marriage

[jay-12-26-21]

I have adhd and it’s affecting my marriage I need help I’m 22 and I haven’t used cbt therapy yet and I’m currently taking 60mg of strattera and I also take 100mg of Zoloft for my ocd and social anxiety. Any support would help this is my first post on here after just finding CHADD

[BlessedLady]

You might want to try Adderall or Dextroamphetamine.

[jay-12-26-21 in reply to BlessedLady]

I use to take adderall sorry I forgot to mention I have a tic disorder and I stoped taking adderall because it made it worse and what does dextroamphetamime do

[BlessedLady in reply to jay-12-26-21]

Dextroamphetamine is ine if the medications in Adderall. If you cannot take Adderall. You probably could not take Dextroamphetamine. Adderall, Dextroamphetamine and Ritalin are both stimulants. Dextroamphetamine and Ritalin has been around since the 60's. Adderall came out in the 90's. There are a few other new stimulants but I cannot remember their names right now

[Barleythere]

Hey there, I'm sorry to hear about your marriage. All I can say is patience on their part. ADHD isn't something that you can just get rid of by taking a pill unfortunately, it is a mental health issue. I have it as well along with MDD which they tried all kinds of antidepressants for. Effexor sent me into mania so now they switched my diagnosis to Bipolar, PTSD and major anxiety.

I was on Strattera, a low dose also. I really liked that one except it made me so tired though so I dont know if its because I'm on lamotrigine or who's to say. I finally was able to get stuff done. I never felt that clear headed before. I really liked it. Not forgetting, putting things places and not remembering .. daydreaming.

Anyways, since it made me so tired, my Dr tried a low dose of adderal and it was okay. I took another in the afternoon and turned into a short fused irritated person.

So I'm on vyvanse. Still not the same mental clarity I had with Strattera but I can clean my house and get things done.

I know you didnt ask about anti-d. I did though have a problem with zoloft. It made me non-productive and want to sleep. It seemed the only Anti-D that work and everyone is different and they all work with different parts of the brain was Lexapro,Celexa, and a low dose of effexor. The high dose is what caused the mania with effexor.

Hope helps.

[TheBusyBee in reply to Barleythere]

i have had a very similar experience to you. ADHD and rapid cycling bipolar meaning usually depressive periods of 2-4 days followed by 2 days of hypomania but mostly in control. Just very excited and optimistic and generous.

I started with Adderall which made me an irritated jerk even at work, and would stress me out. Too much adrenaline.

I went through various formulations that didnt work, like ritalin or extended release. Then i tried vyvanse and i love it. At first wasnt strong enough and upped the dose one step, and now is perfect. Sometimes dextroamphetamine if the energy dips around early afternoon.

Zoloft made me way too tired and so nauseous i couldnt ride the train to work anymore without worrying about if i needed to throw up. It completely canceled the adderall out so that i would even need to take naps while on both medications. Lexapro made me kind of crazy and then crying all the time for no reason and feeling like i didnt exist which was even worse. At least on zoloft it helped with social anxiety and i felt very connected to everyone.

Then i tried wellbutrin and it works great for me. Feel more resilient and motivated over all, optimistic.

I added lamotrigine for 2 years and it worked fantastic to help me deal better with stress. But it numbed me over time and nothing would phase me. People would tell me very sad things but i couldnt feel the emotions through empathy. I missed being excited about things i used to enjoy. Vyvanse helped me get things done but i felt no longer felt any fulfillment from doing those things. I slowly reduced the dosage and then cut it out. Feels so great, i feel like i have a normal range of emotions now and i dont get hung up on things for too long because of the wellbutrin.

I wish to find something that can lift the mood and stop the depressive symptoms because i do think the wellbutrin amplifies the intensity of the bad emotions when they do occur. Or maybe i was just out of touch with my feelings too long who knows. I love the feelings of closeness to others SSRIs give but i cant tolerate them.

OP:

I finally feel like my meds are balanced and that does help me be more productive, but meds alone wont be enough in a relationship where ADHD creates issues. There are behavior patterns that need to be unlearned, and it may be difficult to see them in yourself because with ADHD we can sometimes lack awareness of how what we say or do is being perceived, or get overwhelmed with obligations in a marriage, family, household. Therapy can be helpful to undo damage caused to self esteem, but for me that wasnt practical enough and i struggled to implement aall the advice i got. So i want to try an ADHD coach and see of that can help me with execution of goals.

[Dell12345]

Hi Jay,

It sounds like CBT may be helpful for you before gou try changing any medication. There are some good Apps you could try. Thrive, and My Possible Self are available in the UK but probably in the US too, I'm sure there are others.

Could you make contact with a therapist or joing a group class, online or face to face?