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ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

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Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#211

Post by Keverw »

joshlittle wrote: post #186

Everything in this article is correct, at least for me. I got fired for performance at my last job about 2.75 years ago. The first two years of working there I had great performance reviews, things went well. It was a high performing YC-backed success story, and I felt just as successful. I was promoted to Lead QA Engineer, and oversaw several projects going at once that I was interested in. About two years in, it st…

You have to get permission to change doctors or just a limited amount in your network? I was under the assumption you could just switch doctors whenever you wanted as long as in-network, but I hate this whole in-network thing and out of network. Seems so stupid insurance companies dictate your care, but I guess even with socialized medicine than the government decides on your care instead. It just seems like a whole big Ponzi scheme and just another number in a database.

Hmm looked it up and their website says you can change your doctor unless maybe it depends on the state... That URL is coming up for WA, so maybe in CA it's different since insurance companies are usually licensed and separate in every state but share a common brand name.

https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/html/public/member-guide/cho...

> You can change your doctor at any time, for any reason. Just follow the same steps as above to select a new doctor.

But I guess every company and plan is different anyways. Seems like an entire racket. Someone I know who recently moved wasn't feeling too great but didn't want to go to the hospital as worried about costs, and called to speak to someone at the front desk and they said they couldn't tell you over the phone if covered or not, would have to see the card in person and specific plan and group numbers. Ended up being nothing though, but what if they were having a more serious issue.

So stupid you can't just pick the best-rated doctor and go to it. Then some cheaper plans probably have crappier doctors who are more disparate. Seems like the whole medical system doesn't let you take control over your own health. Then some doctors end up actually making people sicker too.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#212

Post by firecall »

Right off the bat, this paragraph totally connected:

"If I'm not interested in doing something, I can't process any thoughts about how to do it. No, I don't mean it's not fun, I mean my brain will not do it. If I don't want to wash a fence, I can't think about how to wash the fence. I go into complete lockup. I ask the question, "how do I wash the fence?" and the answer will not come to me."

I am officially diagnosed with ADHD and am in my 40s - and its not great :-)

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#213

Post by munk-a »

fouc wrote: post #199
vslira wrote: post #2

About 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…

Can someone share how Ritalin helps with the issue of attention switching? How does it reduce distractibility?

My best personal description of it would be something like... my brain is constantly thrashing and offloading caches - with Ritalin the context switches still happen but the prior task doesn't get booted out of memory... so it's sort of like imaging running across a marshland, where every time you hit water you lose... the Ritalin might be like logs across streams, it isn't that suddenly you're always running across solid ground, you aren't constantly in single focus[1] but you can cross more of the marsh and reach the far side without getting wet.

There, that's my terrible analogy.

1. There's a flip side, staying with the marsh analogy, there are also some dykes someone built randomly in the marsh and it's really easy to run along those, and they're really comfortable... but they might not go to the far side of the marsh - but hey it's right over there and it'd be easy to get over there instead of trying to trudge through the marsh. Running on those dykes feels really good since you're definitely running, but you don't get to chose where the dyke goes and it might not be helpful for yourself to run along it.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#214

Post by sibeliuss »

CathedralBorrow wrote: post #154
sibeliuss wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But in the beginning -- especially if you've never experimented with stimulants recreationally -- you'll feel better than you ever have. Stimulants are euphoric. It's a trap, it wears off. Side-effects are likely. I've said it in a previous comment, but it's profound and interesting until it's not, and once the stimulants are gone a dark depression is very possible. As I said further down. It's most certainly not f…

I can absolutely believe that this was your experience, but where I lose you is when you state with certainty that everyone else will experience this the same way you did. I certainly didn't.

I'm not saying anything about everyone else. I said "From experience: ..."

Either way, I think we're actually on the same page here, based on what you wrote above.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#215

Post by yonaguska »

vonseel wrote: post #47

I’m 31 and have ADHD (diagnosed in my teens) and I’m pretty sure NOBODY with ADHD is going to have the wherewithal to read this entire article! Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment! In all seriousness, I skimmed parts of the article and kept scrolling and it just kept going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny. I guess the author found a doctor to prescribe sti…

I'm very fortunate that I learned how to read at a very very young age. As such, I'm an incredibly fast reader, when reading for comprehension, I'm close to 700 wpm. So reading to me is easy bc I can read faster than my mind can get distracted.

I think that's the hardest part of ADHD, you'll always find some exceptions to the "rules" used to diagnose it.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#216

Post by sibeliuss »

ddorian43 wrote: post #183
sibeliuss wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being diagnosed with all of those things -- doesn't it seem like a pharmaceutical spiral brought on by a sick process? Ever since my sister was misdiagnosed with a handful of labels and put on a handful of drugs which subsequently ruined her life for a very long time I've been interested in looking at alternatives to the pharma status quo. I read Lost Connections by Johann Hari recently and it was remarkable. The cha…

None of these "alternatives" ever fixes bipolar,schizophrenia, borderline, adhd, etc. When you have those stuff, you need to take meds AND join the gardening club. You can't go manic at the gardening club.

Right. Those are very extreme diagnoses. Medication is often required. What this book speaks to is the problem with overprescription as applied to the average person, and offers many solutions.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#217

Post by Diederich »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #197
Diederich wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> marijuana May I ask: which strain do you use? I've been treating my ADHD with (sparing, irregular use of) the main stimulants, which has worked fairly well. I've only used cannabis a couple of times, and each time I rather hated how it made me feel.

I personally used marijuana for years to help me. The best strains I've found were high potency sativas (like 28%+) like Super Silver Haze or J1. I find the higher the percentage the sativa high tends to be more clear, energetic, and cerebral. If it's too low it's usually "muddied" so to speak. Additionally, ummm how can I put this, if I took a break from smoking it wouldn't help with my ADD as it would make me anxio…

Ok thanks for the info. I had previously used a hybrid, and only edible. I've never been able to tolerate putting anything in my lungs.

I'll try a pure sativa later on and see how that feels.

> If it's too low it's usually "muddied" so to speak.

So I think you're saying that even if you take a high potency sativa, but at a lower dose, you don't gain any focus/ADHD relief? That it's only therapeutic at high doses?

I well understand how long term use is often required in order to mitigate some of the less desirable side effects.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#218

Post by vsgzusnex »

Mirioron wrote: post #19
munk-a wrote: post #4

Earlier 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…

What I don't understand is - why is it a problem that somebody performs better on medication? Life isn't sports or a game. It's not a competition. Shouldn't people be happy that someone else can keep their life together? That's less of a burden on society. > 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? That sounds silly and boring.…

This seems like wishful thinking. We all have a place in the hierarchy of our societies and your performance certainly impacts your position. Don't believe me? Decide to stop working. Eventually you loose your job, can't pay rent, and become homeless. You will find yourself falling down the hierarchy pretty fast.

Not trying to make any kind of judgment about this being good or bad. Just trying to point out reality. This is the world we live in - performance matters.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#219

Post by filoleg »

wahern wrote: post #161
khalilravanna wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's interesting to hear about ADHD causing mood swings/anger/irritability and the stimulants doing away with them. Is that a common trait of the illness? I only noticed that after I started taking stimulants my temper became a lot more short. It's to the point that I have to be really cognizant of it lest I inadvertently snap at someone due to some biological response (really not good as a leader in an organizatio…

Is that while the medication is at its peak, or more toward the tail end of the cycle? The extended amphetamine release Vyvanse, for example, can leave you feeling tired after it wears off. Especially on "vacations", like weekends or other extended periods, until you readjust. Such exhaustion would likely shorten anyone's temper, but especially someone with ADHD.

All I gotta say, a good specialist will definitely attempt to go through different medications with you, as what works great for some people might have side effects for others. And there are new ADHD medications being released too, some of which end up working fabulously for people who previously couldn't find one that works for them without any impairing side effects.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#220

Post by munk-a »

Gene_Parmesan wrote: post #179
viklove wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A pill that decreases the risk of cardiac arrest is very different than a pill that is psychoactive. Many people just can't relate to taking a drug that quite literally changes your behavior on a day-to-day basis, even if it has positive effects on your life. This is something I myself have struggled with. I suffer from anxiety but I can't bring myself to take medication because I like the person I am and I don't wan…

The big question for us is, do we consider the parts of our behavior caused by whatever we suffer from to be part of our identity or personality? I do not now. I used to -- I had a fairly major crisis of identity after my diagnosis, because a very large chunk of what I considered to be my personality turned out to be ADHD symptoms. I literally had to refind myself. But it turned out very well, because now I define my…

I've dealt with this quandry!

Oh man, sure, the medication makes me a better member of society... but am I killing the old me? Am I discriminating against the old me? In taking the medication are we declaring the me I was born as a dysfunctional useless person?

I actually came to pretty much the same conclusion, I prefer being the me that is clear headed - the medication is a requisite for that and I dislike that chemical requirement, but I prefer this me.

I think I've gotten more over this after bringing someone bipolar(with some other issues) closely into my family, they are drastically different when off balance and constantly have to fight (adjusting meds, checking Li levels) to stay on balance... And the off-balance person isn't a bad person, but they're highly internally inconsistent, they constantly put roadblocks in their way and, even when the meds are way off balance - they'll come through stable for random moments and strongly want to rebalance themselves.

Their condition is rough enough that they can't self-correct, I can mostly self-correct, it's hard but if I've run out of meds I can make it into the Doctor and get more and I feel quite lucky to be able to do that.

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