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Am I supposed to feel focused at all times while I'm under the influence of the drug? There are certain (short) periods where I seem to lapse back to my old self but then a minute later I'm back to feeling focused again. Is this normal? Does this mean maybe my dosage isn't high enough?
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Jun 1, 2011 18:34
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Milky_Sauce posted:Can anyone elaborate on this a bit? My job is pretty awesome, but I would like some "protection" if things change in the future. I'm not looking to be a troublemaker, but it would be nice to have an extra leg to stand on if I ever get jammed up. How do I file for this ADA? I am also in college, is this something I should notify them of? How does this all work? Any downsides? Go see Kuri's post further down! It has much better info that I had here! Edited out my wrong info, as I don't want to misinform folks. Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Jun 1, 2011 |
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Jun 1, 2011 19:08
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blueblaze posted:Am I supposed to feel focused at all times while I'm under the influence of the drug? There are certain (short) periods where I seem to lapse back to my old self but then a minute later I'm back to feeling focused again. Is this normal? Does this mean maybe my dosage isn't high enough? No, the meds help you focus, but you have to decide what to focus on. And it's much easier to choose the right thing but it's still a choice you gotta make. Hamburglar posted:My doctor is pretty fantastic and she said I do this probably because with ADHD, I work best under "panic mode" rather than at my leisure. There was a great Calvin and Hobbes strip I remember loving as a kid because it was me so well; something where Calvin says he has to be in the right state of mind to get schoolwork done. Hobbes asks him what state that is and Calvin replies "last-minute panic". Well, maybe you're just a quirky psychopath... Or I am, because I have done that same thing and end up trying to convince myself not to do it the whole time. My favorite Calvin and Hobbes is:  I think it kind of sums me up in a way. Calvin and Hobbes is a great work of art and it should be in museums next to Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Picasso. Here's some ideas for people who don't believe in ADHD: "You don't believe in ADHD? Alright, I don't believe in Cancer. Okay, your turn to try to say a dumb thing again." "You don't believe in ADHD? Huh, that's weird. My doctor does, and it's in the DSM-4. That's strange, when did they start putting fake things in there?" This one would only work if say you saw them wearing a cross... "You don't believe in ADHD? Would it help you believe if I wrote a big book in weird language 2000 years ago and made you promises of paradise after death but only if you're really really good and you constantly bow down to me?" And in other news, I used to like Twitter's brevity but now it seems too short. I write and text longer now, which is a good thing. Wartime Consigliere fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jun 1, 2011 |
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Jun 1, 2011 20:27
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Wartime Consigliere posted:No, the meds help you focus, but you have to decide what to focus on. And it's much easier to choose the right thing but it's still a choice you gotta make. That's interesting. I thought I'd lose the ability to even ZONE OUT for seconds at a time, but I'd preferably like to in hyperfocused mode all the time. Is this.. practical/doable?
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Jun 1, 2011 20:59
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Qu Appelle posted:IANAL or HR Specialist. I just so happen to work in civil rights for...someone in the US. The article, while formerly true, is now wrong. While there are some limitations on liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (as amended by the...Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act [ADAAA]) for smaller employers (14 or less), the majority of employers have some major requirements to provide accommodations for employees with disabilities. The ADAAA of 2008 (with final rule-making guidelines issued by the EEOC earlier this year) was enacted specifically to protect the broad definition of disability, codify the near disregard for consideration of mitigating factors when determining if a medical condition rises to the level of disability, and several other factors. Fact Sheet on the EEOC’s Final Regulations Implementing the ADAAA posted:
Neurobehavioral disorders, such as ADHD, can be very easily defined as a disability; the ADAAA defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual, with a major life activity including, but not limited to: caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. In addition, the definition includes major bodily functions, including but not limited to: functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. As long as you have an active diagnosis of ADHD, regardless of the type, it by very definition and diagnosing criteria, would be a disability. /walloftext
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Jun 1, 2011 21:07
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blueblaze posted:That's interesting. I thought I'd lose the ability to even ZONE OUT for seconds at a time, but I'd preferably like to in hyperfocused mode all the time. Is this.. practical/doable? You still have the "hyperfocus" but you choose what to do with it. Consider your focus as a gun, do you point it at something you like, or do you point it at that goddamn son of a bitch [thing that needs to be done]?
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Jun 1, 2011 21:09
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Kuri posted:
My apologies, and thank you for providing more up-to-date information. I'll also edit my post to take out the potentially misleading info.
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Jun 1, 2011 21:29
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No worries; like I said, the article used to be correct, but the ADAAA fixed the issues that resulted from a narrow interpretation by SCOTUS on a few cases. It helps that part of my normal job involves the laws, regulations, policies, and other relevant guidance on civil rights; a large number of the people in my field don't keep up to date, and if the people being paid to do it don't know, I wouldn't expect many laypersons to know either.
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Jun 1, 2011 21:49
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Wartime Consigliere posted:You still have the "hyperfocus" but you choose what to do with it. Consider your focus as a gun, do you point it at something you like, or do you point it at that goddamn son of a bitch [thing that needs to be done]? Yes, I'm definitely sensing this new ability to focus at will, and it's marvelous. But it's nearly 5 hours since I took my first pill and my heart rate is very fast and I find myself needing to talk aloud to no one but myself! Is this normal?! Other than that, sorry if this is a newb question (this is all so new to me). So what all ADD drugs do is give you the ability to focus at will? What about the boost of motivation and the lowering of anxiety? I'm worried that taking drugs will make me duller as a person, or not as capable of being creative. Part of me is paranoid that maybe my psychiatrist is a sham and he misdiagnosed me and that is why I'm feeling so "stimulated" right now. According to him a normal brain reacting to an ADD drug would become slightly more focussed but eventually become so hyped up they're all over the place. Someone please reassure me that what I'm feeling is normal? It's been such an eye opening experience the last couple hours. I'm finding already that the little things that would bug me so much suddenly don't matter anymore. This is so huge for me. I keep repeating this to myself: It's like I belong to myself again -- if that makes sense.
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Jun 1, 2011 21:54
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I think I need to try new meds if you all get that much out of it. I still randomly find myself two hours later playing with a tape measure having done an undefined amount of time according to my memory of actual work. It's a tape measure, I don't know why I-*zzzzliiiP* Kylra fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Jun 1, 2011 |
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Jun 1, 2011 22:03
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Kuri posted:I just so happen to work in civil rights for...someone in the US. Still, the requests for accommodations often must justify each particular one. For example when writing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), you must have a professional explain and justify why each accommodation is necessary given a corresponding impairment. If you have ADHD but have no concentration impairment because successfully medicated, you do not need extra time to mitigate a disruption in concentration, because once medicated there is no disruption in concentration to accommodate or mitigate in the first place.
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Jun 1, 2011 22:29
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Anyone have inconsistent results with XR meds and better luck with IR? I'm on 10mg dex XR, twice a day right now. Some days it makes a difference and some days it's as if I didn't even take anything. It's like it just goes straight through my system. It doesn't really seem like an issue where I'm the cause as I try to be consistent in my dosage times and work preparation (having good task lists/clear goals). I've had my task list open all day today and it's like pulling teeth to even read it let alone accomplish something on it. I'm wondering if I should talk to the doctor about having more frequent IR doses or a higher XR dose? I like XR because when it works the effects come and go gradually, but I would prefer consistent results.
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Jun 1, 2011 23:38
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There's a reason why I didn't go into too far about accommodations.  They are simple on the surface, but can be a large goat rope when the sum total of the differing viewpoints start coming together. The Rehabilitation Act (Federal employment or Federally-funded activities) and the ADAAA both require accommodations when needed by the employee/applicant/student/random bike jockey; the main issues arise when determining what accommodation best suits both the receiver and the organization.There isn't a requirement in law for a medical professional to rule as to the efficacy of a given accommodation; although they can be consulted if there are differing opinions as to the best action out of a given set of accommodations, the absolute requirement. Especially in light of the ADAAA, accommodations are provided unless there is a demonstrable undue hardship by the organization (yes, educational accomodations typically fall under Sec. 504 of the Rehab Act, but the guiding principles of the ADAAA are applied). In the case of a student, they simply have to prove they have a bona fide disability (the various Disability Student Services organizations within universities to ease the administrative load of each professor having to confirm medical issues). Agedashi Tofu posted:Anyone have inconsistent results with XR meds and better luck with IR? My Adderall XR seems largely affected by my food intake; originally, I started off at 20mg XR, and after trying a lot of dosing schedules, have come to settle on 10mg XR three times a day. Although expensive as hell, I can control the timing very well with practice. If I have a dose that doesn't seem to hit like it should, I still have two more doses that are available. I've considered switching to Vyvanse, but this method (and drug) works, and my doctor is perfectly fine with letting me set my dosing schedule since my days are filled with work, school, volunteering as a medic, etc. Plus, since the 30mg is essentially six 5mg doses, I don't have to pick up 180 pills for the month (since even 90 comes in a big rear end bottle). Anyone have experiences switching from Adderall to Vyvanse?
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Jun 2, 2011 00:13
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Without medication, do you guys find that intentionally focusing on things makes you feel physically tired?
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Jun 2, 2011 00:18
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signalnoise posted:Without medication, do you guys find that intentionally focusing on things makes you feel physically tired? Not tired, I just get really loving bored with whatever it is. If it's something I have to read, the words tend to float together into a big pile and my brain is just screaming at me to skip forward until something interesting comes up. Even if I do read everything, I can finish a page and go on to the next one and go "Wait a minute. I have literally NO idea what I just read."
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Jun 2, 2011 00:22
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signalnoise posted:Without medication, do you guys find that intentionally focusing on things makes you feel physically tired? Yes. I would often fall asleep after reading a few pages or so, even if it was the most exciting book ever. There's a reason I love my New Yorker subscription so - the articles are dense and chewy, but short!
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Jun 2, 2011 00:30
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Kuri posted:My Adderall XR seems largely affected by my food intake; originally, I started off at 20mg XR, and after trying a lot of dosing schedules, have come to settle on 10mg XR three times a day. Although expensive as hell, I can control the timing very well with practice. If I have a dose that doesn't seem to hit like it should, I still have two more doses that are available. Yah... I've really tried to watch when I eat vs. when the dex seems to work, but haven't quite figured out if that is the issue yet. I try to put at least an hour in between food and taking the pill every time, but no consistent results there. I do have intermittent acid reflux issues, so I wonder if some days the pill is just getting destroyed by my upset stomach. Agedashi Tofu fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Jun 2, 2011 |
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Jun 2, 2011 00:45
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Agedashi Tofu posted:Yah... I've really tried to watch when I eat vs. when the dex seems to work, but haven't quite figured out if that is the issue yet. I try to put at least an hour in between food and taking the pill every time, but no consistent results there. I do have intermittent acid reflux issues, so I wonder if some days the pill is just getting destroyed by my upset stomach. Not sure if it has been mentioned in the thread so far, but absorption of Adderall and Vyvanse are inhibited by vitamin C. There are a lot of foods that have a lot of the stuff that you wouldn't expect, so that may be something to look at.
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Jun 2, 2011 01:31
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signalnoise posted:Without medication, do you guys find that intentionally focusing on things makes you feel physically tired? Yes, sometimes when I force myself to read, I will literally feel like I'm passing out when I override the natural drifter after three sentences, every three sentences. Interestingly enough I was listening to NPR and Werner Herzog was talking about 3D and how we really only use one dominant eye and make spot judgements with the second eye. 3D forces both eyes to work the entire time. I started to pay attention and my wife and I sleep deeply and longer after going to a 3D flick. I think the same principle applies, if your frontal lobe isn't being stimulated by meds, you're forcing it to work harder than it is naturally inclined to.
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Jun 2, 2011 02:00
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obvious suggestion: have you tried reading out loud to yourself? I found I absorb more and get less bleck when I read out loud.
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Jun 2, 2011 02:07
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blueblaze posted:Yes, I'm definitely sensing this new ability to focus at will, and it's marvelous. But it's nearly 5 hours since I took my first pill and my heart rate is very fast and I find myself needing to talk aloud to no one but myself! Is this normal?! Sounds like you're beginning the honeymoon period. It's important not to squander this. I recommend that you hit therapy and support as much as possible. The good habits and paradigm shifts you create during the optimal time on drugs will carry over to the unmedicated states. ADHD is a disorder when your natural state has a negative impact on your life. If you have a happy and fulfilling life without meds, because of good habits- you will no longer have the disorder. If it were easy to accomplish this- lots of us would be 'cured' by now.
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Jun 2, 2011 02:10
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TheBigBad posted:Sounds like you're beginning the honeymoon period. It's important not to squander this. I recommend that you hit therapy and support as much as possible. The good habits and paradigm shifts you create during the optimal time on drugs will carry over to the unmedicated states. ADHD is a disorder when your natural state has a negative impact on your life. If you have a happy and fulfilling life without meds, because of good habits- you will no longer have the disorder. If it were easy to accomplish this- lots of us would be 'cured' by now. That was what was running through my mind the whole day. Surely it's not expected that you spend every day for the rest of your life on some kind of ADD medication? Do people do this? I have heard of people having been on some kind of stimulant for 15 to 20 years. Is it expected that at one point in the future you will stop taking the drugs? If there is something wrong with the way the brain functions, no amount of good habits is going to *fix* that permanently. Is there any way you can one day reach the medicated state without having to turn to drugs? In other words, can my disorder be cured? This is so depressing, and thanks for answering my question by the way!
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Jun 2, 2011 03:18
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blueblaze posted:In other words, can my disorder be cured? ADD and/or ADHD are never cured, only managed.
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Jun 2, 2011 03:38
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blueblaze posted:If there is something wrong with the way the brain functions, no amount of good habits is going to *fix* that permanently. Is there any way you can one day reach the medicated state without having to turn to drugs? In other words, can my disorder be cured? electroshock may help
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Jun 2, 2011 03:39
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2508084 posted:electroshock may help Yeah give it a shot, let us know if it works!
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Jun 2, 2011 04:00
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blueblaze posted:If there is something wrong with the way the brain functions, no amount of good habits is going to *fix* that permanently. Is there any way you can one day reach the medicated state without having to turn to drugs? In other words, can my disorder be cured? I think you're thinking about it the wrong way. Your goal is to use your newfound focus to build a set of habits and routines that will accomplish your goals. Eventually, you will (with the supervision of your psych) wean yourself off of the medication. If you've built a strong enough foundation, you can function. If not, you try again. Yes, you'll have a harder time no matter what you do, but you can train yourself to do what you have to do. Either that or bounce between six different kinds of medication for the rest of your life trying to beat the tolerance monster, hoping your heart hasn't been weakened enough to cut twenty years off of your existence. I don't think it would be very fun, though. One of my friends with adult ADD now takes 70mg Vyvanse and a midrange dose of Strattera every morning and two 20mg Adderall IR throughout the day (but usually takes more from his stash because it's not working). He also has prescriptions for Wellbutrin and Viagra because he can't get an erection anymore. Heck, that was better than the Concerta, with which his dose was so high he ran into the famous psychosis. ADD meds should not be treated as a life-long answer to this problem. They are for getting you into a place where you are able to organize your life. Think of yourself as a caretaker of your unmedicated self, and prepare your life for his return.
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Jun 2, 2011 07:31
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blueblaze posted:That was what was running through my mind the whole day. Surely it's not expected that you spend every day for the rest of your life on some kind of ADD medication? Do people do this? I have heard of people having been on some kind of stimulant for 15 to 20 years. Is it expected that at one point in the future you will stop taking the drugs? There are some people who take medication long term, yes. With proper supervision under a doctor, I don't see a problem with it. There's plenty of other drugs that get an 'OMG!' response, such as steroids. People hear that, and they think the worst sometimes - yet I've been on some for the last 12 years or so because of my asthma. Personally, I don't know if I'll go off the drugs or not; I finally found one that's cheap and sorta works, I'd rather not give that up for now. However, I also have a job where, despite being satisfying, I can't really do well unless I'm on the drugs. I've tried the other approaches, and they just don't work for me. People who drink multiple cups of coffee a day probably consume more speed than I do on 5 mg of Dex - but that caffeine doesn't cut it. I'm not worried over the long term effects. It's also why I don't take it on the weekends, so I don't build up a tolerance. My father, who also has ADHD took a different approach - he has a very physical job on purpose because he just can't handle sitting at a desk all day. However, I can tell that he has problems with his ADHD that I feel would be helped immensely by medication - but he's opposed to it. That's his choice.
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Jun 2, 2011 08:04
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Qu Appelle posted:There are some people who take medication long term, yes. With proper supervision under a doctor, I don't see a problem with it. There's plenty of other drugs that get an 'OMG!' response, such as steroids. People hear that, and they think the worst sometimes - yet I've been on some for the last 12 years or so because of my asthma. So are you medicated 5 days out of a week? My doctor started me at 30mg and will eventually put me at 50mg and then 80mg. Is this a really large dose to start with? And also, I felt the drug remained in my system well into the night, like 12 hours later. Does taking one large dose in the morning make it so that it stays in your system longer?
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Jun 2, 2011 14:27
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blueblaze posted:So are you medicated 5 days out of a week? Yeah...sortof. The Dex and I have been having issues, so I've been experimenting with the dosage. But essentially, I take it Monday through Friday. I'm on Extended Release, so I only take it in the morning. And I have no opinion as for dosing amounts; I'm on a small one because I'm really sensitive to medications. No idea what 'normal' is or not, sorry.
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Jun 2, 2011 15:40
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If I switch from adderall to daytrana, am I going to have horrible withdrawal effects at all, having only been on the adderall a month?
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Jun 2, 2011 19:06
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Just to re-emphasize the point- Its only a disorder when it adversely affects your life. You don't change what you are, you change your life.
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Jun 2, 2011 19:34
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I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was nine. After one bad trial run that happened ages ago, I haven't really been given much by way of treatment because I was able to keep up with my academics. As I entered high school, my ability to keep up with schoolwork diminished and I started to experience frequent episodes of depression and anxiety. After reading some of this thread, I have decided to reconsider treatment for my ADHD, since it will hopefully get me back on track in school and help with the possibly comorbid depression and anxiety issues. I'm still under my parents' insurance plan, and need their approval. They are nervous about the ordeal for a few key reasons: 1)They are worried about possible side effects. One example they claimed was the medication possibly effect metabolism. 2)They are worried about dependency. Terrified I may get to the point where I am addicted and cannot function without the pills. 3)They are worried about necessity. Like I said before, I have never been THAT bothered by my symptoms until relatively recently. They don't want me to go to a specialist for something I can simply work my way out of. One last question: Even if I were to decide not go with medicinal aid, would it still be worth my while to go to a specialist?
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Jun 3, 2011 18:24
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The 19th Person posted:1)They are worried about possible side effects. One example they claimed was the medication possibly effect metabolism. Medical science seems to be mostly on the side of "minimal effect" right now as well as far as growth stunting. Have a bit of perspective on these last two with poor eyesight substituted in for ADHD: quote:2)They are worried about dependency. Terrified I may get to the point where I am addicted to and cannot function without glasses. I say this with the qualifier of not knowing what exactly "bad trial run" is with regards to previous treatment. quote:One last question: Even if I were to decide not go with medicinal aid, would it still be worth my while to go to a specialist? Kylra fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Jun 3, 2011 |
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Jun 3, 2011 18:35
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Kylra posted:You'll probably want a doctor to answer this one for sure, but if you're in high school I think you're pretty well clear of that potential growth problem already. I should have made some things clearer. The metabolism thing was the only one they referenced during the short conversation about it, so they probably have more. The way it was worded it sounded like it was more about digestion and weight, something else I am kinda struggling with.
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Jun 3, 2011 18:55
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The 19th Person posted:I should have made some things clearer. The metabolism thing was the only one they referenced during the short conversation about it, so they probably have more. The way it was worded it sounded like it was more about digestion and weight, something else I am kinda struggling with. stimulants will severely reduce your appetite. Solution: You will have to pay attention to how much you eat.
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Jun 3, 2011 19:01
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The 19th Person posted:I should have made some things clearer. The metabolism thing was the only one they referenced during the short conversation about it, so they probably have more. The way it was worded it sounded like it was more about digestion and weight, something else I am kinda struggling with. This is pretty easy to solve if you are on the instant release; Just eat before you take your pills, and eat in between the time it takes to wear off and the next one you have to take. If you're on the XR kind (extended release), then you just set your watch's alarm to when you have to eat next. Hell, the only problem i'm having with keeping food down is that I forget to buy sandwich meat and bread, so I forget to have a sandwich for lunch and feel kind of sick by mid afternoon. If your parents are that worried then they can make extra leftovers for you. Do take this advice with a grain of salt though, I'm a compulsive eater who was overweight my whole life until I got onto stimulants for Adhd, which ended up helping me stop my emotional/bored eating.
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Jun 3, 2011 22:47
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I've noticed an interesting side effect from the Ritalin. I keep getting the desire to learn all sorts of new things. I've started taking guitar lessons and I want to learn how to speak german. I've never had any interest in either before. Anyone else experiencing this? Am I just channeling Rammstein or is the medication bringing back all that creativity I used to have as a kid?
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Jun 3, 2011 23:31
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Nastyman posted:I've noticed an interesting side effect from the Ritalin. I keep getting the desire to learn all sorts of new things. I've started taking guitar lessons and I want to learn how to speak german. I've never had any interest in either before. Anyone else experiencing this? Am I just channeling Rammstein or is the medication bringing back all that creativity I used to have as a kid? I'm on Adderall, but I'm experiencing the same things. It's really funny you mention that. I've also been wanting to learn new things and try to learn things I failed to learn the first time. And yeah, I realized after being on the Adderall that it brought back the focus I used to have when I was younger. When I was younger, I could get hyperfocused on 3D art or making websites. Flash forward to my life as an adult before the meds and even cool stuff like 3D art was hard to focus on. The pills really feel like I have that creative focus back now.
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Jun 4, 2011 00:17
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I have found that things I had an interest in but never acted on really before are things that I am really interested in learning more about now, and I have been doing "research" on them with books and going in depth with things instead of just a shallow look at a website or flipping through a book without really reading much.
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Jun 4, 2011 07:29
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It's my 4th day on Vyvanse, still taking 30mg, and the effects seem to have worn out a bit. How can that be after only 4 days? Does being tired affect your state of mind as well? I was very hyper and on the go the first two days but I didn't sleep well last night and am pretty tired today. I hope it's just my fatigue and not a problem with the meds. My appetite is still practically non existant so I haven't been eating much. Could that play a role in diminishing the intensity of the meds?
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Jun 4, 2011 20:44
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