GABA supplements can help alleviate the symptoms of ADHD, if the source of it is anxiety.
Me and ADHD
41–50 of 455 posts
Re: Me and ADHD
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
We're talking about ADHD though, not someone looking to just pull some all-nighters or cram on a Sunday night. When I realized there was a low dose medication that could basically cure me of ADHD (thus cure me of underperformance, procrastinating my ambitions, low professional self-esteem), the choice was obvious. Know what also does harm? Underperformance, procrastinating my ambitions, low professional self-esteem.…
Stimulant addictions are one of the most common functional addictions. I don't think most people would consider someone servicing an active physical dependency to have a "perfect bill of health", even if you are totally free from disease.
> someone servicing an active physical dependency to have a "perfect bill of health"
Is taking immunosuppressants also a physical dependency or a functional addiction?
Re: Me and ADHD
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do agree that it can cause harm long term. It's the same with all medications, that's why I pay doctors to prescribe medication and monitor my health while taking it. I already have physicals every six months because of another condition. With the Adderall, I get blood pressure taken monthly and an EKG every three months. The goal of almost any medication is to create a stop gap to create or find non-medication sol…
I didn't demonize anything, and if you think I did, you should probably re-read my comment dispassionately and stop trying to do battle on the internet. Your comment opens with: > Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. Immediately suggesting that someone seek a somewhat dangerous medication as a solution, without qualification, is an extreme and dangerous view. "You have ADD so you should try low doses of speed!"…
One requires getting diagnosed to get medication. I am not advocating buying Adderall from a dealer. I am encouraging people not to be afraid to pursue the medication route because it is so demonized.
Medication helps a lot. You could struggle with no medication, trying to build a system to help yourself, possibly fail and never be who you can be or you can seek out professional help (potentially with medication) and begin building support today and have a good shot.
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Would you say the same if I encouraged a depressed person to do their best to get diagnosed and get on 'anti-depressants'? I am doubtful.
We have invented medication for a reason. People go to decades of med school for a reason. Medical professionals know what they are doing and are very upfront about it not being a panacea and needing to still work on non-medication solutions (as with any medication).
I will admit my first sentence ("Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds") was too strong to start with.
Re: Me and ADHD
#44Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…
> I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "literal meth" and how it will certainly kill you. Even with an addictive personality, it's very easy to avoid over-doing it (hint: only take it as prescribed). Low dose meth does work pretty similar to Adderall. Everyone who does meth does not become a meth addict. Most don't. But the people who become meth addicts a…
To paraphrase, "I think adderall is kinda like meth, so it's obviously addictive."
The fuck?
Adderall is one of many medical options for treating ADHD. Not all of which are stimulants. And some of which are chemically designed so they can't be abused (like Vyvance).
EDIT: The OP pulled the "in my opinion" phrasing from their post, but I'm going leave mine as-is. There's a lot of anecdote based FUD about ADHD meds going on in these threads, and it makes me mad. My above thoughts stand.
Re: Me and ADHD
#45Not surprised at all that caffeine helps. ADHD is, bar none, the mental health diagnosis most amenable to medication. Specifically, stimulant therapy. There's no principled distinction between self-medicating and prescriptions here, other than various legal risks, costs, and side effect profiles. Caffeine is particularly poorly suited to this due to adaptation and anxiety, but it's certainly something , especially if…
Coffee consumption was actually one of the questions that I was asked when my therapist first suspected that I had ADHD. I used to drink 5+ cups per day (especially workdays) while feeling fairly little effect from it. I'm now on medication which works an order of magnitude better for managing my symptoms, and I rarely drink more than 1 cup of coffee per day. It's also worth noting that ADHD often comes with other me…
> Coffee consumption was actually one of the questions that I was asked when my therapist first suspected that I had ADHD. I used to drink 5+ cups per day (especially workdays) while feeling fairly little effect from it.
Did you get a big boost when you first started with it that reduced as you developed tolerance with habitual use?
I've always been pretty careful with caffeine consumption in order to avoid tolerance, because I didn't want to get into a state where all it did was boost me back to my "normal" (i.e. feeling crappy until I got my coffee, and having to use increasing amounts to get past my baseline).
Re: Me and ADHD
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
We're talking about ADHD though, not someone looking to just pull some all-nighters or cram on a Sunday night. When I realized there was a low dose medication that could basically cure me of ADHD (thus cure me of underperformance, procrastinating my ambitions, low professional self-esteem), the choice was obvious. Know what also does harm? Underperformance, procrastinating my ambitions, low professional self-esteem.…
Stimulant addictions are one of the most common functional addictions. I don't think most people would consider someone servicing an active physical dependency to have a "perfect bill of health", even if you are totally free from disease.
You are making assumptions the parent did not imply. You can be on ADHD meds and not be addicted to them, ffs. I am on low-dose adderall xr on days that I need it and I have never had an issue. Everyone is different, but to imply that the adderall has caused an “active physical dependency” is no different from stating that too many people drink caffeine (except that because I only take it as needed it’s not even a fair comparison).
You’d be right, but it does not do significant harm, especially given how therapeutic the right drug can be in the right doses.
Can it do significant harm? Sure. So can Ibuprofen.
Re: Me and ADHD
#47Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…
I'm still not sold on the medication and prefer to follow strict routines + good diet + exercise. To me, it's obvious who is taking ADHD pills. People are almost zombie like or they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings. Not being drugged and finding coping mechanisms has allowed me to plow through multiple degrees and find career success, albeit at the cost of "other…
You prefer to do the exact things that people with ADHD struggle with. This is like saying “for depression I prefer to just not be sad.”
It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed and medicated that I finished my undergrad after almost a decade, started my career, and started grad school. You do you, but don’t be sanctimonious about mental health treatment based on your anecdotes.
Re: Me and ADHD
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm still not sold on the medication and prefer to follow strict routines + good diet + exercise. To me, it's obvious who is taking ADHD pills. People are almost zombie like or they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings. Not being drugged and finding coping mechanisms has allowed me to plow through multiple degrees and find career success, albeit at the cost of "other…
> People are almost zombie like or they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings. What you describe sounds more like symptoms of untreated ADHD rather than treated ADHD.
Or sleep deprivation...
Re: Me and ADHD
#49Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…
> caffeine does help from my testing, especially caffeine combined with L-Theanine.
One thing that made me look into adderall was finding out I was a slow metabolizer of caffeine via 23andme, and was consuming an unhealthy level of caffeine. I did some research and determined that the health risks of low doses of adderall were smaller than those of high doses of caffeine.
Scott Alexander’s review of the research on Adderall are also worth reading:
https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-mo...
Re: Me and ADHD
#50Not surprised at all that caffeine helps. ADHD is, bar none, the mental health diagnosis most amenable to medication. Specifically, stimulant therapy. There's no principled distinction between self-medicating and prescriptions here, other than various legal risks, costs, and side effect profiles. Caffeine is particularly poorly suited to this due to adaptation and anxiety, but it's certainly something , especially if…
Yes, but in the long run amphetamines will do significant damage to your health.
[Citation needed]