211–220 of 455 posts
I didn’t see this addressed in other comments, but I thought the music part was interesting. Fast, driving, intense techno of some sort is a game changer for me in terms of focus. Not a replacement for medication, but a useful tool with or without. I also find bright, flashing lights useful for focus. Think those cheap led bulbs which a prism and motor. I think expensive night club versions would be better, but I’m n…
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Are you sure this isn't just due to habituation? I was diagnosed ADHD in gradeschool and definitely experienced some euphoric side effects when starting on both Ritalin and Adderall. They quickly subsided after a few days/weeks on the medications but my ADHD brain still reacted that way at first. I tried taking Adderall again as an adult for a few months (after a decade being off the drug) and had a similar experienc…
Habituation is definitely part of it. Many prescribers will also start patients on very low doses and titration up to minimize the distraction of the euphoric effects. Unfortunately, many mew ADHD patients mistake the initial euphoric effects for the medication “working” and get frustrated when the effects go away. They start chasing bigger prescriptions, shopping around for prescribers willing to give higher doses,…
I don't like being on stimulants though. When I'm on stimulants I can't just let my thoughts wander and do whatever feels right at the moment, and I really like that part. If I don't have work to do I greatly prefer not being on them.
The only time I feel the need to abuse them is when I am over burdened with work and I feel I need the extra focus to complete tasks. At those times I try to do the opposite, quit taking the medicine and calm down and tell people that I don't have time to do the tasks now.
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Amphetamine got authorised in Germany a year ago in the form of Lisdexamphetamine under the name of Elvanse: https://www.adhspedia.de/wiki/Elvanse_Adult I got it from my doctor and have been taking it for a year after trying Methylphenidate which did not show any positive effect on me.
How is Lisdex for you? I've recently been considering asking my doc if I can try it out. I'm currently on a rather high daily dosage of Medikinet CR (2x30mg + another 1x20mg on long days if anyone's curious). It works but too inconsistently. It's also rather expensive here in the Netherlands.
Now I am on 50 mg. The medicine stimulates my focus and makes me more enthusiastic about activities, which can be annoying since I need to control not to apply my new powers on wrong or useless activities. I am also very verbose for couple hours after taking a pill. I would not say I am completely cured from ADHD. In the evenings, positive effect disappears, so I need to plan accordingly.
I avoid drinking coffee in the morning now, as the combination of two stimulants makes me shaky, I experience muscle tension, and it affects my ability to interact with people.
We tried 70mg with the doctor as well, but it made me aggressive and grim in couple months without noticeable improvements over 50mg. To manage tolerance I often skip taking pills on weekends. I also lost a few kilograms, which is good.
All in all, I am only half satisfied with the result - based on what I read I expected a better effect. I think my type of ADHD may be addressed with more sophisticated medication. Unfortunately, in Germany there are not a lot of other options to try, and my doctor seems to lack experience in treating ADHD. I try to combine pills with diet, exercises, and sleep management.
Getting chemically treated for ADHD is one of the life-changing moments for me. I spent most of my teen years learning "good habits" thru counseling and all that jazz. It wasn't until I started Vyvanse that all those "good habits" that was taught to me actually made sense. All the meditation practice actually got put to good use when it comes to controlling anger. I do wish I hadn't waited 15+ years between diagnosis…
For me, medication and counseling compliment each other. Have you considered going back to counseling now that you are medicated to get even more "good habits" that you can apply to your life as it is in 2020?
Whenever you read someone's personal description of ADHD, it helps to remember that many of the traits they describe are common to everyone, ADHD or not. The distinction lies in the severity of the symptoms, and how resistant those symptoms are to more typical (non-medication) interventions.
The bigger problem is that some of these overly generic descriptions of ADHD are so broad that you'd be hard pressed to find any young person in 2021 who doesn't fit the description.
For example, consider what the inverse of this person's list of bullet points would look like:
- Very, very easy time focusing on things they don't like or don't want to do
- Easy time reading physical books
- Hard to distract with construction noises
- Enjoys sitting still for extended periods of time
- Easily gets back to a flow state after being interrupted
Taken to extremes, overly generic descriptions of ADHD tend to paint unrealistic pictures of what a non-ADHD person looks like. When was the last time you met any young person who is unaffected by distractions, interruptions, sitting still for long periods of time, and has no issues focusing on things they don't like?
The list of recommended techniques provided by the author is excellent. Everyone could benefit from it, frankly. ADHD people especially.
Newly diagnosed (or self-diagnosed) ADHD patients often make the mistake of letting their diagnosis become a convenient excuse. They might start speaking about their ADHD as if it's a separate entity, holding their true self back (For example "It's not my fault I have ADHD" or "If it wasn't for my ADHD, I would be more successful"). While this is short-term satisfying, it can be extremely counterproductive. If anything, an ADHD diagnosis means you need to put more effort into building routines, improving your self-discipline, creating focus-conducive environments, and other healthy habits that everyone benefits from, ADHD or otherwise.
If you find yourself identifying with some of the points in this article, bookmark the article and spend some time implementation the recommended bullet points. If you find the issues are interfering with your life to an unbearable degree, consider engaging with a professional psychiatrist for a conversation on ADHD. You don't want someone who will simply prescribe stimulants and send you on your way. You want someone who will create a long-term plan. Medication can help, but it's not as straightforward as it sounds. Worse yet, some people mistake medication for a free pass around building self-discipline, which fails when tolerance develops (and it will). Healthy habits and self-discipline last a lifetime, so it's worth investing in building those up front.
Fellow 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 working on ADHD diagnosis now and my doctor was kind enough to let me begin taking Ritalin and then switch to Vyvanse. Medication is literally, demonstrably changing my life for the better. I used to drink multiple cups of coffee a day and felt like it was almost baseline requirement just to attempt to focus. Actual ADHD medication makes coffee almost obsolete. The first time I took Ritalin it was almost scary to…
First of all, make sure you get that diagnosis. Don't go wild with the medication thing, because the first thing that the medication should do is bring you from the "giving up in advance" level to the "ooh, I can learn about and try some things that might help me to take control of my own life" level.
And for now, start ignoring "anyone who doesn't have our experience" and what they think and shout, because I think you won't start to feel any better after reading all of that.
Hans
P.S. my un-scientific explanation for the overload of stress reactions (and anxiety and panic attacks) is that in absence of 'neurotypical' ways to get us going, the body goes into an emergency stress loop, producing stress hormones and adrenaline all the time, to try get us going to do anything at all.
A lot of comments here are warning about the addictive properties of stimulant medications. For folks without ADHD, you should know that stimulants, like Ritalin and Adderall, do not usually cause the same response as in non-ADHD people. I've spoken with many people on stimulants, and none of them enjoy taking the medication, beyond what it has done to improve their lives. Furthermore, most ADHD people develop tolera…
"Due to similar symptoms, an undetected visual dysfunction can be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, dyslexia or a reading disability. A comprehensive eye exam, which rules out a binocular vision dysfunction, is critical to determining if vision is a contributing factor."
See: http://walesby3d.com/vision-learning/ and http://walesby3d.com/what-is-vision-therapy/
For years I had trouble concentrating and sticking with a task. It felt like my eyes were exhausted even after a few hours of simple computer work, so I was constantly getting up and looking away and taking breaks. This led to not even wanting to pay attention or focus on anything at all, especially on screen, because I knew I wouldn't be able to stick with it. It felt like my brain was mush.
Fast forward almost five years of twitching from one task to the next, it started to feel like my vision was getting worse. I wasn't having any luck getting my prescription right with the eye doctor I had been seeing, so I went to another doctor, then another, then another, until one doctor refused to write me a new prescription because she picked up on a slight muscle imbalance in one of my eyes, which was preventing my eyes from tracking and converging together.
She sent me to a pediatric vision specialist (they'll see adults) who primarily deal with muscular dysfunction in the eye—these folks quite literally changed my life.
Turns out I have all sorts of muscular issues with one of my eyes, which causes both eyes to work overtime trying to coordinate and focus together. This led to tired eyes, and a tired, sleepy brain. Long story short, it took a few months to get the prescription just right, along with some initial vision therapy, but once I got used to the new glasses, my ability to focus returned almost overnight. Everything felt so much calmer—reading, writing, thinking, driving, speaking.
These days, after a handful of changes to my prescription over the years, I've reached a dead-end with lens corrections, so surgery is the only option left if things get worse. But so far, the glasses with appropriate corrections have been absolutely incredible.
Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case it's helpful to someone who is lurking with tired eyes and a fractured attention span. You want an optometrist with F.C.O.V.D after their name, someone who specializes in binocular vision and muscular dysfunction.
Getting chemically treated for ADHD is one of the life-changing moments for me. I spent most of my teen years learning "good habits" thru counseling and all that jazz. It wasn't until I started Vyvanse that all those "good habits" that was taught to me actually made sense. All the meditation practice actually got put to good use when it comes to controlling anger. I do wish I hadn't waited 15+ years between diagnosis…
For me, medication and counseling compliment each other. Have you considered going back to counseling now that you are medicated to get even more "good habits" that you can apply to your life as it is in 2020?
Many newly diagnosed ADHD patients make the mistake of thinking that they don't need therapy or self-help techniques now that they have stimulant medication. That's wrong. The stimulant medication should be used as an adjunct to therapy, self-habit, and developing good self-control techniques. The initial motivational boost of a new stimulant prescription won't last forever (concentration-enhancing effects do persist, though). However, good self-control habits will last a lifetime.
A (rather iffy) analogy is like a man trying to lift weights with very low testosterone. Going to the gym still helps, but it's an uphill battle to put on muscle until the underlying issues are corrected. However, fixing testosterone alone won't get you into great physical shape. You still need to put in the work to make the most of the corrected physiological condition.