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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?

#341

Post by subroutine »

subroutine wrote: post #322
acrobatsunfish wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you tell me more about your experience with selection, use, and pitfalls of treadmill desks?

Sure I have a few nuggets. I went through a couple cheap treadmills before I finally took the advice of another long-term treadmill desk user and bought a lifespan fitness: https://www.lifespanfitness.com/workplace/treadmill-desks/tr... It's an incredible sturdy and reliable treadmill. It has built in shock absorption and can autodetect your steps. Although I wear a clip-on fitbit to sync steps to my phone (wrist fit…

btw the friend who helped me choose treadmill made a long video about treadmill desks and health:

https://youtu.be/27KT8bvDCw0

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

#342

Post by lostmyoldone »

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…

Also don't forget that drugs have changed the life to the better for so many on the ADHD spectrum.

Though drugs are only part of the solution for most people with ADHD, it's almost always what enables other kinds of intervention to be effective.

For me, medication doesn't work too well. I tolerate it just fine, but it just isn't as effective as for most people.

It has still changed my life completely. I can accrue life experience in a way that was impossible before, probably as I had basically no perception of time before medication.

Maybe my daughter put it best when she (on her own volition) got diagnosed at 17'ish: "It great to not have to feel like you are going to die tomorrow." With which she meant that when you perceive time passing, you can also perceive the future ahead.

It's not the only thing that changed, and not all change has been easy. But the diagnosis has still been one of the most important things in my life, even getting it as late as at 36 years.

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

#343

Post by lostmyoldone »

bloqs wrote: post #338
jnovek wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 re…

ADHD is not a disability. It's an evolutionary set of traits. It is covered under the Big Five.

In Sweden at least it is classified as a disability, because whether or not it's a evolutionary adaptation, people that present typical ADHD traits are functionally disabled in modern society. Society should change to accommodate these traits, but we can't expect people with those traits to live in misery until then.

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

#344

Post by lostmyoldone »

jnovek wrote: post #140
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 re…

My story is the same, blown off by doctors for years because, I don't know, but not being "too successful" was definitely part of it.

Lead to a burnout-like state that started developing while basically being a stay-at-home dad for a year or so. It got worse, and now there are several years of my daughter growing up that I don't remember almost anything from.

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

#345

Post by lostmyoldone »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #215
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…

I recommend discarding any anecdotes from people who recently started taking stimulants like Adderall, Vyvanse, or Ritalin. The parent comment is correct in that early stimulant usage is associated with euphoria and motivation that do not last. If someone describes Adderall like the magic drug that Bradley Cooper takes in the movie Limitless, they probably haven't been taking it very long. Tolerance quickly builds to…

A typical characteristic of people with ADHD is that typical doses of - say Ritalin - creates no euphoric effect at all.

Every adult I met that is "on" stimulants has echoed the sentiment that they don't understand why on earth anyone would take them recreationally. Ergo, they don't feel euphoria, because then it would certainly be obvious why.

If you get euphoria from those doses, well then what you suffer from is probably not typical ADHD.

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

#346

Post by httpsterio »

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…

I have ADHD diagnosed by a neuropsychiatrist and I've tried a handful of medications now. Currently I have Concerta, methylphenidate, and only on the largest dosage allowed do I even see any effects.

The effects were underwhelming to say the least. I literally could procrastinate with more focus, but my thoughts were just as scattered and I noticed myself veering off topic faster than I'd normally do.

I guess I, like many others, would benefit from some coping mechanisms and therapy perhaps instead of or in addition to medication. I wish it were a miracle pill, but it only seems to be it for some.

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

#347

Post by lostmyoldone »

mial wrote: post #7
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…

Medication helped a lot in the beginning, but what really helped in the long term was talk therapy, and setting up helpful systems and habits such as exercising, diet, journalling. But this would not have been possible without taking Ritalin in the first place. I'm mostly off-meds now.

This is a good point!

Stimulants are not always necessary long term, but they usually are to start effecting enough change to be able to function in the present society.

For some (me probably) it'll be a lifelong thing, but it definitely doesn't have to be for everyone!

I'm happy for your success!

I really wish I had access to more talk therapy, physiotherapy, guided relaxation, mindfullness'ish sessions, and some other forms of support. The medicine helps me to stay mostly functioning, but with talking to a therapist and practicing "basal body knowledge" I was feeling so much better!

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

#348

Post by lostmyoldone »

My life kind of started anew.

Not in a "wow this is fantastic", rather the opposite. Old sorrows surfaces, forgotten experiences had to be dealt with, but I was finally able to start moving forward and deal with the reality outside myself.

It's hard to explain, but now I am growing older, not only my body as it used to be.

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

#349

Post by codpiece »

whiddershins wrote: post #16

An adhd diagnosis helped me a lot in my late 20s. I took Ritalin for a brief period and it opened my eyes to different ways of seeing things. I actually believe in Ritalin more than adhd diagnoses. But it stopped being effective for me after a while, and same for most people i know. Also, side effects. But getting perspective helped me change certain behaviors which were causing problems for me. But honestly, and thi…

Thank you for articulating a concern I have.

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

#350

Post by codpiece »

richthegeek wrote: post #46

I was diagnosed with ADHD 7 months ago. The diagnosis and medication have been life-changing. I was 'high-functioning', in much the same way as OP: stable marriage, successful career, not much savings but at least not in any debt. But I also suffered from depression, anxiety, extreme procrastination, substance abuse, risky and impulsive behaviour. Of course I saw psychiatrists, and they stopped listening the moment I…

Thanks! Sounds like we share similar experiences.
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