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Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#21

Post by treeman79 »

_dibly wrote: post #13
disiplus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

I take 30-MG Adderall XRs, my brothers both take IR before classes since they have more downtime, but I work from home so most days I wake up and work until 4-5PM at my desk. Also worth mentioning that we all take the doctor recommended dosages, I worked my way up from 10MG doses and I absolutely do not recommend self-medicating in any way.

For me a 10mg dose will last 20-40 hours. If I take at same time each day it “builds up” Made proper dosing Very difficult

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#23

Post by JackMcMack »

anonymoushn wrote: post #14
disiplus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

That's just ritalin. If you think it would be more effective to take a straight dose of 10mg than to use the time release mechanism, I think you could achieve this by getting the drug out of the pills you already have. I am also using concerta because it is the only form of ritalin legal in my country. I don't really notice a difference compared to taking ritalin the other way.

Extended work from home finally pushed me to get diagnosed (ASS + ADHD).

I'm now on 2x 10mg methylphenidate (ritalin). It has definitely helped, but after a few weeks I now feel habituated (is that the right word?). Unless something is on fire or past deadline I'm back to getting no work done. I do notice positive effects when combined with (too much) caffeine, but ideally I want to quit soft drinks (and I don't like coffee).

I think I will ask my gp to switch to extended release. I hope he's willing to help me find something that works best for me.

As a sidenote, I do with people could be clearer when describing their medication. Just say the active ingredient, dosage, and frequency. Brand names can differ in different countries.

For reference:

- Ritalin, Concerta = Methylphenidate

- Adderall = Amphetamine

- Dexedrine = Dextroamphetamine

- Vyvanse = Lisdexamfetamine

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#24

Post by cpuguy83 »

treeman79 wrote: post #20
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

Took adderal for year. Completely life changing. My focus and energy level were on par with a normal persons. Unfortunately it was far too hard on the body. Started stroking out on it. Plus it interacted with almost every Medicane I’ve been prescribed. Tried vyvanse. Only one side effect. The deepest most profound sadness imaginable. Would sit for hours just “sad”. Nothing was bothering me. Worked fine aside from tha…

Having gone through this with my fam, given that you seem to have reactions to every med, have you considered it may be autism or aspurgers? ADHD and autism are often seen together, and reactions to other meds also seems to be fairly common. I just wanted to throw that out there because this realization that it's not just ADHD, not just anxiety, etc has changed our life dramatically... and there are meds that can help with this (on top of some dietary changes).

Anyway, good luck!

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#25

Post by _dibly »

treeman79 wrote: post #20
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

Took adderal for year. Completely life changing. My focus and energy level were on par with a normal persons. Unfortunately it was far too hard on the body. Started stroking out on it. Plus it interacted with almost every Medicane I’ve been prescribed. Tried vyvanse. Only one side effect. The deepest most profound sadness imaginable. Would sit for hours just “sad”. Nothing was bothering me. Worked fine aside from tha…

I'm not a parent, so I don't really have any grounds to argue how someone should raise their children. The only anecdote I'll add is that I would be reluctant to hold someone back from an opportunity to have the normalcy that I couldn't have in school. When I got to high school it was like my ADHD kicked into full gear, I started performing significantly worse and outright failing classes. My classmates, friends, and even teachers treated me like a lazy burnout.

Out of 120 students, I was the only one who didn't graduate that year. Sometimes I feel like I have the world's worst case of impostor syndrome because of how high school went for me. I was constantly testing top of the class but most everyone looked at me like an abject failure. I went into college with practically zero note-taking or studying skills and the first couple of years were a nightmare, even with medication.

All this is to say that medication can help when you need to feel normal, but it can't replace the skills you should have been developing. Some people can develop those skills and get shit done without medication and I applaud them, but I tried that route and ended up _years_ behind my peers.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#26

Post by dx87 »

JackMcMack wrote: post #23
anonymoushn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's just ritalin. If you think it would be more effective to take a straight dose of 10mg than to use the time release mechanism, I think you could achieve this by getting the drug out of the pills you already have. I am also using concerta because it is the only form of ritalin legal in my country. I don't really notice a difference compared to taking ritalin the other way.

Extended work from home finally pushed me to get diagnosed (ASS + ADHD). I'm now on 2x 10mg methylphenidate (ritalin). It has definitely helped, but after a few weeks I now feel habituated (is that the right word?). Unless something is on fire or past deadline I'm back to getting no work done. I do notice positive effects when combined with (too much) caffeine, but ideally I want to quit soft drinks (and I don't like…

I'm on 6x10 mg of ritalin, and one thing that helped me with it losing its effectiveness is taking a reduced or no dose on weekends, and making a concerted effort to get plenty of sleep. I noticed that I'd be sleeping less when I took it, and eventually the ritalin was just counteracting how tired I was, but not providing any benefit beyond that.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#27

Post by relativeadv »

pastrami_panda wrote: post #15
cbluth wrote: post #3

i have severe ADD, and i dont have the patience with myself to read enough of this article to benefit my understanding of it.

Many years ago I read the preface to the behemoth of a book that is Infinite Jest by DFW. I don't remember the wording of the preface, but I recall it arguing that the sheer size of the book could be regarded both as a cultural experience as well as a mental exercise. The author of the preface argued that when (or perhaps if) you finished the book you would feel like you've just run a marathon. You would be highly fi…

This is really insightful, thanks. Makes me want to take another swing at Infinite Jest.

With depression, we might take medication to grant us a seat at the table of recovery via a therapist. The hope is to get off of that medication eventually. Perhaps the same holds true with ADD/ADHD? I am not a psychiatrist.

I've been wondering about this attention deficit and reading comprehension issue for awhile now. I would love to know how many of us adults actually read books anymore for longer than a thirty minute period? Any kind of book reading.

I like to think that I'm a somewhat experienced meditator by now. Having observed the mindfulness hype over the years I wonder if what people are really missing is just some silent focused time in general. If all you want is quieter mind, maybe you don't need a ten day silent retreat but just an hourlong reading session?

I know the topic has been beaten to death but it is an important one. This constant context switching between systems and devices who have been engineered to sap your impulse control and short-circuit your core reward system need to be investigated on a personal level. So it isn't just that you aren't doing those hourlong reading sessions in silence but that you're actively practicing a different kind of negative behavior.

This is just one uneducated person's opinion. If we're talking about a dysfunctional reward pathway would it not stand to reason that someone's gravitation toward systems who provide thousands of small immediate rewards only reinforce this dysfunction? Think video games, porn, and instagram. Juxtapose this with reading a novel, painting a picture, or finally understanding recursion. I feel kind of gross typing that out because it feels like some sort of appeal to nature but I can't shake it.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#28

Post by gremlinsinc »

_dibly wrote: post #13
disiplus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

I take 30-MG Adderall XRs, my brothers both take IR before classes since they have more downtime, but I work from home so most days I wake up and work until 4-5PM at my desk. Also worth mentioning that we all take the doctor recommended dosages, I worked my way up from 10MG doses and I absolutely do not recommend self-medicating in any way.

you wouldn't know anything about adhd meds and depression/anxiety?

I've had panic attacks this year, I had depression years ago, went to therapy a lot better on that front. Enter: Xoloft followed by Trintellix (1 week in). I dealt w/ them pretty well, I'd go lay down, breathe and maybe take a cat nap, wake up in 30 minutes go back to work feeling like a million dollars. Now, not so much.

So, I started xoloft a month ago, it screwed up me libido and made me continually 'want it' but not able to 'deliver' (or it'd take way too long). Switched to Trintellix, still have panic attacks, sex is better, but anxiety doesn't seem affected. Now, I feel I'm actually more depressed though, and just not wanting to get out of bed. Motivation is rough.

I'm also taking Vyvanse for ADHD. It doesn't seem to be as effective as it was before adding anxiety meds.

Should I just scrap the anxiety meds altogether and just deal with adhd? Anyone else w/ similar experience want to chime in? It's really messing me up, and I've recently lost my main client so I really need to focus and get some income (web dev/laravel), or I'm gonna be homeless (40 w/ wife and 2 kids - so not an option).

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#29

Post by andybak »

treeman79 wrote: post #20
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

Took adderal for year. Completely life changing. My focus and energy level were on par with a normal persons. Unfortunately it was far too hard on the body. Started stroking out on it. Plus it interacted with almost every Medicane I’ve been prescribed. Tried vyvanse. Only one side effect. The deepest most profound sadness imaginable. Would sit for hours just “sad”. Nothing was bothering me. Worked fine aside from tha…

> Started stroking out on it

I've never heard this particular phrase before and I can only guess it's meaning vaguely from the context.

What does it mean?

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#30

Post by pen2l »

zarkov99 wrote: post #19
pen2l wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I take concerta, 18mg, and it works wonders. The only small negative is the its life is a little too long... even if I take it at 7am, I find I have difficulty getting to sleep sometimes up till 3am... and then my whole sleep schedule gets shifted and it’s damn difficult to get it back to a proper rhythm. That aside, I _so_ agree with grandparent post about the negative stigma associated with medication for adhd. I’m…

How early do you think you should have started? And how would one know its the right time?

That’s a tough one, that’s a really tough one, especially as I’m seeing my 5 year old niece and seeing myself in her... in her inability to remain focused and motivated. It’s tough because even I am sometimes biased against running to medication as sloppy fixes when root causes of ailments and a full safety profile of drugs isn’t 100% clear.

But with the information and experience I have, I think if you get tested by a professional psychologist and he okays it, I’d be comfortable with kids as young as 5 getting medicated.

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