Earlier quoted context omitted.
i generally hate short, banal replies, but here we go: this. all of this. yes. :)
I second that.
Me too
Me and ADHD
321–330 of 455 posts
Re: Me and ADHD
#322Not 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…
I unknowingly self-medicated with ludicrous amounts of coffee before my diagnosis, but my tolerance got way too high. After that, realizing that my preferred decongestant was not only helping my cold symptoms, but also allowing me to pay attention when people were talking and complete plans in a "this seems like that thing other people are really good at, but I'm not" kind of way... that was a major tell.
> After that, realizing that my preferred decongestant was not only helping my cold symptoms, but also allowing me to pay attention when people were talking and complete plans in a "this seems like that thing other people are really good at, but I'm not" kind of way... that was a major tell.
Interesting. Was it pseudoephedrine? I took Allegra-D every day in high school and college to manage allergies as wells as colds and sinus infections. (I hear that's not advisable, but I didn't know any better then, and somehow my allergist didn't either.) I wonder if it was helping me concentrate also.
I've never been diagnosed with ADHD, but many of the things people are describing here are familiar. Overall I've been pretty successful in life despite this, but I've had my ups and downs. The pandemic has been a down; I'm really struggling with concentration, so much so that I left my job and am taking a sabbatical before finding another. There are certainly valid reasons it's been hard (e.g., I have two young kids, went entirely without daycare for a while, and am helping my son with online kindergarten now) but they seem to affect me much more than my wife, whether that's due to undiagnosed ADHD, anxiety, the different natures of our work, burn-out, or some other factor.
Re: Me and ADHD
#323Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see this repeated often and I've never been able to find a source for it. I do not believe stimulant medications affect people with ADHD and without ADHD differently. > Stimulant drugs do improve the ability (even without ADHD) to focus and pay attention. One function, which is reliably improved by stimulant medications, is sustained attention, or vigilance. Stimulants improve sustained, focused attention, but “sel…
>I see this repeated often and I've never been able to find a source for it. I do not believe stimulant medications affect people with ADHD and without ADHD differently. I'm sorry but you clearly haven't even tried to research the subject, so I'm not surprised you don't believe it. People with ADHD have been scientifically proven to have deficiencies in specific neurotransmitters, namely norepinephrine and dopamine.…
I have ADHD and am well-read on the subject. The passage I posted applies to both people with and without ADHD.
This is another passage from the same paper:
> As it remains unclear whether stimulant medication has the same effect on healthy individuals as for those with ADHD, it is possible that many reported effects of prescription stimulants in healthy individuals may stem from placebo effects.
If you have a citation that argues that stimulants affect people with and without ADHD differently I’d love to read it.
Re: Me and ADHD
#324I am going to mention something. In my distant past I worked for a psychology firm handling, well, everything to do with computers. That included some testing. In the United States, there are two tests for ADHD I would vouch for: Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA). Both are computerized. Both rely solely on your reactions and your restraint, they are not questionn…
Thanks for posting this. I've wondered about being able to assess the degree of ADHD quantitatively.
Re: Me and ADHD
#325Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see this repeated often and I've never been able to find a source for it. I do not believe stimulant medications affect people with ADHD and without ADHD differently. > Stimulant drugs do improve the ability (even without ADHD) to focus and pay attention. One function, which is reliably improved by stimulant medications, is sustained attention, or vigilance. Stimulants improve sustained, focused attention, but “sel…
>I see this repeated often and I've never been able to find a source for it. I do not believe stimulant medications affect people with ADHD and without ADHD differently. I'm sorry but you clearly haven't even tried to research the subject, so I'm not surprised you don't believe it. People with ADHD have been scientifically proven to have deficiencies in specific neurotransmitters, namely norepinephrine and dopamine.…
This is not true.
> People with ADHD have been scientifically proven to have deficiencies in specific neurotransmitters, namely norepinephrine and dopamine
Please cite your specific evidence, and make sure it is not studies that do not replicate.
Re: Me and ADHD
#326Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're in university, then you're probably in a place that has resources that can help. Take advantage of them. For example, you may have access to an occupational therapist who can help you improve how you organize and schedule your work, create effective workplace, avoid distractions, etc. Medication may also help, but it works best in conjunction with active behavioral changes.
There is no substitute for medication. For me a life without medication is a life of hating myself for not being able to do trivial things. I tried all of those things you mentioned for over a decade and was often driven to tears trying to do simple things. I never did assignments for courses etc, causing some of my grades to stay bad even though I did great on the tests since tests kicks up your adrenaline making it…
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it's possible to treat ADHD with just behavioral changes or occupational therapy. That wasn't true in your case and it wasn't true in my case either. In my case, medication has been eye-opening and life-changing. When I went back to school, however, I also found it helpful to work with an occupational therapist to set up specific strategies for staying organized, keeping up with assignments, effectively using my studying time, and minimizing distractions. Working with an OT who understood ADHD was different from just trying to adopt general studying strategies and it really helped me succeed in grad school. If the parent poster is in university, an OT may be an available resource.
If I regret anything, it's not getting diagnosed until I was in my 30s. I wasted years of my life doing poorly in school, being depressed about it, blaming my performance on being depressed, and then dropping out of school. I eventually graduated, only 10 years late and with a 2.2 GPA. After getting diagnosed and treated, I went to graduate school and finished in the top 15% of my class with a 3.7 GPA. I think I've redeemed myself, but I won't get any of those wasted years back.
Re: Me and ADHD
#327Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I see this repeated often and I've never been able to find a source for it. I do not believe stimulant medications affect people with ADHD and without ADHD differently. I'm sorry but you clearly haven't even tried to research the subject, so I'm not surprised you don't believe it. People with ADHD have been scientifically proven to have deficiencies in specific neurotransmitters, namely norepinephrine and dopamine.…
I have ADHD and am well-read on the subject. The passage I posted applies to both people with and without ADHD. This is another passage from the same paper: > As it remains unclear whether stimulant medication has the same effect on healthy individuals as for those with ADHD, it is possible that many reported effects of prescription stimulants in healthy individuals may stem from placebo effects. If you have a citati…
The passage you cited in the comment I am currently replying to doesn't say there is no difference. It says that it isn't clear either way. So right now we just have anecdotes until someone cites a study making an assertion either way.
Here's my anecdote which runs quite opposite yours: As another person with ADHD who has been prescribed a low dose of Adderall XR in the past, it's always been an unpleasant experience for me, to the extent that the prescription bottle said "as needed for academic work". It did help me focus for a few hours, although whether I focused on the important things or distractions was up to my non-medicinal coping strategies among other factors. Unfortunately, disruptive and uncomfortable side effects lasted far longer than the period of improved focus.
Nothing I just described matches my understanding of how neurotypical people enjoy Adderall as a recreational drug.I don't think I've ever once in my life actually wanted to take it or enjoyed the experience, not even on those occasions where I chose to take it (the last of which was almost a decade ago) because of the beneficial effects it was prescribed for.
Re: Me and ADHD
#328A 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…
> The proper medication and dosage should not make you feel "high" -- if anything it's almost the opposite. You get some clarity, an ability to direct your focus without a thousand distractions a minute, and perhaps even a sense of time.
Is this not aso a common effect on the non a.d.h.d. sufferer,? which is why it is so commonly taken on exams, as a means to increase performance.
> For people with ADHD, they can be truly life saving. For recreational use, avoid.
Avoid it more than any other recreational drug?
Re: Me and ADHD
#329Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes? Kids don’t stop just because the name of the day starts with “S”.
But most of the import places you have to visit stops during weekends. Edit: For example, when I was a kid I spent most of my time at home playing with toys during weekends. I don't see why that would be a bad life for a kid. When they get older to 8-10 they can get around on their own so no need to baby sit them any longer, at least if you live in an European city.
Most people on Earth don't live in European cities. I grew up in the suburbs I couldn't go anywhere myself. Public transportation just isn't a thing around me. Not to mention all the stuff that has to be done around the house.
As for parenthood its not just about bringing your kids places. They want to play, they need to eat, they need diaper changes. Kids are a ton of work I love every minute of it, but man is it difficult.
Re: Me and ADHD
#330Earlier quoted context omitted.
I got diagnosed as an adult and it was life changing for me, has been on them for 5 years. Here are some tips: 1. Never take stimulants to have fun, just take them to do tasks to progress your life. ADHD doesn't prevent you from having fun, and having fun with stimulants is what makes them addictive. 2. Take regular breaks from the medication. You wont get much done the first day or two after, so don't plan on doing…
> Take regular breaks from the medication. I'm not sure this is universally necessary. When my pre-adolescent son forgets to take his medication in the morning it's immediately obvious, so it's clearly still having pronounced effect. He's been on the same dosage of the medication continuously for five years.
I’ve tried following the “take a break once in a while” advice and it does not work for me. I started to write daily and was able to realize being inconsistent with medication led to inconsistencies for me.
I was hesitant to take any medication. I was concerned it would make me anxious or similar.
Instead, my anxiety was greatly reduced. I had the thought, “is this what normal should feel like?” I don’t like the idea of being dependent on any one tool, but I’ll use a tool if it helps.