If you have ADHD, did medication help you and if so how?

[Stickworm]

Sorry for the long post - desperately posting for traffic.

I’ve got an ADHD assessment coming up in July. I cannot wait for it to come around. After over a decade of being diagnosed with anxiety and depression, everything about inattentive ADHD ticks all boxes for me:

• Feeling overwhelmed – I feel like there’s constantly too much to do so often don’t do anything.
• Easily distracted – i can’t sit still doing nothing. If I’m even watching an enjoyable film I have to scroll social media or play games on my phone, or bite my nails.
• Feeling a fake – I feel like I’ve been masking my whole life and in my late 30s I’m losing the ability.
• Forgetful – I’m always losing things and forgetting where I put things. As a child I was always told ‘I’d lost my head if it wasn’t screwed on’
• Lacking motivation - always thought I’m lazy. Have started hundreds of hobbies and courses over the years only to give up a couple of weeks in.

Depression and anxiety – had both all my life but assume it’s due to feeling so different and never comfortable in my own skin

• Socially isolated – I have always struggled to maintain friendships (don’t have many) and find socialising quite exhausting
• Feeling incompetent – am my own worst critic, even when I get praise for things I assume people must have got it wrong
• Low tolerance to stress
• Impulsive behaviour – i recognise I only really like things that offer ‘immediate reward’ eg. Booze, bad foods etc
• Disorganised – always overwhelmed by housework etc

I know medication isn’t a magic solution but I’m really at my wits end and struggling so much with all of the above - if you do take medication, how has it helped you? I also feel like a terrible mother as I am not very present with my kids.

I have it but don't share a lot of the same issues that you have. I find it somewhat helpful for a portion of the day but it isn't a game changer for me. Some people talk about it as completley changing their life. Any effects it has for me are far more subtle and most of the things that are hard for me are still hard.

Some of the issues you've listed sound a bit more like autism to me than ADHD but that's not your question so ill answer about meds. They've helped me with:

Mood stabilisation
No more stress eating so I'm back to a healthy weight
Concentration is more fluid so no extremes of hyperfocus etc. I don't get anymore done and I now just have normal concentration levels but I am no longer overwhelmed by the masses I haven't done.

Thanks both - that list was from an inattentive adhd checklist I came across but I have wondered if I may have both ADHD and ASD (the double whammy - joy 😅)

I tried them for a while about a year a few years ago but ultimately stopped fulfilling the prescription because I was starting to question wether things were actually better.

Pros.....
Empty washing basket
Clean house
Generally more organised
Easily able to make plans and do things
Maintaining relationships/ social stuff was easier

Cons....
Idk if this is for everyone but I tried a few types and different dosages and they either did nothing much at all except make me thirsty or they did indeed work, but I'd never really know how well they were going to work. I tried all different things, eat before, eat after, eat carbs, avoid carbs etc but it was just never really consistent. On the lower dosages it wasn't doing much and on the higher dosages I'd never take it the next day because I'd struggle to sleep so couldn't get up early enough and then I'd just feel really sluggish and tired the next day.
Zero appetite. I had to force myself to eat as I really didn't have any spare weight to lose before I started.
Zero sex drive. Dulled down emotions. It was quite strange because it was easier for me to have and maintain relationships on them, but the problem was like I'd date someone for a while and not feel a thing? And I could never tell if that was how normal people feel (I am quite intensely emotional, which comes with problems but at least it makes you feel alive lol) or if it was the meds or if it was because I just really wasn't feeling it.
"Easily able to make plans and do things" was a pro but also a con because, again, could never really be sure if I actually wanted to do them or if it was just because I now had motivation.
Zero creativity. I make a living writing books. Always had a really vivid overactive imagination and can spend hours daydreaming. Going from that, to absolute silence or "pinpoint thinking" as opposed to "spaghetti thinking" was nice, for a while, but I missed it. And I couldn't work. So I had this clean house and all this motivation and was taking great care of myself, my children, my appearance, etc etc but my work was going down the toilet.

Sorry that's not very concise and quite a complicated answer. Give them a go and see, basically. I really wish it was possible to pick and choose or go on and off them as necessary because right now my house is all starting to fall apart again and other life stuff is piling up and I could really do with a couple of weeks just to get on top of things, but no GP would ever allow you to do that so... I remember mine having a bit of a fit when I told her I didn't take them on Sundays to give my body a bit of a break and because sometimes you want to just lie on the sofa and watch Netflix. It felt really all or nothing and ultimately I decided that nothing was better than being on them all the time. The cons outweighed the pros.

Best of luck whatever you do.

@awimbawaaay that is a really helpful answer thank you 🙏🏻 I think a few years ago if I’d been diagnosed I wouldn’t have considered medication but I currently seem to be in such a rut of complete overwhelm (I am struggling at the moment to even motivate myself to shower 🙈) it’s like I’m just existing. I’ll first see what the Psychiatrist has to say and give them a go if they suggest. Thanks again 🌸

@awimbawaaay all your cons were what I had until I switched to Elvanse. It's been brilliant and far better for me than anything else I took. It took a year to finally get a good match for meds though, it can be really frustrating.

Bumping to see if there are any more responses 🙏🏻

Ive seen it being used in children with mixed results. One particular child made rapid progress in all areas of the curriculum within a few weeks of being on meds - it was quite emotional to observe. At the other end of the scale, I've seen children who become so lethargic they cant function. Fall asleep in class, cant hold a conversation, forget everything. Even with lost of adjustments, they could not tolerate it. Most children, however, showed a limited difference in their symptoms. I had an interesting convo with a child psychiatrist following a CDT meeting regarding a child with a diagnosis. He strongly believed that meds were too frequently used to mask serious mental health issues brought on by external trauma. Unless those traumas are addressed, meds wont necessarily do anything to help.
It’s a powerful medication that doesn’t necessarily solve all the things you've listed. Some counselling may be beneficial too for things like self esteem, low mood etc.

Haven’t anything to add - I have a relative I suspect has this. Ironically, can’t get him to the GP for a test - he’s too disorganised! 😢 But wanted to say - such a useful thread and answers.

I agree with this a million percent. I think if it's genuinely ADHD the meds really work so quickly. My DD is 15 and it's been incredibly emotional watching her go from 1s and 3s in her mocks to 6s and 7s in a 4 month period. She's so much happier. There is an aspect of tweaking meds, and some people won't ever suit meds, but I do think a lot of people are pushing for ADHD when there's a lot of other underlying issues. Some of those may or may not be caused by the child having a late diagnosis, but it's important to understand meds won't help with it all.

For me the low mood and depression symptoms were caused by a mismatch of how I wanted to behave, vs how I actually behaved and not understanding why or feeling I had any control over it.

I knew that feeling I was useless and a waste of space sounded like depression but I was also really convinced that it was probably true, and isn't depression when you're having delusions about how crap you are? So I was confused. And nothing I ever did to try to help myself ever worked which was depressing.

Being diagnosed changed a lot of this because I instantly had answers for a lot of the "Why is this constantly happening???" frustrations and I literally had a piece of paper saying no, you're not broken, your brain just has a different OS and trying to use instructions for the neurotypical OS won't work as effectively.

I agree that children may have missed trauma but adults are usually aware of their trauma. I don't think it's the story for all cases of ADHD - there are popular psychologists who claim this and I don't think it's very helpful.

Medication can be a bit of a frustrating trial and error process, I'm titrating at the moment and it takes a while because ideally you spend a while at each dose to compare it. I found it helpful to learn a bit about the different kinds. I'll provide some links at the end.

But basically, it doesn't do a whole lot on its own, it can help smooth out some brain processes which can help you do things though. So it can help with the overwhelm and the stimulation-seeking (though I have found that 20mg methylphenidate seems to make me seek even more stimulation)

Forgetfulness maybe not, but it can help you be more effective at setting up things like reminders, putting keys in the right place every time etc. I probably am no better at not forgetting things, but I am better at setting things up in advance which helps me not forget, if that makes sense? Like I knew some library books were due back today, so I found them all at the weekend and put them in a bag ready to take back. I never would have done that before, if I even remembered they were due, I would have left it all until the last minute and then been running around the house stressed shouting at the DC and we would have missed the bus.

I think for things like task persistence, starting new habits, staying in contact with friends, organisation etc, these are all skills/habits which need to be built. They won't automatically get better with medication (maybe a little bit) but (in theory) you'll find that your efforts to build skills and habits will go better, things stick for longer, so over time you should be able to make progress on goals like these and it should stick. Personally I haven't found this yet, but I think these are slower goals and it's hard to judge the effectiveness after just a short time.

It can help to pick a specific goal and try to work towards it so that you can compare your efforts now, without medication, and with medication. For example housework is one I've been working on via the methods in the podcast A Slob Comes Clean.

Sorry I forgot the links. MN does not like youtube links, you might have to click on the tiny one letter that it puts after the broken preview. I'll try to avoid them where possible.

Russell Barkley presentation "ADHD Medications" with slides

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKF2Eq0eYbbrWLf34RL1T9B27XCUuHCfB

There are a lot of other useful talks on that youtube channel. Well worth a dive in even though it's not very well organised. It looks like they're starting to put playlists on now which should help.

ADDitudes Experts podcast/webinar about why adults stop taking medication. I really liked this one. It was incredibly interesting. (You can find this on YT if you want the slides instantly)

https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/adhd-medication-for-adults-adherence-problems-solutions/

Another which was strongly recommended to me but I haven't watched yet (same expert) Also on YT if you want the slides.

https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/medication-management-william-dodson-podcast-149/

This one also sounds good (but I'll stop now before I send you to every resource on the internet)

https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/optimize-stimulant-adhd-medications-podcast-252/

In short, it's really not the case that you can instantly tell if it's ADHD just from starting medication, and it's not a common experience (though is possible) to take them and instantly everything improves hugely. Some people do seem to have that "OH MY GOD is this what life is like for everyone else?!" moment, going by ADHD forums, but there are a lot more threads saying "Is it doing anything?? How can I tell if it's working? Is this normal?" Also, it seems (again, anecdotally from the forums) that it's quite a common scenario that if you have this initial reaction, a few weeks in you stabilise because your body gets used to the dose and then you don't have that effect any more, this causes some people to get fed up of taking the mecdication. There used to be a good post on reddit about this but I lost it ages ago, but it says something like if you are currently (without meds) a 2/10 or 3/10, meds initially take you to 8/10 and you go "OMG" and then when they have stabilised you end up a 6/10 - just because that's a 25% drop from the 8/10, it's still twice (or 3x) as good as your baseline, so you should consider that and stick with it.

If you could dose someone with ADHD medication and their reaction told you whether they had ADHD, that would be part of the official testing criteria. The medications are short-acting, so there would be no ethical issue with doing this. The problem is it isn't as simple as that. Most people don't have that dramatic of a reaction and it takes a while for most people to find the optimal dose. There are a couple of different stimulant formulations, a non stimulant and a few different delivery methods for those drugs, and the dosage isn't standardised because it seems wildly variable what dose is effective for different people, and it isn't tied to anything predictable like body weight, it just has a very narrow therapeutic window so the line where it's too little vs too much can be tricky to find.

I really wish it was possible to pick and choose or go on and off them as necessary because right now my house is all starting to fall apart again and other life stuff is piling up and I could really do with a couple of weeks just to get on top of things, but no GP would ever allow you to do that so... I remember mine having a bit of a fit when I told her I didn't take them on Sundays to give my body a bit of a break and because sometimes you want to just lie on the sofa and watch Netflix. It felt really all or nothing and ultimately I decided that nothing was better than being on them all the time. The cons outweighed the pros.

In theory it should absolutely be possible to do this - but it might be more likely in America where they have been treating ADHD for ages so don't seem to think of it as some suspicious excuse for laziness 🙄

Also some will specifically recommend having a break, or think that the only possible thing you could need help with is school/work and will insist on taking breaks at weekends. So I find it quite strange (not of you, of your GP!) that your GP was anti this - some of them you really have to argue your case to be prescribed enough for weekends as well.

Anyway if you ever fancied giving it another go - it might be worth checking with another practitioner if you have access to one.

I've tried Methylphenidate for a year and Elvanse for a year. Both helped enormously for a honeymoon period and then became less effective, despite trying different dosages. I decided to stop taking Elvanse a while ago because I felt it was making me even more short fused, but then went back on it when I rapidly gained a lot of weight and felt worse. I then realised it was the dexamphetamine top up that was making me short fused, not the daily Elvanse. Now I continue to take it, and it helps me to feel a less exhausted and overwhelmed but definitely doesn't take away the majority of symptoms. My house is still a mess, I still have time wasting hyperfocuses and procrastination, but without them I'm more fidgety and spacey and I seek dopamine by eating constantly. I'd say it reduces my struggles by about 15%. But I do have a diagnosis of severe ADHD. (99th centile for inattention and 98th for hyperactivity-though my hyperactivity presents as fidgeting/micro movements, not the false stereotype of being full of energy)

I've had meds since April & they have been life changing. I'm much calmer, more focussed & so much happier! It's expensive but I feel so much better!

Following

@RuLu how expensive is it? I’m in the same boat waiting for my consultation and wondering what I’m letting myself in for financially if I do get a diagnosis!

@Banjaxx
First month was £138 for prescription & titration + £125 for meds.
2nd month similar but dosage has increased so slightly more (an extra £20 I think).
3rd month once dose sorted -£33 for prescription (didn't need titration as dose now correct) and then £88 for meds.

I went to tesco pharmacy for the 3rd lot which is far cheaper than Boots or my local independent one where I went the first two times. I wish I'd known that prices were so different!

@Foxesandsquirrels I agree with this a million percent. I think if it's genuinely ADHD the meds really work so quickly. My DD is 15 and it's been incredibly emotional watching her go from 1s and 3s in her mocks to 6s and 7s in a 4 month period. She's so much happier. There is an aspect of tweaking meds, and some people won't ever suit meds, but I do think a lot of people are pushing for ADHD when there's a lot of other underlying issues.

I think this is a bit disingenuous when practically every adhd forum on the internet has people sharing different experiences. "If it's genuinely adhd the meds really work so quickly"... umm... no. That makes it sound like if the meds don't work then it's not adhd. It's been 4 months for your DD so she's still in the widely known / talked about "honeymoon phase". Clearly you've seen massive improvements in her school work, and that's great (well done DD) but there's a whole lot more to life than getting good grades. You're essentially micro-dosing speed. Every day. For months. For years. Technically it's just getting your body up to "normal" levels but don't underestimate the side effects long term use can have on some people. And that's not because they don't have adhd, that's because it's a balancing act between the effects of the medication and how that tweaks your brain chemistry and thus your thought processes and way of thinking and thus your behaviour. Some people don't like it. Some people like it at first because they can see the benefits and everyone around you is so happy but you actually feel like a bit of a robot. You take these pills every day because society says you have to be X when being a Y would be perfectly fine if it wasn't for all the Xs making the rules. Then of course some people get on great with it (all they ever wanted was to be more like X) and it changes their life. But it's complicated.

I mean simple stuff like the medication would "behave" differently depending on where I was in my monthly cycle just due to hormone imbalances. Simple stuff like you go on holiday and can't take it with you, or the pharmacy has run out, so you're off it for a while and then that first day back taking them again your tolerance is much lower and your mouth is dry and you can't sleep and you can't eat and you've agreed to do a bunch of stuff you really didn't want to do or spent the entire day hyperfixated on tiktok like there's a demon controlling you.

And obviously at 15 I'm guessing there's been not much talk of sex drives and intimate relationships and how she's feeling about her non-existent DP (who just loves the new empty washing basket) and if she's snappy with the non-existent children.

I'm sorry if that comes across as rude but I see it quite a lot and take issue with people who haven't even taken them telling others how they work and how great they are and how that proves it must be adhd and how everyone else is pushing for it, but not you obviously because the meds work. It doesn't work like that.

@User1438423 I think it was the dexamphetamine that was making me snappy too. I found Elvanse on its own much better but the 40mg "wore off" quite quickly (as in by early evening I'd be totally beat) while the 60mg kept me up until 7am the next morning and made me quite anxious if I took it too many days in a row. That said it definitely worked for a while and was the best I'd tried, I just really started to miss a lot of the "old me" even though it was a bit train-wrecky. And having to take breaks so I could sleep and gain weight, then going back on, was just messing me up in the end.

@awimbawaaay Oh but I agree with everything you've said. It's a very complex issue but I am seeing a lot of kids diagnosed and medicated who really are in need of family therapy and that's what I mean. ADHD meds are really not the fix it all plaster a lot of teen parents seem to imagine. More and more teens are abusing them for the weight loss effects.
My DD does complain a lot about the robot feeling and actually refused to take them for a while until she had a breakdown at school. It's not perfect. They're better when she's taking them consistently and she has been for 4 months, together with drinking and eating but it's hard, I'm on them too so I get it. We are only planning on keeping her on it to get her through GCSEs, unless she wants to continue. She is planning on going down a vocational route after that's much more suited to her unmedicated personality.

I’ve started on sertraline for anxiety and I honestly thinks it’s helped my ADHD. I am in N.Ireland and we have to go private here for everything ADHD related (which I can’t afford at the min so not medicated)

maybe not the full answer but I feel mush better. Has anyone else used sertraline for it?

I think it was the dexamphetamine that was making me snappy too. I found Elvanse on its own much better but the 40mg "wore off" quite quickly (as in by early evening I'd be totally beat) while the 60mg kept me up until 7am the next morning and made me quite anxious if I took it too many days in a row. That said it definitely worked for a while and was the best I'd tried, I just really started to miss a lot of the "old me" even though it was a bit train-wrecky. And having to take breaks so I could sleep and gain weight, then going back on, was just messing me up in the end.

@awimbawaaay That's interesting, I didn't know the honeymoon phase was a widely known phenomenom, I think a lot of the time you only get replies from people who have only just started taking it and still feel it is life changing. But it is kind of reassuring it isn't just me. Having said that, one of my DC has been on methylphenidate for 2 years, and the difference really is life-changing while on it, but we do have to deal with rebound effect to counter that, and she hasn't really started puberty yet so I expect that will have an effect. I feel the same on Elvanse, totally exhausted early evening (but still stay up until the early hours because I keep procrastinating going to bed hence me being awake now). I thought that was due to me working full time and being mostly on my own in the week with 3 kids, but my full time hours coincided with starting Elvanse, so maybe I wouldn't be so tired in the evening if I wasn't taking it. Something for me to consider because being so tired in the evening is why I let domestic chores build up. I take 50mg. I didn't realise a higher dose could last longer, it might be worth me trying 60mg before giving non stims a try.

Most adhd meds are short acting so you can take them only when needed. I do not take them everyday. I only take them on days when I know I have tasks to do that will be helped by having the meds on board.

I didn’t take meds as a child so I can’t compare but there are definite side effects and issues for me that limit how much I take them. I also don’t want to burnout my dopamine receptors. I find them to be slightly helpful but that’s it.

I was diagnosed in 2006 at aged 42. One of the first adult females to be so - on the NHS (Maudsley hospital, Kings College) The assessment was half a day.

Over the last 17 years I have been both medicated Atomoxetine (sp?) when kids were young - as it was all getting a bit chaotic - and then without as they became teens and were able to help me a lot more. (1 DC had inherited ADD whilst the others seem to have all of our organisational genes as well as their own!!)

When they all buggered off to Uni I required medication again. I am on Xaggatin XL 54mg a day. Seems to keep me focused.

I was diagnosed years ago by an NHS psychologist with ADHD but was told that medication wasn't appropriate for me as I had developed coping strategies.

I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I had been prescribed medication as sometimes trying to cope with autism and ADHD can be very tiring.