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My ADHD founder toolbox

hypatia.ca

291–300 of 413 posts

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with this. For me, the energy is because I have to use less energy doing basic day to day shit. Unmedicated, it takes far more effort and work, and leaves less energy for later tasks.

It’s amphetamine. The energy is from the amphetamine. The mechanism of action (norepinephrine and dopamine reputable inhibition) isn’t far from that of cocaine or methamphetamine. Let’s be real here. Amphetamine is known to skew one’s self assessment of their performance while on the drug.

> It’s amphetamine. The energy is from the amphetamine.

Energy still comes from food, and if you forget to eat on stimulants your body will eventually catch up with you.

Like coffee, stimulants let you better tap into that energy.

> The mechanism of action (norepinephrine and dopamine reputable inhibition) isn’t far from that of cocaine or methamphetamine.

Yep, they’re all stimulants. ADHD meds however, are manufactured in very controlled conditions, and taken in specific doses. Street drugs are more variable in quality, ratios, ingredients and strengths, and so not relevant to the treatment of ADHD.

Methamphetamine is a legitimate treatment for the most severe ADHD cases, it’s often a last resort. It’s sold as Desoxyn. It’s rarely used, but it _is used legally and successfully_.

> Let’s be real here. Amphetamine is known to skew one’s self assessment of their performance while on the drug.

If you don’t need it, stimulants are going to have a different effect.

People with ADHD are in my experience, going to be able to self-assess performance on their meds better than off them.

Don’t assume one experience is universal, especially when we’re talking about neurodiversity. Even among those with ADHD, experiences are not universal. We may rhyme, but we don’t always repeat.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“more energy to do things” is directly correlated to the level of dopamine ADHD medication augments in our brains

I disagree with this. For me, the energy is because I have to use less energy doing basic day to day shit. Unmedicated, it takes far more effort and work, and leaves less energy for later tasks.

Yep this is common.

Imagine doing the dishes. Unmedicated, thats 2 or 3 tasks. Each with a high failure rate, and high cognitive cost.

1. Stop what you’re currently doing. 2. Decide you next task will be to wash the dishes. 3. Wash dishes.

The spoon theory [0] covers this concept well, and can be a useful tool.

> The spoon theory[a] is a metaphor describing the amount of physical and/or mental energy that a person has available for daily activities and tasks, and how it can become limited.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#293
post #238

I'm not sure if i have ADHD, I seem to come up pretty high for Symptons, but I don't want to play doctor on the internet, i'm also in the UK and as an adult I understand it's very difficult to get a diagnosis. I'm also not sure if it's caused by something else. I just really struggle to function and it's a killer. I have lots of projects and life improvement things I want to do, but I wake up and i'm like ughh, I can…

Have you tried recently? It was only a couple months wait on NHS when I did it. I know, "only", but seeing as it had been 32 years at that point it wasn't a major wait. 2 months is good for the NHS and mental health haha. Diagnosis itself once I'd got through the wait took about 2 hours in total across 2 weekly meetings.

How does it even work? I barely go to the doctors, do I just ask them for an ADHD assessment?

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#294

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While meds can definitely help, one month in is way too early to know if the change is long-term positive. This is especially true with stimulant medications.

I knew day one. Three years have continuously confirmed what I knew day one. I wish I hadn’t been so afraid of meds that would help me.

I’m exactly the same. I knew 40m in, right when it started to take effect. It was night and day. Like I’d just walked from a raging thunderstorm into a quiet sunny meadow, but I’d thought that I was in a quiet meadow my whole life. It was profound.

There was a decade between me first seriously suspecting it, and that.

Information about it is much easier to come by now, and more people talk openly about it. Without that, I probably would have struggled for much longer.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly it. The person who resents me most for my disability is my wife. I don’t blame her, and I do my best to reign in my disability, but it’s not possible for me to function the way she wishes I could. I put everything I’ve got into a) making sure I don’t get fired because I earn about 4x more than her, b) pour all the energy I can into my kids because I see how fast they’re growing up, and by that point,…

I feel for you, and I wish things to turn around for the better for you and your wife. Myself, I'm worried I'm 75% there. I.e. I'm also doing your a) and b), but we both still think the overall relationship is salvageable. > I do my best to reign in my disability, but it’s not possible for me to function the way she wishes I could. Same here, and my wife is also willing to adapt to my needs, but here's a thing: I can…

> here's a thing: I can't always tell whether some adjustment is an actual need

Yes! I struggle with this a lot. Despite talking about things and me putting genuine effort into making improvements, I continually seem to make changes which miss the mark. It’s as though we speak the same language with different meanings.

> life-long habit of molding myself

Likewise, and it’s not always crystal clear to me when I’m doing it, either. It’s becoming clearer over time, but even when I know, it isn’t trivial to just stop.

Similar to you, I wasn’t diagnosed until age 35 or so, and a lot of these habits and mannerisms are very deeply baked in.

> Rule 1A

I agree completely. I won’t claim to be a bastion of self awareness, but I will say that the awareness I do have is a major source of pain and frustration at times. Similar to the author in the article, I’ve come to see the inevitability of it all and I try to be frustrated less, and more accountable and constructive instead. It can be sort of paralyzing to dwell on it.

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I hope you make progress on this too. We were diagnosed late, but there’s no reason we can’t gradually shift the tides and begin making steady improvements.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#296
post #164

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I'm not on meds anymore. Did try them for a month though. Worked great aside from giving me stress as it wore off. Really weird to feel stressed for literally actually no reason. What it did give me is a look into what functioning normally-ish would look like, Which has helped enormously. I'm not a huge fan of medication myself, but if I were you I'd definitely give it a shot. You can always stop if it's not your thi…

I take meds for unrelated things, for allopecia, like Finasteride, Minoxidil, Saw Palmetto. I am not sure how those would interact with the medicines I saw on this thread. I also take Algae based Omega 3 semi regularly (but that stuff tastes like crayons).

Oh jeez definitely look into the potential side effects of finasteride if you haven’t already. ADHD meds have nothing on it, side effect wise.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly it. The person who resents me most for my disability is my wife. I don’t blame her, and I do my best to reign in my disability, but it’s not possible for me to function the way she wishes I could. I put everything I’ve got into a) making sure I don’t get fired because I earn about 4x more than her, b) pour all the energy I can into my kids because I see how fast they’re growing up, and by that point,…

Always be kind to yourself. You can be stern too. But always kind. ADHD can be a lot for some NT people and your wife has unreasonable expectations about what you are and aren’t capable of in a given day. Your partner seems like they try to understand you from a NT lens and that is bound to create a big disconnect. I know I have my relationship flaws but a little open understanding and empathy can bring two people so…

> Always be kind to yourself. You can be stern too. But always kind.

You’re right, and this is something I often forget to do.

You’re also right that my wife looks at things through a NT lens, and I often wonder if I wouldn’t too if I was NT. I don’t blame her at all, but it undoubtedly creates friction that seems unhelpful or unnecessary.

Thanks for the kind words and reminder to be kind.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#298
post #6

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They mention it once... and cover a lot of other things. So while I agree with the linked threads, this doesn't really read as an ad for InFlow any more than it reads as an ad for CBT or Intuniv. My impression.

Well, that is how the best content marketing works. You make a good write-up of an area, then casually mention the product somewhere -- also needs to look natural. If author got paid it needs to be marked as sponsored in some jurisdictions. I'd also guess that many with the condition have tried all the common treatment options and will zero in on the one thing new that the person saying they have the condition under…

As I’ve said elsewhere, this wasn’t a paid post, and I’m scrupulous about disclosing conflicts of interest when they do occur. Amusingly I’m an investor in two other ADHD related services, but didn’t mention either in the post :)

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#299

Medication really helped me, and combined with (zazen) meditation I have days where I feel like 'normal' people. Working up to meditating for ~30 minute sessions (alone or in groups) forced me to face my worst nightmare: sitting still against my will. Gradually, the physical burning sensation to 'escape' the mental torture of doing nothing calmed down. Further into my practice, the same happened for the monkey mind c…

Meditation + medication is such a great combo; so many people with ADHD get burned trying to meditate unmedicated and find it miserable. A friend wrote a great twitter thread about meditation+ADHD a couple years back: https://twitter.com/ryanwheff/status/1181339754798780416

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly it. The person who resents me most for my disability is my wife. I don’t blame her, and I do my best to reign in my disability, but it’s not possible for me to function the way she wishes I could. I put everything I’ve got into a) making sure I don’t get fired because I earn about 4x more than her, b) pour all the energy I can into my kids because I see how fast they’re growing up, and by that point,…

For what it’s worth, I get the impression that you’re being way too hard on yourself. Struggling in a relationship doesn’t mean you’re an awful partner. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes those react in relationships in unfortunate ways. It’s never just one person who is responsible. It sounds like at the very least, you’re doing two extremely important things well: providing financially and being e…

Thank you. I try to remind myself that providing does matter, and focusing on being a dad is something I won’t get to do forever that could have a substantially positive impact on my kid’s lives.

If they’re things I do well and they make my family’s life better, it’s something, right?

I think the key sometimes is forgiving myself for not being everything for everyone. It sounds absurd when it’s written out like that, but is something I genuinely struggle with.

Thanks, thinking that through has actually helped me feel better about things.

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