ADHD + meds + coffee. Anyone else?

[PangoPurrl]

I'd love to know if the following has happened to anyone else?!
So I used to drink coffee all day every day. Then I started methylphenidate and went completely off it, which took some getting used to as I had to figure out what else to drink to get some fluid! Then I stopped methylphenidate because it was bringing out paranoia and making me quite unwell, and started elvanse. Which is brilliant and does everything I hoped it would, without any horrendous side effects. And I discovered that I like coffee again. BUT, it now makes me buzz, which is obviously what it does to NTs but has never done to me before! It's so bloody weird and funny, is this normal?!

I take Elvanse and still on my eleventy million coffees a day.

That being said I think I need to move up a dose so will report back after that!

I have just finished the titration process having been diagnosed earlier this year. I found that during the titration process every time I had a step up in my dose I would get a bit jittery if I drank too much coffee. This effect usually lasted 2-3 days until I had settled into the higher dose, after which I could carry on drinking coffee and feel normal. I'm now on 70mg of Elvanse a day (the max dose) and I'm fine drinking 2-3 strong Cortados or flat whites in the morning! I love Elvanse. It is absolutely amazing and I wouldn't be without it now. It makes me feel so much calmer, more focused and in control. I used to suffer quite badly from emotional dysregulation, but now I'm able to keep a grip on myself.

Ah, interesting, will be interested to see if you notice any new/different effects @wheresmymojo 🤔

Our timeline sounds very similar @dillydally24 except I finish titration in a couple of weeks (all being well) as I asked for an extra month, due to feeling really worried that I'd suddenly start experiencing some of the difficult side-effects that came with the methylphenidate. That's really interesting, I think that it may have been the same for me because I had a mocha earlier (first caffeine in a little while) and certainly didn't feel any buzz! I'm so pleased for you, I'm also loving Elvanse so much, the having 2 or 3 tabs open in my brain instead of 50 is brilliant. I feel like I'm experiencing the world through new, improved eyes, in that I feel so much more functional and in control of myself, and able to perform basic tasks without a tonne of procrastination, but without any feelings of having lost myself.

@PangoPurrl Ha! The tabs in brain thing is such a good way to describe it. I also feel (and am) so much more capable now I'm on the right dose of Elvanse (which is just as well, as I have two very young children, a high-pressure job, a stressed out husband and a major house reno on the go). I never tried Methylphenidate and am sorry to hear you experienced some negative side effects. I'm pleased to hear you're able to enjoy coffee again with Elvanse. I couldn't live without coffee. I used to smoke years ago and giving up cigarettes was easy. When I decided to give up coffee during my pregnancies and while breastfeeding, I really struggled. I guess coffee was my way of medicating my ADHD before I knew I had it. Anyway, here's to a brighter future - it's amazing what an impact a little medication and some self knowledge can have. Be kind to yourself and good luck with it all! x

By the way, it's so validating to hear people talk about their experience of ADHD and have it sound so familiar. I think there's a tendency to really doubt yourself when you are diagnosed. Then, when you hear other people's stories you realise it's all real and the relief that it's not just you is tremendous.

@dillydally24 I think a lot of us ADHD-ers have self-medicated with cigarettes, coffee (and other substances)

I have been on 30mg of Elvanse for nearly 4 weeks and am also delighted with it! I have one coffee in the morning and then another after lunch which gives me enough of a boost to get through the afternoon. Any more makes me jittery and anxious, but this feels like a good maintenance dose of caffeine! 😁

@AshGirl God bless coffee and Elvanse! 😂

I can also highly recommend escitalopram alongside Elvanse if you need an antidepressant as well!