ADHD and OCD

[Adhdpoobrains]

hi everyone! I’m new to this, but SO glad I found it!

I was diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school and struggled with taking pills at a young age, so I’ve been going cold turkey on this ADHD thing for about 18 years. I’ve recently been feeling the struggle with my ADHD and OCD management these past few years and was wondering if anyone recommends medicine or roughing it out. There’s so many side effects/symptoms I deal with that I would rather not have to, but if it means side effects from medicine maybe it wouldn’t be worth the trouble? Any advice helps!

[Astron628]

I know exactly what you're going through! I also have ADHD and OCD, one thing that helped me is therapy and mild anxiety meds (clonidine, hydroxizine, etc.). You're not alone in this and there's therapies that help with OCD (exposure therapy, CBT, DBT, etc.). Obviously, it's 100% up to you if you want to do therapy on top of medication! Wishing you luck :)!

[Knitting20projects]

I don’t know the medical information, but I certainly think anything you can do that is tolerable for you and brings some relief is better than white knuckling it and being miserable with ADHD & OCD symptoms. I don’t know what comes first, the ADHD driving the OCD or vice versa, but maybe there’s even a telehealth therapist option to make it very accessible? Just a thought.

[STEM_Dad]

It's really up to you whether to try medication or not, but I have found that medication helps tremendously with my ADHD.

According to the research, over 90% of people with ADHD can be helped by meds. There has been a lot of research done over the last few decades, so more is known about ADHD and there are more medication options now than ever before.

Since you also hand OCD, then I'd suggest going to a psychiatrist for treatment options. You should definitely discuss with them your concerns about side effects.

How medication effects you now might be very different than how it did when you were a kid.

If you do decide to try medication again, I highly recommend keeping a "medication journal" to write down what you are experiencing...the changes in your ADHD and OCD symptoms (or lack of changes), the side effects, etc. I'd also recommend journaling about your baseline...how you are effected by your disorders on a daily basis, before you start medication trials or other treatment... Then you will have a good basis for comparison.

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It seems that you are feeling anxious about trying medication again.

There are also good counseling options, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which can help with anxiety and stress. Maybe talking to a counselor before you commit to trying medicine will help you process your feelings about this decision.

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I, myself, haven't been diagnosed with OCD, but prior to my ADHD diagnosis and starting on medication for anxiety and for ADHD, I did suffer from compulsions. For me, it was like a less typical type of OCD known as "Scrupulosity". But then again, it might not have truly been OCD. (I may never know, since I never got evaluated for OCD. I had those struggles from about age 12 until 45, when I got diagnosed with ADHD and started ADHD medication... And then the compulsions went away. Actually, the compulsions started to diminish when I started taking an SSRI for anxiety, a month prior to starting ADHD meds.)

I bring this up to say that there's hope, there's help available, and at the very least your symptoms might be reduced to make living with your conditions more tolerable. Hopefully, you can find treatment that will make your life much, much better.

[Adhdpoobrains in reply to STEM_Dad]

Thank you so much for taking the time out to write such a helpful comment. It really feels so refreshing to talk to others who understand there’s multiple ways of dealing with symptoms vs the people in my life who try to say like “meditate” or “read” and it’ll help when they just don’t get it. I really appreciate your input!!!

[STEM_Dad in reply to Adhdpoobrains]

Yeah, I've basically taken the "all of the above" approach:* medication

* therapy/counseling

* coaching (when I could afford it)

* mindfulness meditation/CBT techniques (when I can remember)

* improving my diet (somewhat)

* improving my sleep habits (somewhat)

* vitamins & supplements...

(Well... almost everything. I know that I need to get into an exercise habit, too.)