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I'm not really sure how to say, "hi I have ADD too let's be ADD buddies" so uh, hi, I have ADD too, let's be ADD buddies. I'm just going to jump in feet-first because I'll probably have plenty of questions to ask in the future, and I simply cannot be arsed to timidly pop into the thread and pretend not to be heavily invested in the subject matter. (warning: e/n and  ahead)I was diagnosed with ADD at 13 and prescribed Ritalin. I stopped taking it when I was a 90-pound 15-year-old who ate one meal a day and averaged four hours of sleep a night. I also learned that being able to eat and sleep enough to live is much more important than any medication that isn't also critical to my ability to live! Unfortunately, this caused me to develop a foolish, irrational hatred for behavioural medications, leading me to spend a decade consistently rejecting the most immediate and effective tool for fixing my goddamn poo poo. When I got out of high school I spent a little while being incompetent at life and not knowing how anything worked. Then I went to college, which I was poo poo at and from which I learned nothing of use. I returned to the task of being clueless and generally incapable of meaningful achievement, sometimes finding employment and then sucking at it. To alleviate the tedium of mediocrity, I became depressed and started hating myself, then coped with that by developing some kind of weird defense mechanism that made me stop caring about anything at all whenever I was in a stressful situation. This tendency still crops up occasionally, causing fun and exciting fights with my wife! Speaking of my wife, I was very lucky to find her and even luckier to somehow marry her, because she is kind enough to endure my manifold stupidities but mean enough to bluntly call me out on them. She helped me learn some difficult lessons and give me the perspective I needed to start trying to improve things. Eventually, with the help of my parents' input and some financial woes caused by my own poor decisions, she convinced me that refusing to consider medication was not only prideful, but as much of a burden on my family as it was on me. Everything culminated in me wigging the gently caress out and having this apocalyptic epiphany/emotional meltdown, which was all dreadfully melodramatic, but I guess it was probably a necessary step in my personal growth since it motivated me to lay the groundwork for real, constructive change. I am 25 now, and I'm on a trial prescription of Adderall. The first day I took it, my productivity spiked by more than a dozen times and I learned how to do half a dozen new things just by paying attention. I'm still trying to iron out the bumps in my routine and I'll need to talk to my doctor to determine the right dosage, but things are already far better than they used to be. I can't help feeling a lot of regret and frustration over the poo poo I caused for my family. After a quarter of a century I'm just starting to exert any control over my life, and I'll always know that the people I love struggled to support me for years simply because I was too proud to swallow a few pills.  The weird thing is that knowing that is kind of bizarrely uplifting. It feels good to know exactly how everything fits together, even if it's all horribly lovely, because now I know how to fix it. I almost can't feel crappy anymore - I'll start to get a bit gloomy, then my brain kicks in and says, "oh my god what are you doing this is a gigantic loving waste of time just repair your poo poo and move on you infant," which I swear is a lot more awesome than it sounds. tl;dr: Adderall is a god drat miracle (so expensive though o god)
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Nov 18, 2010 22:35
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I was actually just thinking about investigating the possibility of a "weekends-off" medication schedule. Is this at all common with Adderall or similar drugs? I feel like it could save me a fair chunk of money in the long run, and the abatement of its side effects (specifically appetite loss and insomnia) could let me catch up on some much-needed eating and snoozing. I'll have to make a note to ask the doctor about that.flavaaDAAAAAVE posted:This made me laugh out loud. Not at you, but with you because that pretty much describes what happened to me.  "quote:Anyway, no real advice, but if adderall is too expensive be open to trying other, cheaper stimulants that have been mentioned in this thread. quote:How long have you been at it? Taking the medicine I mean.  )Right now I'm on a once-daily, 30mg time-release dose, which my doctor described as fairly middle-of-the-road and good for an initial trial. However, I've spoken to a couple of other people who use Adderall and they seemed pretty surprised - they gave me the impression that 30mg was a fairly high dose. I'm not really concerned, because I'm going to fine-tune it with my doctor anyway, and as I understand it Adderall has been prescribed in daily doses as high as 60mg (oh god that would probably cost nearly $300 a month  )
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Nov 19, 2010 04:08
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Before I say anything else: first, get tested, not eventually, but as soon as possible. This will get all of the wondering and dithering out of the way and give you the information you need to make the most constructive choices. Second, if medication is recommended, don't obsess or doubt or worry; just take the goddamn drugs. If your fears prove justified, then you can consider saying, "nope, not for me, I'll do without." The most sensible thing is just to spend between a week and a month actively exploring and testing your options, so that you can spend the next several decades going with what you know works for you. That said, 1.) This may be different for you, but I'm actually more creative when I take my brain pills. If I don't have something else to work on, I'll just open up a text document, and write and write and write. I'm a dreadful nerd, so I like to write up RPG settings and the like, but I also do a bit of scriptwriting for webcomics. I've been more productive with both since I started on medication. I can't honestly say if there are effects over time, but I've never heard anything remotely like that so v  v2.) If your meds cause insomnia and loss of appetite (they probably will) then you might see a drop in energy levels. You can easily schedule around that, however - go to bed earlier, make sure you remember to eat enough food, and keep it nutritious and healthy. This should mitigate the potential loss of sleep and nutrition, and your body will still be just as fit as before! You might notice that you're less motivated to burn all of that energy (I did), but I would it's just a matter of getting into healthy physical activity as a habit, rather than deciding to do it spontaneously. I Am Not A Doctor and I'm fairly new to this and blah blah blah. Just thought I'd toss in my two cents while I still had a fresh perspective  e: Seems like at least a few people have stumbled across this thread with little prior knowledge of ADD and related subjects, but wanted to know more. Stofoleez, why not put some basic, generally-accepted advice in the OP? Just short lines like "Yes, medication can probably help you," and "Yes, you can get cheaper generics in place of many name-brand meds." Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Nov 23, 2010 |
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Nov 23, 2010 15:28
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YggiDee posted:I've never realized how much of a difference my I'm off-meds for a week until the followup appointment to adjust my dosage, and I'm getting this same sort of revelation, except with myself in place of the spaced-out coworker. The whole week so far has been a weird fog of confusion, wandering focus, and a general inability to accomplish anything. I knew it made a huge difference, but drat. I need my drugs e: Qu Appelle posted:One just sort of sat there like a space cadet half the time, and was really unobtrusive. Oh Jesus I laughed at this. Probably because I do the same thing. Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 15:05 on Dec 3, 2010 |
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Dec 3, 2010 14:43
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Welp, after my two-week trial for Adderall, I went a week without to make sure I had a good idea of the differences. It was a thoroughly depressing, miserably unproductive week, and when I spoke to my doctor I ranted effusively about the awesome difference the medication made. Today I picked up my newly re-prescribed  and went to work with amphetamines in my brain, and just in the nick of time: some contractor we work for managed a cataclysmic health & safety fuckup that seriously imperiled some of our workers, and after doing a fuckload of paperwork, I get to go out there and stomp around and scream until I'm red in the face. I never actually thought that the irritability side-effects of Adderall would help me at work! I guess I'm lucky to work in a position where it helps to be an rear end in a top hat sometimes
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Dec 8, 2010 18:17
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signalnoise posted:Gotta admit it is cool to know that other people have the "Yeah I have suicidal thoughts constantly but I don't actually want to kill myself what of it" thing. It's really a weird phenomenon to me, having suicidal thoughts by compulsion or whatever. It's like the "don't think of a pink elephant" trick only as "don't think of killing yourself." I used to experience this quite a bit myself. There was this weird, surreal feeling I'd get, and I'd start thinking, "man, this whole 'life' thing is such a massive pain in the rear end in a top hat and I'll just end up wasting it all and dying filled with regret. Why the hell am I not just going home and hopping off a bridge?" I'd never actually feel motivated to take my own life, but I'd frequently think about it and the whole idea somehow seemed extremely logical to me. It was like looking at my life like it was a math problem, as though suicide was the equivalent of simplifying a zero-sum equation.
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Dec 10, 2010 05:23
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Eamonn posted:Can anyone suggest how to get an assessment in Canada (PQ) if my GP has already shrugged it off as 'everyone has trouble concentrating every now and again, buck up, son'. Not in school, so I don't have access to a learning disability centre. Also getting another GP is drat near impossible. This is astounding to me. Now, I'm not a practitioner so I don't really know how things are, but if you're not a specialist and the suspected ailment is pervasive, potentially crippling, and pretty difficult to diagnose without specialized testing, why the hell would you just best-guess it or brush off the patient's concerns? Is this an "ADD is widely misunderstood" thing? Does he just think you're a hypochondriac? I can't get my head around this 
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Dec 20, 2010 19:05
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Aculard posted:Yeah I'm on the XR and it's pretty terrible stuff. Even the instant release ritalin (which gave me wicked chest pain) worked way better at 5mg-10mg a dose for twice a day. So I would take maybe 15-20mg at most on that. I'd still be taking if not for the side effects. I'm noticing this, myself. I'm still on 30mg Adderall XR and it just literally doesn't do anything anymore. I get maybe thirty minutes of slight improvement, then return to normal, and spend the rest of the day enjoying a bunch of side effects with no increase in focus. It's driving me completely loving insane because now that I know what it's like to think clearly I can't handle being stuck back in this mental fog
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Dec 30, 2010 19:35
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2508084 posted:I go as far back as 14, but before that I have essentially no memories. Same here. When I try to look back more than a few years, there's simply nothing there. It seems to get really bad somewhere in the mid-teens, and I only have a handful of brief images from any time in my life before puberty. It kind of scares the poo poo out of me, because I got married 3 years ago, and I'm already forgetting details of the wedding, like the minister's face or who the bridesmaids were. I can't even remember my vows Aculard posted:Oh god yes this is the worst thing about the XR stuff. For some reason the releasing mechanism just doesn't seem to work well. It sucks not being able to eat, sleep, or focus long enough to do some work (need mo' money for rent dammit) yet be taking 20mg. I've heard somewhere that crushing the little beads inside the capsule might make it instant release but I don't know if I want to get into that sort of thing. I seriously considered taking a double-dose this morning, but I figured that popping 60mg of amphetamines without consulting a doctor was potentially not the best choice.
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Dec 31, 2010 16:22
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Mindblast posted:People, don't you think it is IMPORTANT to consult your drat doc on these matters? If your dose isn't cutting it anymore, shouldn't he or she be informed about this and actually in co-operation with him/her try something else? No, I am a person of such staggering, phenomenal stupidity that I never even considered that. I also sincerely believed that nothing negative could arise from uninformed self-medication.  Yes, obviously I am consulting my doctor! I have an appointment made already and am sticking with the lovely, overpriced, ineffectual dosage I'm on until I can talk with him.
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Jan 4, 2011 01:50
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On that note: to any other coffee addicts in this thread, if you've been drinking cheap, lovely, or (Christ forbid) instant coffee, stop. Go to the store and buy a tin of good-quality coffee. I switched from horrible instant coffee to a blend that I actually enjoy drinking, and I've had way less trouble with headaches and indigestion ever since. Since I feel better, I can think more clearly as well. Maybe it's some kind of crazy placebo bullshit, but god drat, the difference is remarkable. I still sleep like poo poo and get irritable every morning, but at least I can concentrate a little better.
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Jan 4, 2011 17:07
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I like how that basically boils down to some scientists finding out that children with ADD are incapable of concentrating on anything that doesn't interest them, a fact that has been widely known for quite some time. I'm not coming down on the researchers, though; it's really important to establish an empirically sound body of knowledge in any subject, and this is no exception. Hopefully this will contribute to a better understanding of the disorder, and perhaps a reduction in the ignorance and misinformation that usually surround it.
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Jan 5, 2011 22:56
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Whereabouts in Ontario are you? At least you can claim most medication against your taxes, and OHIP might help with some of your costs as well.Aculard posted:poo poo sucks a lot right now. I'm running into financial difficulty and my husband is basically taking the stance that if I can't make rent and the extra money to cover bills (at least 800$ this month) then I'm getting kicked out. Oh, and I can't write under his name anymore because he might not get an extra 2k in student loans for september from the government I know this is late, but drat.  Your husband could really stand to be less crap about this. Because uh, "I have chosen not to believe in your condition, hold you personally responsible for any difficulties it causes you (and therefore us), and am willing to kick you to the curb if you fail to live up to my totally baseless expectations" is an fairly poo poo attitude for a spouse to take.Now, it's reasonable to expect one's spouse to contribute - my wife used to give me poo poo all the time, because I was making no money and neither of us really understood that ADD was actually involved so we both thought I was just a lazy prick (also, I was a bit of a lazy prick, but at least that wasn't the whole problem). She was also pretty justified in that I was refusing to take medication, which was shockingly stupid of me. Still, even if she pushes me, she does it because she believes in me, not because she feels like I owe her something. Maybe try having your husband educate himself? Could it help to get him to read Delivered From Distraction or something similar? I feel really bad for you because I'd be a useless wreck by now if my wife hadn't been so wonderful to me, and I can't imagine what it must be like to have to deal with a spouse that seems to sincerely believe it's all your fault.
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Jan 10, 2011 21:12
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It's just argh. I don't even know what to say other than I wish he'd understand that "just try harder" doesn't apply. I just want a doctor to help me fill out the disability paperwork and help me with my medication. Even if I started to get disability I would be sooo tempted to leave him because it's just so frustrating to be with him. Everytime I don't make money or I feel sick/depressed/sleep for 20 hours he gets all lovely and gives me the silent treatment.
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Qu Appelle posted:loving Sometimes are pretty scary. In addition to not working right for me, Adderall also caused my heart to alternate between racing and palpitations, among other side effects. My doctor and I agreed that this was unacceptable and he's moving me over to Concerta.I'm not to take any meds until next week, to let my body wind down and return to normal working order. That means the rest of this week is going to be awfully stressful
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Jan 12, 2011 17:23
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Hmm. I typically eat eggs every weekend, but I was having a lot of weird poo poo happen to me during the week, and I generally don't eat eggs on weekdays (since I don't have time to fry them up for breakfast before I head off to work). Might be something to watch for, though.
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Jan 12, 2011 18:32
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I think you should probably take everything you just wrote and tell it to a professional instead of asking the internet. You're likely a lot more qualified to determine whether a doctor's visit is worthwhile than a bunch of strangers on a messageboard 
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Feb 8, 2011 17:29
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What about hot chocolate? I seem to remember getting a pretty drat good hot chocolate at Starbucks one time.
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Feb 11, 2011 21:46
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Kylra posted:I don't think it's a "sign" of ADHD per se, but it is a thing people diagnosed with ADHD tend to do from what I know. Right. Things like that are sometimes associated with ADHD, but are not themselves symptomatic of it. If you have ADHD, you're very likely to have nervous habits; if you have nervous habits, you're only slightly, if at all, more likely than average to have ADHD.
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Feb 11, 2011 23:14
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Dolemite posted:The doc is going to start me on 20mg of Adderall and evaluate me again in a few weeks. Hopefully there aren't any side effects. Especially since I love my coffee in the morning and having a beer at night. You really shouldn't combine larger quantities of caffeine (such as the amount in a cup of coffee) with amphetamine-based medications. Alcohol is also potentially quite problematic, though you might be alright if you're drinking it long enough after your last dose of Adderall that day. It's fine to wait and see, but just bear that in mind. If you are noticing side effects, it is highly possible that cutting out one or both of those factors will reduce or eliminate them (start with the coffee). I had headaches, irritability, a racing heart, and a bunch of other lovely symptoms until I quit coffee, and all that poo poo miraculously disappeared overnight. I actually felt more awake and alert without my morning joe, because my body wasn't getting the snot beat out of it by interacting stimulants. Adderall is strong stuff and it will have no trouble waking you the gently caress up if you're feeling sleepy in the morning.
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Feb 16, 2011 19:49
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I tried a few different hobbies / projects and found that, as soon as I've worked on something for an extended period of time, I can't think of it as anything other than work and I'm no longer interested in it. I start thinking, "man, I should really do some work on that," which causes my hosed-up brain to say, "I should, therefore I don't want to, therefore hey look at that much more interesting thing!" and then I've forgotten about my project all over again. I eventually managed to get around that by finding a project that's varied enough, and large enough in scope, to be treated like multiple smaller projects. Whenever I start finding it difficult to focus on one sub-project, I just hop over to another for a while. This tricks my nonsensical brain into thinking I'm just doing whatever I feel like, preventing it from going, "wait a minute, I'm concentrating! This is unacceptable!! gently caress this, I'm shutting down until tomorrow morning." I still haven't reached the point where I can sit down and focus on something important without difficulty, but I'm getting there. I'm actually starting to enjoy some of the stuff I do at work, and I've been working on my current project for over eight months - the longest I've ever stuck with a single project without burning out - and I still find it interesting (it doesn't hurt that it's fun as hell, either).
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Mar 2, 2011 20:28
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Dolemite posted:So I've been taking the adderall for a while now and I'm beginning to recognize something. I feel like I'm getting addicted to the feeling I get from the meds. Here's what's weird: I don't feel like I'm addicted to the actual medicine itself. I feel like I'm absolutely addicted to that clarity, ability to focus, and ability to FINALLY LEARN poo poo. So much so that I can't wait to finish my breakfast or lunch so I can take my meds with it. Umm...soo...anyone else feel that way? That's not weird, right? It's normal to desire the improvement the drug is producing in your quality of life, as long as you're not craving the chemical effects themselves. It's wise to be aware of your habits and keep an eye out for signs of dependency, but at the same time, it's foolish to assume that voluntarily adopting helpful medication as part of a healthy lifestyle is in any way comparable to addiction. Do you feel like you 'need' the improved productiveness and efficiency, or is it the psychological rush itself that motivates you? If you're really concerned about it, you could try talking to a doctor or pharmacist to ask how addictive Adderall is and what signs might indicate addiction. On the other hand, a lot of the other posters here are giving me the impression that some American medical professionals are really hung up about drugs, and will readily assume that anyone who "needs" them is a crazed junkie, regardless of circumstance. There aren't really doctors like that, are there?
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Mar 9, 2011 19:19
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Dolemite posted:Well, what I'm afraid is that I admit I 'need' the increased productivity. Right now, I use it to focus on the boring, mind numbing tasks I do at work that also require attention to detail. I was drawing a distinction between legitimate medicinal use and potentially addictive dependency. If you only 'need' the Adderall because it enables you to flourish in the workplace and/or hold your own in a competitive job market, you're pretty much being incredibly silly by worrying about addiction. I wouldn't make a judgment like that based solely on the feeling you get, either; I feel happier and more upbeat overall when I'm on my meds, but that's because I'm more productive, more effective, and generally more valuable to society, and that knowledge provides a degree of confidence. Plus, you know, there's that whole "no rumination or suicidal ideation" thing. Addiction is often an insidious process, but a lot of people seem to view it as some sort of ominous, omnipresent, Lovecraftian madness that will instantly consume the mind of anyone who feels a need to take any drug for any reason. I just get the impression that you're afraid that any positive feelings about (or caused by) your medication might indicate that you're becoming addicted, which is a dreadfully silly idea. I may be taking this all wrong though. I apologize if that's the case.
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Mar 9, 2011 20:12
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Snickering posted:Sometimes ADHD meds can cause weird things like chewing your lips and cheeks or clenching your jaw, I can attest to this. No matter which or how much medication I take, I always seem to unconsciously clench and unclench my jaw all day like some sort of horrible tooth-grinding kegel exercise. I've started chewing gum in an effort to harmlessly divert all that nervous energy, and while my teeth are probably suffering less, the headaches and tension haven't abated any. vvv I will have to try that, thanks. vvv Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Mar 17, 2011 |
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Mar 17, 2011 16:40
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Snickering posted:I had no idea I wasn't supposed to have caffeine while on my meds. Is it really that bad? From experience: don't take caffeine with your meds at all, if you can help it. I was drinking coffee while on Adderall and it was causing jitters, agitation, irritability, uncontrollable tooth-grinding (even while awake), extreme tension, horrible muscle soreness, occasional mood swings and pretty major heart palpitations. Now I'm on generic Concerta, which seems to have a lot less "oomph" than the Adderall, and I still can't ever drink coffee without crazy poo poo happening to my brain and body. These days, I try to stick to caffeine-free teas, because if I have even one cup of a type of tea that contains caffeine, I start experiencing agitation and muscle tension pretty quickly. I also quit cola, cold-turkey, and noticed an immediate improvement. People ingest caffeine because it is a convenient, universally available, fairly low-impact, unregulated stimulant. It helps people stay awake and alert throughout their daily lives without any visible side effects more serious than grouchiness and extra bathroom breaks. Most ADHD medications are vastly more effective than caffeine at everything it does, so there's really no way that combining the two will provide any meaningful benefit (especially since they seem to interact poorly, if the experiences in this thread are any indication). Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Mar 21, 2011 |
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Mar 21, 2011 19:50
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Chin Strap posted:In other news, 15 mg of Adderall XR was wearing off too fast, but bumping it up to 20 mg has been causing insomnia, anxiety, etc while at the same time not feeling like it is working at all. WTF? I just wish the process of finding the proper dosage wasn't so hard. May have to try Ritalin instead... I can't speak for anyone else, but I found that Concerta has much milder side effects than Adderall XR at similar doses. A different medication might be all you need, especially if the Adderall doesn't seem to be working properly. Try talking to your doctor or pharmacist and see what they think
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Mar 25, 2011 14:22
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signalnoise posted:Any time I have to divulge information regarding any prescription I take, the explanation isn't "oh I'm hosed up man," the explanation is "I solve my problems," or something along those lines. I've started using the phrase "neurological condition" whenever a conversation like that comes up. People get kind of stupid about ADHD sometimes (often), but if I simply say, "this is medication for a mild neurological condition," they immediately drop it like they're terrified of offending me. Very convenient e: I could still see that being potentially problematic in an interview, but a reasonable and upfront "I have a mild condition, I take medicine for it, it's fully controlled and will not hinder my workplace performance" explanation should be more than enough anyway. It's been my experience that many employers just interview the qualified job applicants to determine which of them seems the most confident, motivated, and forthright, so most of them won't really care about anything that isn't going to impact job performance. Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Mar 28, 2011 |
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Mar 28, 2011 14:46
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"Don't gently caress with your dosage" is usually a good rule to live by, but my doctor started me on 30mg of Adderall XR so I honestly can't see how going from 10mg to 20mg for a single day could produce major problems. That said, I know nothing about you, have no idea why your physician prescribed that specific dosage, and am in no way qualified to give you any advice about anything. What I'm saying is that you should just wait until Friday and have this discussion with your physician.
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Mar 30, 2011 17:21
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I can confirm that exercising, working out, or doing physical training of any kind is a good way to lower stress and burn off excess energy. As a kid, I took Taekwondo classes which helped me channel my energy constructively (and also taught me a little bit about self-discipline and personal responsibility). In college, I used to run, shadowbox, exercise, and weight train whenever I started to get agitated, and it worked really well to keep me from going nuts.
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Apr 5, 2011 14:29
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Probably not for a long, long time. Even with the recently increasing scientific interest in/understanding of ADHD, the general public has never given and continues to not give the remotest poo poo about understanding mental conditions, disorders, imbalances, et cetera. People are still fighting the idea that the seriously mentally ill are irreparably broken and can never be a functioning part of society, and the mental-health debate still has many major social, legal, medical, and ethical issues left to cover before society's ready to intelligently address anything more complex than "crazy people are weird and use up tax dollars." Next to such difficult and controversial subjects, a comparatively "minor" neurological problem like adult ADHD doesn't draw a lot of public interest, leaving the common (and ignorant) "you just need to try harder! Bootstraps!" attitude unchallenged. If you want people to understand how ADHD shapes certain elements of your behaviour, you are going to have to explain it to them. A lot of folks don't even really know what ADHD is - they just think it's some kind of "bad kid" disorder that makes young boys loud and uncontrollable. Wartime Consigliere posted:That sounds like it sucks. It does. However, it sucks significantly less than not having meds at all. Just make sure you're ready to knuckle down and get yourself organized, and you shouldn't have much trouble dealing with it.
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Apr 6, 2011 13:43
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If you're having a lot of trouble forcing yourself to eat actual food, try always keeping a convenient, enjoyable (and if possible, relatively healthy) snack on hand. For example, I loving love peanut butter, so I'll occasionally pick up a box of those little peanut butter granola bars. When my appetite is so messed up that I'm too "not hungry" to make myself take a bite of my lunch, I can still nibble on one of those granola bars because they are goddamn delicious. That keeps me from going all day on an empty stomach, and it seems like it reminds my brain that food is important - I'll finish the granola bar, think about grabbing another one, realize I'm a little hungry, and start munching on my lunch. The most important thing is to have a snack that will tempt you even when you're not hungry - it doesn't have to be massively nutritious, as long as you're not eating icing out of a can or something. Once you start enjoying the process of eating the snack, you'll often be able to get started on some proper food without having to struggle through that frustrating "oh god I really don't want to eat right now" phase. e: I guess what I'm saying is that you should learn to trick yourself into eating properly without realizing it. e2: Qu Appelle has the right idea, too; if there's a particular snack that you really enjoy eating and is also healthy for you, buy a shitload of it and always keep it on hand. I love Granny Smith apples so goddamn much that they're practically a treat for me, so I always try to bring one to work to make sure that I'll eat something healthy even if my appetite acts up. The downside is that I love those apples so much that I usually end up devouring it before my first coffee break. Oh well
Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 16:56
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On the subject of getting to sleep: There's something about turn-based strategy games that makes them an amazingly effective sleep aid. It's usually a really bad idea for me to start playing a video game late in the evening, since I'll lose track of time and end up playing until 2:00 in the morning. But, if I find myself lying awake at night, I can grab my DS, play Advance Wars or Final Fantasy Tactics for twenty minutes, and end up sleeping like a stone. I have no idea how or why it works (I know it has nothing to do with boredom, since I love strategy games), but I'm glad that it does. Without that little trick, I probably wouldn't have lived through college. I did end up having to explain to my wife why I had over 200 hours logged on AW: Dual Strike, though  e: come to think of it, it probably has something to do with the way the game requires me to slow down, examine the situation, and think things through before committing to a strategy. It holds my focus because it's fun, and it drowns out the constant mental static by providing a logical challenge to occupy my thoughts. DRP Solved! posted:Not really, that's the reaction pretty much anyone gets when taking stimulants. The only way to diagnose ADHD is with an in-depth test with a qualified therapist or psychiatrist (or a family physician with sufficient experience with ADHD). I'd like to play the devil's advocate and point out that, if Boss was diagnosed with ADD while he was young, it's not terribly unlikely that he might still suffer from it. I agree that it would still make sense to undergo testing, but in my case the doctor just looked at my medical records, nodded, wrote a prescription, and told me to let him know how well it was working. That said, Boss, don't start getting into medications unless you need them. I don't take Concerta because it makes things easier; I take Concerta because I simply cannot exist as a functioning human being without it. ADD medication is loving expensive and comes with lots of lovely side effects. If I could plan for a higher education, hold down a job, and work on a little hobby business from home at the same time without literally taking meth all day erryday, I would. Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Apr 18, 2011 |
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Apr 18, 2011 19:22
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Aculard posted:Anyways, less waterchat MORE Can't we do both? I find that I get thirsty constantly while on Concerta, and since I try to avoid caffeine and excessive sugar, I generally end up drinking a lot of water every day. Has anyone else noticed that their medication makes them thirstier, or am I imagining it? It kind of sucks, because the water where I live has 18 grains of hardness, which is absurdly high (307.8 parts per million, around three times the hardness of Toronto's water). Even after installing a quality water filter, it comes out at 8 or 9 grains, which is still high enough to be classified as "hard water." Lately, my stomach seems to get upset much more easily, and I can't help wondering if it's because I'm drinking a ton of hard water every day. (gently caress paying for bottled water. I have my own drat water, and I don't want to have to deal with a hundred empty bottles every week)
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May 5, 2011 16:32
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Fiendish Dr. Wu posted:He's also signed up for taekwondo which is great physical exertion for the kids. Taekwondo helped me greatly as a kid, particularly since there's more to it than just exercise. If possible, make sure your son is taught by an instructor who emphasizes the discipline, willpower, and self-control elements within the martial art as much as the physical training and sparring. The instructors at my dojang really emphasized that the training is meant to be a way of challenging and strengthening the whole person, not just the body. For reference, the Five Tenets of Taekwondo are: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit. It really sounds like your boy would benefit a great deal from taking all of those to heart; I know they helped me to take responsibility for my screwups, treat others with respect, control my impulses, and generally be a much better kid. e: Of course, there's also the self-defence angle, obviously. Taekwondo doesn't really teach any fighting techniques that are applicable outside the dojang, but it was the only thing that gave me the courage to stand up to, and bloody the nose of, the biggest bully in my elementary school. He left me alone after that, which was an incalculable blessing for a scrawny 10-year-old with a lousy self-image. Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 16:00 on May 12, 2011 |
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May 12, 2011 15:42
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I'm getting really sick of screwing around with different medications and dosages. I was on Adderall which worked fantastic but made me grumpy and caused heart palpitations ( ) so my doctor switched me to Concerta, then I was taking Ritalin in afternoons to extend the effect because it wore off too fast, then we switched to a combination of Wellbutrin and Concerta for various reasons, then it was just a really high dose of Concerta, and now I'm on Vyvanse and it ain't doing poo poo. So of course when I tell the nurse that taking Vyvanse is observably identical to taking nothing, she gets back to me and says my doctor's going to try raising the dosage by 10mg for a couple of weeks to see if that helps. So now I get to take slightly more of the drug that has done absolutely nothing for the past month to see if it still does nothing.I have so much work to do and this isn't helping at all  I wish I could go back to Adderall. It was expensive as hell but god drat it worked. Those palpitations though
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Nov 4, 2014 15:52
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Cardiovorax posted:Heart palpitations aren't a health concern in and of themselves, they just mean you're unusually aware of your own pulse. Why would that be reason to switch you off of Adderall if it works for you otherwise? They were caused by an unusually high heart rate while I was at rest, and when the doctor checked my pulse he mentioned something about it sounding slightly irregular or a murmur or something, I don't recall exactly. All I know is that the doctor "hmmed" when I mentioned it, checked my pulse, looked at my medical history, and fairly quickly concluded that it was time to change my meds. If this keeps up much longer I think I'm going to inquire about trying Adderall again on a trial dose anyway. I'll keep a careful eye on things and get checked up regularly. It's been months and months since I completely stopped consuming caffeine of any kind, my diet's improved considerably, and I sleep much better than I used to (I'm all boring responsible dad and poo poo now), so we'll see what the doctor thinks.
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Nov 4, 2014 16:06
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Mechafunkzilla posted:Were you taking XR or IR? XR gave me palpitations nonstop which was a big reason I switched to IR. I don't think my body liked the gradual release of stimulants, it felt like I was dumping adrenaline all day. Huh. I was taking the time-release version. Maybe I'll ask about trying the single-dose version instead.
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Nov 4, 2014 16:14
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In my case I tend toward time-release meds because regular medications seem to burn out REALLY fast for me, but I could try spacing out a couple of individual doses. Thanks for the input; I'll discuss it with my doctor.
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Nov 4, 2014 16:30
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Ball pain TMIchat: I often find my balls hurting if I'm overly tense (moreso than usual), so maybe you're like me and the pain is a result of increased muscular tension or something. Certainly a possibility with ADHD meds. Conversations with doctors get loving weird sometimes. "Hey doc, these meds are alright but they make my heart vibrate and my balls ache. Is this normal y/n" Angry Diplomat fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Nov 20, 2014 |
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Nov 20, 2014 15:48
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Well gently caress, that might explain a few things.
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Dec 2, 2014 06:37
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 16:58 |
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Just say you've been noticing diminishing effectiveness for some time and wanted to ask whether she thinks a dosage increase could help. I mean, you know it probably could, but phrasing it that way makes it sound less "I want more drugs" and more "I'm worried because my drugs aren't working right anymore." Other than that, just ask. Fretting over it is just gonna make you anxious. For what it's worth I've been taking 50-60mg for years so I think you're probably in the clear unless you show up with cocaine on your lip or something.
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Jan 6, 2015 01:47
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