Sorry, I perceived it as relevant to the first sentence you said. > it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to prescribe medication Absolutely - my SO is diagnosed and I've been with her in the pharmacy where she was blatantly accused of trying to get it so she could sell it (nope, just a normal college student diagnosed with ADHD). That was wild.
Why would they accuse her? High dose? I hope she complained to pharmacy board.
I think they thought she was taking me along because she was going to sell to me after? It was unclear, but they were definitely suspicious of my presence.
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’m ADD and I don’t think it’s a disorder
It is in the context of this society as we're fairly maladapted to it and struggle with a lot basic things that cause big problems in our lives.
I literally just got diagnosed with adult ADD a month ago. I'm 46! It... explains a lot of things, both for better and for worse. I never even realized I was developing coping skills vs. just developing normal skills, if that makes sense. I definitely have had the same types of problems as you describe. I've been on Ritalin for a few weeks now, and the difference is remarkable. If this is how normal people feel most…
I had a bad concussion when I was 12 that ended up tanking my testosterone levels (and god knows what else). I was extremely tired all the time. I didn’t get it properly diagnosed for nearly 15 years, and in that time I turned down going to Ivy League schools and a bunch of other opportunities. I have to admit going on HN can be a bit of a bummer as I always thought I was destined for the lives a lot of people have h…
All good points, and worth keeping in mind. I didn't live in the 'states until I was a teen, so I know how lucky I am to be here, too. It's also OK to feel grief over loss at the same time. Like I said, it's a relatively new diagnosis for me, so it's going to take me a while to process things. Overall, I am grateful, though, and that is important to emphasize.
I don't want to get in to too much detail on a public board, but the short of it is that several major events in rapid succession (unexpected death of my father, lawsuits involving his estate, Covid just as I was re-growing my IT business, loss of several major clients/income security due to same, a sudden chronic health problem, etc, etc, etc, etc.) overwhelmed my ability to get things done in a timely manner. I sou…
Appreciate your answer, thank you - really sorry for the loss of your dad, losing mine really changed a lot of things for me.
Thank you for your kind words. I am sorry for your loss as well. And yeah, it was rough.
> These drugs are not one-size-fits-all. True but...on a probability basis, the two situations I gave are more than the majority of people's reason.
What goes up must come down in the equilibrium. The more amphetamine salts you take the harsher the crash and withdrawal.
If someone actually has ADHD, the person doesn't feel 'up'. Instead, after taking meds, they should feel more self control, less frigidity, and more calm. Withdraw should become the opposite. (I'm speaking generally, based on more research than my fingers and toes, not for individual cases).
I literally just got diagnosed with adult ADD a month ago. I'm 46! It... explains a lot of things, both for better and for worse. I never even realized I was developing coping skills vs. just developing normal skills, if that makes sense. I definitely have had the same types of problems as you describe. I've been on Ritalin for a few weeks now, and the difference is remarkable. If this is how normal people feel most…
I had a bad concussion when I was 12 that ended up tanking my testosterone levels (and god knows what else). I was extremely tired all the time. I didn’t get it properly diagnosed for nearly 15 years, and in that time I turned down going to Ivy League schools and a bunch of other opportunities. I have to admit going on HN can be a bit of a bummer as I always thought I was destined for the lives a lot of people have h…
> I had a bad concussion when I was 12 that ended up tanking my testosterone levels (and god knows what else).
Interesting you mention that. I had a Bicycle->Car accident when I was 8 and I've always been told that's when a number of my behaviors started to change (and I became the black sheep of the family I am now.) I didn't get diagonsed with ADD until I was almost 30, but oddly enough my current care doctor also specializes in head trauma.
I have ADHD and have noticed that I have extreme difficulty maintaining a schedule or forming habits. Almost everything I do is the result of by moment to moment decisions. I flit from project to project as needed, and have hundreds of things going on all the time. This inability to form habits is extreme. If something's not right in front of me I forget that it exists. I've tried to start smoking, but as soon as the…
Tried going to a doctor ? How many hours do you sleep ?
Oh, I take adderall and it helps. Interestingly, sometimes I'll drink caffeine and an adderall and then take a relaxing nap. I also forget to take my adderall quite often.
I wonder what it means if I can drink 4 espressos before bed and sleep like a baby... does anyone have research on caffeine metabolisms and ADHD / other diagnoses?
Not everyone is the same. I have heard of drug addicts who could only drop heroin by replacing it with massive amounts of highly-caffeinated energy drinks, in quantities that would be objectively bad for most regular folks.
I only managed to drop drinking a shit tonne of Red Bull once I started Ritalin.
This is possible. When I was diagnosed, it was autism masking ADHD (apparently the other way around is more common though) because I have all the ADHD issues with everything except my special interest. I was told that ADHD more commonly masks autism though, so it's certainly worth exploring the possibility.
Hyper focus is a cool super power of adhd.
So cool that you routinely don't do the dishes, laundry, rubbish, childcare or gardening because you're way too in the zone.
It's cool af if you're young and single and you can just go and go and go on what it is that you're totally wrapped up in. It's shite when you grow up a little and other people have expectations of you and you constantly fail to meet them.
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 hel…
Speaking about other possible conditions, anecdotally there are two people in my family who saw a psychiatrist for ADHD like symptoms, who years later were eventually diagnosed with sleep apnea (both with a normal BMI). It seems like this is not uncommon, quoting Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep”: > Based on recent surveys and clinical evaluations, we estimate that more than 50 percent of all children with an ADHD diag…
I have sleep apnea, and ADHD. Before getting on CPAP life was pretty tough. It definitely exacerbated my ADHD at least 2x. So, I can understand that if you're neurotypical and have sleep apnea it is going to be affecting your executive function such that you aren't at 100%. The flip side is ADHDers are significantly more likely to be morbidly obese and have other health complications like sleep apnea as a result. At that point it's a real downward spiral. Very glad I finally sought treatment for my apnea after kicking the can down the road for 4 whole years, which is very typical ADHD behavior in itself.
For real though CPAP is life changing if you need it and you get on it.