Did adhd medication change your life?

[Myfluffypup]

Getting assessment v soon and will be shocked if I don’t have it.
After trying and failing anti depressant medication several times(I seem to be super sensitive)
i am keen to try adhd medication if offered.
My mind never stops.
Was medication life changing for you?

[HundredMilesAnHour]

It hasn't been life-changing for me. The meds help me maintain focus at work. The downside of that being that when I'm busy/under pressure at work (which is most of the time), I end up in hyperfocus non-stop. Which is great for the volume of work output but it means that it feels like I have zero short-term memory as I'm so hyperfocussed on my work that I can't remember anything else I've done - or even if I've done it. For example, this morning I was so wrapped up in a work deliverable that I toasted some bread for breakfast without realising that I'd already toasted it once. It was only when it came out burnt looking (and I like insipid toast) that I realised what must have happened. Same for not being able to remember if I've brushed my teeth already or not - I have to actually check if my toothbrush is still wet to work out if I've brushed already or not/ It's very weird. I was worried I had a real issue until my psychiatrist explained the cause.

[Myfluffypup]

@HundredMilesAnHour

Had you emotional dysregulation? Did it help with it?

[Myfluffypup]

Can anyone else please share some insight to their medication journey?

[HundredMilesAnHour]

@Myfluffypup

@HundredMilesAnHour

Had you emotional dysregulation? Did it help with it?

As far as I'm aware, emotional dysregulation isn't something the meds are expected to help. If anything, the side effects can make emotional dysregulation harder to manage.

[whywonttheyeattheirfood]

Yes. I was prescribed methylphenidate and it was amazing. My brain slowed right down and I could finally get my thoughts in order. The background chatter just about stopped and I was able to think things through step by step. Unfortunately, I began to experience a lot of palpitations and couldn't cope with them even after increasing my propranolol.

I couldn't afford the non stimulant that the psychiatrist wanted to prescribe so I went back to being unmedicated. I became very depressed again and then was prescribed an snri by the GP and it is having very similar effects to the methylphenidate. My brain is no longer racing and my thoughts feel more ordered. I'm not losing my temper and am no longer depressed. I'm happy with it. I have had to increase the dosage to get the depression under control and this has resulted in more brain calming effects.

[Myfluffypup]

@HundredMilesAnHour disappointed to hear medication won’t help with it.
Did you take a stimulant or non?

[HundredMilesAnHour]

@Myfluffypup

@HundredMilesAnHour disappointed to hear medication won’t help with it.
Did you take a stimulant or non?

I take 54mg methylphenidate extended release, only on work days though.

[2024horizons]

Pls don't think medication is a magic wand. From reading scientific literature, meds are approx 30% of the answer, the other 30% is strategies, dont know about the 40%.

For some people that 30% IS life changing. I take methylphenidate and this is what it does for me:

• I go from 50,000 thoughts to what is the one thing I need to do next
• easier to start things
• slightly easier to remember where I am at
• much more emotionally regulated, never realised how everything was a constant stream of emotions to me where I was constantly thinking how things came across to others

Things they don't help with

• no amount of meds will make you do something you don't want to do, period.
• time awareness hahaaaaaaaaa
• sleep, I'd say they unfortunately are counteracting to sleep being a stimulant which can have massively detrimental effects and needs a proper sleep strategy alongside meds, but if you get this right and DO get 7+ hrs sleep a night it's not a problem. Initially I was very tired on meds as my need to catch up on sleep caught up on me. After getting more sleep my recall and mood improved a lot.
• you HAVE to eat properly, time and again I read about people struggling on them and if you ask did you eat they haven't eaten all day as it suppressed their appetite. A high-ish protein breakfast and lunch is good, with some healthy fats and carbs, protein works better as brain fuel for the ADHD brain (some swear by keto but I have WAY too much energy and hyperfocus on keto).

[Myfluffypup]

@2024horizons I don’t expect it to be a ‘magic wand’. I will take that 30% though if it helps to quiet my mind to focus on one thought at a time. Also to calm my emotional dysregulation.

[HundredMilesAnHour]

@Myfluffypup

@2024horizons I don’t expect it to be a ‘magic wand’. I will take that 30% though if it helps to quiet my mind to focus on one thought at a time. Also to calm my emotional dysregulation.

It helps me focus but nowhere near on one thought at a time. Maybe only 10 thoughts at a time. 😂 It makes me aware that I am being easily distracted and somehow enables me to get back to what I'm supposed to be doing (as long as I'm interested in it and do actually want to do).

As others have said, it isn't a magic bullet. It's just as important, maybe more important to develop your own methods of managing the ADHD. The meds just help to support the execution of those methods.

[Myfluffypup]

@HundredMilesAnHour What helped you develop your own methods? I do seek a lot of advice via the internet but suppose everyone has their own way.
Just feeling a bit lost.

[PorkPieForStarters]

I was really keen for medication when I was diagnosed too and was so so hopeful for some magic bullet that would fix everything.

I spent a year titrating through the various medications on offer and none of them did anything remotely useful for me - they either did nothing at all or gave me absolutely horrible side effects and still did nothing for my ADHD. Apparently they don't work for about 25% of people. I also found remembering to take them at the right time and after the right food really hard, so I don't know if I could have stuck with them anyway, even if they had worked.

Since giving up on the meds six months ago and focussing on building my own strategies, I've become so much more aware of my symptoms and am recognising my patterns and triggers, and understanding the situations that I do well in and ones I don't, so I'm slowly figuring out how to work with it. I've read so many tips and strategies online and follow quite a few ADHD people on insta, but I've realised it's a case of working out what works for me and, annoyingly, that just takes time.

I felt so overwhelmed after I got my diagnosis and again after the medication failed and I was so lost with where to start, but I feel like I'm slowly getting more of a hold on it. It feels like a bit of a project, which appeals to my curious ADHD brain!

I feel like I'm getting to know myself all over again and it's quite nice actually - I'm definitely kinder to myself as I know I'm not just sh*t, as I'd assumed for 30+ years!

Getting a good 7+ hours of sleep each night is a game-changer for me, by the way. I really notice the difference when I'm not getting decent sleep!

[Myfluffypup]

@PorkPieForStarters No doubt I will
be one of those 25% it doesn’t work for also 🫤

I feel like I'm getting to know myself all over again and it's quite nice actually - I'm definitely kinder to myself as I know I'm not just sht, as I'd assumed for 30+ years!*

that’s a nice way of putting it.

[Myfluffypup]

My overthinking and procrastinating is at an all time high. Wondering if anyone has had this as part of their ADHD? Like I ruminate until I put myself into a bad mood. Most of the time over very little.

[2024horizons]

Yes I've gone through cycles of that. It's like my brain just wants a fight. Ruminating gets very related to lack of sleep I.e always worse when am not getting enough. Routine being hard with ADHD.

[2024horizons]

What are you over thinking?

[PorkPieForStarters]

Procrastination is my middle name, I could win awards 😄 It's a common ADHD thing. I'm still trying to find ways to improve that.

The overthinking/rumination is something I've got better at not doing, as I've realised it's not achieving anything so I try and catch myself when I notice I'm doing it. It's taking practice!