just venting about mental illness fun 
I've been getting proper treatment for ADHD for a few months now and the difference it's made in... well, everything, really, has been absolutely massive.
Didn't really know how many of my problems were caused by this one issue...
Seriously, having my thoughts "stick" in my head is great. They felt like quicksilver before, could never hold onto them and then they were gone, and I just accepted it for years. Being able to string them together has made it easier to finish sentences, sit down and work for longer periods, plan things out, and stay motivated on one task for longer. I'm not sure why. I don't even know if this experience is typical. I just know that my thoughts haven't 'slowed down' much, but they're... registering? It's like whatever the medication does, it sticks a checkpoint in my head-traffic and now my thoughts have to show ID before passing, if that makes sense.
I'm still permanently restless though, but the "if I stop, I'll die" feeling has diminished somewhat. Enough that I can DO SOMETHING about the permanent state of boredom and need for constant stimulation without getting frustrated at... nothing, really. This also helps with the depression that comes with never feeling fulfilled. I've lived with some hollow sense of ennui for years and never knew, until last year, that it could be something as simple as ADHD.
Anyway, thanks for the space. Anyone else feel these vibes?
Didn't really know how many of my problems were caused by this one issue...
Seriously, having my thoughts "stick" in my head is great. They felt like quicksilver before, could never hold onto them and then they were gone, and I just accepted it for years. Being able to string them together has made it easier to finish sentences, sit down and work for longer periods, plan things out, and stay motivated on one task for longer. I'm not sure why. I don't even know if this experience is typical. I just know that my thoughts haven't 'slowed down' much, but they're... registering? It's like whatever the medication does, it sticks a checkpoint in my head-traffic and now my thoughts have to show ID before passing, if that makes sense.
I'm still permanently restless though, but the "if I stop, I'll die" feeling has diminished somewhat. Enough that I can DO SOMETHING about the permanent state of boredom and need for constant stimulation without getting frustrated at... nothing, really. This also helps with the depression that comes with never feeling fulfilled. I've lived with some hollow sense of ennui for years and never knew, until last year, that it could be something as simple as ADHD.
Anyway, thanks for the space. Anyone else feel these vibes?
To explain the medication thing (amateurly, of course, so I encourage looking things up for better/more accurate explanations):
The standard (but not only) kind of medication used with ADHD are certain types of stimulants. How they worked was pretty baffling for a long time, and a lot of people still think it's an "opposite effect" thing. It's not.
Outside of the more unique approach Dr. Amen takes (which I have almost no understanding of, just that a key component involves looking at the flow of blood through the brain to identify parts that are kinda "starved"), the current understanding/theory of ADHD is that it's primarily a shortage of neurotransmitters, a notable one being dopamine. This shortage results in both difficulty maintaining and processing a given thought (kinda like carrying everything from a big grocery trip in by yourself as opposed to having others who can help out), and in the urge to stimulate more dopamine production. The result: it's hard to keep track of thoughts and remember things and difficult to focus on anything that doesn't keep boosting your dopamine levels. (Dopamine, btw, is also one of the "reward" chemicals that helps boost positive feelings in general, and some things that stimulate its production tend to be things a person finds fun, interesting, or new.)
And with that, the current theory behind stimulant medications is that they directly boost dopamine production, so there's more to help relay information from one neuron to another - allowing thoughts to linger and process better and reducing the drive to find more stimulation. So your experience with medication absolutely makes sense (even though everyone will respond to various medications a little differently and meds for ADHD often end up as a very divided "love it or hate it" thing).
If you want to learn more about various details around ADHD, a solid place to start is ADDitude Magazine (or rather, their website). Setting a time limit or other limit on how much you'll read through there in one go is advisable. There's also some YouTube channels dedicated to ADHD (info, advice, validation & support, etc), including some that deal more with combination diagnoses and ones that focus on how it mixes into specific situations in life, like being a parent with ADHD (a lot of other resources only really focus on being the parent of a child with ADHD).
Me... I'm still working on figuring out what's medication-resistant ADHD symptoms and what's actually part of any of the other stuff I've got going on.
And what all I even have going on, for that matter.
(Did you know that a tendency to over-explain things also commonly stems from ADHD and other neuro-divergences, largely as an anxiety around being misunderstood? )
The standard (but not only) kind of medication used with ADHD are certain types of stimulants. How they worked was pretty baffling for a long time, and a lot of people still think it's an "opposite effect" thing. It's not.
Outside of the more unique approach Dr. Amen takes (which I have almost no understanding of, just that a key component involves looking at the flow of blood through the brain to identify parts that are kinda "starved"), the current understanding/theory of ADHD is that it's primarily a shortage of neurotransmitters, a notable one being dopamine. This shortage results in both difficulty maintaining and processing a given thought (kinda like carrying everything from a big grocery trip in by yourself as opposed to having others who can help out), and in the urge to stimulate more dopamine production. The result: it's hard to keep track of thoughts and remember things and difficult to focus on anything that doesn't keep boosting your dopamine levels. (Dopamine, btw, is also one of the "reward" chemicals that helps boost positive feelings in general, and some things that stimulate its production tend to be things a person finds fun, interesting, or new.)
More detail about what processing
Basically the main issue with not having enough neurotransmitters to work with is a loss of "executive function." This actually refers to a wide range of things: internal dialog, short-term or "working" memory, emotional regulation, and an especially notable example, your ability to intentionally take action. An interruption in your executive functioning can essentially prevent your decision of "I'm going to do this thing" from making it to the part of your brain that actually makes your body carry out that decision - meaning that no matter how important a thing may be, or how much you may want to do it, it can become excruciatingly difficult or even actually impossible to do the thing at that time under those circumstances.
And of course, since it's an automated process that's basically shorting out... there doesn't seem to be any explanation for why it's so hard to just do the thing. And... as frustrating as it is simply to be unable to do something, to have no explanation for that beyond whatever others may claim your "problem" is... even without likely also dealing with emotional dis-regulation, that's the kind of thing that really damages one's self-worth. Just one of the reasons why ADHD runs co-morbid with anxiety and/or depression more often than not.
And of course, since it's an automated process that's basically shorting out... there doesn't seem to be any explanation for why it's so hard to just do the thing. And... as frustrating as it is simply to be unable to do something, to have no explanation for that beyond whatever others may claim your "problem" is... even without likely also dealing with emotional dis-regulation, that's the kind of thing that really damages one's self-worth. Just one of the reasons why ADHD runs co-morbid with anxiety and/or depression more often than not.
And with that, the current theory behind stimulant medications is that they directly boost dopamine production, so there's more to help relay information from one neuron to another - allowing thoughts to linger and process better and reducing the drive to find more stimulation. So your experience with medication absolutely makes sense (even though everyone will respond to various medications a little differently and meds for ADHD often end up as a very divided "love it or hate it" thing).
If you want to learn more about various details around ADHD, a solid place to start is ADDitude Magazine (or rather, their website). Setting a time limit or other limit on how much you'll read through there in one go is advisable. There's also some YouTube channels dedicated to ADHD (info, advice, validation & support, etc), including some that deal more with combination diagnoses and ones that focus on how it mixes into specific situations in life, like being a parent with ADHD (a lot of other resources only really focus on being the parent of a child with ADHD).
Me... I'm still working on figuring out what's medication-resistant ADHD symptoms and what's actually part of any of the other stuff I've got going on.
And what all I even have going on, for that matter.(Did you know that a tendency to over-explain things also commonly stems from ADHD and other neuro-divergences, largely as an anxiety around being misunderstood?
)
hey, ADD person here! its annoying. i dont have anything to help out with it yet so ive been having to kind of deal with it
ADHD person here.
It sucks
It sucks
Zelphyr wrote:
To explain the medication thing (amateurly, of course, so I encourage looking things up for better/more accurate explanations):
The standard (but not only) kind of medication used with ADHD are certain types of stimulants. How they worked was pretty baffling for a long time, and a lot of people still think it's an "opposite effect" thing. It's not.
Outside of the more unique approach Dr. Amen takes (which I have almost no understanding of, just that a key component involves looking at the flow of blood through the brain to identify parts that are kinda "starved"), the current understanding/theory of ADHD is that it's primarily a shortage of neurotransmitters, a notable one being dopamine. This shortage results in both difficulty maintaining and processing a given thought (kinda like carrying everything from a big grocery trip in by yourself as opposed to having others who can help out), and in the urge to stimulate more dopamine production. The result: it's hard to keep track of thoughts and remember things and difficult to focus on anything that doesn't keep boosting your dopamine levels. (Dopamine, btw, is also one of the "reward" chemicals that helps boost positive feelings in general, and some things that stimulate its production tend to be things a person finds fun, interesting, or new.)
And with that, the current theory behind stimulant medications is that they directly boost dopamine production, so there's more to help relay information from one neuron to another - allowing thoughts to linger and process better and reducing the drive to find more stimulation. So your experience with medication absolutely makes sense (even though everyone will respond to various medications a little differently and meds for ADHD often end up as a very divided "love it or hate it" thing).
If you want to learn more about various details around ADHD, a solid place to start is ADDitude Magazine (or rather, their website). Setting a time limit or other limit on how much you'll read through there in one go is advisable. There's also some YouTube channels dedicated to ADHD (info, advice, validation & support, etc), including some that deal more with combination diagnoses and ones that focus on how it mixes into specific situations in life, like being a parent with ADHD (a lot of other resources only really focus on being the parent of a child with ADHD).
Me... I'm still working on figuring out what's medication-resistant ADHD symptoms and what's actually part of any of the other stuff I've got going on. And what all I even have going on, for that matter.
(Did you know that a tendency to over-explain things also commonly stems from ADHD and other neuro-divergences, largely as an anxiety around being misunderstood? )
The standard (but not only) kind of medication used with ADHD are certain types of stimulants. How they worked was pretty baffling for a long time, and a lot of people still think it's an "opposite effect" thing. It's not.
Outside of the more unique approach Dr. Amen takes (which I have almost no understanding of, just that a key component involves looking at the flow of blood through the brain to identify parts that are kinda "starved"), the current understanding/theory of ADHD is that it's primarily a shortage of neurotransmitters, a notable one being dopamine. This shortage results in both difficulty maintaining and processing a given thought (kinda like carrying everything from a big grocery trip in by yourself as opposed to having others who can help out), and in the urge to stimulate more dopamine production. The result: it's hard to keep track of thoughts and remember things and difficult to focus on anything that doesn't keep boosting your dopamine levels. (Dopamine, btw, is also one of the "reward" chemicals that helps boost positive feelings in general, and some things that stimulate its production tend to be things a person finds fun, interesting, or new.)
More detail about what processing
Basically the main issue with not having enough neurotransmitters to work with is a loss of "executive function." This actually refers to a wide range of things: internal dialog, short-term or "working" memory, emotional regulation, and an especially notable example, your ability to intentionally take action. An interruption in your executive functioning can essentially prevent your decision of "I'm going to do this thing" from making it to the part of your brain that actually makes your body carry out that decision - meaning that no matter how important a thing may be, or how much you may want to do it, it can become excruciatingly difficult or even actually impossible to do the thing at that time under those circumstances.
And of course, since it's an automated process that's basically shorting out... there doesn't seem to be any explanation for why it's so hard to just do the thing. And... as frustrating as it is simply to be unable to do something, to have no explanation for that beyond whatever others may claim your "problem" is... even without likely also dealing with emotional dis-regulation, that's the kind of thing that really damages one's self-worth. Just one of the reasons why ADHD runs co-morbid with anxiety and/or depression more often than not.
And of course, since it's an automated process that's basically shorting out... there doesn't seem to be any explanation for why it's so hard to just do the thing. And... as frustrating as it is simply to be unable to do something, to have no explanation for that beyond whatever others may claim your "problem" is... even without likely also dealing with emotional dis-regulation, that's the kind of thing that really damages one's self-worth. Just one of the reasons why ADHD runs co-morbid with anxiety and/or depression more often than not.
And with that, the current theory behind stimulant medications is that they directly boost dopamine production, so there's more to help relay information from one neuron to another - allowing thoughts to linger and process better and reducing the drive to find more stimulation. So your experience with medication absolutely makes sense (even though everyone will respond to various medications a little differently and meds for ADHD often end up as a very divided "love it or hate it" thing).
If you want to learn more about various details around ADHD, a solid place to start is ADDitude Magazine (or rather, their website). Setting a time limit or other limit on how much you'll read through there in one go is advisable. There's also some YouTube channels dedicated to ADHD (info, advice, validation & support, etc), including some that deal more with combination diagnoses and ones that focus on how it mixes into specific situations in life, like being a parent with ADHD (a lot of other resources only really focus on being the parent of a child with ADHD).
Me... I'm still working on figuring out what's medication-resistant ADHD symptoms and what's actually part of any of the other stuff I've got going on.
And what all I even have going on, for that matter.(Did you know that a tendency to over-explain things also commonly stems from ADHD and other neuro-divergences, largely as an anxiety around being misunderstood?
)I have the same anxiety about being misunderstood, along with a lot of social anxiety in general, so I can relate haha. This is a reasonably comprehensive breakdown though and does check out with my own research. Although, the type of medication I take is a non-stimulant, so I'm not sure if it's only stimulants that allow the body to produce more dopamine.
I didn't actually know dopamine was a transmitter of information though. That would explain a lot of things, haha.
You're not the only person who's trying to figure out what all's going on with themselves either. I'm in the same boat, so I get you.
I lucked out with the first ADHD med I tried actually having an effect on me because I'm notoriously resistant to medication regardless if it's for mental health or physical ailments. Being an anomalous patient isn't easy and feels like it demands 3X the effort on the part of the patient to research their health issues...
Aardbei wrote:
Although, the type of medication I take is a non-stimulant, so I'm not sure if it's only stimulants that allow the body to produce more dopamine.
I'd be surprised if that was exclusive to stimulants, honestly. I only focused on them because I know almost nothing about the non-stimulant types. Closest I come on that is that I found out that a medication meant for depression (and that mostly only works alongside another anti-depressant) has shown some success in being paired with at least some ADHD meds, too - and since my Adderall wasn't really helping anymore (and Ritalin was entirely useless), I decided to give it a try rather than up my dose. I already know that if I get around to trying a different medication, I'm going to need a period to adjust from stopping the Adderall, and I'd rather not make that worse. I don't have an addiction or anything (in that I have no particular urge to take it and have just plain forgotten to on multiple occasions), but I'm apparently among those who do experience a little withdrawal without it already. My guess is that my body decided to lean on it too much and make even less of its own chemicals, 'cause I'm barely functional if I forget multiple days in a row. Not in pain or anything like that, just mah brain ain't there. Talking with others, it apparently goes away once things level back out to the old "norm."
Aardbei wrote:
You're not the only person who's trying to figure out what all's going on with themselves either. I'm in the same boat, so I get you. I lucked out with the first ADHD med I tried actually having an effect on me because I'm notoriously resistant to medication regardless if it's for mental health or physical ailments. Being an anomalous patient isn't easy and feels like it demands 3X the effort on the part of the patient to research their health issues...
I lucked out with the first ADHD med I tried actually having an effect on me because I'm notoriously resistant to medication regardless if it's for mental health or physical ailments. Being an anomalous patient isn't easy and feels like it demands 3X the effort on the part of the patient to research their health issues...Oof. I seem to have a knack for just adapting to medications in ways I don't think I'm supposed to.
I've also got multiple diagnosed and suspected things with way too many overlapping symptoms, and my family seems unusually prone to symptoms for which no cause can be found. I know in at least a few cases, some things have turned out to actually be trauma-related or otherwise psychosomatic. And at the same time, apparently some members of my have not only survived things that could have or even should have killed them, but in some cases managed to even be totally unaware there was a problem until it was already resolving itself or even until lingering evidence was found years, even decades later.Anyway... I'm going to try to not pull the ADHD thread any further off-topic now.
I can pretty confidently say that a diagnosis and medication has literally changed my life! I just wish it had happened when I was a child, getting diagnosed in your early 30's has its downsides.
Seriously bad ADHD here!
Like Sanne, I didn't know I had ADHD until my 30s. I spent my life masking ADHD so hard that I didn't realize how bad mine was. I was diagnosed this past fall, and the medication - once I got the right one - was literally life changing. After a lifetime of disordered sleep, day one on adderall and I was in bed by 9, out by 10, and up by 6. The changes in my quality of life were immediate and pronounced. My ability to manage my scheduling, my stress... everything is so much better now.
It's crazy to think of all the things that were "robbed" from me due to my ADHD (I may have finished college, had I been medicated properly), but now I have a roadmap for the future to live a fuller, happier life.
It's crazy to think of all the things that were "robbed" from me due to my ADHD (I may have finished college, had I been medicated properly), but now I have a roadmap for the future to live a fuller, happier life.
lmao imagine being able to take medication
"adderall will literally kill me" gang rise up, no caffeine, no adderall, no strattera, just me, my unmedicated adhd and another memory impairment disease
"adderall will literally kill me" gang rise up, no caffeine, no adderall, no strattera, just me, my unmedicated adhd and another memory impairment disease
I take Vyvanse… i think that’s how it’s spelled, and out works really well for me, so maybe ask your doctor about that?
vyvanse is a stimulant as well, as is pretty much every other adhd medication except wellbutrin and strattera
concerning amount of people like me who can't take them, really, we sort of get overlooked in the adhd community. stimulants trigger seizures, strokes, behavioral issues, heart problems, just about any preexisting medical condition out there
concerning amount of people like me who can't take them, really, we sort of get overlooked in the adhd community. stimulants trigger seizures, strokes, behavioral issues, heart problems, just about any preexisting medical condition out there
I was diagnosed with ADD when I was a child, and one of the first to start taking Concerta. It had adverse effects on me to start, like intense anger, basically changing me into something I wasn’t. The same happened when I went back on medication as an adult. On the flip side, it helped my concentration, and the side effects ebbed over time. Aside from my personal experience, I can say that it was pretty positive and I’m glad I was on medication, because I suffered through school without it. A and B honor roll in high school! I worked my butt off to be successful.
Childhood ADHD diagnosis here. I think from roughly the time I was six they tried me on just about everything - I remember adderall having a sweet coating on the pill and it confused me. Ritalin made me so sick that I stopped eating more than one meal a day (breakfast, before I took the pill) but everything finally clicked when they tried me on dexedrine. I still remember the instantaneous change it had in me. It was like someone flipped on a switch and everything from my focus to my handwriting seemed to change overnight. My teachers were just baffled because the 'hyperactive problem child' was suddenly calm, quiet and focused on her work.
Then I turned 19 and they decided I had 'grown out of it' and would no longer prescribe me anything. I wasn't able to get properly medicated again until I was 30, got a doctor who believed me, and the effect still feels like magic to me. The scatterbrain is almost gone, but it really turns down the volume on some otherwise paralyzing episodes of executive dysfunction. Missing it for more than a day just turns me into 'no thoughts, spaced out, try again later'.
Then I turned 19 and they decided I had 'grown out of it' and would no longer prescribe me anything. I wasn't able to get properly medicated again until I was 30, got a doctor who believed me, and the effect still feels like magic to me. The scatterbrain is almost gone, but it really turns down the volume on some otherwise paralyzing episodes of executive dysfunction. Missing it for more than a day just turns me into 'no thoughts, spaced out, try again later'.
Zelphyr wrote:
Aardbei wrote:
Although, the type of medication I take is a non-stimulant, so I'm not sure if it's only stimulants that allow the body to produce more dopamine.
I'd be surprised if that was exclusive to stimulants, honestly. I only focused on them because I know almost nothing about the non-stimulant types. Closest I come on that is that I found out that a medication meant for depression (and that mostly only works alongside another anti-depressant) has shown some success in being paired with at least some ADHD meds, too - and since my Adderall wasn't really helping anymore (and Ritalin was entirely useless), I decided to give it a try rather than up my dose. I already know that if I get around to trying a different medication, I'm going to need a period to adjust from stopping the Adderall, and I'd rather not make that worse. I don't have an addiction or anything (in that I have no particular urge to take it and have just plain forgotten to on multiple occasions), but I'm apparently among those who do experience a little withdrawal without it already. My guess is that my body decided to lean on it too much and make even less of its own chemicals, 'cause I'm barely functional if I forget multiple days in a row. Not in pain or anything like that, just mah brain ain't there. Talking with others, it apparently goes away once things level back out to the old "norm."
Aardbei wrote:
You're not the only person who's trying to figure out what all's going on with themselves either. I'm in the same boat, so I get you. I lucked out with the first ADHD med I tried actually having an effect on me because I'm notoriously resistant to medication regardless if it's for mental health or physical ailments. Being an anomalous patient isn't easy and feels like it demands 3X the effort on the part of the patient to research their health issues...
I lucked out with the first ADHD med I tried actually having an effect on me because I'm notoriously resistant to medication regardless if it's for mental health or physical ailments. Being an anomalous patient isn't easy and feels like it demands 3X the effort on the part of the patient to research their health issues...Oof. I seem to have a knack for just adapting to medications in ways I don't think I'm supposed to.
I've also got multiple diagnosed and suspected things with way too many overlapping symptoms, and my family seems unusually prone to symptoms for which no cause can be found. I know in at least a few cases, some things have turned out to actually be trauma-related or otherwise psychosomatic. And at the same time, apparently some members of my have not only survived things that could have or even should have killed them, but in some cases managed to even be totally unaware there was a problem until it was already resolving itself or even until lingering evidence was found years, even decades later.Anyway... I'm going to try to not pull the ADHD thread any further off-topic now.
Yeah, I get that... all of it, heh. In my case, my medication reportedly can help with some other issues that I suspect I might have, and given that I do better on it even with things that might-but-also-might-not be ADHD related, I can believe that a little.
Maybe we could talk in DMs a bit about our experiences outside the scope of this thread, if you want? I find that just talking to other ND people online with their various experiences helps me piece together mine, and I assume the same is true for others maybe...
Sanne wrote:
I can pretty confidently say that a diagnosis and medication has literally changed my life! I just wish it had happened when I was a child, getting diagnosed in your early 30's has its downsides.
I'm in this photo and I don't like it.
Though as a kid, they did try ritalin once. It did barely anything and instead of trying something else, they decided it just didn't work... The 90s were fun.
Auberon wrote:
Like Sanne, I didn't know I had ADHD until my 30s. I spent my life masking ADHD so hard that I didn't realize how bad mine was. I was diagnosed this past fall, and the medication - once I got the right one - was literally life changing. After a lifetime of disordered sleep, day one on adderall and I was in bed by 9, out by 10, and up by 6. The changes in my quality of life were immediate and pronounced. My ability to manage my scheduling, my stress... everything is so much better now.
It's crazy to think of all the things that were "robbed" from me due to my ADHD (I may have finished college, had I been medicated properly), but now I have a roadmap for the future to live a fuller, happier life.
It's crazy to think of all the things that were "robbed" from me due to my ADHD (I may have finished college, had I been medicated properly), but now I have a roadmap for the future to live a fuller, happier life.
I had a talk with my mother not too long ago that I might actually be able to go back to school now. I also find it does help me with my sleep, so long as I remember to take it. (It's hard because I have like 3 times a day I need other meds so sometimes it just gets 'lost'.) I never thought so many things could be ADHD related...
Saturninum wrote:
vyvanse is a stimulant as well, as is pretty much every other adhd medication except wellbutrin and strattera
concerning amount of people like me who can't take them, really, we sort of get overlooked in the adhd community. stimulants trigger seizures, strokes, behavioral issues, heart problems, just about any preexisting medical condition out there
concerning amount of people like me who can't take them, really, we sort of get overlooked in the adhd community. stimulants trigger seizures, strokes, behavioral issues, heart problems, just about any preexisting medical condition out there
My heart goes out to you. I have a similar situation, but with a different issue. (related to my physical disability though.) It's rough when you're an anomalous patient, has to be worse with mental health issues which we barely understand already.
aardbei wrote:
I had a talk with my mother not too long ago that I might actually be able to go back to school now. I also find it does help me with my sleep, so long as I remember to take it. (It's hard because I have like 3 times a day I need other meds so sometimes it just gets 'lost'.) I never thought so many things could be ADHD related...
If I can get my other disabilities in check, I am strongly considering taking some classes at the local community college to better learn things like Photoshop and basic web design. Back when I was in college, digital media wasn't really the focus of my art school (I was the only one in any of my digital media classes to own a tablet). My photography and film classes involved actual film. I'm hoping that the shift in technology would help me acquire more relevant skills. I'm not quite stable enough to go for this yet, but it's a dream of mine now that I'm getting treatment.
I wish you luck with school should you go that route!
I am on an extended release med for my ADHD, but I still have to take meds twice a day, so... I feel that. I have alarms for everything because I will absolutely just forget otherwise. It's pretty crazy just how many symptoms can be ADHD related.
Auberon wrote:
aardbei wrote:
I had a talk with my mother not too long ago that I might actually be able to go back to school now. I also find it does help me with my sleep, so long as I remember to take it. (It's hard because I have like 3 times a day I need other meds so sometimes it just gets 'lost'.) I never thought so many things could be ADHD related...
If I can get my other disabilities in check, I am strongly considering taking some classes at the local community college to better learn things like Photoshop and basic web design. Back when I was in college, digital media wasn't really the focus of my art school (I was the only one in any of my digital media classes to own a tablet). My photography and film classes involved actual film. I'm hoping that the shift in technology would help me acquire more relevant skills. I'm not quite stable enough to go for this yet, but it's a dream of mine now that I'm getting treatment.
I wish you luck with school should you go that route!
I am on an extended release med for my ADHD, but I still have to take meds twice a day, so... I feel that. I have alarms for everything because I will absolutely just forget otherwise. It's pretty crazy just how many symptoms can be ADHD related.
Oh yeah I exhausted my phone alarms with all the meds I take! I might actually need an app that'll give me more alarms if it gets any crazier...
It's cool that you have a dream for college. In my case I just want some modicum of job security, but I have a few pipe-dream things I might consider when my mental is in a better place. Same boat as you though, got a lot of other stuff going on that I'm slowly working through with professional help now.
Admittedly, working on these other issues began with ADHD, and then it just snowballed from there, where highlighting and treating one problem revealed some of the others that exist, and dealing with those revealed others... Sometimes, life is wild, haha.
Aardbei wrote:
My heart goes out to you. I have a similar situation, but with a different issue. (related to my physical disability though.) It's rough when you're an anomalous patient, has to be worse with mental health issues which we barely understand already.
Yuuup. I can't take just about any psychological-related medication because I get symptoms ranging from 'lol that's weird' to "MY HEART RATE IS 200 AND I AM ON THE C U S P OF STROKE." Anxiety meds trigger hypotension-induced fainting episodes, antidepressants give me weird psychosomatic and/or autonomic symptoms (hello wellbutrin and constant yawning, hypersensitive smell and taste, and sWEATING HOT HOT HOT), and stimulants would probably just...kill me, given the number of contraindicating conditions I have.
I did gene testing a while back ago that showed that I would have adverse effects to like 90% of them anyways though lmao.It's not fun. I already have one memory impairing disease (and we're now doing testing to make sure I don't have another, since the two are very commonly associated) so having unmedicated ADHD on top of that is a goddamn nightmare. I can literally have entire conversations two, three, four times with people without ever realizing that we had already had it before.
It has its perks, though. Nobody ever asks me to remind them of stuff. And I always have an excuse if I forgot something. B)
Saturninum wrote:
vyvanse is a stimulant as well, as is pretty much every other adhd medication except wellbutrin and strattera
concerning amount of people like me who can't take them, really, we sort of get overlooked in the adhd community. stimulants trigger seizures, strokes, behavioral issues, heart problems, just about any preexisting medical condition out there
concerning amount of people like me who can't take them, really, we sort of get overlooked in the adhd community. stimulants trigger seizures, strokes, behavioral issues, heart problems, just about any preexisting medical condition out there
Well... there's also guanfacine, viloxazine, clonidine and other blood pressure medications, and a number of other anti-depressants. Apparently certain antiviral medications have shown success, too. So it may be worth some further discussion yet, but that is ultimately up to you. Some folks are also able to get a lot out of just therapy, habit-training, and certain dietary practices, too. And depending on where you live, I've heard of both good and bad results (including cases of people perceiving improvements while actually showing measurably worse outcomes) using certain substances that are only yet legal in some places and pretty much totally untested because of that.
Interestingly... Wellbutrin can also trigger seizures. Which is why my doctors are extremely reluctant to give me more than a very small dose, even though the seizures have only really been noted to appear when taking extremely, ridiculously huge doses (which is also where most people start getting any affect from it at all when it's taken alone, but apparently it tends to work great as a sidekick drug). Oh, uh, context: I've had seizures before (without Wellbutrin to blame), so that's the rest of the explanation around the reluctance for it.
Aardbei wrote:
Maybe we could talk in DMs a bit about our experiences outside the scope of this thread, if you want? I find that just talking to other ND people online with their various experiences helps me piece together mine, and I assume the same is true for others maybe...
I'd be fine with that.
I know that often, having at least a sense of talking at some particular person even without input can be immensely helpful even in just organizing thoughts to where they can be better reviewed.Aardbei wrote:
Auberon wrote:
I have alarms for everything because I will absolutely just forget otherwise. It's pretty crazy just how many symptoms can be ADHD related.
Oh yeah I exhausted my phone alarms with all the meds I take! I might actually need an app that'll give me more alarms if it gets any crazier...
Although a somewhat recent increase in ads has made it slightly annoying at times, I've been using Alarm Clock Xtreme (for Android) for a long time now. Can set up a bunch of alarms with a bunch of different settings that run simultaneously. I mostly only use it for basic wake-up currently (with 2 alarms, the first having a "gentle wake" feature that tries to catch you in a shallow part of the sleep cycle with soft noises before the actual alarm goes off, the second one being a recurring thing that will start up again every x minutes until you assure it that you really are awake), but I originally got it to use at a prior job I had where the ability to individually customize alarm sound, auto-snooze and snooze length, and rising volume so it's not so startling. It's also got a stopwatch feature, "quick alarm" that's basically a timer, and a "night clock" mode that turns the whole screen into a dim digital-readout clock. It's pretty nifty, especially for a free app.
You are on: Forums » Smalltalk » join if you got adhd/add
Moderators: Mina, Keke, Cass, Auberon, Claine, Ilmarinen, Ben, Darth_Angelus