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Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#11

Post by _dibly »

zarkov99 wrote: post #8
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

What medication do you take now? Did you take anything while growing up?

Growing up I was perscribed ritalin, however I stopped taking it within a few months because my middle-school brain was not enjoying the side-effects (mostly drowsiness). Now I'm perscribed Adderall and it works great. It can be annoying because every college student under the sun is taking adderall to cram last minute but it's a different drug when you actually need it to function. For most people Adderall just keeps them awake and hyper-focused so they can do whatever they need to get done, regardless of the hours it takes them. For someone who has ADHD, it really just brings us to what that baseline is for most people.

I can focus on my work all day with no medication if I'm doing something that I find personally interesting. However, when I have a week's worth of online coursework and boring bookkeeping to do it's impossible to get more than 5 minutes done without staring out the window, putting something on in the background, and twiddling my thumbs. I can still buckle down and get work done without it, but it's so much more mentally draining to do a week of work without any medication than if I were just to take what the doctor recommends. YMMV obviously, I just wanted to suggest something for people like me who have been 'proudly' living with ADHD un-medicated.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#12

Post by disiplus »

_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#13

Post by _dibly »

disiplus wrote: post #12
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

I take 30-MG Adderall XRs, my brothers both take IR before classes since they have more downtime, but I work from home so most days I wake up and work until 4-5PM at my desk. Also worth mentioning that we all take the doctor recommended dosages, I worked my way up from 10MG doses and I absolutely do not recommend self-medicating in any way.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#14

Post by anonymoushn »

disiplus wrote: post #12
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

That's just ritalin. If you think it would be more effective to take a straight dose of 10mg than to use the time release mechanism, I think you could achieve this by getting the drug out of the pills you already have.

I am also using concerta because it is the only form of ritalin legal in my country. I don't really notice a difference compared to taking ritalin the other way.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#15

Post by pastrami_panda »

cbluth wrote: post #3

i have severe ADD, and i dont have the patience with myself to read enough of this article to benefit my understanding of it.

Many years ago I read the preface to the behemoth of a book that is Infinite Jest by DFW.

I don't remember the wording of the preface, but I recall it arguing that the sheer size of the book could be regarded both as a cultural experience as well as a mental exercise.

The author of the preface argued that when (or perhaps if) you finished the book you would feel like you've just run a marathon. You would be highly fit, reading wise. Nothing would phase you.

This was probably compounded in my teenage head by the fact that the only quote I've heard from the author beforehand was:

"I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives. I do things like get in a taxi and say, 'The library, and step on it.'"

It sounded like a complete opposite of myself at the time, but I did want to learn that ability. And I liked that preface a lot. It kept me going at it month after month on busy train rides, with the promise of some transcendent reward at the end.

There are famous footnotes in that book spanning several pages in tiny print. The amount of mental effort it took to read the thing was extraordinary for someone like me at the time. I often had to backtrack several pages to perform the context switch from a mini-novel footnote back to the main storyline.

This was many years ago now, and I have slipped far behind on my reading fitness. But I still carry with me the realization that I can't expect to be fit if I don't train hard.

Now, ADD is a whole nother beast. Sicknesses often require medical attention and this should not be smoothed over. Still, I think there's an interesting discussion to be had regarding reading fitness in the era of information. Maybe this is a widely discussed thing and I'm just not hearing it, but it seems obvious that we slip further toward obesity without training. Surely something similar happens with our ability to focus without training?

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#16

Post by logicOnly »

Wondering if this is why marijuana makes me insanely productive. Both impact dopamine.

It just sucks that I get addicted to weed because I'm super productive.

I just need a way to prevent myself from having marijuana before anything social or public.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#17

Post by disiplus »

anonymoushn wrote: post #14
disiplus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

That's just ritalin. If you think it would be more effective to take a straight dose of 10mg than to use the time release mechanism, I think you could achieve this by getting the drug out of the pills you already have. I am also using concerta because it is the only form of ritalin legal in my country. I don't really notice a difference compared to taking ritalin the other way.

yeah i started doing that. it's not especially hard. i just wished i would have more options.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#18

Post by dx87 »

_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

Yeah, the stigma against the medication, and the people who casually say "omg, I'm like, so ADD" really hurt the people who have actually been diagnosed with it. Depending on where you live, it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to see you for a diagnoses and subsequent prescription because they think that you're a college kid wanting to abuse it or sell it. I had to call 4-5 different offices until I found a psychiatrist that would see me, and you can check the /r/ADHD and see a bunch of stories about people who moved to a different state for work, but nobody will prescribe them their medication in their new state, and now they're struggling at their new job.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#19

Post by zarkov99 »

pen2l wrote: post #10
zarkov99 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What medication do you take now? Did you take anything while growing up?

I take concerta, 18mg, and it works wonders. The only small negative is the its life is a little too long... even if I take it at 7am, I find I have difficulty getting to sleep sometimes up till 3am... and then my whole sleep schedule gets shifted and it’s damn difficult to get it back to a proper rhythm. That aside, I _so_ agree with grandparent post about the negative stigma associated with medication for adhd. I’m…

How early do you think you should have started? And how would one know its the right time?

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#20

Post by treeman79 »

_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

Took adderal for year.

Completely life changing. My focus and energy level were on par with a normal persons.

Unfortunately it was far too hard on the body. Started stroking out on it. Plus it interacted with almost every Medicane I’ve been prescribed.

Tried vyvanse. Only one side effect. The deepest most profound sadness imaginable. Would sit for hours just “sad”. Nothing was bothering me. Worked fine aside from that. Gave it up after a few weeks.

Aderral did remove most of the “pain” from boring things. So in that regards it taught me how to manage symptoms better. Focus is still a major problem, and I’m back to older trucks of ear plugs and a dim room. But not as bad as before.

Kids have it strong. Wife wants them on meds, but weird reactions run in family so I’m highly reluctant.

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