Ask me about childhood and adult ADD.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about childhood and adult ADD.

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Gave up on Strattera in December due to the panic attacks and low mood that I didn't get nearly as much unmedicated, finally got round to booking in a new appointment with my psych for tomorrow. Probably going to look at stimulant options now.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2020 14:13

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 22, 2024 11:46

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

mfcrocker posted:

Gave up on Strattera in December due to the panic attacks and low mood that I didn't get nearly as much unmedicated, finally got round to booking in a new appointment with my psych for tomorrow. Probably going to look at stimulant options now.

Spoilers: we now on Vyvanse lads

# ¿ Feb 10, 2020 10:57

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

With the massive caveat that this advice is given under the assumption you have employment protections at work under law, you should basically absolutely always disclose having ADHD to your employer. In the UK at least it's considered a legally-protected disability (basically everything is) and once I told my employer about my diagnosis they were required to provide me with reasonable adjustments at work to help me out; in my case it's stuff like guaranteeing a seat in the office away from the aisle and allowing an amount of working from home, but it's amazing the range of things that can help make work easier.

It can also be considered a mitigating factor in disciplinary action and over here, firing someone for unwanted behaviour directly related to their disability puts them on very legally shaky ground. That said, IANAL, this may not apply to where you live, consult your union if you're in one and join one if you can

E: choosing to work unmedicated is likely to work against you mind; I hope the new meds work out alright for you and it might be useful to mention you're trying them, both from a "look I'm taking steps to get this under control" perspective and a "brain meds are fucky I don't know how this will affect me please be understanding" one

mfcrocker fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Jul 1, 2020

# ¿ Jul 1, 2020 09:13

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Canadian Bakin posted:

Thanks, mechafunkzilla and mfcrocker, for your posts.
I'm working on getting my calendar set up with notifications and constant reminders for important things. This will be expanded to my work calendar as well, when I'm allowed back. I have plans to get my medical records, just in case I need them, and I'm going to see if my family doctor is still around so that maybe I can work with her rather than relying on whoever is on rotation at the walk-in. I'll also talk to work about letting me have back my office days. Things were better when I had those dedicated days for paperwork rather than trying to piecemeal it out through the week in my "spare time". And getting people to drat well write things down, email them to me, and not just blather at me as they walk by and expect me to remember what they said three days later.
As for the Concerta... Well I haven't noticed much difference, maybe a bit more alertness. This is both the best and worst time since I'm at home and I don't do much when I'm at home, though I've actually sat through reading articles and whatnot online without bouncing through 40 different tabs. On the other hand, I haven't noticed any ill effects and it's been a week now. Except for today. Today was a wake up and go run errands day as soon as I'm dressed day so I took my dose and toddled off out the door without breakfast and now it's "HI! YES, I'M ON STIMULANTS WITH NO FOOD!" from my body. I have a sandwich. It's fine now. I think.

Anyway, I'm working on it.

All the best. Food is always a bloody minefield with stimulants so don't feel too bad about a crap day today

# ¿ Jul 6, 2020 22:31

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Oof glad I'm on Vyvanse, I drink a lot of soda

# ¿ Oct 13, 2020 11:23

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

coolusername posted:

Does anyone here have books to recommend regarding living with adult ADHD? Especially ones with organisational solutions and cleaning tips?

Organising Solutions for People with ADHD by Susan Pinksy.

The tldr is that minimalism is really important in your house rather than some fad; you actively need every act of tidying up to be measurable in seconds or a few minutes and to remove as many barriers as possible. The book is cheap and well worth it though

# ¿ Dec 29, 2020 10:41

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Gabriel S. posted:

Is there a good ADHD books for adults in the middle of their careers? I'm doing okay but I know I can do more and I keep working way too late.

Honestly, you might do better with coaching or therapy.

Then again, I can't entirely relate. Personally, I've recently happily settled on a stagnant career because my current employer is so drat good with handling my ADHD rear end, putting up with the odd days off for insomnia, giving me work that plays to my strengths etc

# ¿ Dec 30, 2020 07:34

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Laserface posted:

did you know that you can fill that same bottle with water instead of getting type II diabetes

can't get type II diabetes if you pickle yourself with aspartame first

# ¿ Feb 2, 2021 11:56

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Laserface posted:

No my initial post was absolutely ridiculing you for keeping soda on your nightstand instead of water.

I'm as bachelor as they come but I keep soft drink in the fridge and I don't wash down my medication with it in the morning. I'd sooner drink alcohol than cola before midday.

This isn't exactly the place to just be dunking on someone's habits, even if you could argue it's tangentially related to what we were on about. By this point you're just being a dickhead.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2021 18:36

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Gishin posted:

I got diagnosed with major depressive disorder and take wellbutrin for it. However, I'm pretty sure I've got ADD on top of that but my psychiatrist can't diagnose or prescribe medication with online visits. My main anxiety about going to see a different psych in-person is that they'll think I'm just trying to get my hands on adderall and it's been making me hesitate getting an appointment. Is this a valid fear or am I just playing myself?

Some psychs won't even put you on a stimulant first time, atomoxetine has become the go-to first med (at least in the UK) because it's not a stimulant

# ¿ Mar 24, 2021 21:00

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Liquid Communism posted:

Nah, going with non-stimulants first is really common in the States too, because the side effects of stimulants are bad for some folks, plus most of them are scheduled drugs wich means more red tape and shorter perscription periods with more office visits to ensure they're not being abused or resold.

Yeah, atomoxetine didn't work out for me and now I have to do a lot more med reviews etc on elvanse despite getting fewer side effects. Thankfully my pharmacist is chill and doesn't give me any poo poo but I've heard of people having issues getting controlled drugs, to the point that my psych warned me about the possibility

# ¿ Mar 26, 2021 11:34

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Hipster_Doofus posted:

Like hell it isn't (not for me anyway), but it is a very dirty one. I'd sooner drink six cups of strong coffee than take one dose of atomoxitine (aka Strattera).

Oh atomoxetine can get hosed for what it�s worth, it�ll effect everyone differently but it gave me my first and only panic attacks of my life and I�d much rather that small risk of side-eye from a pharmacist

(Not my current pharmacist though they�re chill and largely just want me out of there asap)

# ¿ Mar 29, 2021 09:29

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

There is some ADHD-targeted CBT but it's rare and yeah, the normal stuff is totally useless. Of course, it didn't stop the NHS dumping me into a 6-session generic CBT course

Most of the stuff that looks useful seems to fall under the ADHD coaching banner. I've not tried it myself yet though

# ¿ May 22, 2021 16:18

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

mobby_6kl posted:

For those who haven't been diagnosed as children, how did you determine there's a medical issue and not a normal amount of disorganization or laziness? Never really thought about it until the pandemic gave me a lot of time to think about and find some patterns that might've going on for a long time now and slowly causing issues. Stuff like organization, finishing things, maintaining focus, etc.

Have a peep at this list. If it's one or two then maybe not, if it's most of them then maybe you've got ADHD.

Can also look at something like this for more lived experience-style information https://twitter.com/ADHD_Alien/status/1242141401737056256

I am not a doctor, no 2 people's ADHD looks the same blah blah blah

# ¿ Jun 13, 2021 16:28

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Car Hater posted:

Well because in most cases (at least imo) it's not a disability and would have gone unremarked on as just a facet of someone's personality up until society went mad and started in on 'everyone has to be Productive All The Time'. We're not inclined to notice until it becomes a problem, which is basically whenever we interact with a big impersonal system

It's worth noting that in many countries ADHD is absolutely a disability by law which can have really wide reaching effects

Like because it's protected in the UK, my workplace has to offer me reasonable adjustments for it

# ¿ Jun 20, 2021 19:21

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

coolusername posted:

I have two settings “literally the 1% top of the exam got a letter about it professor calls on me by name as someone who always has the answers” and “welp what happened cool username you were doing so well” guess where the pendulum has swung

we are the definition of "bright but doesn't apply themselves" on report cards

# ¿ Jun 24, 2021 09:28

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

96 spacejam posted:

I've been taking Vyvanse for about 2 years now and about a year in, I've started to sweat profusely, regardless of the temp (only cool blowing air solves it).

Prior to this, I was not a sweating person. At all. Even in high anxiety situations.

Vyvanse has changed my life. We started at 60mg (didn't really sweat), dropped to 50, and now I'm holding at 30. Right now I'm sitting in my apartment by myself, zero stressors, it's 10pm at night and I'm sweating during the onset. It's baffling and really loving annoying.

Everything I've read says to make a dermo appt, obviously, and I have, but in the meantime is there anything immediate I can do? OTC creams?

Ooh, this might be happening to me

# ¿ Aug 4, 2021 12:04

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Surprise T Rex posted:

I find that professional work can be easy if it's novel and interesting

Currently, I'm on week 2 of working on something that by all rights should have taken me maybe 2 days? Still in my probation period at work so it's very possible they just get sick of how slowly I'm working and bin me. It's a very stressful situation to be in, honestly.

I think the project we're on is just too vague and undefined (and badly managed) to engage my brain. The work is all just floating around and there's no defined order to do things or any guidance from the people who know what they're doing, and it's the worst possible way to work, for me.

Can you break it down into much, much smaller chunks? Not always possible I know but having a checklist I can rattle through helps me no end

# ¿ Aug 20, 2021 10:23

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Surprise T Rex posted:

The bit I'm struggling is more the "it takes prolonged mental effort to decipher the existing thing I'm meant to be replacing" so I find it hard to concentrate on even really understanding what I'm meant to do, but braking it down is probably still possible. I'll have to get the notepad out.

One thing I find frustrating about this is that there a TONS of helpful coping mechanisms that would help a lot but I completely forget to loving use any of them, on account of y'know, probably having ADHD.

Lol yeah I managed to break things down for a few weeks then forgot. See also the bullet journal on my desk that I'm finding increasingly difficult to fill in

# ¿ Aug 20, 2021 10:48

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

I started using a weekly pill box like an old because I kept having to count my remaining pills in the bottle to work out if I'd taken it that day.

I almost always had but yeah that poo poo got tiresome real fast

# ¿ Aug 28, 2021 08:37

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Eediot Jedi posted:

One time I flaked on dinner with my mum who was, unknown to me, very suicidal. I have no memory of offering to get dinner with her that night at all. I suspect I said "we should get dinner when I'm back in hometown next" a week or two beforehand.

That was great, only had like six months of her alternately refusing to talk to me or ringing to let me know it was all my fault she was suicidal. Shout out to the rest of my family who ignored mum being totally suicidal and said I had to fix it.

Ok so maybe that was not as lol as I thought when I started typing.

With the obvious note that it sucks she was in such a poo poo headspace, that sounds manipulative as gently caress of her :smith:

# ¿ Oct 3, 2021 13:22

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

Quorum posted:

Straight-up anxiety can definitely be a side effect, and on top of that stimulant medication does tend to produce many of the same physical effects as anxiety (like higher blood pressure and heart rate) which can lead your brain to simply assume you're anxious and helpfully provide some things to be anxious about. If you're still having issues after a while, that's certainly a good reason to try a different formulation or medication.

It's also worth noting it can be better or worse depending on the med. I started on Strattera (non-stimulant) and had my first ever panic attacks on the stuff, to the level where I ended up asking to be taken off it. Now on Vyvanse and I'm definitely a bit more anxious than I used to be but it's nowhere near that level.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2021 11:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 22, 2024 11:46

mfcrocker: Jan 31, 2004; Hot Rope Guy

TheJadedOne posted:

The anxiety feeling seems to have passed now after about a week. Wasn't expecting the libido drop, nor causing ED. Is this common or something that passes for those that have been on Adderall for a while?

It's a known side-effect and common enough that I remember my psych did explicitly ask if I'd had any issues with libido or ED

# ¿ Oct 21, 2021 15:37

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about childhood and adult ADD.