The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves)
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So, I was excited to tell a long time friend about the progress and the script.
his response. "Shit, Adderall? I hope that is not where you settle. I've never known that to be any good for anyone."
.. like really, dude?
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@macha So, I've found Adderall to have decreasing returns over time, after having both of my kids on it at one point or another. With my oldest, the resistance built up very quickly and we had to get him on a new drug within 6 months because the dosage level to maintain the desired results would have been dangerous to him to keep going. My younger son took longer to build up resistance to it, but he was still on a new medication within the year.
That said, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with starting on Adderall. I know people that are still on it today because it works for them. I think there are people that are predisposed towards being resistant to drugs (any drugs) and quickly build up tolerances to them. It's the same reason I can't use melatonin to sleep even though others rave about it. You need to find what works for you and you have to start somewhere. Adderall is common and has been around for forever, so it's side effects are pretty well documented and known. It's a great one to start on. Maybe you'll stay on it, maybe you'll switch. But the point is that nobody can dictate what will work for you except you. Keep your chin up and be ready to tell people to fuck off if they start offering too much 'well meaning advice'. You know you better than anyone else.
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@macha No offense to your friend, but the simple stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin are most doctors' first drug of choice for a reason. For many people it works great. For others it doesn't. Finding the right medication is an involved process, and it can definitely change over time. At least you're taking the first steps. Good luck!
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@too-old-for-this said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
Keep your chin up and be ready to tell people to fuck off if they start offering too much 'well meaning advice'.
For sure. There's a lot of undeserved stigma still around ADHD medication.
I found this video very helpful: How to ADHD - Why Stimulant Medication Helps ADHD -- and How Stigma Can Hurt.
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@too-old-for-this I pointed out to him I am the medical fucking misfit. As a diabetic, when most T1s are in a situation that makes their sugars spike? Mine drop. I'm such an interesting case with even 'normal' stuff that EVERY doctor's office I have ever been a patient at, I have been asked if it was okay if someone (usually a resident/student, but sometimes just another doctor/NP) could sit in on my appointment.
Here's hoping Adderall works.
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@faraday I always find it so interesting how DIFFERENT people with ADHD can be. Like how ADHD folks are way more likely for addiction. (looks at cousins, hmms)The only addiction I have is caffeine (possibly because of the ADHD, who knows) . But so many of the 'untreated ADHD' things mentioned apply to me.
I know adderall/whatever will not be a silver bullet to kill the problem. But combined with all the coping strategies I've learned in my life? I'm super filled with hope.
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@macha said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
So, I was excited to tell a long time friend about the progress and the script.
his response. "Shit, Adderall? I hope that is not where you settle. I've never known that to be any good for anyone."
.. like really, dude?
Adderall abuse has gotten a lot of media attention lately, both through pop culture references in fiction (e.g. featured heavily in the latest season of You) as well in the news and documentaries (Take Your Pills is one I've heard about, but haven't watched). I've noticed a lot of side-eye when I mention to people IRL that I'm on stimulants, people seem to default to the assumption that I'm lucky/sneaky to have scored a diagnosis for those priceless drugs and that I'm probably abusing them. Like weirdly even someone who told me he has ADHD too said he chooses not to be on them and thinks many people who have "anxiety" use those kinds of drugs to self-medicate.
The stigma sucks but I also just don't owe people an explanation and don't have to justify my healthcare requirements to anyone other than myself & my doctor, so I don't. They're not in my head or my day-to-day life/routine and I don't think I could make them understand it without that experience. Why bother? It's helping me and that's what matters.
It wouldn't surprise me if your friend had come across similar headlines (or maybe incidents of actual substance abuse) and arrived at the currently topical mainstream conclusion without much nuance. C'est la vie.
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@kestrel His response was due to RL interactions with friends on Adderall.
But fuck stigma. I'm used to that shit.
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@faraday said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
@macha No offense to your friend, but the simple stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin are most doctors' first drug of choice for a reason. For many people it works great. For others it doesn't. Finding the right medication is an involved process, and it can definitely change over time. At least you're taking the first steps. Good luck!
@Macha I want to chime in and say this (bolded) is very very very correct. Give your treatment plan time to work, and it may require a lot of change and patience on your part. I went through, I think, three different medications and added a supplementary med to get a hold over my depression and they were not fun months before we got to where I'm at (prescription wise) today. I got a lot of parental support and lean-on-shouldering done during that time, but looking back I'm glad I stuck with it.
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@dvoraen Oh, no worries on that. I'm on my... fourth (?) type of long term insulin, my second or third short acting type, and my third biologic/chemo drug combo for my AS. I'm used to the Medication shuffle.
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Gonna just share a mild funny for my experience of ADHD medication.
I took a week-long break from it during the holidays because being from a secular Jewish family, I don't celebrate Xmas so for me this part of the year is nothing but a quiet week when nothing's happening, and I can afford to relax a bit more. I love how productive, motivated and driven the medication makes me, but it's nice to set that aside for a bit and be able to just switch my brain off for a little while. I didn't do anything fancy, I just spent the week sleeping a lot, living in filth, ordering takeaways and catching up on Netflix shows.
I took it today again for the first time in a bit and my dopamine receptors seem to have "reset" (which is also always good), so the effect my normal dosage is having on me right now is:
I realise I am not making the best case right now for stimulants as ADHD meds not being "drugs" but look. Sometimes, just for a day or two, funky brain chemicals can be fun. ('Cause I also know in a day or two my brain will readjust to this dosage and I'll just go back to behaving like a normal neurotypical on these meds, lol.)
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@kestrel said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
I realise I am not making the best case right now for stimulants as ADHD meds not being "drugs" but look.
Not really a direct commentary on your story, but there's so much stigma around this that I think it's important to note that stimulants just work differently in ADHD brains than they do in non-ADHD brains. With the right med and dosage, ADHD will not get "high" from stimulants in the same way non-ADHD brains do.
An analogy is insulin. Give insulin to a diabetic whose insulin isn't working right, and it regulates their blood sugar. Give insulin to a non-diabetic, and you crash their sugars, potentially to dangerous levels. Same drug, same mechanism, wildly different effects because of the underlying body chemistry.
(Of course brains are complicated, so like you said - it is entirely plausible that the normal dose may be out of whack at times due to various factors. I'm just speaking generally.)
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@faraday yeah. This. I do not feel wired on my medication.
I am just more functional.
Yesterday due to reasons I was working til 7 pm. I genuinely do not know how I would have done that pre medication. Stressful and tiring, sure, but like . . . Impossible, pre Adderall.
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@kestrel said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
I realise I am not making the best case right now for stimulants as ADHD meds not being "drugs" but look.
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The adderall is here! First dose taken. So... uh, anyone who has taken this sort of thing - how long until you notice a difference?
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@macha If it's been more than half an hour and you still don't feel much different, make a note to ask your doctor to up your dosage. Try to keep track of how you feel each time you take it so that you can make a case for upping your dose.
It does take time to find the right dose.
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@tributary Yeah, I feel... nothing.
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@macha said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
@tributary Yeah, I feel... nothing.
Very normal. They start you out on a low dosage and work their way up until you mention feeling something, because they don't want to take you higher than needed and your brain needs time to adjust.
Pretty much everyone I know who's started out on a medication journey has had the initial freakout on day 1 of 'Oh no it isn't doing anything my last hope is gone and I must not have ADHD apparently I'm just broken'. Don't sweat it!
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@kestrel said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
@macha said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
@tributary Yeah, I feel... nothing.
Very normal. They start you out on a low dosage and work their way up until you mention feeling something, because they don't want to take you higher than needed and your brain needs time to adjust.
Pretty much everyone I know who's started out on a medication journey has had the initial freakout on day 1 of 'Oh no it isn't doing anything my last hope is gone and I must not have ADHD apparently I'm just broken'. Don't sweat it!
^^^
Please note that you should not stop taking it. Getting your body used to this dosage will help when they up the dosage because you really want to ease into it as opposed to just slamming into it. It'll probably take a few months, but eventually you'll go, "Oh, I feel strangely productive now." And it'll be amazing, and you'll largely get used to being strangely productive.
But then, you'll have a week where there's a pharmacy-doctor office snafu, and you'll drag about, sad you don't have it. Then when you finally get your hands on the refill, it'll be like, BOOM! DO ALL THE THINGS!!! And this is what you want to avoid initially.
But do try to track how you feel day-to-day for your doctor.
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@macha said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
@tributary Yeah, I feel... nothing.
+1 to what the others have said that it may be a dosage issue, but also... because of what I said before about how stimulants don't work the same on ADHD brains, you may never "feel" any different. You'll just notice that things you previously struggled with become easier.
For instance, my kid claims not to feel any different when taking their meds, but I notice a definite difference in their behavior. Fewer meltdowns, easier time focusing on homework, etc. This is common in both kids and teens so it's not hard to imagine it's true for adults as well. (though I don't know if it's been extensively studied)
