My journey of medication - the first few months

[Confused352]

I wanted to share my journey so far as I think it can help anyone else who is where I was 10 weeks ago I.e diagnosed later in life ( I am F and 43) and starting medication. It’s ended up a bit long so feel free to move on with your life if you need to 😜

Elvanse Benefits vs Side effects:

Benefits:

Increased focus, I can be distracted by something and then return to the thing I was doing. Boring stuff is easier to do ( I still don’t do some of it and really think these are habits that I need to change from a lifetime of finding excuses for things). Memory is working much better, my abuse of both food and alcohol has dramatically reduced along with a greater ability to deal with my anxiety ( by this I mean I still get it but I am able to operate through it - its quite amazing ). And on this highest dose only my continuous brain chatter has reduced ( but only when the meds kick in - it’s kicks straight off as soon as I open my eyes still in the morning).I interrupt and finish peoples sentences less and can pay better attention to meetings / conversations. I still want to scream at people that speak really slowly for no good reason though.

Side effects:

Increased heart rate and some dizzy spells in the first couple of weeks and when increasing. It can be scary but I use an Apple Watch and home blood pressure monitor to keep an eye on things and this has really levelled out now. Constipation - this was horrid but again has levelled off. Dry mouth / bad breath - this is the WORST I am constantly in arms reach of water / cordial and mints . It has gotten better lately but now I am very paranoid about it. I don’t worry about things as much and therefore I’m not as fussed if I do things or not - not sure if this is a side effect or just the reduction in constant thinking that I was actually looking for. Cold hands and feet - again had totally levelled off after the first few weeks. Sleep. I’ve never slept well and I had hoped the medication would help this but it doesn’t for me and I’m not quite sure if it’s worse

Over all experience Rating and recommendation: 4 * would recommend!

Unfortunately this whole process has taken place at a time when I have been under immense pressure and stress both at work and at home so I really feel like everyone else has benefitted most from the improvements and the reason I went on this journey ( to progress my own life and protect my physical and mental health ) has taken a back seat. But this too shall pass and I believe when it does I will benefit personally from the work I am doing here. The side effects were tough for a while but I am really glad I stuck with it as they have all tapered off.

There are some other lessons so far: I’ve given work so much focus that I’ve lacked focus in other places and have literally not moved for hours when I’m in the zone. Need to find a way out of this. I can zone out more now on stupid crap than I did before the meds if I don’t get on the ‘thing’ straight away BUT when I am doing the thing I stick with it ( not sure that makes sense to anyone ). I am chasing dopamine much less and this has resulted in me now not doing some of the things I used to that made me feel better ( good for food / booze bad for walking / wanting to see people) - I would like to find the balance of doing something because I just enjoy it rather than because I needed it to fill a hole. I am hopeful that as with the meds side effects - this is a process also that I will settle into and make work the best for me.

If you read this far I hope there is something in here that helps with any of the feelings or questions you may have on the start of your journey xxx

[Siggy1972]

Thanks for the in depth explanation of your path your on. I was just diagnosed 3 months ago at 48. Started with Adderall. That made me super anxious and didn't seem to help. I switched to methylphenidate and started titrating up. I'm now at 72mg and have switched to name brand Concerta. Luckily my insurance covers it! Today is my first day taking it and I've definitely noticed a difference. Side effects with methylphenidate have been more or less nonexistent. So we'll see how that goes with Concerta.

I'm curious what family of medicine Elvanse is?