hi everyone!! i was diagnosed a few weeks ago and i’ve been on concerta for a little while. it feels ok, but i get really bad crashes for some reason, where i feel so down and no energy, pretty much zombie-like. i feel like i’ve been playing a roulette game with medications for so long (before adhd diagnosis) and it’s just really exhausting.
also, i just told my parents i have adhd and they do not believe me! they say “it doesn’t make any sense” and think the fact that i’m on medication is ridiculous because i have anxiety. so i guess the fact that my concerta is making me feel sad (sometimes even before the “crashes” kick in??) makes me feel like i don’t even have adhd and i’m just making everything up in my head. it’s just really hard to feel like you’re trying so much and it’s not working!! has anyone else felt this way ever?
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gaylittlemonkey
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You've got a lot going on there, so let's break it down:* New ADHD diagnosis
* New on medication
- energy crashed
- feeling like a zombie
- tried different medications before ADHD diagnosis
* Parents don't accept ADHD diagnosis
* Anxiety
* Doubting if you really have ADHD
I'll address these in reverse order:
* It's common to have doubts, especially with a new diagnosis; it's also common to experience"Imposter Syndrome" at any time (before or after ADHD diagnosis)
* Anxiety is often a comorbidity with ADHD; untreated ADHD can easily cause anxiety; my own observation is that anxiety can make ADHD symptoms worse [at least, that's how it has affected me]
* Your parents might have various reasons for feeling the way that they do; factors can include what they believe about ADHD, what they believe about you, and what they believe about themselves
- some people think ADHD is an excuse, or that it's not a real condition; some think it's over diagnosis; some think all the symptoms must be present, but in fact presentations can be very different from one person who has ADHD to the next
- [After my struggles throughout my adult life, my parents readily accepted my diagnosis at 45, but when I was in my teens or 20s, they might not have. It was my wife who didn't accept that had ADHD at first; she didn't even acknowledge it until a year after my diagnosis, even though she was; now we're divorced, and she acknowledges my ADHD readily.] -
* There are a number of medications for ADHD: two different families of stimulant medications (each with many variations), and several different non-stimulant medications. It can take a long time to find the medication that is most effective for you.
- It can take weeks or months to adjust to each medication, to see how well it works (working with your doctor, trying different dosages).
- "Feeling like a zombie" is definitely a description I've heard about how ADHD medication can affect some people. Maybe you need more time to adjust to the medication, maybe it's interfering with your sleep, maybe you need the dosage decreased, or maybe that's not the right medication for your needs.
- Do you feel drained when the medication wears off? That's sort-of how Adderall made me feel by evening time, I'd be a little drained, and I would become irritable. (I ended up on a non-stimulant called atomoxetine, a generic form of Strattera, which works great for me, with no letdown because it keeps working 24x7.)
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I suggest that you keep a journal of your experience with your ADHD and the medication. That's what I did, and it helped me when I met with my doctor, to help me to relate to him what I was experiencing. It made it much easier than trying to remember off the top of my head. I think that's why it only took me 6-7 months to get onto the medication that helps me the most.
First off I’m really sorry your parents don’t get it. That’s horrible. I was also diagnosed literally a few weeks ago but here in the UK we have a neuro cognitive assessment too to establish where the issues lie in the wiring in the brain to determine which is the best course of meds. I’m still waiting to get that appointment.
My psychiatrist also diagnosed complex anxiety and said that he first needed to establish where the anxiety stems from, ie if it’s due to ADHD then meds would help, but if the anxiety is due to something else then ADHD meds would make my anxiety way worse.
Like you I have regular crash days where I barely function and it’s SO debilitating and makes your mood 10 times worse 😔
Just wondering if you might need to address the anxiety with your doctor?
Also, addressing any past trauma which might be the cause of the crashes, ie fibromyalgia. Chronic fatigue?
These are just my thoughts. I’ve also stopped drinking alcohol and I meditate and exercise regularly which seem to be helping a bit.
I guess all I’m trying to say is that I sympathise and it’s really really bloody tough, but the key would be to work out if the crashes are adhd related or not. I’m still trying to figure that one out.
I avoid Concerta because it won't let me tweak the dose as the day progresses. Ritalin on the other hand lets me raise or lower my dopamine as required so that I avoid a bad crash. Importantly I time the come down to coincide with my sleep regime. That zombie feeling is not so bad if your in bed, lights dimmed / out and lost in an audiobook 🙂
Regarding meds. I was diagnosed with ADHD late in life and it took four years trying a variety of stimulants and non stimulants to achieve an acceptable result. Not the least because ADHD can have numerous underlying drivers. In my case its the inability to produce enough seratonin - hense anxiety. Naturally dopamine comes up short - hense more anxiety. Now add insufficient acetylcholine for which I take Alpha GPC. No amount of Ritalin and Mirtazapine adequately addressed my ADHD symptoms until I added the Alpha GPC. The point is that everyones journey is a bit different, so be super charitable with yourself while you look for your medication sweet spot.
As for other's acknowledgement of the condition. ADHD gallops through my family, but shame drives them to hide this highly inheritable genetic reality. Wilfull ignorance exacts a price, so regardless of others please read, enquire and understand what you're dealing with - one day your own children will thank you.
Hi! It’s possible that you’re crashing because you’re able to relax. For me that’s when I feel sad and tired… because my brain will let me stay still. Over time that may improve.
For the first month I took lisdexamfetamine I slept >10 hours per night. I was previously sleeping 5-6 hours/night. So I reduced the dose a bit and eventually felt better.
I don’t know if the same thing is happening to you or not.
I’m a doctor and I meet a ton of people in life and at work who say that adults with ADHD don’t need meds. Or that ADD doesn’t exist. Last week a psychiatrist I know said, “We all have ADD don’t we?” And I said no. But everyone has trouble focusing sometimes. It frustrates me when people think so simplistically about the suffering of others, and especially when they are so set in their ways.
Exactly right that make people say "everyone has trouble focusing sometimes". They don't realize that they are belittling the struggles of a person who lives with ADHD but saying things like that.ADHD is a lot more prevalent than "sometimes". That's why the diagnostic criteria in the DSM 5 uses the keyword "often", and similar language like "persistent".
That's because a disorder is a persistent condition which has a negative impact on the patient's quality of life. (That's my definition, but please correct me if I'm off base. I'm a layman, not a doctor.)
Doctor here, too, & I want to send that idiot who said “we’re all a little ADD” back to repeat Psychiatry residency 🤬. People like that just perpetuate myths about ADHD.
When I first tried Concerta, I felt like I was dying at 5. My adhd is like yours; either mild or inexistant. I had covid in the following days and tought it was due to covid.
Several months later I tried Concerta again, and even though I had some fun mornings some kinds of positive kick lasting about an hour, and not feeling pain after a lot of sports, and not being out of breath. I am a potato couch so I was surprised how cross country skiing was easier… not much on that on google) This pill became quickly completely unuseful for me, it does absolutely nothing since a while, even if I am taking the highest dose possible in Canada. So I quit.
Another thing I rarely saw on google is that different doses will act on different parts of your executive system. For instance: people think I have adhd because I talk a lot.
When I took 27 mg +27 mg, I felt like I was talking less. But when I took 72 mg or more, there would be no changes at all, and I know because I spent months and months not telling everyone when I take some or not. Nobody could tell a difference, ever. I do some surprise testing to people around me and the conclusions always lead nowhere.
I also had no « crash » for months and months, K thought it was probably because it does nothing to me.
However, some people take it and don’t see the effect, but others ( someone who lives of work with you and knows you a lot) COULD notice. If no one notices anything, not even you, just quit. You are lucky enough to NOT have adhd or being able to control it. Lucky you. But the side effects should be gone pretty soon.
If things get worse later, you can always try again? but maybe you don’t need it?
Getting medications right is a frustrating and long process, but worth the effort.
When I began with initial low doses of Vyvanse, I felt tired and sleepy which was due to the medicine calming my brain. As the dose went up that sleepiness went away but the benefits were there for me.
We are all just fellow humans with ADHD, sharing our experiences, not giving advice to you. We hope that you can get more support and understanding from your parents - sorry that this is missing now.
The medication helps but I still need to work on skills and techniques to compensate for the ADHD - it is not a magic bullet that make me neurotypical.
I was fortunate to not have the anxiety comorbidity but my daughter has anxiety and depression along with her inherited ADHD. While my mother and sister are both deceased now, it seems clear to me with my newfound understanding of the condition that they both were dealing with major ADHD issues etc.
As someone else has already mentioned, imposter syndrome and the worry that you don't really have ADHD is ultra common and a consequence of the condition. If you have had competent medical diagnosis, then try to ignore and reject any worries that you are not really impacted or deserving of treatment.
In fact, lots of what you say points to substantial impact on your life from the ADHD. Well explained by ADHD and someone qualified to evaluate you has diagnosed it too.
So sorry to hear this and I can totally relate. I was diagnosed a couple of months ago. First I was on Dexadrine - I wanted to increase to 20 mg from 15 (I tried the higher dosage and found it to be more effective). My provider wouldn't increase the dosage and instead prescribed 10 mg of Adderall which is making me really sick - nausea, headache, diarrhea - and so fatigued I can barely stay awake. At the moment, I'm taking Adderall with food - seems to help the side effects - but I am still so tired I could go back to bed right now. My provider cites "new laws" that won't allow her to prescribe an increased dosage. My son is not having this problem with his provider (in the same practice). We'll see how it goes at the end of this month - if I can't get a resolution I'll work on changing providers. I've been down the psych med path since I was 18 - I get that it can take time (years for me) to find the right med that works, but being unable to increase the dosage when needed, etc. is very frustrating. Good luck with your struggle. Whether or not your parents believe in your diagnosis doesn't make it less real. Until they are living your life with your head and symptoms, their opinion is meaningless. Our parents don't always get us - they're human, too.
Yes. I have heard it all before. I was put on Concerta about 4 months ago. My nurse practitioner thought it was actually helping me at first and I went up once on the dosage. Every time the prescription was renewed I had to go ten days without out. The pharmacy was always out of stock on it. So I did do well and I had a crash. I was going to try to research it to see if maybe you don’t have to take it every day. This way it’s available to me when I feel I need it. Explain this to your health care provider. They will probably put you on a different medication. I believe that it is just hit or miss with the medications so it is possible that you need to try a new medication. Good luck to you !
hi! it looks like a lot of people have already given you some really good advice, but i just want to say i understand exactly what you mean about medication roulette. it's really tiring trying to find something that works, especially if there are just soooo many other things that don't work or make you feel awful. i used to feel kind of hopeless and like what's the point if i'm just going to feel bad anyway? but after a while things started to fall into place for me depression-wise (still figuring out the adhd), and i'm really glad i stuck it out. i think that if you keep paying attention to your symptoms, telling your doctor about them, and advocating for yourself as for how you want to feel, you'll find something that works for your adhd in time!
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Feeling exhausted all the time . Is that normal ?? 
I’m struggling a LOT
Vicious cycle of chaos & clutter
What are we doing again??
Finally diagnosed, but finding actual treatment feels impossible.
