First cohort of adults diagnosed with ADHD and growing old. AMA

[Imdunfer]

I'm in the first cohort of adults diagnosed with ADHD and growing old with it. It has definite challenges related to aging that I'm dealing with daily. Ask me anything as long as you don't suggest that you think ADHD doesn't exist and that it's just a variety of neuro typical.

Late diagnosis of autism and PDA here (but not ADHD) and this basically describes me. So much of this thread is very eye opening.

Yeah ,it's a good thread
Despite,the occasional try at derailing

I'm still new to my diagnosis
And new to the medication I'm on
I keep thinking how different my life could of been had I of had this medication my whole life .
So I have had horrendous anxiety,for ever
And anxiety and hunger feels the same for me ( autism)
So I ate ,to stop the anxiety and because I thought I was hungry
I ate like the hungry caterpillar ate in the story ..
Since medication
No anxiety.. normal eating.
All the things I didn't do because of anxiety..
That I could of if I'd been properly medicated

@Pastelpug do you mind me asking what type of medication you’re taking? I’m late ADHD diagnosed & for various health reasons have not been able to trial stimulant meds but my anxiety is horrific. I worry (typically!) that stimulants will increase it so am always encouraged when I hear others for whom this is not the case. Sorry to derail OP!

No worries but if you can't take amphetamines try the sports supplement amino acid acetyl l carnetine.

It's been tested again recently as it's a known anxiolytic. It helps me a lot. I've just doubled my dose and I can really feel it kicking in.

It also makes you run faster, Mo Salah used to use big doses of it 🤣 And it's anti inflammatory, win win.

Thanks @Imdunfer- I did see you discussing this upthread & screenshotted for later reference (of which I must have 100’s & never go back to!) So thanks for the reminder. When you say kick in do you mean in a calming or stimulating kind of way or both? I’m having breakthrough hormonal anxiety on top (despite HRT ) so want to avoid anything palpitations inducing. Would also much rather try something free from the side & withdrawal effects that are psychotropic drugs for me (I understand neuro & meds sensitivity is common in ND) though. I’ll check out your dosage & source recs up thread 👍

I'm on methliphenadate..ritalin ..
It is a stimulant,and I have to wait to take it until I've done my exercise for the day and then it takes two hours to start to work,and it wears of by evening.
I have to check my blood pressure regularly as well
But the constant anxiety I lived with ,was ruining my life ,so I'm happy to have a chunk of the day free from it
I spent my whole.life being put on one antidepressant after another
They all just zombie me , nothing helped me..but I don't think I was actually depressed..it was ADHD
I'm also on propropnal..a beta blocker for anxiety..I can take up to three a day as and when I need it ..so I tend to use that in an evening when the ritalin has worn off
But I managed on just the propnanal for anxiety for a few years .so it's worth asking your doctor if it would be suitable for you ,I know stimulants are not suitable for everyone..tbh ,I'm surprised they are suitable for me x

I can't remember if we talked about CBT on here ...as it's 8 pages now ,so I haven't time to check back
Did anyone find CBT helped them ??

It's a mitochondrial stimulant so it makes cells work harder rather than speeding up your brain. I suddenly realised yesterday how much less anxious I'm feeling, in spite of stuff going on at home which should be rattling me, but isn't. I upped my dose from 1000g to 2000g about a 2 weeks back, I hope it's connected.

We haven't. By reputation, it can make things worse. Someone trains you a on technique that you should be able to use to talk yourself down, but because of how your brain is wired you can't talk yourself down so all you've done is fail ... again.

I think it's worth a try but I wouldn't hold out hopes for too much from it.

@Pastelpug thanks for your reply & great you’re now getting some relief from the right medication. Helps to hear others experiences of adhd meds - makes me a little less anxious about them!

This misdiagnosis as depression is such a common experience for women. "You're depressed". "No I'm not, I'm completely rationally fed up with how much effort every day takes to live and how little reward (dopamine) I get for doing it."

I agree. I had CBT. Thought it was fabulous in the session - made so much sense - but the moment I left it evaporated and back to all tabs open. It’s exactly what we CANT do!

Really interesting @Imdunfer & validating hearing how you’ve learned to manage your adhd (& other health conditions). I’m going to look into Alcar & LTheanine you also mention upthread 🙏

If you can take it tyrosine worked for me but it isn't a good idea with rheumatoid arthritis where blocking the tyrosine kinase pathway is being investigated as a treatment.. Theanine that I replaced tyrosine with is reputed to help with sleep.

Alternatively you could just eat a lot of red meat, it's full of the amino acids and reported to reduce ADHD symptoms.

I've found it didn't work for me ..but wondered if that was just me and maybe others had success..maybe I wasn't trying hard enough..it was through the NHS and they said it works well for people with autism and ADHD..but I couldn't manage the tasks and couldn't explain why I couldn't manage them ..bit like exposure therapy I think

They said what? CBT and DBT are renowned for failing with ND people!

I've not had DBT ..but definitely no success with CBT ..but the NHS made out to me that it works really well for autism..so I thought I'd just not tried hard enough