Mult. Med changes

[Britt2021]

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and trying to find the right medication has been hard. I even did my genetic testing that basically told me nothing. I am maxed out on adderall 20mg twice a day. I don't feel focused at all. I will say I get up and get moving but I also have a hard time sleeping. Which I know that will happen with stimulants. I was just switched to riddaline 5mg twice a day and we increase it slowly but I am feeling very stressed out over it. I just want a medication that is going to help me. I am struggling it has been 6 months since the diagnosis.

Should I try a medication that isn't a stimulate? I just need help & advice because my parents could careless about my struggle. My poor husband is trying his best but its hard being 23 and trying to figure this all out with no idea what to do.

[Gettingittogether]

OK, when you got diagnosed with ADHD, did you get checked for depression? Depression is huge among people with ADHD and untreated depression can undermine treatment for ADHD.

Second, you really do want to go to therapy. It takes a lot of retraining our brains to actually attack this condition with some power. So for example, I can tell you feel overwhelmed. The point of a good therapist is to chart a plan, test the plan, adjust and keep going without over-stressing.

By definition, people with ADHD aren't good at thinking about a lot of variables at the same time. And so you do need to try out different meds, while figuring out how to sleep better, and how to move more ... and how to transition to more movement ... Our brains are just not good at that kind of thinking.

Just so you know, the meds are not magic. And it can take a year or longer to optimize meds. The find the most helpful med at the most helpful dosage with the least side effects. And you have to learn to work alongside the med.

[BTV65]

I will second that opinion. Meds are not magic. They can definitely help, but they won't fix all your problems. They are just one part. My son has been on meds since the 3rd grade. We spent the next 9 years trying to teach him good habits and work with him so that ADHD would have less of an impact on his life. Now's he's at college and barely keeping his head above water. All the work we did seemed to go out the window once he was on his own. He still has meds, but he needs so much more than that to manage his life. That's just one example.

I started taking meds around the same time he did. At first it was great, but the dose seemed less effective as time went by. So we moved it up, again and again. I also went to 40mg of XR/day, but it didn't seem to make things much better. I started getting jitters, dry mouth, trouble sleeping. I started taking pills to help me sleep and decided that was just too much and went back to 30mg of XR and worked on strategies to help that weren't based on meds.

[bluebrains]

Hey I‘m also taking medication (medikinet adult 20mg) and it is using well for me (at least concerning focusing on things). Still, there are days that are better than others. Also it has been very helpful for me to find out what times I am generally more productive and when it is easier for me to focus (like after exercises etc.). I try to take the medication at those times, but maybe that is just my personal preference and doesn’t need to apply to you. I understand your sleeping problems very well. I had those all my life due to ADHD but medication didn’t really make it better. However, whenever I exercise early in the morning, eat and take medication directly after it, it helps.

Also a mistake I made for a long time was not eating enough before taking the meds. If you don’t eat enough before the medication might not work properly.

Hope you find out what medication is right for you!

[MrsFunky2021]

Are you on any other medication. Birth Control especially high in progesterone doesn’t help as we need estrogen for ADHD meds to work. Found out the hard way when I hit menopause

[HelpMeAlmost43]

Sorry, wicked long post. But perhaps helpful.

I've been on 20 -/+ different meds over the past 20 yrs. I'm on 4 or 5 right now (think "cocktail": some bartenders make perfect drinks, others ruin them, that's an analogy, of course). That's what you are up against There are a lot of good psychopharmacologists out there.... far less excellent ones. Strongly recommend seeing someone who lists ADHD as a "specialty" or area of interest...because a PCP can prescribe, and may happen to be pretty good at it, but in my line of work, "pretty good" is a career killer. It's extremely important I not be "foggy" or forget stuff, or seem absent-minded at work. I've been called all of those things, both to my face and behind my back.... it sucks....and I'm as hard-working and loyal as an employee as they come. Extremely frustrating to be misunderstood and not be able to be my 'best self' at least 80% of my career, and I haven't been because I didn't start getting help soon enough, and didn't speak up for myself enough at the doctor's. My work can be dangerous, and I often have to think fast and be sharp. Mentally and socially. Of depression, anxiety and ADHD, the ADHD has been the hardest for docs to treat. Definitely find a good therapist --- either a psychiatrist or a nurse practitioner. Why? Because plenty of people are depressed, and many primary care physicians can treat it....there are a ton of different meds for them to try on you, combine, etc. But when you throw ADHD into the mix, in my opinion, you want someone who CARES and is responsive and is patient. You want to feel comfortable with them and even though it may be hard to find, *if* you have a choice, you want a psychiatrist or nurse practitioner who *does talk therapy too.* If you have one talk therapist (who may have a lower degree education-wise like, "licensed mental health counselor" or soci worker), and one doc who does ONLY the prescribing of your meds, if the two of them don't frequently compare notes on you, and one of them wasn't among the top in his/her class, then info can be lost or misinterpreted....and that's unacceptable. But it happens all the time. My last talk therapist was a "licensed mental health counselor" and was cool, but I could of gotten the same support from my friend's mom who doesn't have a certificate or degree in it. She told me she thought I was bi-polar. Turns out I was suffering with a period of "Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria".....my long-term boyfriend dumped me in a horrible way. I found out about RSD in a fb adhd/executive functioning support group 🙄🙂. People with *ADHD* specifically, can experience it. It was only 'discovered' (or named) within the past 5 years....it feels like one might assume Bi-Polar feels like with the depression part, but you don't get the 'high,' over-the-moon happy part. At all.

This has been some of my experience over 20 years. These days, psychiatrists usually only do meds; at least in my area of the country they do. They used to do BOTH talk therapy and meds. But insurance companies changed that....you make more money if you can treat 15 people a day just doing meds, versus doing talk therapy and meds for 5 people. Those doctors (the ones who only do meds) for liability reasons, have to spend a little time, like 20 minutes, asking you some basic questions (ex: "have you had thoughts of harming yourself or others). But that is in NO WAY talk therapy. Very important: keep a log or journal on what you feel, when. Headache everyday an hour after you take this med. How much water you're drinking. How much sleep do you get. Are you anxious and why....when did you feel that way in the day. Did it go away and when. All of that stuff, the little details, are very very important. Not talking about a "diary", but your bodily functions, including your thoughts. The greatest hits, not a novel. Some fine print on pill bottles warn that there's a greater chance of having suicidal thoughts when on it..... so a person might not be suicidal because of their own emotional situation...it might be the med! 🙄🙄 I have suspected a few times that happened to me, but couldn't prove it....just took notes on when it occurred and what triggered it if anything (easier said than done, of course).

Someone prescribing meds, if they are any good, needs to know some of those things.... particularly side effects so they can "tweak" dosages. If a doctor can't get the combo close, so you feel as normal and comfortable as you need to be to live a satisfying life....get a new one. It may take several tries. But don't suffer in silence for years, because there ARE different doctors out there..... another analogy for this: Karen and 1000 other people went to medical school. Karen graduated 700 out of 1000 students in her graduating class. She became a pediatrician. She's a really nice person and gives your child lolly pops! Your child likes her........would you send your child to her knowing how she ranked? I wouldn't; that's what I'm talking about. Be patient, try to be hopeful, but advocate for yourself. If something isn't working and doesn't feel good after the days or weeks (whatever they tell you the amount of time is before its supposed to kick in is), tell them asap. I was on 20mg Adderall for years.... but I was still mentally foggy/not thinking as quickly as I could --- and you know when you're feeling sharp. One day a co-worker who is great at his job and very sharp admits to me he takes it too. But he's on 30mg. We didn't talk about other meds he was on (if any). But it made me realize that I *might* improve with a little more; and maybe another med needs to be tweaked so you can take 30 without bad side effects. Everyone is different, all docs are different....thats why you have to take notes on yourself, and on the stuff the doc says, and be as clear as you can with them. I give mine a few chances....I've almost left her a few times. If I need to start looking for someone else, I do. Good luck & hang in there. It *can* be a long and bumpy ride....or it might not be. ❤️🙂

[WhattaBrain]

Try Modafinil which is also used as a stimulant to treat ADHD.