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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?

#131

Post by throwasquirrel »

codpiece wrote: post #114
throwasquirrel wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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? If your life isn't negatively impacted by it then you might be hyperactive or have trouble paying attention, but you don't have ADHD, by definition. It only becomes a disorder when it's causing a significant ongoing negative impact on your life.

That's the crux of it right there. I've had a wonderful, wonderful life, a rewarding career, a 30 year marriage and raised intelligent, well-grounded kids. Not just by _my_ definition, but by those around me whom I respect.

On the one hand, it doesn't sound like any possible ADHD tendencies you might have are causing you much grief. Also remember that ADHD is hugely situational - I've had a pretty great career and up until a year or two ago I wouldn't have ever suspected I fit the bill. It was only during a perfect storm of overlapping stressors that I really felt like I was struggling.

On the other hand, just because you can survive doesn't mean life has to be this hard. And looking back I now realise that much of my life I was doing just that. I was surviving, when I could have been doing so much better.

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

#132

Post by codpiece »

Ensorceled wrote: post #8

I got a diagnosis after two failed marriages, a stalled career, issues around emotional dysregulation and rejection sensitivity. The diagnosis, and resulting treatment, changed my life. Not sure it will help you given you don't seem to be suffering from it.

Thank you, I'm sorry to hear you've suffered.

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

#133

Post by kmarc »

jnovek wrote: post #100
kmarc wrote: post #55

Living in Europe, my perception (AKA: anecdotal / unscientific / non-measured) is that most of the ADHD-diagnosed people I know live in the US, while I only know one European person in my network who received similar diagnosis from a professional psychiatrist. Counterintuitively, I know way more European people than Americans, which makes my perception feel even more skewed. I very well know that my sample(ing method…

One hypothesis is that, in the country where you live, there is more stigma around ADHD in adults and it is more frequently ignored or dismissed. It is an easy condition to ignore —- adults with ADHD are frequently not very “hyperactive” because even if they were as children, they’ve learned to modulate that behavior through experience. The traits of inattentive-only ADHD are often written off as laziness when in rea…

Which raises another question:

- How bad can it be, if it stays undiagnosed?

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

#134

Post by tootie »

MotiveMe wrote: post #34

Before my diagnosis, ADHD was my kryptonite. I thought I was lazy, I couldn’t accomplish the things I needed to. It pushed me into depression and was quite hard. After my diagnosis, I felt like ADHD became my superpower. I know how to play to my strengths rather than my weaknesses. I know if I have an interest in something, I can dive into it and produce great output, and for tasks that need doing which aren’t intere…

How did you get your diagnosis? Every time I read the symptoms it sounds like me, but it also kinda sounds like everybody. What's the signal that it's a pathology worthy of treatment?

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

#135

Post by jcims »

anonymouse008 wrote: post #119
unbearded wrote: post #81

Have been taking Strattera for a few months and wonder how many years of my life I would have not wasted if I had been diagnosed with ADHD earlier in my life. I just turned 40 and I never thought I had ADHD until recently. Before I just thought my lack of attention on things was just the price of being a 10X on productivity (and I was a little arrogant because of it). The reality was that I chose to put my time on ta…

Did you ever experiment with Adderall, Vyvanse or Ritalin? How did you end up with Strattera? I’m trying to triangulate a course for myself and still can’t pull the trigger on any of these for fear of side-effects or dependence.

Not the person you're replying to but Vyvanse gave me excruciating neck cramps, brain zaps and really cold fingers. My doctor said that I had a bit of an outlier reaction to it so YMMV but if you decide to go that route at least ask about the cramps lol.

Adderall isn't a wonder drug for me but it tips the scale in my favor. I just take the standard release pills 'as needed' in the morning. It does tend to mess with my sleep a bit if I take any after 10am and definitely curbs my appetite (+/-). I'm 47 and recently have been paying closer attention to heart health, it definitely increases heart rate and blood pressure. Not alarmingly so, but if you're in any way marginal for either it's something to consider.

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

#136

Post by codpiece »

failwhaleshark wrote: post #65

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 ac…

Oh, dear God. I am so sorry to hear your story. Don't give up, friend. There's a place on this earth for all of us, no matter how weird we are.

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

#137

Post by ludamad »

RHSman2 wrote: post #115
matlin wrote: post #107

Anyone reading this should be extremely skeptical of internet strangers recommending drugs that gave them "superpowers", changed their life, etc. Taking these drugs will make anyone feel more focused, motivated, etc because these drugs are strong stimulants that cause euphoria, focus, and bursts of energy. Anecdotally, I've seen a huge uptick in posts of the format "how an ADHD diagnosis changed my life" on Reddit, T…

Theoretically, if you have ADHD the medicine shouldn’t make you ‘high’. If you don’t it will have that effect. This was told to me by a specialist (I am dubious though)

That's pretty dubious, especially about 'medicine' in general. If that was true it would double as a surefire test for ADHD. As well, all it takes is a little stronger dose and I know of a friend with ADHD that abuses it to party

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

#139

Post by pjerem »

kmarc wrote: post #55

Living in Europe, my perception (AKA: anecdotal / unscientific / non-measured) is that most of the ADHD-diagnosed people I know live in the US, while I only know one European person in my network who received similar diagnosis from a professional psychiatrist. Counterintuitively, I know way more European people than Americans, which makes my perception feel even more skewed. I very well know that my sample(ing method…

I’ve been diagnosed in France at 29. I had the chance to find a therapist that was aware of ADHD and transferred me to a specialist at the local hospital.

But it looks like I had been really lucky because France health authorities does not currently acknowledge the existence of adult ADHD.

That would explain why no one in Europe talks about it. I would add that since symptoms are really vague when explained, there is some sort of taboo when you talk about it because ADHD is just a sum of symptoms that, individually, are very common amongst the population.

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

#140

Post by jnovek »

matlin wrote: post #107

Anyone reading this should be extremely skeptical of internet strangers recommending drugs that gave them "superpowers", changed their life, etc. Taking these drugs will make anyone feel more focused, motivated, etc because these drugs are strong stimulants that cause euphoria, focus, and bursts of energy. Anecdotally, I've seen a huge uptick in posts of the format "how an ADHD diagnosis changed my life" on Reddit, T…

Everything you’ve said is correct, but please don’t demonize a medication that I depend on to be functional. ADHD is a disability, there’s more nuance to this than black-and-white.

I was blown off by doctors for years when I was seeking a diagnostics because I was a successful person, but make no mistake: I was suffering. I am a textbook case. The stigma around this disorder is pervasive and it’s extremely easy to reinforce that stigma.

Stimulant medication doesn’t give me superpowers, it improves symptoms. I still have all the problems that come with ADHD, just... less.

Google is failing me, but a study a few years ago indicated that stimulants do not have a meaningful impact on the output of those who do not have ADHD. People often think they do because of the euphoria effect, but the euphoria is actually a transient side effect.

Stimulants should be paired with therapy, to better understand the nature of the disorder and developer additional coping tool.

(I’ve been on stimulant medication to treat ADHD for about half a decade. I was diagnosed well into adulthood.)

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