I've heard through multiple sources that taking ADHD meds were like putting on glasses. But I'm curious, what y'all think of this statement? especially when you first started taking them?
No judgment and not trying to draw any conclusions here. In fact I suspect that, for varying reasons, some people the change was dramatic and for others not so much.
I notice a big difference now if I don't take my meds. But when I first started taking them I wondered if they were even doing much of anything other than giving me a little bit more energy like drinking some caffeine. I even tried not taking them a couple times because I didn't feel like they were doing much. My therapist, and wife had to encourage me to stay on them. While taking 50mg of Vyavance (what I'm currently on), my therapist said that dose would make neurotypical people euphoric.
I did feel a bit of an extra energy boost every time I took a new stimulant or raised the dose, but that would only last a few days. Other than that, most of the benefits have been a lot more subtle for me. I have noticed things like being in a better mood and more emotionally regulated. And going to work doesn't seem like as big a struggle (though I still struggle at work to get stuff done). And I seem to have been able to build a habit of running on the treadmill, where regularly exercising has been something I've never been able to get myself to do before.
All in all my life has significantly changed for the better. But it took a while to see changes. And I would say most the classic symptoms of inattentive ADHD are still something I struggle with daily.
Do you know if you have only the Inattentive presentation of ADHD, or the Combined presentation?
just the inattentive presentation
The difference was so big for me that I burst into tears at my first follow-up visit with the doctor. I had been really, really struggling to get just about anything done (and I was in the middle of starting my own business) and as soon as I took them I was able to finally complete tasks that I had been procrastinating for months. So, for me - yes, it was a lot like putting on glasses. I didn't FEEL a ton different, but my capabilities improved and that was huge for me.
Personally I didn't feel a dramatic improvement but that may be because i started at the lowest dose of 18mg of Concerta and with the supervision of the psychiatrist realised that the optimum dose for me was 54mg. My husband noticed my effectiveness at sticking to tasks, being motivated to go back to an unfinished task, being able to listen without interrupting but hold a comment in my mind until the other person stopped talking. The best comment was from a work colleague who returned to work after being off sick for a few months during which time i had started meds. When i told her i was on meds she said "I knew it! How? Because you've stayed talking about the same subject for a few minutes but before you would have started about 10 different topics!! So i think maybe its easier for people on the outside to see changes, that is how its been for me
One of my pre-medication observations about myself is that I would change topics 5 times in a 10 minute conversation, but be unable to recall any of the topics at the end of the conversation.
(I have the Predominantly Inattentive presentation of ADHD.)
Did meds help with that? I do that too. Or I feel like sometimes I can't get my mind off a topic and move on to something else. One idea brings up other ideas, and I seem to completely forget I'm talking to someone. And then I say something and people comment, that's what we were talking about 10 minutes ago. But I've put so much thought in to this one thing and how to say it, that now it just needs to be said.
Sorry I didn't reply before.
Yes, my medication has definitely helped with that. I still sometimes change topics once or twice within 10 minutes of a conversation, but I can now remember what I was talking about originally and get back on topic.
Both ADHD medications that I've been in helped with my working memory.
(The first was a stimulant, Adderall XR. Now I'm on a non-stimulant, atomoxetine, the brand name is Strattera but I'm on a generic.)
Only if you find the right meds at the right dose. So you may have to try different meds and titrate on the dose. If your doc doesnt actively lead you in that find someone else!
That's one of the things I'm curious about. I hear people talk about the sudden night and day difference, but mine seems to be different, and I've heard others say the same.
I've been told by my doctor and therapist that for some people it takes time, especially if they have developed other things like depression, anxiety and trauma, among other things.
This has caused me to wonder if I'm not on the right meds at the right dose like you are saying, or if I need to make other changes to realize the full benefits. Possibly other drugs. I definitely feel like I'm doing better than when I started on meds, and if I don't take a pill for a day now I completely loose motivation and go into a depression. So it feels like putting on glasses now, but it took time. And I often wonder if I could be doing better, or if meds just help some people more than others. All in all I'm doing better than before, but just really struggling with a lot of things as well.
How did you know when you were on the right meds at the right dose?
Never did. You need a doctor who really knows how to titrate and guide you through it instead of asking you whst you want to do. I like what someone else said. Find a good psychologist to help you with your struggles and a doctor to do the meds. If you have other issues none of the meds will help. Its not right that insurance doesnt cover psychologists. Kids with adhd need to start very early with all the stuff they suffer by just being diifferent than other kids.
I literally describe ADHD medication as just that, like putting on a pair of glasses. You don't know until you know.
I read about this response to treatment before receiving treatment and wondered if I'd feel the same way, and I did but only when I started taking the correct medication. It's not a feeling that lasts but it was like a revelation when it happened. For the first time, my mind was not racing all over the place unbridled. I could hold a thought without the unwanted intrusions of other random ideas. I wish that I could say that this experience has lasted but it hasn't.
Some people have reported being able to repeat that experience by changing meds.
I think that people can develop a tolerance to one medication (particularly stimulants), so changing to another might help, or simply taking a "medication holiday" (a period of time without the meds) can help.
* I'm a daily coffee drinker. When the caffeine doesn't have an effect on me anymore, or has a reverse effect (making me feel sleepy), I take a "caffeine holiday" for about a week, and then it works again. I do this about once every 6 months.
The medication holiday is something that I find to be problematic. I've done this in the past under the advice of a doctor but I never felt that it achieved anything other than stopping the meds. The condition doesn't change. Random thoughts, the distractions intensify, and frankly, it doesn't quite make sense to me. I know some people use the example of a person with diabetes being taken off their meds. Is this something any of us would approve of? However, it's not life-threatening in the way diabetes is but there's something to be said for coming off meds that are stabilising your brain.
I don't think that medication holidays are a good idea for any reason other than if the medication stops working for the person... Then take a break for a few days, to see if it works again.
I just read an article today that said medication holidays don't actually do anything. But my doctor told me to do it when I told him I felt like the benefits of the drugs ware off over time. He told me to do it once a month on a weekend. So I guess it depends on who you talk too.
Currently I'm not taking any drug holidays, and seeing how it goes. I think the reason I felt like they stopped working had more to do with other issues I've been facing.
I've found it works for me with caffeine. I'm a lifelong coffee drinker (since I was 12, I'm now 47).
About 20 years ago, I developed a tolerance to caffeine, and even a reverse reaction... It was making me sleepy when I drank coffee. So, I stopped all caffeine for a couple of weeks. The next time I had a coffee, it woke me up again.
Over the years, I've discovered that a short break by "fasting from caffeine" (about 5 days, once or twice a year) is all I need to do when I develop a tolerance again.
I think it's a controversial issue and ultimately you have to do what is good for you. I don't think there is any right or wrong answer.
For me it was. I'm on 60mg of Strattera and honestly felt a lot of grief when I started medication because I couldn't believe I'd lived for 34 years without it. Without medication, my resting state is a relentless, buzzing restlessness. Taking medication allowed me a level of calm that'd I'd only ever reached before through meditation. I had no idea that other people were living like this or that this was accessible to me.
For me, the change was dramatic. I would describe my experience more like finally coming fully awake, after living all my life half-asleep.
Before ADHD meds, I had a permanent brain fog. Meds cleared it up.
I documented my experience when I started on my current, most effective meds here (it's a long read):
forums.howtoadhd.com/t/my-e...
I'm going to read it.
Actually, the experience was similar. At 10 I put on glasses and could suddenly see tree leaves and the world in focus. It was very impressive to walk out of the office and just stand there looking around at the world in awe. (I was very near sighted). At the age of 80 I took my first medication for ADHD and my world also suddenly came into wonderful focus. The fog I had been working and struggling in all my life just went away and tasks became doable instead of huge burdens. I have been on medication for 11 months and it still astounds me. I am one of the lucky ones for whom drugs make all the difference immediately. 👍
When I was in Adderall, I felt a big difference difference within a couple of hours, and had full effect in a couple of days. It just didn't meet all my needs.
I changed to atomoxetine (a non-stimulant, better known at Strattera). It has to build up in the system. I felt a little difference within a few hours of my first dose (but I understand that most people don't feel anything the first day). Within a couple of days, it was mostly effective. Within 5 days, I got the full effects. (On average, it takes weeks for most people to feel the full effects of atomoxetine.)
For me, the first week I was on meds for the first time, it was a lot of "are you serious?! Life can be this easy?!"
When I first started meds I would just sit and watch things. It was amazing the details and things I noticed and could take in.
I suddenly could sit still. I could get a full long thought out without forgetting my point or words. I could listen way easier. I suddenly wasn't missing things.
Off meds I could "sense" what was going on or I would "know" which of my students needed extra support and in what area..... But I could not really explain why. I just knew. On the meds I could do that but also could easily explain why and pull out examples. It was also easier to track data and not have a messy desk. Haha.
Some negatives were that I was so aware now of the world that I had to relearn how to do some things. I also am now aware when I forget stuff and when I am running late.
I have inattentive type and I can't say it was like glasses for me. I was diagnosed pretty old and I had a bunch of coping strategies already, plus I think the wellbutrin I'd been on for diagnosed depression was actually helping without me realizing.
For me, adding the stimulant was less like putting on glasses and more like putting on clothes that fit. You know when you're wearing something that's too large or too small, and you constantly finding yourself hauling your pants up or adjusting things or even needing to change. But at the same time, when your clothes fit, it's not like you notice right away that you're *not* doing that. It just feels normal and you take it for granted until you again wear something that doesn't fit.
With the combination of meds I'm on now, I just feel normal most of the time. I still struggle with stuff and procrastinate sometimes and get absent minded sometimes, but my life feels manageable and I don't think about it.
But then if I'm standing in the shower and can't remember if I just shampoo-ed or not, or I have to go back home 3 times because I keep forgetting things, then it occurs to me to think, wait, did I forget to take my meds today? And usually I have.
I like the explanation about clothes that fit.
I finally decided to get one of those day-of-the-week medication containers, after asking myself too many times lately "did I take me meds".
It's probably because my life is in a state of change. I was packing and cleaning my house for the last few weeks, as I prepare for a cross-country move soon. (I leave three weeks from tomorrow. I'm a guest at my parents' house until then, as I finish out my last few weeks at work.)
I once heard the challenge of treating ADHD as “the correct molecule at the correct dose” and realize how when some people begin medication they get the luck of the draw and get both the molecule and dose right on the first shot.
I also suspect that different presentations of ADHD will experience things differently. I have Inattentive and I am on my first molecule using Adderall. I am now up to maximum dose and while I do notice some changes (mostly energy) I still struggle with all the challenges that come with ADHD. However, when I do a weekend holiday, I’ll spend a great deal of time sleeping and can barely get anything accomplished.
For me, I developed coping mechanisms to deal with ADHD before I was recently diagnosed, but I had reached a point in my life where I didn’t have the energy to cope and things got problematic with work and just doing normal life stuff.
Adderall has helped me be functional again, but it hasn’t been like putting on glasses for me and I have been a little disappointed that I didn’t have that experience. I suspect more people with the hyperactive type might have more miraculous experiences, but I am on my first molecule and will probably try something else, but for the moment, I appreciate the value I am getting on a stimulant and would hate to lose that.
It’s nice to read so many descriptions from others that I could identify with. For me, there may never be that night and day difference experience, but I am willing I experiment to try and find it and if I don’t, at least I’m functional.
You took the words right out of my mouth. That is exactly what has been going on with me. I mostly just feel more motivation to do things, and feel a little more awake on Vyvance (its the same as Adderall, just delivered to your system a little differently over a longer period of time).
I think you and I need to stay in touch as we're figuring this stuff out. I've heard some researchers and doctors theorize that there are about 7 different types of ADHD. Which would explain why the meds can work differently for different people. There is still a whole lot of unknowns about what is going on. But your story sounds like mine. Everything you said happened to me.
I started taking the medication back in November and I can tell it's helping a bit in the motivation section, I like to say it cured what I felt like was depression. And when I don't take it I notice because I just don't feel like doing anything. It feels like what one of my really bad days would be like before I went on the meds.
So I am supper happy that it is doing stuff, and I am not trying to quit my job, and my relationships and other things in life are doing better. But if I was to rank how well the medication is doing from 0 being terrible, and 10 being the best thing I could imagine, it feels like about a 6. So I'll take what I can get.
I really relate when you said "functional again" which indicates things were going better at one point. I have struggled through my entire life and have always felt different than the people around me, and things just got harder and harder, possibly because more responsibilities marriage and family, and less opportunities and ways to get the stimulation my brain was craving. Even though things were actually hard at the time, I had this hope that things would get better after enough suffering, putting in hard work to a career, self help books, practicing my religion better, and all kinds of other things. But after so much time of things just not changing, I started to deteriorate. I started loosing hope that things could get better. And I think hope is definitely attached to dopamine, and motivation.
More than anything the Vyvance has gotten me going again. But I still notice way more ADHD going on than I would like. I still struggle with procrastination, distraction, sticking to boring tasks, impatience, impulsivity, and restlessness to a much higher degree than the people around me. More than anything the meds seem to get me started. They make it so I can get up and go to work in the morning. Going to work is no longer the worst imaginable thing to have to do. But staying on task when I get there is a daily challenge.
Thank you for this comment and this forum. Your comment here reflects exactly where I am: “I have struggled through my entire life and have always felt different than the people around me, and things just got harder and harder, possibly because more responsibilities marriage and family, and less opportunities and ways to get the stimulation my brain was craving.”
I am almost 40 and I haven’t taken meds but life just keeps getting harder and harder and I feel the effects of my adhd even more as I get older. Working an 8-9 hour day of zoom meetings and constant emails feels like it is going to break me. My mind doesn’t have the time to wander and get the dopamine it craves and I feel like a zombie at the end of the day. My friends and family don’t understand because in their minds I have a dream job, because I work for myself and it can be creative. I am trying to cope but I am intimated by keeping up With this work pace for the rest of my life while also starting a family — a goal of mine - it just seems like too much to handle so I’ve been avoiding it til life felt easier, more manageable and in flow, but it still doesn’t. Every workday seems like a struggle and I’m tired. Hopefully I can get on meds soon because something has to change.
Hi Alohakid! I hope you're able to get on meds soon. It was life-changing for me. Not like I woke up the first day I took my Adderall and all my ADHD symptoms were gone, but my gods I could complete a task, finish a thought, was able to hyper-focus on my business that I was building. One thing a lot of people don't realize is the habits and self-talk that has been established in our lives - usually before diagnosis. The meds help, but we have to learn different ways of doing things and recognize when we're telling ourselves there is something wrong with us. It's not that something is wrong with us, it's that our brains just function differently than the neurotypical world. I'm so sorry for the struggle you're going through - it gave me flashbacks to before I was medicated. I was just diagnosed less than a year ago at the age of 50, and I'm recognizing how many horrible things I've said to myself in the years that I didn't have a diagnosis. I'm lazy, unmotivated, frustrating to others, etc. I'm not those things, but I'm having to undo a lot of external and internal dialogue. I just hope you're able to get some help, because I know that burden you're carrying can be overwhelming.
Represent! I've been telling myself for years there is something wrong with me, I'm lazy, I'm different from others.
I've lived behind a murky, baffling cloud for a really long time. I can remember feeling in a fog from way back at 4 or 5 yrs old. I'm 62. The other day, my longterm therapist finally said, "that sounds like ADHD" wow, ok. All this time, I just thought I needed to try harder. But in the past few years, I've been consistently challenged to muster the energy, organization or motivation to make a significant chunk in the tasks that just keep coming, esp when launching a business. I thought it was a time management problem and then I realized, it's a bigger problem of total self regulation. I have 23 years of sobriety, however, certain patterns have not improved significantly. I've asked productive ppl for years - how do you get things done? they just look at me like, what? I've invested in coaches, productivity workshops, books. It's endless.
Recently, I thought it was a trauma response, but at the same time, kept wondering when am I going to be clear /healed enough to move past all this. I read a comment in an article that said, 'people with ADHD often do not reach their full potential.' Hello! I've agonized for years over why I haven't been able to reach full potential when all around, others are. also, ppl often comment how smart/creative I am, yet inside I think, then what is the missing link here? I'm not on meds yet. First appt with psych for eval next week. Crossing my fingers. a wholehearted thanks for all the shares
LOL! I know I type of brain fog well. Gabor Mate explains boredom as a type of pain. So instead of feeling the pain your brain tunes out. It's protecting you. Interesting way of thinking about it. So makes sense that ADHD gets foggy brained a lot. Find ways to stimulate your brain and keep it engaged.
I have found that always having something fun planned in the future can help push brain fog out. And then finding things I enjoy doing each day, especially if they involve other people.
Really good tips, Thank you!
You describe the function of the brain fogging up as a cover for feeling the pain. Yes. Absolutely, it is also a trauma response therapists refer to as 'disassociation' so maybe it's a combo factor. Site is very helpful. Many thanks
It does seem like it's around 40s and 50s that I hear a lot of people on here start to feeling this way, and starting to finally get some help with their ADHD. I think even many neurotypical people start struggling with a lot of feelings around this age. There is reason someone came up with the phrase mid life crisis.
But there are a lot of good books out there and help. I think a lot of things I was trying to fix in myself I was trying to fix without understanding ADHD. Acknowledging it's roll in my struggles has helped me a ton in understanding the reasons behind things and why some things I've tried haven't worked, and can now make positive changes that do work.
And I don't know if it helps, but I've got 4 kids and despite the struggles I wouldn't go back and change it.
Also I wonder if this sounds familiar to you zombie like state. In me I think it is triggered by boredom and pain. Instead of felling pain my brain just turns off and I seem to live in a more dream like state. I have a hard time connecting to my emotions, and it seems to always lead to unhealthy behaviors and compulsions. I think my body does this as a self defense mechanism. Because I have never learned to deal with certain emotions my body protects me by kind of shutting down in a way where I tune out loose interest in everything. It's kind of like burnout I guess.
I would say no. I have tried a lot of meds and they are not "better ". I do have energy on Vyvanse but also distotions like getting grouchier in late afternoon. so there are "reverse" glasses where the meds are CAUSING distortion. I disagree about not taking breaks. they do a certain thing that you dont always want, and insomnia happens. But try for yourself. Meditation is excellent.
So did you go off meds entirely then? I'm still on Vyvanse. It do get grouchier in the evenings depending on what is going on that day, butI know to expect it, and that helps a lot. Meditation is excellent.
I am on them right now! about 17 mg. Did it all right today....took at 6 am and went back to sleep till they woke me. As someone said Pills arent skills and I still struggle. Good to have the option and know things like stretch, eat, drink water and check yourself. Best luck
I feel like they are like putting on blinders a bit and soft earplugs.
Better focus, better at excluding outside noise. Hyperfocus is a bit tighter though, so being broken in extreme hyperfocus is more frustrating.
The night burnouts still come... they are merely postponed.
These ADHD meds are making me miserable! 
symptoms worse on meds amking me think that maybe I don't have adhd 
ADHD and memory recall. Do meds help? 
Canadian Exchange Student Inquiry on travelling with ADHD meds
