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

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

#281

I'm an ADD adult and this especially hits me when I'm participating competitions, be it leetcode coding competition or examination. I just hate to do it and every other bits of attention source will got me seeked on, like a notification from my phone, or someone dropped a pen to the ground. That's how fast I lost focus. But on the other hand sometimes I can be extra-focused, with a prerequisite it's something I enjoy…

> The only thing I had to deal with it slightly is my Ritalin...only so slightly I can "normally" focus for an hour. I just hope things go right in the rest of my life. Talk to your doctor, there have been many advances in ADHD meds and they all work differently on different people. Some people respond well to Ritalin, Some respond well to the generic. Some respond well the Adderal, or Vyvanse. For some people only t…

Speaking of tolerance, I really wish there was an “antidote” that could be taken at night. It would encourage better sleep and I would think would help fight tolerance a ton.

I take stimulants for idiopathic hypersomnia and I know things are a bit different for ADD folks, though.

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

#282
As an adult with ADD i cast doubts about the diagnosis. I have started to more and more think my diagosis is just a result of not being a high productive high intelligence individual.

I more and more realise that my brain and personality is not the kind that is made for desk work. I find it boring and difficult.

I have done other types of works that suits me better i beleive my life would be so much better if i just accepted that i was never to be sitting at a desk solving problems.

School has always been difficult for me, simply because it hard to learn the things you need to learn in shcool, for more intelligent individuals school is not the same big deal as it is for me. But thats just the way things is. The same way i was not born 2meter tall and an musculuar body.

I beleive that we will see more and more ADD/ADHD diagnosies in the future, simply because automation puts more demands on the individual and the jobs will be more mentally demanding.

I see a future where meds like adderal will be availble in the supermarkets.

Instead of giving people ADD/ADHD diagnosises we should just teach people to accept that not everyone are made for mentally demanding tasks and that not everyone goes thru school without it being a huge difficult task. Parents also needs to learn that their kids might not will be able to compete in the job markets in the future and the solution is not to medicate it away.

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

#283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

I literally just got diagnosed with adult ADD a month ago. I'm 46! It... explains a lot of things, both for better and for worse. I never even realized I was developing coping skills vs. just developing normal skills, if that makes sense. I definitely have had the same types of problems as you describe. I've been on Ritalin for a few weeks now, and the difference is remarkable. If this is how normal people feel most…

I had a bad concussion when I was 12 that ended up tanking my testosterone levels (and god knows what else). I was extremely tired all the time. I didn’t get it properly diagnosed for nearly 15 years, and in that time I turned down going to Ivy League schools and a bunch of other opportunities. I have to admit going on HN can be a bit of a bummer as I always thought I was destined for the lives a lot of people have here (Silicon Valley, startups, etc).

I still got a degree in computer science but with that path I was put on... I’m now a photographer and still live in the same area I grew up in.

I realize you have more years “wasted” but I’ve had quite a bit of time to come to terms with all of that. I think it’s important to keep in mind we all have advantages and disadvantages in life, and chances are if you’re on here you’ve still had a pretty charmed life. You’re intelligent, in a developed country, etc. Most people don’t have that.

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

#284
post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some people have problems with off brands of XR (extended release) that has a different formulation. There's no standardization on the XR process and I think it's vendor specific. “Aderall” is a mixture of dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine, in a 3:1 ratio. Unlike some other drugs, both enantiomers have a therapeutic effect, but slightly different effects on the brain. If one takes pure dextroamphetamine (“Dexed…

I’m currently switching to Vyvanse after 10+ years using adderall. There is no generic formulation (at least in the us) because it came to market in 2007. I’ve had several issues with inconsistent adderall from various generic manufacturers and that issue simply isn’t possible right now with Vyvanse. The downside is, it’s $400 a month without insurance, and $100 a month with good insurance. Because it’s basically dex…

They have a coupon, just so you know. I believe it’s just a form on their website. It brings to copay down considerably.

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

#285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

>Adderall totally changed that. I'm able to focus on tasks long term AND even if something bad happens in my life I'm able to keep right on track That sounds amazing. I can't even imagine that. I've just been diagnosed at 32 this year. Been on Ritalin for a few months but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Maybe 3% better. Things going bad still derails me significantly. They're fairly conservative with meds in my…

I have a friend that I’m positive has ADD. He agrees with me it’s a possibility but it stops there. He was even given stimulants by someone but he hasn’t tried them. He’s not opposed to it, but he’s so bad he never gets around to popping that pill. Actually setting up a doctor appointment is never going to happen.

He’s 33 and has been in college since graduating high school and still doesn’t have a degree, and he’s actually quite intelligent.

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

#286
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's completely irrelevenat to what I was talking about. As an adult, it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to prescribe medication.

Sorry, I perceived it as relevant to the first sentence you said. > it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to prescribe medication Absolutely - my SO is diagnosed and I've been with her in the pharmacy where she was blatantly accused of trying to get it so she could sell it (nope, just a normal college student diagnosed with ADHD). That was wild.

Why would they accuse her? High dose? I hope she complained to pharmacy board.

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

#287
post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I was younger I was perscribed ritalin, and it just made me sleepy so I stopped taking it. Now I take a more modern medication and it works wonders. I don't have ADHD, but I'm curious what the modern one is. Back in middle school, around 2001, I did a report on ADD and ADHD, and 3 of the medications that existed for it: Ritalin, Cylert, and I'm not certain of the third but from the other comments Adderall soun…

The more modern medication for me was modafinil but I had to beg for it. My psychiatrist made me go through the stringer of usual suspects before she allowed me moda: first adderall, then ritalin, then straterra (this one actually gave me acute psychopathy and constantly leak semen). All three caused profound personality shifts. Moda doesn't touch my affect and it's wonderful.

How would you describe modanafil vs dexedrine?

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

#288
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The more modern medication for me was modafinil but I had to beg for it. My psychiatrist made me go through the stringer of usual suspects before she allowed me moda: first adderall, then ritalin, then straterra (this one actually gave me acute psychopathy and constantly leak semen). All three caused profound personality shifts. Moda doesn't touch my affect and it's wonderful.

How would you describe modanafil vs dexedrine?

Like being "baseline" vs being wired. Dexedrine was the first thing I was put on and I was on it for half a year. Cycling off it on the weekends was agonizing: exhaustion like I'd never felt before, depression, sleeping for 12 hours at a time.

Modafinil makes me feel like myself but a more productive version. The big issue with me has always been starting a task and modafinil makes a scary task a lot more approachable. My thoughts are more ordered, I can see the bigger architecture of a thing, verbal fluency is improved. I cycle off it Saturdays and Sundays and that works just fine for me.

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

#289
post #121

I’ve had more help with my ADHD symptoms from a series of DMT experiences, than I ever did from the mainstream treatment process. One single DMT experience (containing about an objective hour of intensely being dragged through time) greatly minimized my ADHD symptoms for at least six months . There is untapped potential in psychedelics for treatment of things like this. It’s a crime against humanity that we allowed n…

"Neurotypicals literally have the same scale of mental privilege as whites do in a racial context."

Wow this is profound to say the least, thanks for making this connection I've intuitively felt but could not articulate the impact of my ADHD and potential to succeed in life starting from an early age.

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