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Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

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Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#61

Post by proxysna »

Since i was diagnosed in 2019 (i am nearing my 30's today) it helped me a lot in identifying issues that ADHD was causing and how to work around them. Anger issues, object permanence, executive dysfunction, sensory issues, anxiety became easier to manage, once i became aware of the nature of these issues and how to remove some of the stress related to these issues.

I never got to medicating, because i lived in a country where, any kind of ADHD medication is either illegal (stimulants) or not yet licensed (non-stimulants). There was a third option, sort of a third-line, anti-depressant that had a ton of side-effects, which i decided to skip.

Now i moved to [Northern Europe] and started the process of getting diagnosed here from scratch, since i am unable to transfer my records. Time consuming and expensive? Very much. Not sure that the whole thing will result in anything useful for me, but i still feel that i have to try.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#62

Post by jnovek »

Loughla wrote: post #12

So my take maybe isn't the healthiest on this, not sure. If you believe you have ADHD, and your therapist believes you have ADHD, BUT your life isn't negatively impacted by it , why start treatment now? Ask yourself if you have any negative impacts from ADHD. Ask your spouse. Personal relationships, professional work, all aspects. If the answer is no, then why bother? Source: ADHD treatments that left me a zombie whe…

ADHD impacts my life very much, but I was diagnosed as an adult. I honestly have no idea how I operated pre-diagnosis (and pre-medication). I think about some of the struggles I went through (e.g. my entire educational experience or my entire experience as a founder) and I really suffered in those times.

However, I absolutely agree with you.

Daily stimulants are a frustrating balancing act. Anti-depressants have frustrating side-effects. If I operated well without either or both, I would drop them in a hot second.

I DO benefit from medication to a degree that it has vastly improved my quality of life. I also benefit from therapy and the development of coping tools — in fact, I think anyone who benefits from medication should also seek therapy because it’s SO helpful.

This isn’t really a counterpoint to your experience, but more of a companion-point. Your post doesn’t make me think that you are an irrationally anti-pill person or anything like that. I’m just reinforcing what you’ve implied: treatment isn’t one-size-fits-all (although, at least in America, the medical system sure tries to make it that way). It’s incredibly important for anyone with ADHD to find the right tools for them.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#63

Post by ravenstine »

The biggest help is that you understand why certain things happen to you so that you can accept and move on from them, rather than be eternally confused and ashamed that you seem to have greater challenges with basic things than everyone else. You can do things to treat the symptoms, but there's something to be said about also accepting who you are and being able to laugh at yourself.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#64

Post by n1000 »

I read this post from 2015 yesterday and was amused because the guy clearly seemed to have ADHD in my opinion [0]. Then in the comments on HN somebody mentioned that the author recently wrote about being diagnosed at 40, which may be an interesting read here [1]. The author says it was like living the Truman show.

ADHD can be harmful and comes with a bunch of comorbidities that can also develop later in life. If you have trouble listening, tend to hyperfocus on things but also emotional states, etc. I recommend going forward with a diagnosis.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27495535 [1] https://www.raptitude.com/2021/03/what-raptitude-has-always-...

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#65

Post by failwhaleshark »

ADHD-PI at 38.

Well, it didn't help except to try psychiatric meds that I can't tolerate. 25 years after dad declared "Damn psychologist [sic] quacks don't know what they're talking about. They're liberals trying to control boys with medication. It's a myth!"

And now I can't interact with people properly because they all think I'm a weirdo.

How many close friends do I have? 0

How many friends do I have? 0

How many acquaintances do I have? 0.25

How many family members do I have? 1

It's not even recognized or appreciated by Americans, they just automatically reject me and then must gossip about how I'm a terrible weirdo. I still try, but there's almost no return on effort. I shouldn't even bother because it's futile.

It's why I do most everything for myself, by myself, and I never depend on anyone else unless I pay them (transactionalization and commodification of every interaction).

If you don't plan on having a family, I highly-suggest staying in top physical and mental shape, or you'll end-up warehoused in some disgusting, horrible place at the end of your life where your life will be hell and cut short.

How many times have I thought about suicide? Hundreds. Seriously? Dozens.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#66

Post by slothtrop »

Loughla wrote: post #12

So my take maybe isn't the healthiest on this, not sure. If you believe you have ADHD, and your therapist believes you have ADHD, BUT your life isn't negatively impacted by it , why start treatment now? Ask yourself if you have any negative impacts from ADHD. Ask your spouse. Personal relationships, professional work, all aspects. If the answer is no, then why bother? Source: ADHD treatments that left me a zombie whe…

Thanks for your more nuanced take.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#67

Post by slothtrop »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #30

It's important to note that an ADHD diagnosis does not necessarily end with stimulant medication. Stimulant medication can be helpful for some people, but it's not the only way to treat ADHD. Having an ADHD diagnosis could help you choose appropriate therapy methods, self-help practices, and other self-improvement measures. Of course, an ADHD diagnosis isn't necessary to begin implementing better time management prac…

> It's important to note that an ADHD diagnosis does not necessarily end with stimulant medication

I expect this is truer for adults, as they have agency over the matter. Children don't get a choice.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#69

Post by OkayPhysicist »

subroutine wrote: post #44
corobo wrote: post #2

I've been on medication for about a week now and I've not thought about offing myself once since starting. That seems dramatic but honestly that used to be the default go-to answer for any problem that couldn't be resolved within a day or so. Seems a bit excessive of a response to problems now.. It really looks like my depression might be rooted in undiagnosed ADHD. I can also if not properly focus on tasks at least…

I'm not sure which med you are on, but I've been on adderall for about 12 years. Started during 1st year of a phd program. In my experience with adderall... everything initially good about this particular Rx eventually fades away. Amphetamine makes you feel great. At the beginning really, really, great. It certainly helped me focus on whatever was in front of me, whether it was math homework or an iphone game. It bec…

With he sleep thing, I experienced the opposite. The ability to just lay down, decide to sleep, and sleep, combined with a bit of a chemical cue from the comedown really helped to regulate the insomnia I had struggled with since adolescence.

Re: Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

#70

Post by sobellian »

adflux wrote: post #18

I'd recommend everyone who thinks he or she has ADHD to keep in mind that there are clinics who literally make money by diagnosing you. So make sure you don't go to one of those. This is a problem, even in the Netherlands https://www.trouw.nl/zorg/in-de-adhd-fabriek-is-de-diagnose-... I wish I could find a translated version for you. Anyways, Methlyphinidate (ritalin) should be your very LAST step. Before that, clean…

As a counterpoint, I was diagnosed with ADD (now known as ADHD-PI) a couple decades ago as a child and initially took medication for it, but complained about the effects and so my parents agreed to stop giving me medication. This kind of decision seems manageable at the time if you're bright enough that you can skate through school regardless of how much work you actually do.

You cannot skate through adulthood this way. My condition, ADHD-PI, is characterized by the tendency to lose focus on dull activities while hyper-focusing on fun activities. If my current task is interesting then I could work even with a rock concert held 5 feet away. This sounds like a superpower but if a task is not interesting then the slightest distraction totally derails me. There are ways for me to trick myself but they are unreliable and my brain will eventually route around them.

I do my best to always work on something interesting, but this isn't always possible and the productivity hit can be quite large. My solution was to get a prescription for Adderall XR. With the benefit of hindsight I regret ever going off medication. I don't think it's always necessary but if you have these problems, you've been diagnosed, and it's severe enough that you have become depressed (this is very common among adults with ADHD) you should really consider it.

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