHD meds are definitely not antidepressants. A sense of euphoria can be a side effect of early treatment, but that's not to be confused with an actual anti-depressant effect. Some (unfortunately many) users get stuck chasing that initial sense of euphoria with continued dose escalation requests, or by playing games to only take doses on certain days of the week or even by doubling up doses on some days. This is a ro…

> or by playing games to only take doses on certain days of the week

This is something I’ve always done, under the close supervision of my doctor. I’m not sure if he initially recommended it or not, but it’s been extremely effective for me in terms of keeping my effective dosage low and limiting tolerance.

My prescribed dosage of Vyvanse stayed consistent for about a year after beginning taking it, but began to escalate after that. I didn’t like that and was resistant to continuing to increase it. I went from 40mg initially to 70mg at the highest. I’m back down to 50mg today and am able to keep it at that level by limiting taking it less often. I typically end up taking it 4-5 days per week.

There are significant long-term side effects of these medications - limiting tolerance building and keeping the effective dose as low as possible is a viable means of reducing the chance of experiencing them.

Why do you assert that this is a “road you don’t want to go down”? Is it merely because my reason for doing so is so different?

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#252

Post by Ancapistani »

jkhdigital wrote: post #50
WhyNotHugo wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, if _things_ distract you easily, it's one thing. Notifications are DESIGNED to distract you, if they do, that's not an indicator of anything. ADHD is more like "I was cooking dinner and got distracted by the idea of cleaning the toilet, so here I am buying new socks. Oh, the unfinished dinner is still on the counter."

Your example is a pretty extreme caricature; I suspect many of us are more familiar with the slower but broader version of this sequence where we gain and lose interest in careers/partners/lifestyles with alarming and exhausting frequency.

> our example is a pretty extreme caricature

Extreme, yes, but far from a caricature.

You should see my office. I’m constantly surrounded by unfinished projects - I either unmedicated and don’t have the ability to finish them because I’m distracted by other things, or I’m medicated and don’t have time to finish them because I’m trying to catch up with the things that I’ve neglected because I didn’t have the ability to prioritize them.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#253

Post by bobmaxup »

username90 wrote: post #244
bobmaxup wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are dosing once a week, aren't you getting a pretty good hit of euphoria?

Does it matter? The important part is that you can manage it long term, and taking it once a week is sustainable.

> Does it matter?

I view the euphoria as an unsustainable side effect.

People can tell when you are high, and normally not for your positive attributes during those moments.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#254

Post by username90 »

globular-toast wrote: post #124
unbearded wrote: post #81

Have been taking Strattera for a few months and wonder how many years of my life I would have not wasted if I had been diagnosed with ADHD earlier in my life. I just turned 40 and I never thought I had ADHD until recently. Before I just thought my lack of attention on things was just the price of being a 10X on productivity (and I was a little arrogant because of it). The reality was that I chose to put my time on ta…

What does "10x on productivity" mean? I thought ADHD would lead to lower productivity.

When you spend 40 hours mentally preparing yourself to do a task then you are extremely productive when you actually do it. But the overall performance is still horrible.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#255

Post by Ancapistani »

adflux wrote: post #76
sobellian wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterpoint, I was diagnosed with ADD (now known as ADHD-PI) a couple decades ago as a child and initially took medication for it, but complained about the effects and so my parents agreed to stop giving me medication. This kind of decision seems manageable at the time if you're bright enough that you can skate through school regardless of how much work you actually do. You cannot skate through adulthood this w…

lose focus on dull activities This doesn't sound like a mental illness, but rather a part of the human condition, don't you think?

> lose focus on dull activities

You mean like getting distracted while actively having sex by the way the light is filtering through the leaves outside my bedroom window?

How about missing half of what your spouse is saying to you because you suddenly remembered an insight you had about how relative speed and the perception of the passage of time are linked, thereby forming a universal constant connecting both?

… or maybe you mean not being able to remember anything you need while at the grocery store because instead you remembered you needed something from the auto parts store, and having to drive to the auto parts store and buy that thing because it completely fills your consciousness and makes you unable to think about what food you need for the week until you have it in your hand?

In all seriousness - whether an activity is “dull” or not has little bearing on whether I can focus on it. My focus is ephemeral, and feels like something completely out of my control most of the time. Medication gives me some ability to direct it.

I hear people talking about “not looking forward” to doing things. I can’t relate at all. I dread even the things I want to do, because I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do them.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#256

Post by acrobatsunfish »

subroutine wrote: post #44
corobo wrote: post #2

I've been on medication for about a week now and I've not thought about offing myself once since starting. That seems dramatic but honestly that used to be the default go-to answer for any problem that couldn't be resolved within a day or so. Seems a bit excessive of a response to problems now.. It really looks like my depression might be rooted in undiagnosed ADHD. I can also if not properly focus on tasks at least…

I'm not sure which med you are on, but I've been on adderall for about 12 years. Started during 1st year of a phd program. In my experience with adderall... everything initially good about this particular Rx eventually fades away. Amphetamine makes you feel great. At the beginning really, really, great. It certainly helped me focus on whatever was in front of me, whether it was math homework or an iphone game. It bec…

Can you tell me more about your experience with selection, use, and pitfalls of treadmill desks?

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#257

Post by jedimastert »

intpx wrote: post #99
jedimastert wrote: post #54

Slightly different perspective: I was diagnosed as a child, but had assumed I had "mastered it" and went off meds and let it go for several years. What I've come to realize is that I've still had it, just that I've structured the parts of my life that I could around it and let other parts suffer for no real reason. That kind of fell apart (the rest of the way) when my wife had her second child and a few days before I…

ADHD is a disease/difference of executive function-- how your internal world interfaces with your external world. It totally makes sense that you had a tough go of it when you experienced major life changes.

Yeah, my world would have been flip-turned upside down as it is. The real kicker was realizing that I had not considered remote work at all when we picked our apartment. We've just bought our first house and it's much better now, but trying to work at ALL for the first 3 or 4 months was truly awful.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#258

Post by pseudalopex »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #220
bluefirebrand wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a common misconception about ADHD. People with ADHD have a tendency to hyperfocus on things they enjoy, to the detriment of other things. ADHD is not a lack of focus, it is a lack of Executive Function. Sometimes the Executive Function looks easily distracted because it doesn't want to do chores so it bounces from room to room cleaning one single surface in each one. Sometimes the Executive Function looks lik…

It should be noted that "hyperfocus" is more of a fringe idea in ADHD science than a well-accepted feature. Hyperfocus can also be a side effect of stimulant medication. It's not uncommon for newly diagnosed ADHD patients to take stimulants and end up hyperfocusing on the wrong thing, such as video games or other vices. Be careful about interpreting something like increased focus as ADHD. The pop-culture definition o…

The idea hyper focus is a strength is pop psychology. Its existence isn't.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#259

Post by username90 »

bobmaxup wrote: post #253
username90 wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it matter? The important part is that you can manage it long term, and taking it once a week is sustainable.

> Does it matter? I view the euphoria as an unsustainable side effect. People can tell when you are high, and normally not for your positive attributes during those moments.

The therapeutic does you get doesn't make you "high", you get a small burst of energy similar to caffeine at most, nothing unsustainable. And since "euphoria" isn't a well defines concept you could see caffeine as causing "euphoria". Certainly seems that way when people say they can't function before they get their morning coffee.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#260

Post by globular-toast »

username90 wrote: post #254
globular-toast wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does "10x on productivity" mean? I thought ADHD would lead to lower productivity.

When you spend 40 hours mentally preparing yourself to do a task then you are extremely productive when you actually do it. But the overall performance is still horrible.

I honestly can't comprehend what this means or why it's called "10x productivity". You're productive, but overall performance is horrible? So you do lots but do it badly?
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