Thousands of words and no mention of diet. I was diagnosed ADHD in 5th grade, tried just about every medication out there, and never landed on a workable long-term solution until I modified my diet. Medication always had mixed results. Many allowed me to focus and better control impulses, but the emotional crash at the end of the day was too much. Others caused insomnia or palpitations. Cutting sugar and limiting carbs, however has been transformational. I won't say it's right for everyone, but everyone with ADHD should at least try cleaning up their diet. It's a no lose option.
ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
51–60 of 453 posts
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#52I was told by my doctor that since I have a successful career as a software engineer I do not have ADHD. I'm still fighting to get a prescription. What he doesn't understand how my coping mechanisms are probably more unhealthy then the drug. I have allocate recreation time to work, use a lot of caffeine, and sleep deprivation to overcome my ADHD. Sleep deprivation is probably the strongest tool to combat ADHD but as…
That's unusual as the profession is known for having a lot of neurodiverse members.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#53About getting treatment: it's extremely irritating that some people judge using Ritalin is somehow morally wrong. Yes, I get that "lifestyle changes" could help, but I don't want to change my lifestyle. Imagine if there was a pill to reduce risk of cardiac arrest, with some increased risk of something relatively minor. Can you imagine the uproar if cardiologists denied prescribing the pill, instead forcing people to…
Well, I admit I'm biased because I started taking ADHD meds and then had a manic/psychotic episode, that involved me getting involuntarily committed to a psych ward and burning all my career bridges, and also got diagnosed with heart failure, and I attribute a huge chunk of the blame to the ADHD meds. Both my psychiatrists and cardiologists insisted I needed even more meds or things would get worse, but instead I just said, I'm going to disregard medical advice, I'm going back to a no meds baseline, and focus hard on lifestyle changes, and everything improved. I've been emotionally stable and my echocardiogram and cardiac MRI showed my heart is back to normal. So that's my bias.
I am just a bit of a psych meds skeptic these days - I don't think the comparison to drugs like insulin carry as much weight as their advocates would like them to. For one thing, there's no brain scans or blood tests for any of these diagnoses. The diagnosis criteria is basically a "personality test", called the DSM-5, a manual heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical companies. Stimulants at least do in fact have research supporting they actually outperform placebo (unlike the massively prescribed antidepressants), but they come with a host of negative side effects.
If you're predisposed to mania, you shouldn't take stimulants. If you're predisposed to heart problems, you shouldn't take stimulants. My question is, how was I supposed to know that I was predisposed to these things short of finding out the hard way by taking the stimulants and having those negative side effects almost ruin my life/kill me?
Previously, on HN people have accused me of "doing it wrong" in some sense with the ADHD meds, but the truth is I got the diagnosis from the doctor and took the meds as prescribed.
The whole idea that we can neatly categorize this person as ADHD, this person as MDD, this person as Bipolar-2, this other person as bipolar-1, this other person as BPD, after doing a ton of investigating into mental health, I just no longer buy it.
I do think the answer is in lifestyle changes, the person who is at risk of cardiac arrest, yes they should exercise for 30 min a day and reduce sodium intake before relying on a pill if that pill carries with it a ton of other dangerous side effects.
I also agree with that other commentor, that our society, and my past self, is a bit obsessed with "success" metrics, usually judged by things like career success. The idea that, maybe if you just accept that your career won't be what it could be but that's better than drugging yourself up to achieve those goals, seem foreign to some people. Becoming "somebody" important becomes more important than just being stable and healthy.
Well, if you find yourself in my position, where you get diagnosed with heart failure and learn that ~50% of people in your position die within 5 years of diagnosis, all the sudden that big N promotion doesn't seem as important anymore. And the drugs that help you get there don't seem as worth it. So nowadays my mind still wanders constantly, my wife gets frustrated by how often I start day-dreaming mid-conversation with her, and I know that intellectually I'm capable of more career success but I'm held back primarily by my lack of focus and discipline. But I've come to just accept all that, being on stimulants to fix it, is not worth the downsides.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#54For anyone diagnosed with ADHD, taking stimulants is associated with 8+x increase of being diagnosed with a basal ganglia and cerebellum disease later in life. I believe this is NOT causative, but is instead a correlation between other diseases associated with Dopamine production and ADHD. I take and have continued to take stimulants for ADHD. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0207-5 In my family's case, we…
This has always been quite concerning to me as I've had a worsening essential tremor that was slight in my early twenties but is quite observable now that I'm in my thirties. The confounding effect that really hurts me here is that my father has had a benign essential tremor for his whole life - so there's a constant see-saw internally and with medical practitioners about whether my tremor is something to be concerne…
I suspect that my mom developing a tremor is what turned her DRD, which was in retrospect similar to what myself and my grandma have, into Parkinson's. As far as I can tell, for my family anyway, developing the a tremor will rapidly deplete what little Dopamine we can produce and lead to normal'ish looking Parkinson's.
The genetic defects associated with this are I believe a spectrum though, and we happen to be close to one side of it. If you have any symptoms related to DRD, I would see a movement disorder specialist and ask for a trial of carbo/levo. It'll be immediately obvious if it helps, and if you don't have any problems with Dopamine production it won't do anything (except for some mild side effects).
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#55I relate a lot. I'm 28 and I have an ADHD diagnosis. There has been a lot of public debate on this topic in Sweden of late. I got my diagnosis at age 23 and had already finished a bachelor degree. My first psychologist said "I'm sure you dont have ADHD if you finished a bachelor" lol although at the time my life was a rollercoaster. Today im doing great and love the challenging nature of software development. However i eat medicine and realise that exercise and routines are extremely important to mitigate symptoms.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#56For anyone diagnosed with ADHD, taking stimulants is associated with 8+x increase of being diagnosed with a basal ganglia and cerebellum disease later in life. I believe this is NOT causative, but is instead a correlation between other diseases associated with Dopamine production and ADHD. I take and have continued to take stimulants for ADHD. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0207-5 In my family's case, we…
Segawa's is completely irrelevant in this case and not supported by any symptoms the author reports in the original article. I have diagnosed Segawa's. It is quite irresponsible to wave people off of successful treatments of ADHD, as you're doing here, because of your family's (unfortunate) history with a genetic disease. I apologize that we know little about Segawa's and you've had a journey to understand it, but there is approximately zero overlap between common ADHD symptoms and the presentation of Segawa's, which is primarily motor-related.
Please, don't read comments like these and distance yourself from treatment. There is always more to a study.
Source: Board-certified neurologist.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#57About getting treatment: it's extremely irritating that some people judge using Ritalin is somehow morally wrong. Yes, I get that "lifestyle changes" could help, but I don't want to change my lifestyle. Imagine if there was a pill to reduce risk of cardiac arrest, with some increased risk of something relatively minor. Can you imagine the uproar if cardiologists denied prescribing the pill, instead forcing people to…
> Yes, I get that "lifestyle changes" could help No. Just don't entertain this idea. You can go 20 years since the first time someone told you you may be ADHD or depressed with subsequent diagnoses. Then tell yourself it's all in behavior no one needs drugs. But twenty years on you'll still find yourself in the same cyclical patterns of periodic depression or chronic inability to select your attention to a task. "Lif…
Yeah I'm 36 getting a diagnosis/script now and it took an incredible amount of distress to finally get me to the doctor.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#58For anyone diagnosed with ADHD, taking stimulants is associated with 8+x increase of being diagnosed with a basal ganglia and cerebellum disease later in life. I believe this is NOT causative, but is instead a correlation between other diseases associated with Dopamine production and ADHD. I take and have continued to take stimulants for ADHD. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0207-5 In my family's case, we…
I didn't know this, but I take my medication as rarely as possible because I hate the comedown, appetite suppression, and tolerance building that occurs. It sucks, but I had a feeling there was some long-term downside like this. Hopefully lessening frequency to occasional use also lessens the likelihood of what you describe.
I don't think it's a causative relationship. My feeling is that there are a group of disorders related to Dopamine production that overlap with ADHD, for obvious reasons, and if you have one of those you're more likely to get diagnosed with ADHD.
On the flip side, getting treatment for those disorders, provided you have one of them, can also help with some of the ADHD symptoms.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#59I relate a lot. I'm 28 and I have an ADHD diagnosis. There has been a lot of public debate on this topic in Sweden of late. I got my diagnosis at age 23 and had already finished a bachelor degree. My first psychologist said "I'm sure you dont have ADHD if you finished a bachelor" lol although at the time my life was a rollercoaster. Today im doing great and love the challenging nature of software development. However…
Meds didn't work for me, they just made me feel in overdrive, and I have a high sense of awareness so I always knew in the back of my mind the drugs were just making me high for a short amount of time. It never felt like real progress.
However, exercise, diet, and prayer cause my symptoms to almost vanish. In particular, keeping sugar content extremely low. Also being aware of my cues when I know my leg is going to start bouncing up and down and the impulse of doing anything _but_ my work is about to kick in (such as viewing this site for hours), and using behavioral modification techniques to mitigate this. Making good habits is especially important for ADHD people. It's not easy, but take comfort knowing it is doable. You can make progress today.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#60I was diagnosed in 2019 after a long series of conversations with a therapist following a work disaster that nearly cost me my job. Getting diagnosed was like finding the missing piece of the puzzle regarding my life. My schooling history suddenly made sense, the poor financial decisions, etc. everything became clear. The biggest thing I realized is how tightening feedback loops is the key to my productivity, I gravi…
How do you use it right? I was on stimulants as a kid and they worked but made me feel emotionally empty and suppressed my appetite and energy. I’m 28 now and I’ve started taking it again to help with work. The appetite suppression is gone but the emotional apathy remains. If you have suggestions or experiments to make the best use of these meds I’d love to hear them. I started with the lowest possible dose.
Also, your comment on python ... very very true