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ultrafilter posted:I still have to do a little bit of research, but I expect Google's features to land on the Droid before any other phone, so it probably makes sense. Yeah - I fully expected a Google App made by Google themselves for this, but I only found third party ones. However, if you can make it work, awesome! I don't know why I stopped using tasks; I just put things on my main Calendar and then move them when I need to.
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Sep 10, 2010 19:58
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2nd night with adderall: Stayed up to study for a test, was the most effective (the only effective) studying I've ever done. Around 11:30 or so I began getting a headache, which quickly bloomed into a pretty severe one. I took some tylenol and went to sleep. 3rd day: Same routine: wake, breakfast, pill, shower, work. Effects were less powerful. Not as euphoric, but still able to concentrate and was extremely motivated and sociable. Took my first test on meds. I can honestly say I have never felt anything like it. I have never taken a test where I didn't completely blank as soon as I started. I remembered every nuance of everything I studied and it was glorious. Didn't take a second pill after class. I have a conference/workshop that is mandatory for my education class this weekend in a city about 1.5 hours away. When I arrived, I sat down for dinner and took a half of a pill with my food, but all I ended up ingesting was a few glasses of water. Pretty suddenly I was stricken with a headache that bloomed into full-blown migraine very shortly. Began feeling nauseous, went to the restroom and promptly vomited. I spent the next hour and a half sitting in my car praying that the excedrin migraine I took would kick in. It helped enough to get me home, but not totally. Feeling a bit better after food and some TLC from the gf. Developments: 1) unquenchable thirst - I know the adderall prevents the body from absorbing water and causes cotton mouth, but I must have drunk at least a gallon and a half of water as well as a massive Gatorade and nothing seemed to work. I am still unbearably thirsty, I've pissed out about 75% of everything i've drunk and said piss is crystal clear. Any tips on how to hydrate, because "lots of water and Gatorade" isn't cutting it. 2) headaches - If it's overcast and about to rain I get horrible migraines that only go away if I sleep. No medicine I've found puts a dent in the pain. I have a feeling my problem tonight has something to do with this. Adderall is a vasoconstrictor, resulting in higher pressure, resulting in crippling migraine? It could also be the massive amounts of water and the lack of appetite. I can't really pinpoint the exact cause, because I've had a low-grade constant headache since yesterday afternoon. 3) lack of appetite - not hungry at all for the past two days. I've forced myself to eat but there's no joy or pleasure in it and I get tired of it after a small amount. I dont mind the weight loss, but I'm curious if I'm eating so little that it's causing the headaches. I don't think so, I'm eating less but I'm not starving myself. 4) clenching jaw / grinding teeth - I find myself grinding my teeth together subconsciously to the beat of whatever music is playing, whatever song I'm singing, or even my thoughts. I'm just constantly moving my teeth around, and if I'm not moving them I tend to be biting down a lot harder than usual. My jaw has been sore all day and pops and cracks every time I open my mouth wide, as well as my neck being pretty stiff. The result of all of this is, you guessed it: headaches. Whether the headache is caused or just agitated by the sore jaw remains to be seen, but it is bothering the hell out of me. I plan on not taking the pills until Monday to see if I start feeling better. Tomorrow I drive back to the conference from 8-4, and if I feel I'm having trouble paying attention or concentrating I may consider taking half a pill (10mg) and seeing how that works. Come monday, if I'm feeling better, I'll begin with half a pill a day, or maybe half in the morning and half in the afternoon if needed. Honestly I'm not sure what to do here. The doctor didn't explain any side effects or precautions or give me any advice on how to go about dealing with the medication. Everything I know so far has come from this thread and various add forums, so I'm at a loss. Sorry to keep posting this crap, I'm hoping someone will notice me doing something wrong or give me some miracle tip to make my brain stop melting and/or make water do something other than go straight from my mouth to the toilet. The only things I can think of is chew gum to keep from grinding my teeth, or make a conscious effort to keep my teeth separated. I guess I should just continue guzzling water but I'm afraid of drinking too much. Hopefully if I can keep from grinding my teeth, stay hydrated and properly fed, lower my dosage and start taking multivitamins, I should see some difference, right? Right? A Frosty Witch fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Sep 11, 2010 |
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Sep 11, 2010 03:46
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larchesdanrew posted:The only things I can think of is chew gum to keep from grinding my teeth, or make a conscious effort to keep my teeth separated. I guess I should just continue guzzling water but I'm afraid of drinking too much. Hopefully if I can keep from grinding my teeth, stay hydrated and properly fed, lower my dosage and start taking multivitamins, I should see some difference, right? Right? Sorry, I didn't read your entire post because I don't have the power to concentrate that much, but I did see your complaints of side effects. As for chewing gum, I don't last very long without a pack of gum these days. It's 100% neccesary to keep my mouth from being completely dry, and it's just the nature of the medication. As for the teeth grinding, gum will help. That one goes away, at least for me it did, but it really helped to have something to just gnaw on for an extended period of time. For the other side effects, you really just need to adjust to the medication, though I didn't have headaches, and you should talk to your doctor about that because I don't know how normal that is. For appetite, jaw clenching, and unquenchable thirst, it'll get better. The dry mouth didn't get better for me, but I know gum fixes the issue, so whatever. For appetite, I wouldn't worry too much if you're getting at least one big meal in. Always, ALWAYS take your meds with food. If you don't it fucks with your stomach for one, and two it will just give you those side effects but extra hardcore with that jittery amphetamine feeling. As a plus, when you need to take your medication you will know when to eat.
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Sep 11, 2010 04:49
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TheGopher posted:For appetite, jaw clenching, and unquenchable thirst, it'll get better. The dry mouth didn't get better for me, but I know gum fixes the issue, so whatever. Agreeing whole heartedly with this. The first few times I took my adderall I felt like superman like larchesdanrew said, but it wears off quickly and eventually you won't really notice it unless you go off it and all your anxieties, depression and the feeling of fear over getting things done. I get wicked temper back as well when I'm off the meds, which makes my husband cringe because I'll scream at him for dropping a fork. Finding a job is still pretty hard for me. I'm still pretty low in self esteem about my work ethic and how I'll hold down a job like cashier for at least 28 weeks. I've had so many jobs and the longest lasting one was 5 months, so it's justified in a way...but still. I'm afraid I just won't go into work once I get it because I wanted to sleep a little extra or the anxiety of a 5 hour shift standing around doing cash work gets to me.
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Sep 11, 2010 20:31
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Qu Appelle posted:Yeah - I fully expected a Google App made by Google themselves for this, but I only found third party ones. However, if you can make it work, awesome! I don't know why I stopped using tasks; I just put things on my main Calendar and then move them when I need to. Apparently there's a droid app by Google called GTask, but it's not available on the Blackberry. I did find a Blackberry app called gmtasksync, so maybe that'll be good enough. I can't imagine life without a smartphone.
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Sep 11, 2010 21:01
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ultrafilter posted:Apparently there's a droid app by Google called GTask, but it's not available on the Blackberry. I did find a Blackberry app called gmtasksync, so maybe that'll be good enough. I can't imagine life without a smartphone. GTask - I'll look that up. Thanks! Before smartphones (hell, before cell phones), I dealt with schedules in a couple different ways: 1. I had a dayplanner that I consulted about a million times a day, as if my life depended on it. Because, well, it did. 2. I tried to take jobs which had a set schedule, not a flex one, because otherwise I know that I'd just mess it up (and I often did). 3. I didn't have much of a social life with planned events, because I knew that I'd miss something. So, 'social life' = 'drinking lovely beers alone at the one metal bar in town while cursing my life because this was NOT how it was supposed to turn out'. 4. Develop a near constant source of low-level anxiety, because I always was afraid that I'd miss something. So when friends and acquaintances gave me a hard time for nearly dumping $500 on a Nexus One, I'd just smile and ask how much they spend on booze in a year, because now I feel I can have an actual social life filled with events I actually enjoy, as opposed to a default that I know I couldn't mess up. I stopped drinking every night about 10 years ago, and I stopped drinking totally more than three years ago. I barely miss it. (not that I had ever considered myself an alcoholic or addicted, but if I continued on my old path, it was a distinct possibility.)
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Sep 11, 2010 22:26
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Aculard posted:Finding a job is still pretty hard for me. I'm still pretty low in self esteem about my work ethic and how I'll hold down a job like cashier for at least 28 weeks. I've had so many jobs and the longest lasting one was 5 months, so it's justified in a way...but still. I'm afraid I just won't go into work once I get it because I wanted to sleep a little extra or the anxiety of a 5 hour shift standing around doing cash work gets to me. I'm right there with you man. My longest job lasted a year, and that's when I was in high school at best buy. I don't know how I managed to last taht long there, but I think it was because I went to work after school most days, so I was already out of the house. Plus I wasn't stressed out about nearly as much because I had zero responsibility. My job was to pay for gas money and whatever other stupid poo poo I wanted to spend money on. Now I got a really good job, but I've only been there for a month and a half and I'm constantly expecting my world to just shatter and get fired for some dumb poo poo I've gotten fired for a million times. That being said, I'm pushing that thought out of the back of my head constantly because it's just a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't care about the drudgery of my job, for once in my life, because adderall takes care of the "constant struggle" feeling. I had to get good a couple of things before adderall could take care of the rest: 1. Always wake up early enough. I tend to wake up 1-2 hours earlier than I need to for poo poo because I know there's always the chance it will take me 45 minutes to get out of bed. 2. Alarm clock is no-loving-where near my bed. I absolutely have to get out of bed to turn it off, and it's just very slightly too loud. 3. I have a routine once I wake up so I don't have to think or get anxious. I am starting to procrastinate but I think I got an idea how to deal with that. 4. Minimum level of organization. It's way too easy to just let your living area get ridiculously messy. When I notice things are messy at the very least I'll put poo poo back where it goes, throw out the various pieces of trash, and get everything off the floor, even if it means just moving it to a tidy pile of similar things on a chair. Clutter in your living area makes you cluttered in your brain. It's so easy to eliminate some of that constant noise by maintaining a minimum level of tidiness. I do this at most every week, but it's been turning into low-effort maintenance every day so I never have to make it an ordeal. Lastly, you absolutely have to want to deal with the ADHD issues. Speaking from experience, all those issues we have getting poo poo done do get easier to manage over time, but it will be a struggle, it will feel hopeless, but you just gotta keep plugging away and don't even cut yourself an inch of slack.
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Sep 11, 2010 23:55
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larchesdanrew posted:
NO! Don't do it. Seriously. When you don't take a pill, like you did, you're screwing with your body chemistry. Your body had been adjusting to you taking that chemical in the morning and during the day, of course it freaked right out when you missed it. You HAVE to stay steady with it and let your body change for at least a week. Might be a good idea to go to someone to lower your dose but at least wait a week. You saw how the effects lessened for you, they'll keep doing it as long as you continue with the dosage on schedule and with food. If you're not hungry, tough. I have to eat within 30 minutes or I'm doubled over in pain and my head starts to ache. Make yourself eat a square meal if you have to, but if you want to be functional it's what you have to do. Also, drink a lot of water and considering getting a nightguard from walmart.
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Sep 12, 2010 04:41
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This morning I took half a pill, and the other half a few hours later. Generally the same amount of concentration. Had some migraine medicine on hand, as well as gum. When I felt like I was grinding my teeth I chewed and it helped out a ton. I also took a multivitamin which probably helped a lot. My only issue is that I spent most of my day paying attention to what my body was doing and taking pre-emptive measures. Hopefully before long I wont need to lug around aspirin, several packs of gum, a few bottles of water, a bottle of Gatorade, and a toothbrush every day. Focusing all my attention on countering the side effects left little time to enjoy the primary effects. Except the loss of appetite, that part is pretty amazing to me. In just a few days food has become a complete chore. I have zero desire to eat anything. No hunger pangs, no growling, no joy in food. I'm learning to just put something in my body at food time whether I want it or not, which usually isn't a lot. I just get so bored. Example from today: Breakfast: 3 bites of oatmeal 1 slice of bacon Lunch: a dinner roll Dinner: 1 soft taco (homemade) I had to physically force myself to even start eating everything from lunch on. Anyways, another far too drawn-out post. TL;DR: lowered dosage to 10mg twice a day, chewed gum, limited water intake and increased food and electrolyte intake, and took a multivitamin. Much better day. No headaches, but a little too much involvement with preventing side effects for me to really appreciate the medicine.
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Sep 12, 2010 07:43
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To be fair, I started on 5mg doses (twice a day) for the first 2 days, then 10mg for the next three, then 15 for a few more days. I noticed hardcore side effects my first few weeks and I was taking less than half your dose for the first 4 days of it. If you're experiencing side effects that become debilitating don't just try to man through them, take less if you don't feel comfortable, and if that doesn't work call your doctor. Your medication is going to help you, yes, but not everybody responds to the first medication they try perfectly, which is where there's like 5 different pills that are all very commonly prescribed. I remember Qu Appelle talking about how she couldn't handle a certain medication, had her doctor switch her and the side effects went away almost immediately and said she felt amazing. If taking less/trying to outlast the initial side effects doesn't work, cut yourself some slack and go back to your doc. As for eating, force yourself to eat something relatively big for one meal. I usually get a sandwich during lunch because it's quick and tasty enough to really want to finish the whole thing, even if I'm not feeling particularly hungry. There are some days where I just don't need to eat very much, (like today: bowl of cereal, muffin, 2 small tacos, and a bowl of greenbeans, alltogether maybe 1200 calories, and my caloric need is a little over than a thousand more) but I've been getting my appetite back slowly but surely, to a point where I will feel hungry on my own around 1-2pm, and I will want to go eat. It's not the end of the world if you don't feel particularly hungry one day, but please use your dome and get your doctor involved if you are consistently debilitated by side effects.
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Sep 12, 2010 08:54
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TheGopher posted:I remember Qu Appelle talking about how she couldn't handle a certain medication, had her doctor switch her and the side effects went away almost immediately and said she felt amazing. If taking less/trying to outlast the initial side effects doesn't work, cut yourself some slack and go back to your doc. I'm now trying to remember what that medication was; I tried so many of them! I think it may have been the higher dose of Adderall - going back to the lower dose may have been the key. Now I'm not on anything again, and I can tell. I can get stuff done, but I have to 'gear myself' up a lot more for them, and it takes longer to get into them. I had a computer project that I worked on which wasn't complex, and when I finally completed it, it only took an hour - but somehow I stretched that hour over the month  . But, I'm going to finish my ADHD books before I try yet another medication. That and that Google tasks app that was suggested earlier in the thread. I can tell that my coffee consumption is rising rapidly, because my brain wants that sweet, sweet caffeine.
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Sep 12, 2010 17:17
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So I decided to tell my family what my plans were, with the psychiatrist and maybe consider drugs if the psychiatrist thinks its a good route, and holy poo poo that was intense... My mom seemed to understand, but my brother and step dad were acting like there was more to it, and I'm doing fine at work, and making a decent amount of money, blah blah blah... I actually ended up just leaving in the middle of it because they weren't listening to anything I was saying... It was pretty funny thought because my Step-dad has it pretty obviously but he thinks pills are for wusses or I pretty much straight up told him that maybe if he tried going the route I am going to try he would of been more successful. Anyways going to try and call that center this week and hopefully figure out what my insurance covers and what it doesn't.
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Sep 13, 2010 12:44
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Good for you! That sounds pretty similar to what I had to deal with. My mother was pretty understanding but saying my dad is disappointed in me is a bit of an understatement. He's always wanted me to be the beer drinkin, sports lovin, crass redneck that they grow in these here parts. Sorry, dad, I like photography, music, learning, and, oh yeah, gonna get tested for ADD. Sorry, daddy issues is another thread entirely. They were initially opposed to be doing it because my little sister got tested and ended up selling them all (as well as most of her - and our - belongings) to buy harder drugs. She's a complete fuckup and they think it's going to happen to me as well. Dad told me if I'd stop playing so many of those drat video games maybe I'd do better. Mom was concerned about addiction and my personality changing. My brother-in-law basically just laughed and ridiculed me. My gf was concerned about like my mother was, but she's a lot more supportive. But, in the end, it's not what everyone else thinks, but what you think you need to be happy and successful. I've been on it for almost a week at this point, I think I've figured out a dosage that doesn't end in horrendous side effects. No more teeth grinding, no headaches, and a slowly returning appetite. I aced my first test since I was in 2nd grade. The relief and pride I'm feeling defies explanation. So, if you think it will help, then definitely do what you think is right, which it sounds like you are doing. Hope everything turns out alright!
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Sep 13, 2010 14:34
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larchesdanrew posted:They were initially opposed to be doing it because my little sister got tested and ended up selling them all (as well as most of her - and our - belongings) to buy harder drugs. She's a complete fuckup and they think it's going to happen to me as well. I've mentioned this before, but when people are unsupportive you essentially need to gently caress off. We have to deal with misconceptions about ADHD every single time it comes up, so why should we put up with bullshit from the people who are supposed to love us. Telling somebody who has ADHD that they only need to try harder, or stop playing video games is excactly like telling somebody with major depression they just need to cheer up. I mean, sure, people with depression do need to cheer up, but it's not like they can just start thinking happy and everything is better; they have a chemical imbalance that needs to be corrected, usually through medication, and only then will they have the tools to feel better. It's exactly the same for ADHD, but nobody takes us seriously because our symptoms are not obvious. They can't see the constant pain, frustration, anxiety, and general mental anguish that comes from not only ADHD itself, but from the people who think we're the boy crying wolf. I don't let people drag me down anymore, however, and if somebody tries to tell me how I should really deal with my ADHD without having to take "drugs," I thank them for their professional medical opinion, and either stop talking to them or change the subject. What kills me is reading this topic, and knowing from my own personal experience, there are thousands of kids out there who are just constantly in a state of frustration and feel like they're broken, when in fact their brains are just wired differently. I wish I had a way to go raise awareness about it, but I got plenty of time in life to hopefully make that happen, but gotta keep working on keeping my own act together.
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Sep 13, 2010 16:47
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Does anyone have any experience with generic versus brand adderall? I've been on generic for a few months, and it's been an improvement, but sometimes the effects can be inconsistent. Some days I'll feel overly wired and not want to eat anything, and other days it'll be mild, more like caffeine. I have a friend who was on the same drug for years (he's on vyvanse now) and he swears that he had much better experiences on the brand name version, but that might be placebo for him, so I'm looking for other opinions.
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Sep 13, 2010 17:03
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TheGopher posted:What kills me is reading this topic, and knowing from my own personal experience, there are thousands of kids out there who are just constantly in a state of frustration and feel like they're broken, when in fact their brains are just wired differently. I wish I had a way to go raise awareness about it, but I got plenty of time in life to hopefully make that happen, but gotta keep working on keeping my own act together. Exactly. It's down right depressing to me to think of the millions of people who feel as down and hopeless as I did, with no idea of how to get out. I did some work in secondary education before I got burned out and in every class, you'd see that awkward kid who gets picked on constantly because they blurt out things that are simultaneously brilliant and offensive and stupid. They're always frustrated, they're always teased and they're always so earnest about learning and trying to make friends. I just want to get them to my psychiatrist and get them help because they'd break my heart. One of the worst things about ADHD to me is the fact that the kids with ADHD who were doing terribly would always tear themselves to pieces about it. Breaks my heart every time. Also, good for you Fyallum! Try giving your family a copy of Delivered from Distraction, let them find out more and your situation should be much better.
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Sep 13, 2010 19:11
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Thanks guys, I think they realized that I was for real when I just got up and left. But I was able to get my evaluation finally from 8th grade and it makes me chuckle when I read it: Strengths: Inquisitive, Performance/Non-Verbal skills Weaknesses: Easily distracted, lacks self-discipline, Talks at inappropriate times during class, disrupts other students, fidgety, mediocre work production, rushes through work. The interpretation of the results is great too: "During the testing session he did not make any mistakes due to his quick motor speed, and in fact impressed this examiner with his ability to rule out items that were not important and move on with another task. He was physically active throughout the testing session but it did not appear to hinder the test score. (He would suck on his pen, get up and down, look out the window, tape items on the desk.)" This is the first time I have ever read it, and if I would of known about this earlier I think it really would of helped me. quote:So, if you think it will help, then definitely do what you think is right, which it sounds like you are doing. Yeah I think it might help, and there is no reason to try, even if there is the slightest chance it might help why wouldn't I try? What really annoyed me is that I couldn't explain it. I actually showed them this thread while we were sitting at the table and was trying to show them what I meant. EDIT: So as I was reading through it looks like I was given a Conner's test but it doesn't look like the results were apart of this pdf they sent me, so I'm going to contact them again and see if they have my score and see if my mom can keep looking for it. fyallm fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Sep 13, 2010 |
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Sep 13, 2010 20:03
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Elotana posted:Does anyone have any experience with generic versus brand adderall? Generics in the US have to be within a threshold of like ~30% bioavailability of the namebrand, which for some medications is a world of difference. My psychiatrist writes orders for a generic for Adderall that is the closest to on brand that she's aware of (peach colored, Barr Labs, iirc), and pharmacies around her who get a lot of her clients keep a good supply of it.
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Sep 13, 2010 20:54
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Elotana posted:Does anyone have any experience with generic versus brand adderall? I've been on generic for a few months, and it's been an improvement, but sometimes the effects can be inconsistent. Some days I'll feel overly wired and not want to eat anything, and other days it'll be mild, more like caffeine. I haven't been on generic Adderall, but when I was on generic Wellbutrin, I felt the same type of effects in regards to inconsistency. Turns out that the time release generic Wellbutrins have a known issue with the time release mechanism releasing the drug inconsistently, and that's what was messing me up.
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Sep 13, 2010 21:05
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rainbow kittens posted:EDIT: My question for the OP (and other ADD sufferers) is this: Does it feel like your head will explode ALL THE TIME? Do you ever overthing everything so much that you pretty much just freeze and can't do anything other than sit in a lump while your mind wanders aimlessly? Do you feel rage boil to the surface when you are interrupted while doing something you are attempting to concentrate on? I know my feelings aren't typical of a "normal" person, but I'm really looking to see if they are normal for a person suffering from ADD/ADHD. I don't know. If the doctor comes back and says I don't have it, then what the hell could it be? My cousin has Tourettes, and Mom always told me that I had it because of certain characteristics that I showed as a child (ticks, loud voice, etc), but I read in a book that Tourettes can also be comorbid with ADD. Mom also thought I was bipolar because I was always moody and I would fly off the hanger if someone interrupted me. Of course, I always told Mom off when she hinted there was something wrong with me anyway but now I see where she is coming from. I have not been diagnosed but I feel the same thing. I don't try to think about it too much and I naively think I have it under control with a citalopram prescription. But god drat if I'm working and the phone rings or a client stops in I let out a stream of curse words under my breath and rage. Don't know why because I'm not really doing anything in the first place besides staring at some status screens but still.
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Sep 13, 2010 21:12
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Elotana posted:Does anyone have any experience with generic versus brand adderall? I'm using generic. Peach colored, oval pills, Barr Labs. I've only been on it a few days, but I'm getting the same feeling as you. The first two days were amazing: I was energetic, euphoric, agreeable, and almost forced to continually work and keep myself busy, but I was also taking 40mg over the course of the day. The next two days I started experiencing crippling migraines, jaw pain, muscle stiffness, irritability, and nausea towards the end of the day. I've cut it back to half a pill in the morning, and another half around lunchtime, and have included a daily multivitamin. I haven't had any negative side effects since then, but the effects of the medication have been pretty inconsistent. Saturday I didn't notice much of an effect at all, except loss of appetite. Sunday I did the same thing, but I worked on schoolwork nonstop from 11am to 7pm without noticing, but my appetite returned and I ate 3 normal sized meals. Other than the first two days, this was the most effective day yet. Today, No appetite, medicine affected me for about an hour or two and wore off around lunch. I just took another 10mg because I'm feeling like my old self: easily distracted, unmotivated, and tired as poo poo. I guess it's too early to say what the problem is. I'm still getting used to the medication, and have only dropped it to about 20mg over the course of the day for about 3 days now. I am keeping track of what I eat, when I eat it, when I take the pills, when I drink water, when I piss, when I smoke, etc... to get an idea of what has an effect and what doesn't. I guess if I'm still sensing inconsistencies in another few weeks to a month, I'll begin questioning the generic factor.
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Sep 13, 2010 21:35
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larchesdanrew posted:I've only been on it a few days, but I'm getting the same feeling as you. The first two days were amazing: I was energetic, euphoric, agreeable, and almost forced to continually work and keep myself busy, but I was also taking 40mg over the course of the day. This is pretty typical, in any case. There's usually a couple of days of euphoria before things cool down and you start to notice the side-effects more.
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Sep 13, 2010 21:38
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Sorry if something like this has already been asked. (Don't want to read the entire thread because, hey! ADD! LOL!!!) Currently I am taking 40mg of Celexa a day for anxiety and depression. I used to be on 40mg of Adderall for ADD. I was on it for a year and a half and it slowly made me batshit crazy. It felt like I was tweaking my balls off. I lost a ton of weight and became insanely paranoid. (It definitely helped with schoolwork, but I'm not sure the tradeoff was worth it.) Strattera isn't really a stimulant right? Have goons had any luck with it? I would like to take care of my ADD/Anxiety/Depression at the same time without having to resort to stimulants. Any other goons on anti-depressants and ADD meds? What worked for you?
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Sep 13, 2010 22:04
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Apropos of the subject of telling family and spreading awareness, I got an email from additudemag.com telling me about ADD awareness week, and they've got a bunch of info in an easily digestible format that might be appropriate for giving to family members.
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Sep 13, 2010 23:01
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Verbal posted:I used to be on 40mg of Adderall for ADD. I was on it for a year and a half and it slowly made me batshit crazy. It felt like I was tweaking my balls off. I lost a ton of weight and became insanely paranoid. Holy gently caress 40mg? I take 30mg of the extended release if I feel like I'm having a super bad day that I really need to get through, but 20mg serves me well. 40mg of adderall sounds like overkill. Concerta for me messed me up 10 kinds of bad so maybe adderall just wasn't the type of drug you needed to take (or that much). Also, today I did a full day of pre apprenticeship school and 4 hours of working at a pizza store after and I don't hate myself and wanna die. It's pretty awesome! A girl or two were really interested in me explaining how ADHD affects me too. That was neat.
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Sep 14, 2010 03:02
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So I've finally gotten hold of my school's student health person, who is gonna send me to a specialist of some sort on Thursday. After that I will probably go for an evaluation at a professional psychologist. So what are the tests like? Is it like a question sheet that you have to answer, or what? Kikka fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Sep 14, 2010 |
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Sep 14, 2010 13:00
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There is almost always a questionnaire and/or rate yourself sheet, in addition to hopefully a discussion of what you percieve your ADD history to be and how it has affected your life. Just make sure you take as much time as you need to answer the (written and verbal) questions as honestly and accurately as you can. A lot of us have a compulsion to make sure we give the "correct" answer, which is absolutely ridiculous in this case.
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Sep 14, 2010 16:34
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I assume the correct testing procedure would be an interview, a detailed history chronicling your experience with your symptoms, a written questionnaire asking you to rate how strongly you agree that the listed situation affects you on a daily basis, a discussion of options if tests are conclusive... that sort of thing. Or you could have my experience where you receive an internet printout of a 20 question survey followed by an extremely leading "discussion" with the doctor in which he basically tells you what your daily experience is, after which they will unceremoniously toss you a prescription for medication without explaining anything else. Hopefully your experience is a little better 
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Sep 14, 2010 17:07
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Verdugo posted:I have not been diagnosed but I feel the same thing. I don't try to think about it too much and I naively think I have it under control with a citalopram prescription. But god drat if I'm working and the phone rings or a client stops in I let out a stream of curse words under my breath and rage. Don't know why because I'm not really doing anything in the first place besides staring at some status screens but still. This reply is for Verdugo and Rainbow Kittens, but I couldn't find the original post. I have ADHD and Tourette's and if you had vocal ticks, then you have Tourette's. It's kind of a catch all diagnosis though. The thing with Tourette's is that it almost always comes with a secondary medical condition, most commonly OCD and ADHD. My issue with my tics is that I tend to do them when something in uncomfortable. My shoulders hurt? I have to stretch them. My eyes are dry? I have to blink and roll them. My throat itches? I make this 'hmph' sound and cough non stop. And when I'm alone and tired/annoyed/bored I'll just tic for the hell of it. It's a pain, but I've learned to deal with it and my friends don't even notice. My big thing is that I get seized by anxiety. A close call while I'm driving will seize me up and literally make me lean forward, stop breathing and just clench my whole body. It will only last a moment, but it still never fails to suck.
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Sep 14, 2010 18:05
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post edited due to further education on the subject making some of my old posts becoming misinformation to others.
Chumbawumba4ever97 fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Sep 14, 2010 18:55
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Depression and ADD are often found together, yes. Sometimes they aren't related but both are present, and sometimes the depression is a symptom of the ADD - make sure you bring it up with your doc at the next visit.
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Sep 14, 2010 18:59
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I've been taking anti depressants for years, but nothing has worked as well for my depression than addressing my ADHD and getting onto Adderall. I've had issues with suicidal thoughts, but now I only take Adderall and I feel happier than I have in years. Granted, that might also be because my job is very low stress and has no drama and my boyfriend is very calming. And also because I smoke weed to help me go to sleep, calm me down, etc. But I think that the biggest part of my depression was simply never feeling good enough and hating what I did. Being on the medication and seeing myself excel at work, I now see that I was trying to put myself into a box where I just didn't fit. (Pardon the gooniness coming up) I will never be a Ravenclaw. I will never be calm, I will never be cool and logical, I will not be precise. When I came to this realization, I literally took a huge breath and went 'Okay, I need to put myself in situations where I can actually succeed.' I got a job fundraising for progressives and now have a fast paced, super personal, interesting job that fits all my strengths. I know that when I have a kid I will need anti depressants because post partum depression is super common in my family so I'll need to get back on them then. But with my ADHD under control and a new way of approaching life, I've finally shooed away the black cloud that's followed me all my life.
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Sep 14, 2010 19:25
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Hamburglar posted:Is ADHD/ADD linked to depression/anxiety? Well there's the obvious withdrawal effects, and if you were taking a stimulant for 2 years and you stop cold turkey of course you're going to have side effects. People who drink tons of caffeine aren't even supposed to stop cold turkey, and instead are advised to ease off because they can have side effects persist for months. If you're worried you're addicted to your medication, talk to your doctor. If you want to stop the medicaiton, talk to your doctor. This goes for everybody else in the thread too, because we're all victims of misinformation of our own medication. If you think there is an issue with the medication, or you want to stop, or you want to switch, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST. While our medication is very helpful, it is a highly controlled substance for a reason, and though we are very experienced with how it works, we don't know a lot of the medical science behind what it does to our bodies. That being said, there it is very common for people with ADHD to have other mental disorders, especially depression and anxiety. However, a month off adderall isn't nearly long enough to say with certainty if the symptoms you were experiencing were as a result of ongoing depression, or still from the withdrawal. While we're on the topic, I don't remember where I heard this, but people who see positive results from medication for psychological disorders tend to stop taking their medication after relatively long term use. I guess the theory is is that they want to see if the medication is still working, because they don't have the contrasting feeling of not being on medication fresh in their memory. They don't take their pill(s) for a few days, and pretty soon that turns into not taking their medication altogether and they're back at square one. This is not to say that this is what you did, but it's something to be aware of.
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Sep 14, 2010 19:38
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Effexxor posted:I got a job fundraising for progressives and now have a fast paced, super personal, interesting job that fits all my strengths. I know that when I have a kid I will need anti depressants because post partum depression is super common in my family so I'll need to get back on them then. But with my ADHD under control and a new way of approaching life, I've finally shooed away the black cloud that's followed me all my life. That is awesome! I need a job like that... So, I'm taking a break from the Adderall, on doctor's orders. But I can tell that the ADHD is coming back. One of the way that it's manifesting itself? By having my mind draw a COMPLETE BLANK on softball questions on a job interview. Now, I'm happy that in this horrible economy I'm actually getting job interviews. However, it'd be nice to be able to, you know, not suck at those because two cups of tea are just not enough. And Mr. Psych Dude Guy can blow it all off; he has a job. I don't. And I'm not able to put the attention into a couple of projects that I want to that will increase my employability and give me much needed portfolio material. I should be writing documentation for a SDK and working on rewriting a FAQ for Dreamwidth and retooling my resume; I just want to hang out and drink tea and watch soccer all day instead. I have a feeling that a doctor's appt to try out a different drug is in my near future. I still have my Adderall, and I think about restarting that, but I know that that's not the answer.
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Sep 14, 2010 20:04
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post edited due to further education on the subject making some of my old posts becoming misinformation to others.
Chumbawumba4ever97 fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Sep 15, 2010 14:11
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Hamburglar posted:-Here's the weird thing. I have the oddest problem with confrontation. I was in a very bad car accident (no one was hurt) that wasn't my fault. Yet the guy who got out of the other car, probably a foot taller than me, was flipping the gently caress out, ready to hit me. I wasn't scared, nervous or anything (and this was before I ever started meds). I told the guy to eat poo poo and die and I would be suing the poo poo out of him. I had balls. I wasn't even shaking from the horrible accident I had just been in. Yet, if I am given a snark comment by an old lady even, I back down like a wuss. I am a complete pussy with "possible confrontation" but if someone went to an extreme (threatened me or a friend, actually hit me, etc.) I wouldn't be a pussy; I'd fight back. However, if some 80 year old fragile man told me I parked too close to their car and I was an rear end in a top hat I'd probably say "Yes sir I am an rear end in a top hat please accept my apologies". What the gently caress is that about? I can't say definitively if it is ADHD, but I have this exact problem, and it is certainly fixed by my medication. The problem is that when the meds wear off it comes back with a vengeance... but I've learned to identify it and just say "ok, I will deal with this tomorrow." It's weird though, because if somebody is doing something major or threatening me, I will immediately step up and tell them eloquently and concisely that what they are doing is wrong and I will lay out all the evidence to that effect. Yet, as you say, an old lady making a snide remark will haunt me for days to come. Two examples of this: I was road tripping from L.A. back to the midwest. In utah, I stopped for gas and a bathroom break. As I was leaving the store, and old man with his wife were checking out the free newspapers near the door, and the man held the door open for his wife. She didn't see his gesture, and so I sidestepped around them and out the door. The wife remarked "how RUDE!" and I couldn't get it off my mind for the next four hours. It just made me feel so HELPLESS which is of course totally retarded! More recently, I was on a mountain biking trip in upper michigan, and my buddy and I were in the grocery store looking at the liquor aisle trying to find this whiskey named after the canadian town one of our friends lives in (revelstoke). This old, gray-haired lady cruises by and shoots us the evil eye while saying "you boys shouldn't be drinking." Now, I'm 25 and in fact I *DON'T* drink at all, so that comment shouldn't have upset me. Yet for the rest of the day my mind kept coming back to the incident and I couldn't shake that feeling of anger/helplessness. Weird, aint it? I think it has something to do with it being a huge effort for me to do things the *proper* (as defined by normal western society) way, and when someone offhandedly insinuates that I hosed up, or am going to gently caress up, or maybe just even interrupts my thought process (which could theoretically CAUSE me to gently caress up) it just sets me off. Hamburglar, I would definitely recommend getting on some ADHD meds as while they wont fix everything they will allow you to more rationally observe your life and make corresponding decisions. wilfredmerriweathr fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Sep 15, 2010 |
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Sep 15, 2010 16:19
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Hamburglar posted:-Here's the weird thing. I have the oddest problem with confrontation. I was in a very bad car accident (no one was hurt) that wasn't my fault. Yet the guy who got out of the other car, probably a foot taller than me, was flipping the gently caress out, ready to hit me. I wasn't scared, nervous or anything (and this was before I ever started meds). I told the guy to eat poo poo and die and I would be suing the poo poo out of him. I had balls. I wasn't even shaking from the horrible accident I had just been in. Yet, if I am given a snark comment by an old lady even, I back down like a wuss. I am a complete pussy with "possible confrontation" but if someone went to an extreme (threatened me or a friend, actually hit me, etc.) I wouldn't be a pussy; I'd fight back. However, if some 80 year old fragile man told me I parked too close to their car and I was an rear end in a top hat I'd probably say "Yes sir I am an rear end in a top hat please accept my apologies". What the gently caress is that about?
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Sep 15, 2010 16:36
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Any idea if a humidifier in the bedroom might help for the over-night dry mouth I sometimes get with the concerta? I can keep it under control in the daytime, but it really sucks to wake up feeling like a desert zombie at 3AM.
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Sep 16, 2010 02:17
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I live in BC Canada and I have to wait 3 months for a psychiatrist referral. Is there a point in paying for an hour with some psychologist in the meantime? I have always felt (as I did when I got the referral) that doctors just wave me away over anything so I'm unsure. For example I have a hernia (according to a MD) and after a body scan I was simply told it was not a hernia. What was it? No idea but you have to make another appointment to find out. Find out how? There's nothing on the chart! Anyway I know the danger in a self-diagnosis but this thread is like reading what I deal with every day. Or rather, fail to deal with and it's not doing myself any favours. It takes me a month to do something that actually takes me an hour (taking the wheels off my motorcycle). Tasks have always been insurmountable, a thousand things going at once (all unfinished), memory issues (been tested for this), motivation, procrastination, indecisive, I can't sit and play any game I enjoy because I will get bored with it in 5 minutes/forget about it and do something else. When I looked up symptoms to write down to talk to the doctor I ended up writing out an entire list. I really had to type that out because I've never said it to anyone before and it somehow feels better..
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Sep 16, 2010 03:55
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It might be worth it to schedule an appointment with the Psychologist. They may be able to give you some non-medication ways to handle ADHD and the tornado of chaos that comes with it. Also, if you haven't been formally diagnosed before, they may be able to help with that as well. Finally, just talking to someone and having them validate that what you're experiencing is *real* can be seriously game-changing. Even though my ADHD isn't being currently treated, just knowing that what I have is a legitimate issue, is really reassuring in a weird sort of way. Good luck! Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Sep 16, 2010 |
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Sep 16, 2010 04:08
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