11–20 of 56 posts
1. I use Quiver.app to plan my week/day and to track what i'm working on right now in the moment. Any intermediate output from my work gets tracked (eg. preparing important commands, saving output of important commands) and any little task that pops up gets added to an impromptu to-do list. This keeps me focussed and stops me forgetting my place in what I'm working on in case I get distracted. At the end of the day/w…
1. I use Quiver.app to plan my week/day and to track what i'm working on right now in the moment. Any intermediate output from my work gets tracked (eg. preparing important commands, saving output of important commands) and any little task that pops up gets added to an impromptu to-do list. This keeps me focussed and stops me forgetting my place in what I'm working on in case I get distracted. At the end of the day/w…
Do you have a link to this quiver.app?
I assume you will get a lot of helpful tips here, and I too have successfully managed to cope for almost 30 years, but I have to honestly admit that getting on medication was the best thing that has ever happened to me. There is only so much you can do to alleviate a chemical imbalance. My life has never been the same since I got on it. The first few days I had to cry a lot, it was so incredibly beautiful and liberat…
I am just starting to look for treatment. If you don't mind sharing, which medication works best for you?
Adderall works well too, but I find it a little bit too "drug-like" and euphoric, so I settled on regular methylphenidate which has almost zero euphoria.
I was diagnosed with somewhat severe ADHD, hyperactive and attention subtype. I have few tips to share: 1. Find your medication. After I found mine with the correct dosage, my life improved ten fold. Our dopamine system is wired differently and medication is the basis of treatment to cope with it. 2. Externalize everything: thoughts, events, planning, even your life’s values if you feel like it. Write it all down and…
Even though it's number 1, I do want to emphasize it for those who are reluctant. Finding an effective medication has been one of the most net-positive personal changes I've ever experienced. And if it isn't for you, there's no harm is simply stopping :)
Edit: I should have kept reading, Mo3 sums up my contribution here much better lol
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am just starting to look for treatment. If you don't mind sharing, which medication works best for you?
I have a mixture of instant-release and extended-release standard methylphenidate/Ritalin. Adderall works well too, but I find it a little bit too "drug-like" and euphoric, so I settled on regular methylphenidate which has almost zero euphoria.
May I ask how long it took you to find the right medication and balance of XR/IR please?
I assume you will get a lot of helpful tips here, and I too have successfully managed to cope for almost 30 years, but I have to honestly admit that getting on medication was the best thing that has ever happened to me. There is only so much you can do to alleviate a chemical imbalance. My life has never been the same since I got on it. The first few days I had to cry a lot, it was so incredibly beautiful and liberat…
I am just starting to look for treatment. If you don't mind sharing, which medication works best for you?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a mixture of instant-release and extended-release standard methylphenidate/Ritalin. Adderall works well too, but I find it a little bit too "drug-like" and euphoric, so I settled on regular methylphenidate which has almost zero euphoria.
Fantastic original post Mo3, thanks! May I ask how long it took you to find the right medication and balance of XR/IR please?
For myself, it was immediate. There seems to be a certain kind of intuitive understanding that becomes obvious after the first doses of a medication.
It is quite hard to explain, but it seems like the brain knows exactly what it needs. Unless you have uncontrollable addictive tendencies, you will automatically gravitate towards the dosage necessary to restore chemical balance. You will redose when it is needed, and you will notice quickly if a medication is not the right choice for you.
I was and still am very happy with the initial methylphenidate IR and Concerta (same compound but XR). I have tried different options over time, but they did not work as well or had side effects that I was not comfortable with. For example, I noticed that contrary to MPH, Adderall is destabilizing to my emotional state and thus was definitely not suitable for productivity, and the crash mainly consists of horrible mood swings and apathy, which is not the case for me on methylphenidate. On Vyvanse this was better, but the effects themselves still somewhat comparable to those of Adderall. I have not tried Strattera yet, but I do not really see a reason to these days.
On this note, I've talked with a lot of those affected by now, and choice and benefit of medications appears highly subjective. It seems like there is no way of knowing without trying it out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fantastic original post Mo3, thanks! May I ask how long it took you to find the right medication and balance of XR/IR please?
You are welcome. For myself, it was immediate. There seems to be a certain kind of intuitive understanding that becomes obvious after the first doses of a medication. It is quite hard to explain, but it seems like the brain knows exactly what it needs. Unless you have uncontrollable addictive tendencies, you will automatically gravitate towards the dosage necessary to restore chemical balance. You will redose when it…
To clarify, my current dose is 20mg XR daily. I have raised with my doctor that this dose is completely spent (I have other [diagnosed] issues that lead to an overly acidic stomach) long before the end of the work day, and thus I don't have medicinal help when I turn to my personal life.
As yet she seems quite unwilling to adjust the dose or add an IR (anecdotally adding an IR seems very common), and I was wondering what the timeline was between starting medication and landing on a sufficient dose of XR+IR between you and your doctor.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are welcome. For myself, it was immediate. There seems to be a certain kind of intuitive understanding that becomes obvious after the first doses of a medication. It is quite hard to explain, but it seems like the brain knows exactly what it needs. Unless you have uncontrollable addictive tendencies, you will automatically gravitate towards the dosage necessary to restore chemical balance. You will redose when it…
Thank you mate! To clarify, my current dose is 20mg XR daily. I have raised with my doctor that this dose is completely spent (I have other [diagnosed] issues that lead to an overly acidic stomach) long before the end of the work day, and thus I don't have medicinal help when I turn to my personal life. As yet she seems quite unwilling to adjust the dose or add an IR (anecdotally adding an IR seems very common), and…
Timeline-wise, when I started medication, I was given only IR. As methylphenidate is shorter acting than Adderall, this resulted in me taking 3 doses per day and active levels fluctuating a lot throughout the day, so about a week later I decided to set up another appointment and was given additional XR to be taken once per day, and the IR only when needed.
Your doctor does not sound very competent. I would not recommend increasing dosage if the problem is a too short duration, as a higher dosage will not prolong duration, but adding IR to XR is indeed a common course of action to accomplish that.
Also, I should note, try making sure to always keep your stomach full during the day. I'm not sure if the same applies to Adderall, but I've observed diminished duration and bioavailability of XR without food.
People with ADHD are conditioned to expect that the projects they take on will fail if they do not put in 150% effort. I was this way in school. At work, it should not look like this. You should tend your to-do lists and deligate to your junior and mid-level devs wherever you can. Put them to work on implementation and focus on the high level stuff or fill in the gaps on things that they can't do.
On a personal level, take up meditation. This speaks to training your brain how to slow down and focus. 20 minutes a day of shutting your brain off and just sitting will make the world of difference. Lean on your medication if you need it. It really does make a difference, but it can introduce some behavioral changes that are not ideal if taken for years (for me, it induced manic depression).