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.

They shut my brain up and kill the negative chatter that's constant. Subsequently, my anxiety has lessened enormously and I was able to come off my antidepressants. I can actually focus and get shit done. I do miss the energy highs in a way though, as I'd burn through housework!

Dd has tried the lot!

Most made her very angry or a slug. No energy bed all day.

Elvanse was the best but she isn't taking anything other than sertraline which is an antidepressant right now. She needed to treat her anxiety and depression symptoms first. Now she is in a better place we are thinking of trying Wellbutrin as she forgets to take the elvanse early enough.

@mushroommummy
Yes dd is on sertraline. It's helped massively with her mood regulation and anxiety. Just started to see her do her interests again after months of burn out. She says it helps her. I'm not convinced it helps the adhd but it definitely helps her on other ways.

medication wasn't appropriate for me as I had developed coping strategies.

This is absolutely mind blowing. If you ever want to try again, go back with your paperwork and just ask.

Nobody would deny somebody glasses on the basis that "You seem to be getting on OK with squinting"

That's an interesting point, Bertie. I may very well do that at some point.

Thanks so much for all these insightful comments, really interesting to read all of your experiences.

I'm exactly the same as you, OP. No medication and don't really intend to.

The masking I'm also feeling I'm losing my ability with. It's exhausting, sometimes I can only manage for a few minutes, on a bad day, then want to escape.

Concerta leaves the body within 12 hours, you can go on and off it, take it on days you need it, skip days on holiday, etc. We have strong family history of ADHD and all have been on meds at different times. Generally kids on it during senior school and off it at uni as they learned when they can focus and do their work. One is extremely productive between 11pm and 3am and does all her papers and homework then (no longer takes meds) one 5am to 10am and one 4pm-8pm. I'm most productive 3pm-8pm and schedule hard projects for then.

A long way of saying, meds helped alot when needed and given up easily when no longer required and never taken on school breaks or holidays as no "have to focus at this time" tasks; meds leave body daily/easily so can jump on and off whenever suits. Grades were helped visibly when meds were used.

Finding someone to prescribe if not violent was difficult but with assessment and family history of success, got the meds required when required.

I'm NHS diagnosed ADHD (and autistic). ADHD medication was hellish for me. I still suffer from trauma from the experience.

HOWEVER: I still encourage those with ADHD to try medication, carefully, with a good clinician monitoring. That's because my reaction to it (I tried 4 different ones) was extreme and unusual. I don't share my experience as a horror story, but to show others who might have gone through similar that they're not alone, because online now you get a lot of scorn as an unmedicated ADHDer; the assumption is you're doing it because you don't believe in medication, etc.

My experience was that it put me on an unbearable emotional rollercoaster. The highs were shaky and difficult to regulate, then a crashing comedown followed within about an hour. It was like being plunged into the freezing, damp shade after having been basking in the su sun. Utter despondency. Anger issues. It was awful. The dread of those comedowns was visceral.

I did find it helped me with my executive dysfunction, and I dearly wish they'd been tolerable for me. I'll never touch ADHD medication again. But I'll say again, my reaction was very unusual. I just like to share because I felt so alone while this was happening to me.

Gosh I’m so sorry you had that experience @tattygrl that’s awful. I hope you have found other ways of managing ❤️

@angharat do you mind me asking why you don’t intend to take medication?

Thanks for starting this thread. I’m titrating and it’s very much a mixed bag. I’m undecided whether I’d rather be a hot mess or dependent on this stuff.

I was completely unprepared for the crash at the end of the day - it’s not a return to normal. All of a sudden thinking hurts my head and I get really stupid. I wouldn’t like to be driving when that hits.

I wonder if its different meds or different boy reactions? No one in the family has had that experience but then we have all only been on Concerta which has been used for ADHD for over 50 years.

*body

Your message made me go, "What the Actual Fuck????" That's dreadful.

I've made it to my thirties with a career and marriage still intact, so it could be argued that my coping mechanisms were fine too. Until they weren't. It's like telling someone they don't need glasses because they've learned to sit at the front of the class, or copy from their friend.

I'm appalled that you were fobbed off like that.

Incidentally I find the meds wonderful. I very much still have ADHD, but it gives the adult version of me a fighting chance.

I’m titrating Elvanse at the moment. Up to 70mg now, the first week after starting or upping a dose is tough, I get bad headaches and jaw ache from afternoon onwards. It passes after a week or so though, once my body has adapted to the dose. There are pluses and minuses, as there are with all meds. It’s helped me a lot though.

I can’t fathom the attitude mentioned that some GPs believe that you only need ADHD meds for school/work days. ADHD affects all areas of my life, not just work. Socialising and interacting with other people is exhausting. I have 2 small children and I wasn’t coping with them, I was disengaged, overstimulated, angry all the time and felt like a shit mum. This was actually the reason I sought diagnosis, so that I could be a better mum. The meds have obviously helped a lot with work, but that wasn’t my main reason for wanting them.

Hi OP and all, thank you for the incredibly helpful thread.

I've been diagnosed with ADD (no hyperactivity!) but only informally, by an expert psychiatrist who I am seeing for couple's counselling. He's not keen to formalise this in any way, so I would need to start from scratch with pursuing a formal diagnosis.

If it's not too de-railing, can anyone steer me onto how I go about this? Don't have tons of funds but would like to get this sorted as it's been affecting everything for too long, I'm exhausted and can't dig myself out of it anymore.

How are you finding that dosage? I've been told that's the max. 60mg started to make my ears ring so I stopped at 50. Can't imagine 70.

I have 2 small children and I wasn’t coping with them, I was disengaged, overstimulated, angry all the time and felt like a shit mum. This was actually the reason I sought diagnosis, so that I could be a better mum.

this is my main reasoning @ScabbyKebab - I could probably bury my head with all the other stuff.

@WoolyMammoth55 i actually just looked up a local psychiatrist who specialises in adult adhd. It’s costing £800 🥴 but hopefully will be worth it (just to know either way). Others have used a company called ADHD360 which is quite a bit cheaper I believe but the reviews are very mixed so I didn’t want to risk it.

you can also go down the Right to Choose path with your GP - I was originally but getting an appointment at my doctors surgery is a nightmare and I just wanted to take control of the situation - https://psychiatry-uk.com/right-to-choose/

Good luck, I’m considering an assessment. I was politely expelled from a fee paying school for ‘over exuberance’ long before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

I know a new psychiatrist can’t undo prior manic episodes but it worries me that they have completely overlooked this potential underlying ‘difference’ that I’ve lived with forever. Everything I struggle with always gets attributed to the mood disorder and I doubt anyone will prescribe me anything for ADHD in case it worsens the bipolar.

Anyway I’ve tried low doses of Concerta and been amazed by how clear and purposeful my mind is. Work is so much less painful. Without it a whole day is needed to do about an hour of work, with it I’m almost as productive as anyone else.

I’m still on the fence about the 70. I liked the feeling of the 50, but I found it wasn’t lasting all day and wore off mid-afternoon. I might try 60 and see if that’s the sweet spot.

I think my therapist might suggest one of those afternoon top-up meds, but I’ve not heard good things about those so I’m reluctant to try them…

I feel the exact same about 50mg. My Dr said the higher dosage doesn't last longer which I don't agree with. It did for me but the cons outweighed the pros once I got to 60mg. I haven't heard anything good about top up meds, and my heart rate is already high so I'm going to leave it. I try to get as much done as I can whilst the meds work. This does mean often working through my lunch but getting lazy in the afternoon.

I'm currently in the titration process.

My doctor started me on Concerta, but we've decided to try something else so she's just prescribed me Elvanse. Having read some of the comments about it on here I'm hopeful I'll have a better experience.

The reason we decided to switch from the Concerta is because whilst it was helping with focus, it wasn't helping at all with my hyperactivity (I have combined inattentive and hyperactive ADHD). I've heard many people say they experience a quieter mind on meds which was a benefit I was really hoping for, but the Concerta did nothing at all to ease my hyperactive traits. I also felt I needed a high dose of it to get any benefits, but the higher dose was also causing more unpleasant side effects (mostly loss of appetite and increased anxiety).

I've started to become a bit disillusioned that meds just might not be for me, and I'll never have that "game changer" experience many others report. Hopefully Elvanse will be a better fit for me.

I find medication very helpful, but it's also not a magic wand. I've tried a few and am currently liking dexamfetamine. I only use it on work days, and as it's short acting I just take it on an 'as needs' basis. I didn't like the long acting meds; found they gave me a comedown crash. The main side effect I have with dex is appetitive suppression, so I just make sure to eat before taking it.
Overall, I'm a big proponent of exploring medication on diagnosis. It's a very helpful tool.

I can't advise at all, but, reading your list of 'symptoms ' well, I have every one, except for the maintaining friends, which I am thankful for. I also have a continuous dialogue in my head.
When I was small, my mum took me to the dr. as I was such an anxious child.
I am in my very late 50s, so have got used to how I am, which makes me quite ill tbh.
I have a son with asd, so maybe linked?
I have had lots of counselling, but this was never picked up on, maybe only recently recognised?
I have been on citalopram for years, which helps with the depression.
Sorry, not making it about me, but reading your post was like a light switching on!.