Worried about friend after ADHD diagnosis

[Anonomom12]

My friend has always been a bit wacky and I think we all knew she was neurodivergent in some respect. Anyhow she has been struggling more for some time and decided to get herself a diagnosis and some help.
She was diagnosed as ADHD and put on some medication (I do not know what) I hadn’t seen her since the diagnosis and medication started until last week, but we’d been in touch via messages frequently and she’d told me how much better she’d been feeling and how much more in control and on top of her life. All good.

I was shocked when I saw her, firstly she looked almost emaciated, she seemed absolutely wired. Her eyes were bloodshot, she was rambling on almost incoherently, she was almost ticking and twitching, her hands were shaking. Her usual somewhat crazy behaviour was a hundred times worse and I came away extremely worried about her.
Is this kind of thing normal when you start medication for ADHD?
I’ve not mentioned anything to her because she thinks and feels like she’s ‘normal’ now but honestly she comes across far from it.
I don’t really know what to do. Another friend who was there at the time agreed and said she’d seen her another time a couple of weeks before and she was the same then.

Is this what everyone on medication for ADHD becomes like? I’m really shocked and concerned

ADHD medication is a stimulant which would have this effect.

That shouldn't be happening - she might not be aware that it is happening. She needs to know so she can tell her titration team.

So this is what everyone medicated woth ADHD is like all the time? Why do people take the meds??

Thanks. Should I say something to her? She seems to think it’s all great but I think it’s bloody awful if I’m honest

Despite my being morbidly obese, even I get warnings from the adhd team about making sure I eat when taking my meds.

It suppresses appetite and enables you to be busy and engaged with other things, so some people can get ill.

She sounds manic, her dose might be too high or she may need a different brand. But definitely Italy talk to her about it and if you don't get anywhere, I'd write a note to her GP (though it may be overstepping, but it's the sort of care me and my loved ones practise between ourselves because some stuff is just too serious not to act on)

No. This is what would happen if you or I took an amphetamine (speed) or if her dosage was too high.

I would try to speak to her, and if I couldn't get through try to speak to her family. Doesn't sound good OP.

When I tried adhd stimulant meds, they really affected my sleep as well as causing pretty rapid weight loss. So I stopped within a fortnight of starting.

Anecdotally, this sometimes points to someone being autistic too or AuDHD as the two combined is often referred to.

Thanks everyone @glittercunt she does seem manic but she doesn’t see it at all herself. She thinks everything is great and she’s coping with life so much better. I can just foresee it going down like a lead balloon if I say these meds don’t seem to be working for her.
I can’t sit back though and do nothing. I couldn’t even hang out with her again it was awful to even witness. Maybe if I try and get the other friend to speak to her as well so it’s not just me

My partner has ADHD and takes Ritalin. It absolutely does not have this effect on him. In fact he becomes considerably more focused and calm.

It does have a bit of an effect on his appetite but he’s not noticeably lost weight on it.

There’s definitely an issue with her meds and/or her diagnosis. Nb I’m pretty sure it’s standard practice to start someone on a really low dose and then gradually up it, or change it if it’s not working or causing side effects. Which makes it even more strange.

Definitely try and talk to her about it.

She's probably needs to get the meds reviewed and make sure she's taking them properly as PP said.

My DD12 is on ADHD meds and it doesn't make her act like this at all. It calms and quietens her brain, and helps her focus. Your friend's behaviour sounds similar to how a neurotypical person would act on the meds.

ADHD medication is a stimulant BUT if you have ADHD you react in the opposite way to the stimulant than a neurotypical brain does. The stimulant has a calming effect.

My DD takes an ADHD medication which is a strong amphetamine. She is completely calm on it. The same with caffeine etc. I make her a strong coffee to help her sleep. It's all the opposite way around.

It sounds like your friend is taking a stimulant and getting a normal stimulant reaction. Not the expected ADHD reaction.

It might mean that unusually she is not getting the expected effect. Occasionally this happens.

It might mean she does not actually have ADHD.

Her medication should be being closely monitored for this type of reaction. The dosage should have been increased very slowly from a very low starting point.

Where did she get her diagnosis from? I'm guessing private not NHS. The quality and knowledge of some private clinics is very unreliable.

Tge stimulants do often suppress appetite but again this should be closely monitored. My DD eats once the medication wears off so she still eats enough but later in the day.

You are right to be worried about your friend. This is not how ADHD treatment should be.

Yes it was a private clinic and the dosage seems to have been increased quickly. She told me a week or so after starting she was on the ‘max dose’ but then said it had been increased again due to her ‘crashing’ mid afternoon.

She insists she’s sleeping better, more focussed, feels calm and in control, less stressed and less forgetful. All the things she ‘should’ be feeling. However outwardly this is not how she comes across.
I don’t doubt the diagnosis so much, she’s definitely neurodivergent and I could definitely see how she was ADHD. I’m just concerned about the treatment plan. It doesn’t seem to be working how it should

I’m on ADHD meds. When I first started, I had side effects including difficulty getting to sleep and loss of appetite. That was really bad actually, I’d sit with food in front of me and I’d physically struggle to pick it up and eat. That settled for me though. I take a slightly higher dose when I’m pre-menstrual and that leaves me feeling a bit wired!
So the answer is, yes, some people can’t tolerate certain drugs. Some people have to try other types of drug.
Your friend will have reviews about the drug but they will be based on her approach, I’d hope it’s face to face not telephone. All you can do is speak to her and say you’re worried.

Absolutely not no. She sounds on the wrong meds and/or over medicated. This will certainly happen if she’s not reporting her symptoms to her prescriber. Symptoms are typical of this class of drugs.
If clinician is aware of the side effects it may be that both she and clinician consider her quality of life to be better now than off the medication - remember that from the outside you will be unaware of the internal struggle she’s been experiencing with adhd.
But honestly it sounds to me like she hasn’t shared the extent of the side effects with them

No we do fucking not what a load of ignorant shite.

Sounds like she's on too high a dose. Stimulants can obviously make someone jittery and wired and lose weight but she should be on a dose that doesn't cause this - it does depend on what she's saying to her psychiatrist though especially if she's been diagnosed privately they may not be aware she is getting these effects if she is saying everything is good.

Sounds like shes on something other than adhd meds OR she does not have adhd and the meds are doing things to her that they otherwise should not be doing.

Or maybe she is taking ozempic.

Reviews are either telephone or online web cam. Not face to face

She won’t have shared any side effects. She isn’t aware of them. She thinks it’s all great

I don’t even think she’s aware of any side effects. Which is why I’m going to struggle telling her that everything is not as brilliant as she thinks it is

DS and DH both take meds. NOTHING like this has ever happened to them. Something isn’t right here and your friend surely needs medical help.

She wasn’t overweight to begin with. I’m sure she’s on some sort of stimulant, which is what ADHD meds are I now know. She was acting like someone on speed which I remember from my youth

Well then she either has not got ADHD and is taking the meds which are affecting her wrong or she is not taking the correct meds.