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Me and ADHD

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Re: Me and ADHD

#51

Post by falcolas »

sneak wrote: post #37
falcolas wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don't bias toward taking amphetamines as the parent comment instructs you to do. What's the alternative? CBT is not sufficient when your brain doesn't want to work. Executive function disorder is a huge part of being ADHD. > There are serious negative long-term effects from taking amphetamines regularly Citation needed for therapeutic dosages. > They cause harm, even at low doses. Citation definitely needed for the…

What's harmful is telling people without qualification that they should seek dangerous and addictive medication without a careful cost/benefit analysis. My comment isn't saying that you shouldn't, it's saying that there are downsides that are not apparent that must be weighed against the upsides—same as any medication. Even ibuprofen can fuck up your stomach, each remedy must be evaluated on its risks and merits. I s…

> that they should seek dangerous and addictive medication

We're not telling folks to go on a meth binge. We're telling folks that this doctor prescribed medication actually works, and can help improve their lives.

To use your own ibuprofin example - what your parent statement is proposing equals: "Don't use ibuprofin for your chronic inflammation, even though your doctor prescribed it for you."

EDIT: If COVID has taught me anything, it's that we as human beings are poorly equipped to make appropriate cost/benefit analysis when it comes to medical advice. Especially when it comes to anecdotal experiences. And doubally especially when you're already suffering from untreated ADHD.

Re: Me and ADHD

#52

Post by O_H_E »

Anybody else here thinks their ADHD influences some hoarding tendencies or fear-of-missing-out? I am basically a tab-opening machine. Whenever I come across any link that I feel might be helpful in some point in the future, I open it in the background knowing full well that I don't have time to look at it soon.

Thank god for TheGreatSuspender, and SessionBuddy extentions.

Re: Me and ADHD

#53

Post by moftz »

RankingMember wrote: post #35

> Last one -- I have no idea if this is a placebo effect. But caffeine seems to really help. Yep. As has been mentioned, in this context you're basically using it like Adderall. Unfortunately, the body will build up a tolerance quickly, so I find myself needing to use them sparingly, Adderall especially, otherwise end up feeling the withdrawal symptoms (excessive irritability, more trouble focusing than before medica…

I'll only drink coffee if I know I have a busy morning and want to power through it. I miss taking Adderall daily but the effect from coffee is almost the same. I don't drink it that often mostly because I don't want a tolerance. Drinking coffee on my less busy mornings just leads me to getting dragged into some low priority task and spending all morning on it when I could be working other things. Sometimes I'll just grab a 300mg energy drink at the store or take a couple Excedrin on an empty stomach if that's all I got.

Re: Me and ADHD

#54

Post by sneak »

madamelic wrote: post #43
sneak wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't demonize anything, and if you think I did, you should probably re-read my comment dispassionately and stop trying to do battle on the internet. Your comment opens with: > Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. Immediately suggesting that someone seek a somewhat dangerous medication as a solution, without qualification, is an extreme and dangerous view. "You have ADD so you should try low doses of speed!"…

One requires getting diagnosed to get medication. I am not advocating buying Adderall from a dealer. I am encouraging people not to be afraid to pursue the medication route because it is so demonized. Medication helps a lot. You could struggle with no medication, trying to build a system to help yourself, possibly fail and never be who you can be or you can seek out professional help (potentially with medication) and…

> Would you say the same if I encouraged a depressed person to do their best to get diagnosed and get on 'anti-depressants'? I am doubtful.

Don't be: many studies have shown CBT to be equally as effective for depression (for most people) as medication. If you are equally likely to cure your issues with a book on CBT versus a pill, that is something you should consider, even if you do end up deciding for the pill.

I encourage people to evaluate the costs and benefits of ALL their options before seeking any specific treatment for issues that involve neurochemistry. My entire thrust is "medication is not a panacea and you should not bias toward using it, over any other option, as a solution".

For some it may be the best choice. For many it is not. Don't bias toward it (as you advocate). Evaluate, don't just go get pills because some random person on the internet said it worked for them that one time.

If you put the wrong thing in your body, you can fuck yourself up for a very long time. I am speaking from direct personal experience.

Re: Me and ADHD

#55

Post by falcolas »

madamelic wrote: post #20

Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…

> caffeine does help from my testing

My doctor put it this way: Caffeine triggers a useful dopamine response, but the side effects are strong at "useful" levels.

Ritalin and Adderall provide a stronger dopamine response with fewer side effects at "useful" levels.

They're all stimulants, but the magnitude of the useful vs. non-useful effects differs.

Re: Me and ADHD

#56

Post by moftz »

tstrimple wrote: post #40
Spivak wrote: post #6

Getting tested & treated for my ADHD was genuinely life-changing for me. It's one of those insidious disorders that doesn't let you know how bad you actually have it until you experience what it's like without it for the first time. The inattentive type is nothing like the stereotypes. One of my favorite signs you might have ADHD. Caffeine doesn't do anything for you and/or makes you sleepy. You've never know what ot…

I drink lots and lots of caffeine during the week. I mostly like hot drinks when I have to sit down and work throughout the day. I definitely cannot relate to that caffeine buzz. I consume almost no caffeine on the weekends and I cannot really tell a difference from an alertness standpoint. There are nights I cannot sleep at all and toss and turn until the wee hours of the morning, and there are nights I fall asleep…

I limit myself to one mug in the morning and another around lunch if I need the help on the days I do drink coffee. I try not to build up a caffeine tolerance since it's the next best thing to ADHD drugs for me. If you just like coffee, switch to decaf and only drink caffeinated for when you need it.

Re: Me and ADHD

#57

Post by madamelic »

krrrh wrote: post #49
madamelic wrote: post #20

Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…

> caffeine does help from my testing, especially caffeine combined with L-Theanine. One thing that made me look into adderall was finding out I was a slow metabolizer of caffeine via 23andme, and was consuming an unhealthy level of caffeine. I did some research and determined that the health risks of low doses of adderall were smaller than those of high doses of caffeine. Scott Alexander’s review of the research on A…

>the health risks of low doses of adderall were smaller than those of high doses of caffeine.

I hadn't seen that before, so thank you!

I ran into this same thing accidentally, I was regularly 'overdosing' on caffeine by drinking 300 - 400mg of caffeine per day in college.

The safe dosage is ~200mg for an adult if I recall, but I can only do about 100 - 125mg absolute max or my heart starts pounding. I am not sure if this lowered limit is due to 'abuse' or if I also have different caffeine metabolization. I will have to take a look at my data.

Re: Me and ADHD

#58

Post by vharuck »

sneak wrote: post #30
hombre_fatal wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're talking about ADHD though, not someone looking to just pull some all-nighters or cram on a Sunday night. When I realized there was a low dose medication that could basically cure me of ADHD (thus cure me of underperformance, procrastinating my ambitions, low professional self-esteem), the choice was obvious. Know what also does harm? Underperformance, procrastinating my ambitions, low professional self-esteem.…

Stimulant addictions are one of the most common functional addictions. I don't think most people would consider someone servicing an active physical dependency to have a "perfect bill of health", even if you are totally free from disease.

I take ADHD meds, and I will admit I have a dependency. When I go without my meds, I'm in a really bad mood the first day and get much worse the following days. That said, I don't have an addiction disorder, because it doesn't impair my ability to work, maintain relationships, pursue goals, or remain healthy. In fact, it does the opposite. That's why my doctor prescribes them.

(As an aside, the reason I've gone days without meds is because my insurance company has a harmful policy of requiring "prior authorization" from the same doctor who prescribes the pills, and more than once I've found out it needed renewed from a pharmacist who was only allowed to try filling it the day I took my last pill. I'm tired of this incredibly helpful medication, and the people who depend on it, being thought less of.)

Re: Me and ADHD

#59

Post by madamelic »

birdyrooster wrote: post #22
madamelic wrote: post #20

Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…

Seconded on L-Theanine, definitely helps if I get jitters. I usually avoid caffeine bc of this, since the adderall at a correct dose seems to work great but socially it’s hard to avoid caffeine.

I love soda too much to kick caffeine entirely. Never got on the coffee train thankfully.

I've tried to kick caffeine multiple times but always fall back during stress. I just can't find another (cheap) drink I enjoy sipping on.

My harm reduction is a Soda Stream, which at least lowers my overall sugar intake. I don't understand sparkling water, I've tried it and it is less enticing than plain water.

Re: Me and ADHD

#60

Post by RankingMember »

moftz wrote: post #53
RankingMember wrote: post #35

> Last one -- I have no idea if this is a placebo effect. But caffeine seems to really help. Yep. As has been mentioned, in this context you're basically using it like Adderall. Unfortunately, the body will build up a tolerance quickly, so I find myself needing to use them sparingly, Adderall especially, otherwise end up feeling the withdrawal symptoms (excessive irritability, more trouble focusing than before medica…

I'll only drink coffee if I know I have a busy morning and want to power through it. I miss taking Adderall daily but the effect from coffee is almost the same. I don't drink it that often mostly because I don't want a tolerance. Drinking coffee on my less busy mornings just leads me to getting dragged into some low priority task and spending all morning on it when I could be working other things. Sometimes I'll just…

Same, if possible I try to plan my stimulant intake based on anticipated workload, i.e. I don't want to be using my focus energy if there's nothing requiring it going on. I have noticed that simply changing up the delivery substance can "fake out" the tolerance sometimes, e.g. drinking a cup of coffee might have no effect due to tolerance but drinking a cup of green tea gets my brain going despite the core drug being caffeine for both.
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