Medication vs no medication

[michael682]

Hello everyone!

Today is my 3rd day off my medication (Vyvanse 40mg) in over 4 months. I used to work at a GYM and would workout 3-4 hrs a day 5 days a week which was enough to stimulate my brain and keep my ADHD at bay. But I've recently switched jobs and can feel the ADHD stirring up, taking hold of my life again. This is why I've been taking medication for it. I am working on becoming an artistic director and eventually open my own business. I have definitely felt the pro's of my medication; Focus, control, waking up on time, etc. But I definitely feel the lack of creativity from my brain being so focused on tasks.

Anyway! What I want to know is,

1) Do you take medication? (If not skip 2 &3.)

2) what are the benefits of taking medication in your life?

3) what are the problems it causes in your life?

4) Why did you decide not to take medication?

5) What tools and things do you do to stimulate your brain in place of medication?

Side note, My ADHD thoughts just zoomed ahead and made me think of something pretty interesting and want to know if anyone else feels this way.

Life with ADHD is similar to one never-ending run on sentence. As my brain thinks, it forms a sentence and throws a word in front of another without slowing down to ask itself if it (1. makes sense, (2. should even be there, and (3. if it's even necessary. But yeah hope everyone is doing well and has an amazing Halloween!

[SeedsofFocus]

Go to your local health food store and talk to them about nutritional supplements you can take to help with your ADD. They really work! You do have to try different ones to find which works for you. You don't have to be completely bereft once you stop medication.

[LBJace900]

I was diagnosed about 6 months ago or so. I was taking Cymbalta at the time for previously diagnosed depression. I was prescribed (back then) Adderall and then Ritalin. I had the same problem with each one. (And caffeine). I would notice good effects of focus and less impulsiveness, my mind was much more calm and manageable. All great things! But unfortunately for me I would end up after a week or two feeling like a zombie. All the spice of life is gone, I hardly feel like anything is worth it, pretty depressing and negative. Do I stopped taking Cymbalta and then tried Vyvanse. Same experience. It’s a shame because I could really get used to being less impulsive and more calm, but it just hasn’t been worth it to me. I’d rather feel like myself, even if that person is a bit of a mess and can’t ever stick to anything long enough to see it through. I’m all over the place. Oh well. For now, I’m just going to try to learn how to handle it and get an ADHD coach.

[NeatMind-MessyLife]

I take a very small dose of Concerta ER (27 mg) and a booster of Ritalin (10 mg) after 6 to 8 hours. All the meds I tried over the years either didn't seem to work or made me ill. These small doses make my stomach upset if I don't time them near meals just right.

A higher dose of Concerta helped a lot, but I couldn't tolerate it. This lower does helps me just a bit, but it's worth it. I can manage transitions easier, keep better track of the passage of time, sustain attention on boring tasks just enough to get something done for the day, less bouncing between thoughts and tasks, and I don't talk everyone's ear off.

I take the booster because I get a rebound when the Concerta wears off. Mostly I talk a mile a minute and can't shut up. Not good right when my spouse gets home, besides which I should be cooking dinner instead of bouncing around setting up a bunch of tasks I won't finish.

None of this is to say these meds or dosages will work for you, but just to explain how the smaller doses help me, but don't take away my creativity etc. When I first tried Concerta (years ago), it took a while to work, but after 3 weeks, I had to stop as it made me so ill. I wish now I had tried a lower dose then, but it was another 10 years or so before I tried it again. And it took time to figure the right dose for me.

If you have a med that works, try a lower dose and see if after a few weeks you like the effect better than what you've been having. You might also consider a shorter acting med, so you could schedule in some 'creativity time' each day, if you want to be totally off meds for that. (But I've not found it a problem when being on the lower dose.)

Or you might try scheduling your creative time for a particular day of the week, then only take a really small dose of something short acting in order to get you to work on time

Exercise always helps, and you've said it works for you. Try taking short, fast walks, like only 5 or 10 minutes, at intervals throughout the day. Maybe a lower dose meds and short bouts of exercise will be enough to keep you on track, but not feel like they blunt your mind.

I do understand what you mean, although I haven't had an issue with meds making me feel "not myself". We ADHDers value our quick minds. We find it easy to brainstorm. We're faster to see an idea's possibilties and difficulties than other people. Our imagination works faster. It's one of the things people actually notice and think is good about us, and since we've become very used to thinking fast, so it's not a quality we want to lose.

[happy_kitty]

I just recently started taking meds again after being off them for over 2 years. I find they help most with emotional regulation but also somewhat with concentration. I like to use music to help with concentration, it engages the part of my focus that isn't on my work without pulling the rest of my focus away with it.

The biggest problem I have found is simply that it's an inconvenience. I keep forgetting to take it or to call for a refill, and if I spend a night away from home I have to worry about remembering to bring it with me, and so on.

[Batgrrly]

Im just starting on some meds, the first one had bad side affects, Adderall. Ritalin is the next one I am trying, but found I did some impulsive thing today that has me scared I may get fired. I thought they were supposed to help focus, but when they wear off, i'm scattered again, but can't take them or I won't sleep. I was trying to talk to the doctor about the non stimulant medications they have, but apparently he wants me to try all the stimulants first. I also have to be careful with heart. I have low blood pressure, but now this has made it go up a bit and my body isn't liking it. The headaches are bad. I don't have other stimulants, gave up real coffee. I am trying to get the small 5 MG dose to be tolerable. I don't know how anyone does 20-40 MG.

I miss my creativity too. Still recovering from surgery and hoping to start with costume again, working with hands helps the stress. Trying to find new employment. Not sure if the medication will work and hate having to try several things. I know when it wears off I can get really agitated. I hope yours is a better story.

[spb1234]

1. I do take medication, Vyvanse 75 mg.

2. There are countless, the biggest is being able to focus and form coherent thoughts.

3. I haven’t really had any negative problems from my meds. All I can say is that you should never stop taking your meds, it’s okay to miss a day if you forget but not for extended periods of time. You will eventually find your creativity as time goes on, it’s not immediate. Just stick through it, I believe in you!

[Stonesfan]

4) the (first) diagnosing psychiatrist said stimulants might "destabilise" me as I had a (very long ago, 30 years!) issue with cocaine. This has kinda pissed me off so I am getting a 2nd opinion. (@ 61 with high blood pressure I think Guanfacine might suit me.)

5) omega 3 oils, Gingseng, B complex + Mindlab Pro nootropic. Meditation & mindfulness + trying to exercise. + Listening to any good podcast I can get my hands on. ADHD rooms in Clubhouse app. I feel I need to have a plan in case I am denied all pharmaceutical options.