|
Mechafunkzilla posted:Medication can help with stuff like the dopamine reuptake dysregulation but it's not physically changing the structure of your prefrontal cortex. ADD is a complicated condition that affects basically all areas of executive functioning, medication isn't a magic bullet. A lot of learning to cope involves figuring out the stuff that medication doesn't help with. Mechafunkzilla posted:also maybe don't drink a half-gallon of tea every day if you're on stimulants and have high blood pressure
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2016 00:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 17:11 |
|
|
peepsalot posted:I never had serious issues with anger or rage before medication. I was too sad to be mad i guess. I dunno man, your avatar seems pretty mad
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2016 01:04
|
|
|
Has anyone here tried neurofeedback? The one of the ADHD specialists in my area lists it as a core component of their treatment, but I'm a little skeptical as to its effectiveness (especially since my insurance doesn't cover it). I recently tried a form of EMDR therapy for anxiety called ART, but I found that I had too much difficulty concentrating on a single mental scene for the treatment to be effective. My hope is that with neurofeedback I'd be able to stick with one mental image long enough for it to really take effect and help with the comorbid anxiety and depression. I've tried a variety of stimulant and nonstiumlant ADHD medications, but they either don't provide any benefits or provoke excessive anxiety,
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2016 03:18
|
|
|
Is Adderall super expensive? I have a dr. appointment Ina couple weeks to see if I have ADD but if they prescribe Adderall and it costs hundreds of dollars a month I won't even bother.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2016 22:19
|
|
|
Decided not to take the adderall today, already feeling 5x less unhinged. I think I'll prob just go back to 1/2 gal iced tea, since it actually helps me focus and doesn't make me a completely over-the-top crazy person.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2016 22:21
|
|
|
Super Fan posted:Is Adderall super expensive? I have a dr. appointment Ina couple weeks to see if I have ADD but if they prescribe Adderall and it costs hundreds of dollars a month I won't even bother. If you have insurance that covers it, then you just pay whatever the copay is. I have some crappy bargain obamacare insurance that strangely does not cover generic, only brand name adderall, and had to hunt around to find a pharmacy that had it in my dosage. My copay happens to be $30 btw, which I think is different from other non-stimulant meds which are like $5 or $10. I don't know, poo poo is different every time.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2016 22:25
|
|
|
If you don't have insurance, you can buy generic and shop around -- pricing is in no way consistent. But it's probably going to be at least 100 bucks. If you've got good insurance, it's not too bad. I pay $10 for a 30 day supply of generic, a little bit more if I want name brand.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2016 03:14
|
|
|
It's like $10 for me with insurance each month. Way more without. Generic and name brand are supposed to be basically the same more or less (name brand might be less of a high?) so no worries there.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2016 07:24
|
|
|
Fusion Restaurant posted:It's like $10 for me with insurance each month. Way more without. Generic and name brand are supposed to be basically the same more or less (name brand might be less of a high?) so no worries there. There's a little bit of wiggle room when it comes to bioequivalence in FDA standards for generics so there can be a slight difference between generics and name brand. There was also that one Ritalin generic that got pulled from the marke recentlyt because the delivery mechanism substantially altered the effectiveness of the drug.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2016 07:35
|
|
|
Thanks for the relplies Is it difficult to get prescribed medication? I'd like to get this taken care of asap but I'm concerned I'll come across as some dope head or something. I'm getting to the point where I can't even sit through a movie 
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2016 15:56
|
|
|
It was not difficult to get prescribed medication for me. But I didn't set out to get prescribed anything, I've been in therapy for a while and ADHD came up as a recurrent theme. I took some tests that were really straightforward and scored pretty significantly in all categories for ADHD with my therapist. After that I signed a release (when I first started therapy they ask me who I would allow any information to be shared with. I specifically wrote something along the lines of "absolutely no one without my permission or if required by law." He wrote my GP something, I called up, made an appointment. I said basically "yeah it's hard to condense months of therapy into a quick appointment but this is a major stumbling block in my life." My doc said "well you're already taking quite a few medications that are acting on your brain, I don't want to end up with too much of a concoction here, but it looks like you're doing well with everything else so let's try this. Call me if your insurance gives you any problems." And I walked out with a prescription for adderall.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2016 01:45
|
|
|
As far as affording medication goes, make sure you don't get Vyvanse if your insurance makes a brand name/generic distinction. There's no generic Vyvanse available. My girlfriend takes it and pays out the rear end even after using a coupon. Also that test was really expensive when she took it. I went directly to a psychiatrist and he prescribed Adderall without a test.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2016 02:56
|
|
|
Maybe there are other "tests". I remember reading about some kind of test a psychiatrist I used to see did for ADHD, and it was a separate special thing that cost money that I never did. That was quite a while ago. My "test" was literally like a test in highschool or something, except it was reporting on how I react/feel/handle different things, just about 5 sheets of paper with a bunch of things I rated on a scale of 1-5. It didn't cost anything extra outside of the normal fee I pay my psychologist.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2016 03:08
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:Maybe there are other "tests". I remember reading about some kind of test a psychiatrist I used to see did for ADHD, and it was a separate special thing that cost money that I never did. That was quite a while ago. ^^^ I did that one, but there was also a computer-based one.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2016 05:22
|
|
|
I don't remember how I was diagnosed, but I do recall my mother mentioning later that the neurologist who diagnosed me figured it out almost instantly because I was an incredibly hyperactive preteen. The problem for me was finding a med that would work without severe side effects; my second neurologist switched me off Concerta (worked) to XR Ritalin because ????, which just made me irritable and wired, which made me go off meds for like a decade, and then I tried Strattera (drastically worsened my suicidal ideation and depression) and Intuniv (gut problems!) before trying Concerta again. I still crash hard when it wears off, but at least it works with minimal side effects. Yes, I knew a med worked for me and I looked at other ones anyway. I was extremely concerned about the raised seizure risk of stimulants and being treated like a drug seeker. Since I've given up on ever being able to drive, the former is not as big a deal anymore and my pharmacists are cool so the latter isn't a concern for the moment; now my concern is obtaining them with no insurance and nonexistent income. ~American health care~ Somewhat relatedly, how do you guys deal with anxieties that are all too firmly based in reality? My usual methods don't work because they're, y'know, reasonable fears and not my usual rampant paranoia.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2016 01:13
|
|
|
Like Clockwork posted:
My therapist has me go through a process of decision-making for each worry that is basically anxiety triage. Once you hit a No answer you move on and go back to the top question for the next worry. Is it a rational fear? Can I control the outcome? Is the worst outcome actually likely? What steps would I take to impact the outcome? Is the worry urgent enough I need to take action now? If not, how soon should I act? Then I stick it on my calendar if it is time-sensitive but not immediately urgent or add it to a to-do list with a B priority or C priority ranking. On meds chat, I miss Adderall for the appetite suppression. When my Focalin wears off 10 hours later I find myself eating every goddamn thing in the house. I'm thinking of asking my son's pediatrician if it's approved for kids and my doc if I can take his Vyvanse for a spin.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2016 02:29
|
|
|
BarbarousBertha posted:
Something that's been recommended here (IIRC) for late-day focus and appetite suppression after one's meds wear off is taking 300 mg of N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine in the morning. [[Tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine, so check with your doctor before starting it because it does interact with some medications besides ADHD meds.]] I take this kind, and maybe it's just the placebo effect, but I have seen an improvement in how much longer in the day I'm able to focus on my work. (Ignore the fact that I'm posting this from work right now.  ) I'm on Vyvanse, taken at 7:30 am, and it seems to start wearing off around 2-3 pm -- since taking the Tyrosine in the morning, I'm able to stay productive at work until the end of my shift at 4:30, and when I get home from work, I don't have to eat dinner ASAP anymore.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2016 14:56
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:Maybe there are other "tests". I remember reading about some kind of test a psychiatrist I used to see did for ADHD, and it was a separate special thing that cost money that I never did. That was quite a while ago. Interesting, I took this four hour IQ test (done in two sittings) where I was doing puzzles and answering other weird logical stuff.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2016 15:38
|
|
|
My 'test' was 30 questions of rank how much this describes you 1 to 5. One half was about hyperactivity and one half was attention. It was eye opening for me, the attention half was basically a list of things I didn't like about my life.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2016 17:06
|
|
|
Here is the "test" I took: https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf There was no fee for this beyond the payment for a typical doctor appt. They never really came back and said "You are now diagnosed as having ADHD", but they started me on trying out medication, so I guess that's the same thing? I actually suspected I might have ADHD a couple years ago, and my psychiatrist at the time(whom I originally went to for my depression) was a stone cold malpracticing bitch that didn't believe in ADHD or medicating for it(i was later told this by another doctor that she had a thing against ADHD). When I brought it up, she told me some bullshit about how only girls have inattentive type, and that I need to take some uber psychological profile test(don't recall the exact term for it) that would cost me something like $2500. I couldn't afford this at the time and basically gave up on getting diagnosed until luckily she left for another hospital, and I got a new psychiatrist. It never occurred to me to try another psychiatrist because I figured they were all the same or that the test was always required because of all the legal fuckery around amphetamine. So yeah if your doc tries to pull that poo poo on you tell them to get hosed, and go find a real doctor. peepsalot fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Dec 19, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2016 18:26
|
|
|
Rabbit Hill posted:Something that's been recommended here (IIRC) for late-day focus and appetite suppression after one's meds wear off is taking 300 mg of N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine in the morning. [[Tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine, so check with your doctor before starting it because it does interact with some medications besides ADHD meds.]] Interesting! I think some of the friction from some doctors on giving a diagnosis may come from the fact that ADHD is a federally protected disability (at least in terms of education and possibly termination). Last thing I want to say is Thank You to the thread, especially Rabbit Hill and Oracle, for being a resource and support. You guys have helped me with advice and perspective countless times. I'm still working on getting the family to ride bicycles.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2016 16:32
|
|
|
Travel update: If anyone is thinking about going to Thailand, be on Vyanse (sp?) or Ritalin -- Adderall is a class 1, totally illegal, narcotic. RIP.
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2016 20:11
|
|
|
When I got diagnosed again most recently. I took an attention test that was basically clicking a button when certain shapes popped up on screen for 15 minutes while a camera monitored my head movements. I failed this miserably. There was also the normal 1-5 scale test on how often certain things caused me trouble. There was a small fee -- I think it cost about $50 more than a normal office visit. My first diagnosis as a child was a bit different -- I actually had to have a bunch of electrodes attached to my head to read my brainwaves while I slept. My understanding is they don't do this one anymore because they've since found that it doesn't actually measure anything. The 80s were a dark time for neuroscience.
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2016 20:32
|
|
|
So after having a rage meltdown on Adderall last week, I'm off of it and feeling relatively well. I'm just wondering now if others have experienced anger problems with Adderall specifically, and if they found that other stimulant options (like ritalin for ex) helped treat their symptoms without the added anger. e: I have been searching and reading a bit on the topic, and this article for example http://adhdrollercoaster.org/adhd-news-and-research/the-tragic-truth-of-adderal-or-madderall/ seems to paint Adderall as particularly bad about creating anger problems, compared to other medications. But then again maybe me singling out that article is just confirmation bias? peepsalot fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Dec 22, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2016 02:52
|
|
|
You're not alone; I had to stop Adderall for that very reason.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2016 03:08
|
|
|
MisterGoGo posted:Oh, I also have another question. Does anyone know exactly how magnesium is thought to function in the body as it relates to Adderall tolerance/neurological stuff etc.?
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2016 05:06
|
|
|
Astrofig posted:You're not alone; I had to stop Adderall for that very reason.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2016 20:53
|
|
|
peepsalot posted:And are you on another stimulant medication now? Or none at all? I take Vyvanse now.
|
|
#
?
Dec 22, 2016 22:40
|
|
|
My girlfriend's father only took Adderall for like a month before switching to Vyvanse. Adderall made him agitated. It's common. That said some people find switching to XR helps, some people find behavioral changes help (e.g. exercise, timing your dosages differently), and some people give Adderall a miss and go straight on to other drugs. That said, that linked article is mostly bullshit when it calls Adderall an "old and outdated" delivery system. In fact I would say it's superior in that sense to Vyvanse at the very least. Non-XR Adderall only lasts ~5 hours and it acts immediately, meaning you can control your dosage with more granularity and can keep your medication levels consistent throughout the day. disjoe fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Dec 23, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 01:51
|
|
|
Delivery mechanisms differ greatly when it comes to generics, too.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 07:33
|
|
|
I'm currently on bupropion 100mg sr bid because bupropion 300mg xl qd passes undigested. Never believe anyone who says active ingredient is the only thing that matters.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 19:30
|
|
|
Baby Babbeh posted:Delivery mechanisms differ greatly when it comes to generics, too. I still remember those smug assholes saying "it's all in your head!" when people complained that they felt the difference. gently caress them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 19:57
|
|
|
Even going by FDA standards there's like 20% of wiggle room for bioequivalence. So even in ideal circumstances there could be a perceptible difference. Can't say I'm looking forward to what's about to happen to the FDA and healthcare. Hopefully I'll at least graduate and find a job in time for Obamacare to be repealed 
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 20:03
|
|
|
skull mask mcgee posted:Even going by FDA standards there's like 20% of wiggle room for bioequivalence. So even in ideal circumstances there could be a perceptible difference. Im under the impression from talking to some medical people irl a lot of that is differences in fillers vs active ingredients, but that matters for delivery etc. Very confusing, feels like there should be more transparency about different effects when you're picking stuff up from a pharmacy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 22:16
|
|
|
I'm just glad I found a job for the health insurance before poo poo hit the fan. If I don't have prescription stimulants I'm pretty much poo poo, 6 months of unemployment and the past few days when I ran out before my scrip came up shows me that. edit: OK GOONS anyone want to start up a "how to stay active at work" kit? I am serious about this. I have a variety of tools I'm trying to use together to keep me working so I don't get fired. I need some help putting it all together and building the habits that will lead me to success instead of crippling boredom leading to getting nothing done. If it works, we'll have something we can offer people who are new to this thread to help out other than "see a psych" signalnoise fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Dec 23, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2016 23:32
|
|
|
What kind of work do you do?
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2016 02:41
|
|
|
Exercise and do other basic strategies for sure. Make repeatable, references and checklists for common tasks. Set interim deadlines.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2016 03:17
|
|
|
Rabbit Hill posted:What kind of work do you do? I am the sole support technician on the east coast for a startup, so I work from home when I am not traveling to sites to fix hardware. When I am working from home, I answer support calls and chats, and I'm supposed to busy myself with things that improve the company in my downtime. There's a lot of downtime right now, and staying active for two 4-hour stretches is uhhh difficult.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2016 03:48
|
|
|
signalnoise posted:I am the sole support technician on the east coast for a startup, so I work from home when I am not traveling to sites to fix hardware. When I am working from home, I answer support calls and chats, and I'm supposed to busy myself with things that improve the company in my downtime. There's a lot of downtime right now, and staying active for two 4-hour stretches is uhhh difficult. Find projects you think might be interesting for your improve the company time. Then whenever you feel motivated to work on them just work as long and as intensely as they come? This only applies if you are occasionally able to focus and work, but I've found that with a flexible schedule and meds you can get as much done if you have 1-2 really focused periods a week as if you'd worked steadily that whole time.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2016 04:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 17:11 |
|
|
I lurk this thread from time to time, it makes me feel normal (and makes me wanna try meds again). I'm wondering if any of you have difficulty speaking? I talk very quickly and quietly, which is not helped by my constant struggling to find the right words. It's like I'm thinking of three different ways to say something and jumping between them; or I'll try to think of a word and come out with indirectly-related words, or even friggin antonyms. Or I'll just get hung up entirely, almost like a stutter. This all gets so much worse if I'm put on the spot or anxious for whatever reason. Anyway, is this an ADHD thing or just a me thing?
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2016 06:21
|
|
