351–360 of 515 posts
My reaction to this article has been... complex. ----- Bah! Another article about ADHD. ADHD's over diagnosed and not not as big a problem as people make it out to be. But, I'm curious all of a sudden, so I might as well read it. > For the first 19 years of my life I knew I was lazy. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy too. That's just who I am, though. I don't have ADHD... > So what, you can't stop bouncing your leg at the restau…
Source?
Right after college I co-founded a startup. I was looking for a way to avoid joining "the real world" of working people. I stopped taking the meds and was basically just hyperfocusing all the time. That first year there was only 8 total days I didn't go into the office to work (including weekends and holidays). I was able to use the hyperfocusing because I didn't have a family and didn't feel like I needed a life. That company was bought and a few years later I started another and went through the hyperfocusing stage again. I didn't even sleep in a regular cycle, I would stay up for 20-24 hours and then sleep 4-8. I was a mess, but it didn't matter.
Years later I now have a family and those habits won't fly. I have always remembered the advice my doctor gave me now 24 years ago, but it was only the past 6-8 years or so that I actually started applying it. It works very well in my case, but I know my case is not extreme.
I need to avoid carbs during the day. I need to get a good night's sleep. If I eat a salad at lunch I do not have attention issues. I now do low carb almost all the time and it has changed my life.
Do I actually have ADHD? Yes, I think so. But it's not an extreme case, and I find it to be pretty well managed with good diet and sleep habits. Exercise helps a lot too. Always try this route before drugs. It's not a silver bullet, but I believe it can help a lot of people that might otherwise look to medication to solve their ADHD problems in themselves or their children.
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As someone who struggled for 32 years before I was diagnosed - you don't know what you're talking about. I have been to multiple (European) therapists who had just your approach and had no idea about ADHD. For years. In the end, I knew all the techniques for getting things in order, just couldn't follow up on them, and wasted tremendous amounts of my life trying to do things. (Not to mention gaining ~30kg, because I…
And to give a seeming counterexample that only reinforces your point: I was also diagnosed with adult ADD in recent years. At first the meds seemed to help slightly. Then not so much, and the side-effects (lack of sleep, for example) actually made it worse at times. Now after a lot of trial and error it appears that I might have been (partially) misdiagnosed. The cause of my issues may stem more from Complex PTSD, wh…
Okay, I start with a disclaimer, I suspect this opinion to be unpopular on HN. Anyway, I can't help thinking that ADHD is one of those mental disorders that merely reflects some increased demands of society rather than a genuine mental disorder and that people with ADHD are just part of the natural variation of different personality types. There also seems to be a huge divide between the US and Europe, where such dis…
In your view, what defines a genuine mental disorder?
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FWIW, I was the same, until I ran into some issues at work. Talking to a medical professional was eye opening. It's worth having he conversation, at the very least. I was very skeptical after being diagnosed. Then I forgot to renew my prescription the other week and it was utter chaos. I can't believe how much focus and discipline I used to lack.
How did the professional help?
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Yes, you pretty much summed up all. Don't forget sleepless nights if you took it after 11 am or later. Also: Heartburn, dry mouth, and severe dehydration, loss of appetite (yay for this one actually). And flushing (pee pee pee all day). IF you are working from home with minimal contact, it works. Never EVER answer a phone call when you are on it (this is to whoever planning to use it in the future). God knows, how ma…
> Don't forget sleepless nights if you took it after 11 am or later. Medication that keeps you awake for 16 hours leads to sleepless nights if taken late into the day, more news at 2.
The shorter durations (4 hours) are more effective than the longer, but also require taking it several times a day. And I think neither 4 nor the 8 keep you awake for 16 hours. Occasionally I'd even get the side effect of making me drowsy, and I had to take a nap right there. Thankfully that usually happened when I would take Ritalin for studying at home later in the day, rather than at school.
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> Well, it's all in the head you know. Yes I know, thats exactly where the issue is.
In general that means they think it's imaginary. Find another doctor.
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I was officially diagnosed at age 32. This wasn’t some pill mill diagnosis either. I worked with my psych for 3 months before we tried any meds, it would’ve been longer but I had accidentally discovered most of the practical methods for dealing with it on my own. Two great reliefs came from the diagnosis: 1. I’m not a lazy, unmotivated person 2. Meds, at the right dose, are amazing. When my Vyvanse kicks in, it’s lik…
Ive been on vyvanse for 9 years and im warning you that it will eventually stop working and the side effects will get worse than the cure
It’s interesting to see how hard if is to separate ADD from ADHD by a description of traits or behaviors. I have ADD and pretty much recognize myself in a lot of this. It’s almost impossible to focus on anything that is not interesting “right now” and what is “interesting” changes in cycles spanning a few weeks. During a cycle I become completely absorbed, you know, not eat, not sleep and not being communicative, abs…
Are there techniques to trick your mind into thinking that something is interesting?
The best thing I've found is to just accept you have the ADHD and work around it. If I know I'm going to do a tedious task that is going to be boring and require concentration, I usually give myself a 2-3 minute break every 20 minutes just to get up and walk around. It's very important to have discipline to make sure the break doesn't turn into a huge 45 minute sidetrack.