Damn this is right on I needed this bad. I just started reaching out to coaches and psychiatrists about my ADD
ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
201–210 of 453 posts
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#202I was somewhat recently diagnosed with ADD and the diagnosis has truly changed my life. I, for the first time, in roughly 12 years of writing software professionally, am able finish a project enough to open source it-- and I am days away from being able to do so. It feels insanely good. Like something I've only dreamed of as silly as that is, and I don't even care if folks use it (it's not that good), but it's the fa…
Warning: there can be a honeymoon phase where after diagnosis and beginning medication you enter this ecstatic period of normalcy on the one hand and insane productivity on the other. Don't get lulled into complacency. Use this period to improve lifestyle routines and get to a place where you can cruise at a better pace than you otherwise might once the acceleration stops.
By lifestyle I don't mean some of the things enthusiasts like to advocate--weight training, etc, although by all means if you're so inclined. But just small stuff--kick caffeine, habituate yourself to completing boring tasks as quickly as possible, exercise (if only a few pushups in the morning), etc. Maybe you were already doing those things, but if you were doing them cyclically (weeks, months, etc), now you can do them consistently.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#203For 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 th…
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Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Try other medication. It took me a few years, after being diagnosed in my 30's as well, to find something that helped without side effects.
Can second this, I started on Adderall but it has severe side effects for me. I read up on it and due to the Left handed amphetamines in the formula it causes more parasympathetic nervousness system stimulation as opposed to central nervousness system stimulation which is what the dextro-amphetamine target. You may want to try Dexedrin which is only dextro-amphetamine or Desoxyn which is methamphetamine. In my case a…
Almost embarrassed to admit that I've never heard of Desoxyn but am very intrigued. It was never mentioned to me when I was getting meds, nor when my son was.
I live in "meth country" unfortunately so getting a prescription may be a challenge, but at least I have the paperwork.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#205I was somewhat recently diagnosed with ADD and the diagnosis has truly changed my life. I, for the first time, in roughly 12 years of writing software professionally, am able finish a project enough to open source it-- and I am days away from being able to do so. It feels insanely good. Like something I've only dreamed of as silly as that is, and I don't even care if folks use it (it's not that good), but it's the fa…
May I ask what treatment is working for you?
Probably stimulants. I’d be curious to know because I’d rather not take stimulants...
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#206Somehow a search for 'modafinil' doesn't turn anything up, in a thread full of ADHD-diagnosed software developers complaining about the side effects of their conventional stimulant medications.
So I'll be that guy: Consider giving it a shot. I took d-amphetamine sulfate by prescription for a few years, couldn't tolerate the side effects, and modafinil helps a lot.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's another weird factor. Ritalin is an upper and it's stigmatized to take an upper - either your performance, judged by coworkers, will be equivalent or below theirs and the stimulant is seen as the only thing keeping you in your job (which can get super depressing internally) - or, if you're doing well in your position, it can breed internal and external doubt as to whether your performance would just be normal…
> Ever spent a day off staring at a wall dreading the possibility that you might waste a day until you realize the sun has gone down? Yup, so much fun. This is literally every Saturday for me. I'm thinking about keeping my Ritalin by my bed. I don't understand why it's so difficult and it makes me really frustrated - I just can't get out of bed. I try to wake up and my mind goes "naw". I sit up to get out of bed, sit…
Hey, this is exactly why I keep it by my bed with a bottle of Soylent. The first thing I do when I wake up every day is take it and chug the Soylent to make sure I've got enough nutrition for it to work well. It helps a lot, I would earnestly encourage you to try it
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#208I was diagnosed with ADHD at 19 after being a C student my entire life. I was prescribed Adderall and immediately became an A student overnight. It's actually weird how well it worked. Unfortunately, like others have said, it isn't a cure-all. It felt like a crutch and as my tolerance went up the less effective it was. Long story short, I ended up discovering marijuana and quit taking my Adderall. Marijuana also made…
I have a fun story I tell people about Adderall:
It's really hard to tell when adderall is working from the inside. If it's working correctly, it shouldn't be noticeable. I finally realized when the following happened: I was working on some homework when I noticed that the trashcan next to my desk needed to be taken out. So I took it out and finished my homework. After I finished, I realized that, were it not for the medication, I never would have come back to my homework. I would have got to do something else after I brought the trash can back in, or before I took it out, or I would have not been able to get back to work after even noticing the trash can, "taken a break", and just never started again.
It was a genuinely emotional revelation.
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Ever spent a day off staring at a wall dreading the possibility that you might waste a day until you realize the sun has gone down? Yup, so much fun. This is literally every Saturday for me. I'm thinking about keeping my Ritalin by my bed. I don't understand why it's so difficult and it makes me really frustrated - I just can't get out of bed. I try to wake up and my mind goes "naw". I sit up to get out of bed, sit…
Fuck I do this every day. Been diagnosed with ASD and I probably have at least one sleep disorder too. The guilt is indeed the worst part about it.
That and being late to work. I don't think anyone would believe me if I said that I'm more upset that I'm 10 minutes late then my boss is.
I got up 10 minutes early! I thought I was running on time! Suddenly I'm supposed to be there in 5 minutes! WHY?!!? It's like time isn't freaking linear!!!!
Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)
#210Meditation helped me to deal with ADHD immensely. My ability to focus and concentrate is now on par if not better than most of my peers, though it requires me to spend about an hour every day in the morning to meditate. I find that it’s very much worth the time investment, and would recommend anyone struggling with focus/anxiety to try it themselves.
How long did it take you to see results? I've battled (manageable) ADHD all my life and have been meditating for around a year. I've seen many positive impacts on my life, but the ADHD is still very much a thing I still battle.
I had a brief stint of about two months where meditation, combined with dietary changes, exercise, and most importantly a daily routine item that kind of motivated my day made me feel like I was actually productive. Plus meds of course.
I get obsessive about things, so I tried to use those obsessions to shape a regular routine that helped everything else fall into place. I focused my obsession on exercise, specifically jiu-jitsu, because once I got to class, I didn't have to think or motivate myself, I was just there and focused on learning and fighting. Then it turned into a positive feedback loop, I'd get external validation from my teammates, I was improving, I was doing it in the morning, so I absolutely had to get out of bed, and of course after class, I had nowhere else to go but work. So that fixed my habitually late problem as well. Being 10 minutes late to class was fine as long as I was on time for work. Then I could ride that dopamine rush to have a productive morning.
Then life happened, my routines where interrupted, and I haven't been able to get it back.