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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)

#251

Post by gavinray »

nxc18 wrote: post #229
robswc wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious too. I would think that would also imply that access in other ways might be a bit "easier" as well...

Not OP but this is functionally true in the US. I was diagnosed when I was younger, made the mistake of letting my prescription lapse (because I give myself breaks and therefore end up accumulating excess), and now can’t get the medication I need to function. Fun fact, when you’re ADHD-PI, trying SSRIs isn’t just a harmless fun little exercise, it could have potentially life ruining consequences, which the psychiatri…

> I was diagnosed when I was younger, made the mistake of letting my prescription lapse (because I give myself breaks and therefore end up accumulating excess), and now can’t get the medication I need to function.

Wtf? I have done the same thing, gone off-and-on my RX I think 3 times now.

Whenever I wanted to get back on, I just found a random psychiatrist or clinic and said "Can you please renew my ADHD Rx? It's starting to really negatively impact my work performance." and then they'd say okay, sure.

This was in Colorado though, Boulder/Denver area. Half the university students and tech workers had prescriptions so it might be a biased area. Not sure what it might be like other places in the US.

Sorry you're going through that nonsense, if you want to shell out the money you can google "ADHD specialist" and pick a psychiatrist from the list that pops up. Will cost you ~$300-500 (IME) out of pocket for consultation and re-diagnosis.

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

#252

Post by nullsense »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #232
stevefan1999 wrote: post #136

I'm an ADD adult and this especially hits me when I'm participating competitions, be it leetcode coding competition or examination. I just hate to do it and every other bits of attention source will got me seeked on, like a notification from my phone, or someone dropped a pen to the ground. That's how fast I lost focus. But on the other hand sometimes I can be extra-focused, with a prerequisite it's something I enjoy…

Similar experience here. As a kid I couldn't manage to read a couple paragraphs on a boring subject but I could study and practice programming for 12 hours straight. Developed plenty of coping mechanisms and was only diagnosed in adulthood halfway into medical school. Every ADHD patient I've seen has a similar story of hyperattention... I'm convinced this disorder is named after attention and hyperactivity because th…

It's named after how we annoyed our parents and teachers as kids. Such a terrible name for it.

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

#253

Post by zylent »

skissane wrote: post #151
burtonator wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

> Some people have problems with off brands of XR (extended release) that has a different formulation. There's no standardization on the XR process and I think it's vendor specific. “Aderall” is a mixture of dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine, in a 3:1 ratio. Unlike some other drugs, both enantiomers have a therapeutic effect, but slightly different effects on the brain. If one takes pure dextroamphetamine (“Dexed…

I’m currently switching to Vyvanse after 10+ years using adderall. There is no generic formulation (at least in the us) because it came to market in 2007. I’ve had several issues with inconsistent adderall from various generic manufacturers and that issue simply isn’t possible right now with Vyvanse. The downside is, it’s $400 a month without insurance, and $100 a month with good insurance.

Because it’s basically dextroamphetamine with a lysine molecule taped on, the psychoactive effects are really similar, but I’d describe it as cleaner if that makes sense. The “killer feature” of the enzymatic release is it’s basically a fixed timing, whereas with XR formulations of Adderall you have a 50/50 blend of immediate and delayed release 3:1 amphetamines. I believe you are correct, it’s not standardized. This, combined with the acids / bases both hurting overall blood levels (think grapefruit juice) means you just have a wildly inconsistent time over long term use of the medicine. For example, I’ve had pharmacies change generics on me without saying anything, I’ve had an inability to get my preferred generics, and I’ve had days where it’s felt like I took nothing at all. The worst are Nuvo and Mallinckrodt in my experience (IR 10mg 2x/day).

I’ve only been using Vyvanse for a week or so, but I can say it’s a marked improvement for me and the lack of a generic is a huge boon with regards to consistency.

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

#254

Post by Azrathud »

christopher22 wrote: post #242
titanomachy wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the "blessing and curse" characterization. I owe my career to thousands of hours spent hyperfocused on learning programming languages for fun while I was supposed to be doing homework. On the other hand, I've come close to losing my job because of difficulty carrying out assigned tasks that don't matter to me. Interesting contrast though: for me leetcode, certain exams, and interviews often trigger hyper…

I’m ADD and I don’t think it’s a disorder, but a trait that was selected for. I think it’s an explorers gene. It’s just difficult for us to fit in to the system. Not only school, but a traditional 9-5 for me is difficult. Especially while not on medication.

I definitely agree with this. I seriously suspect that I have ADD, and a burden has been lifted off my shoulders ever since I quit my 9-5 startup job and started travelling the North America a van + freelance coding.

Turn on, tune in, drop out

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

#255

Post by brundolf »

My experience as someone who (probably) has ADD and who knows lots of people who do, is that ADD people tend to be highly passionate and motivated. It's just that our motivations jump around all over the place.

For a long time my response to this tendency was to try to control, direct, pin down my motivation so that I could stick with something until it was done. Doing this caused me to actually have a real deficit of motivation, instead of just an always-changing motivation. Once I stopped trying to control it and embraced jumping-around, following my interest wherever it led me, I actually had much more success seeing tasks through to completion (and even circling back to ones I'd left behind, because I wasn't feeling guilty about having left them behind). It's like my attention is highly fragmented, but I still have the same amount.

An ADD person's motivation is like a wild animal that you just have to give room to so it can do its thing. Hitch a ride to it, instead of trying to tame it, and you'll eventually get where you want to go.

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

#256

Post by zrkrlc »

brundolf wrote: post #255

My experience as someone who (probably) has ADD and who knows lots of people who do, is that ADD people tend to be highly passionate and motivated. It's just that our motivations jump around all over the place. For a long time my response to this tendency was to try to control, direct, pin down my motivation so that I could stick with something until it was done. Doing this caused me to actually have a real deficit o…

The assumption here is that you have a structured enough environment that you get tasks delivered on your doorstep regularly.

Having no external source of motivation is the death of us.

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

#257

Post by brundolf »

zrkrlc wrote: post #256
brundolf wrote: post #255

My experience as someone who (probably) has ADD and who knows lots of people who do, is that ADD people tend to be highly passionate and motivated. It's just that our motivations jump around all over the place. For a long time my response to this tendency was to try to control, direct, pin down my motivation so that I could stick with something until it was done. Doing this caused me to actually have a real deficit o…

The assumption here is that you have a structured enough environment that you get tasks delivered on your doorstep regularly. Having no external source of motivation is the death of us.

> Having no external source of motivation is the death of us

Not remotely true in my experience. Quite the opposite: I really struggle to be interested in motivators that are external, rather than internal.

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

#258

Post by nullsense »

jv22222 wrote: post #182
stevefan1999 wrote: post #136

I'm an ADD adult and this especially hits me when I'm participating competitions, be it leetcode coding competition or examination. I just hate to do it and every other bits of attention source will got me seeked on, like a notification from my phone, or someone dropped a pen to the ground. That's how fast I lost focus. But on the other hand sometimes I can be extra-focused, with a prerequisite it's something I enjoy…

Has ADD had any kind of effect on your relationships? If so, in what way? I was wondering if ADD might make it seem like one doesn’t care about people because it’s hard to maintain focus on them.

Its very hard on relationships.

It's not just seeming like you don't care, but also putting the burden on others when they pick up your slack and frequently letting them down by things you do and/or don't do.

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

#259

Post by nullsense »

burtonator wrote: post #52
_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…

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

>Adderall totally changed that. I'm able to focus on tasks long term AND even if something bad happens in my life I'm able to keep right on track

That sounds amazing. I can't even imagine that. I've just been diagnosed at 32 this year. Been on Ritalin for a few months but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Maybe 3% better. Things going bad still derails me significantly.

They're fairly conservative with meds in my neck of the woods, but I'm going to persist with my doctor to try them all to find what works.

The struggle to push through actually going through all the phone calls, emails and appointments necessary to get to that point is very un-ADHD friendly. So many times I considered just to give up and forget about it.

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

#260

Post by nullsense »

dylan604 wrote: post #191
stormbrew wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a little bit younger, and pretty much the same on all of this (except vyvanse for me). I really wish I'd figured it out in my teens or twenties. Also, every time a post on here comes up about elaborate methods of achieving focus the comments are full of people typical-minding what really might actually be ADHD (the whole "everyone is like this right?" thing) and I'm just sitting there like.. maybe you should look…

>mundane task That's why we invented shell scripts and cron! On a serious note, what type of tasks would you consider mundane that you attribute to your ADHD to cause you to not want to do them that any non-ADHD person would also not have procrastination problems? Are these specific to work like filling out time sheets or other TPS reports? Home tasks like laundry/dishes/trash? All of the above? As a non-ADHD person,…

>As a non-ADHD person, I hate all of the above tasks and only do them because it's part of adulting.

The difference being my wife breaks down in tears every 3 months because she woke up to dishes in the sink _again_ and wasn't able to use her coffee cup because, though I meant to do them and said I would, I wound up not doing them.

That was the first 5 years of my marriage. Repeat for laundry. Repeat for trash.

For work I was on a list of 5 people out of 1000 person company who's names had gone all the way to the CEO for not filling out timesheets correctly.

I hope that makes the problem a little clearer for those who think "but everyone has trouble with that stuff"

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