Going blank

[AuDHD3245]

My mind used to go blank before I spoke. Couldn't speak well, couldnt speak at all in some cases.

I'm on medication for ADHD and find that now i'm more fluent and confident to be able to speak. I speak too much in some cases.

BUT, I now go blank in the middle of what i'm saying.

Would you call that an improvement or worse?

It's more embarrassing, I know that much

[STEM_Dad]

That's the working memory issues that are common with ADHD. I might consider that an improvement, but I'm not you.

The real question is whether YOU consider that an improvement.

You might see more improvement in working memory with a dosage increase, or possibly by changing to a different medication, like I did.

~~~~~

My experience was similar, but different.I often could remember enough what I wanted to say to start talking, and then start to lose my train of thought soon after.

I would continue to ramble vaguely on that topic, and be lucky if I could get any of my intended points out.

When I had to wait for someone else to finish speaking before I started, then I might forget when I wanted to say entirely.

~~~~~

ADHD meds have greatly improved my working memory. I sometimes forget now, but more often I can hold onto my thoughts long enough to get them out.

My own estate is that I can hold things in my mind 5 times longer than before, and I can remember a few points, instead of maybe one.

~~~~~

I am still distractible, but less so than before. But sometimes I still get distracted enough that I forget. (Then, sometimes I can redirect and recall, but sometimes I can't.)

In work meetings, I make sure to write down a note about what I want to talk about, because I can't trust my recall when it's my turn to talk.

~~~~~

Doing far better with meds than I was without.

My first medication was Adderall XR. I'm now on atomoxetine (generic Strattera), which is about twice as effective for me as the Adderall ever was.

My working memory improvement (and clearing my lifelong brain fog) are the biggest improvements. Meds also help my inattentiveness, distractibility, and time sense. They don't help my motivation.

And since "pills don't teach skills", I am still very bad at organization and time management.

[Netjester]

I'd call that normal. At least it is was for me. It could be an age thing. I'm 57 now and noticed that it started happening more and more about 5 years ago. My added medications of Memantine and Naltrexone seemed to have stopped that blank mind in a middle of a sentence.

It is a weird feeling when that happens. I'm curious as to what you do when it happens. I would have a nervous clearing of my throat to give me time to try and get back on track. If I couldn't, I would laugh it off and say that it was my ADHD kicking in.

[AuDHD3245 in reply to Netjester]

Yeah, I actually wrote the same thing as a reply to someone else earlier. 'Laugh it off'. I dont really talk to anyone but my specialist and she understands me. It happens a fair bit, half way through talking and mind just goes blank. I'm thinking about what to say and it's that that overwhelms the thought. When a point comes into my mind, as i'm talking, that's it, I lose track of what I'm saying and that loses the point I thought of. Impulsiveness is what i'm used to I suppose. Acting without thinking. It's an issue, so it's being addressed, so have to learn how to think, and brain hasnt quite adapted yet, you know?

[Netjester]

Naltrexone takes care of the impulsivity. You might want to try it out. It was life changing for me.

[AuDHD3245 in reply to Netjester]

Sorry, I dont understand. Naltrexone is an alcohol and opioid use disorder medication? Why would that help?

[Netjester in reply to AuDHD3245]

So your reward center (opiate receptors) often controls the ADHD brain. We gravitate to what makes us feel good. That expression of "shiny object" represents our Opiate Receptors telling us, "You need to reward me right now, so forget about what you were doing." This is why quite a few people become drug addicts before they know they have ADHD.

My psychiatrist/neurologist who is a Stanford Graduate, decided to try out a theory that if he could make those opiate receptors feel satisfied, then it would likely push my neurons to the pre-frontal cortex. Naltrexone was the first drug of choice and that's exactly what it did and by doing this, my brain is basically retraining itself to go to the pre-frontal cortex first.

I have to tell you that within a week of taking the medication, I saw a huge change that was noticeable to my whole family and coworkers. I told my psych that if this was the first medication that I was ever given, I would have thought I didn't have ADHD. Now granted there is more to ADHD, but the impact of this medication was so significant, I'm able to make the decision to take my adderall or not, where before it was a must.

[AuDHD3245 in reply to Netjester]

Oooh I see. Good explanation. I'm in the UK and our GP can't prescribe it because it's a licensed drug.

[Mamamichl]

I hear this is normal as we age. It’s called aphasia I believe. Older people understand and to y get as annoyed.

[MaudQ]

This happens to me - I hate it. Especially when I get stuck and people try to finish my sentences for me. Once I was diagnosed, I connected the dots that I was thinking of too many things at once and the blank spots were my mind jumping the rails. So I try really hard to just focus on the one topic of conversation. It’s a mindfulness thing - it helps a lot but not perfectly. If I’m tired or stressed it comes back.

[AuDHD3245 in reply to MaudQ]

Yes, most of my adult life I have been told, (didn't realise it myself) that I was a very slow talker. Takes ages to say something. So, that became an anxiety, and ultimately an issue. So, with diagnosis, medication and extra support, I suppose subconsciously I have been trying to speed up my speech, speed up the thought process, and it works but maybe a little too fast now. Maybe the build up of not being able to speak for all those years, has given me alot to say, and so, the ideas that once were, are still there and try to come out when talking? I call it a 'flickering' mind, thoughts run through, like those old video camcorders, frame by frame? Make sense? And it kind of needs to land on the right place to continue, otherwise it goes or changes subject. They call it 'mind racing', which leads to losing focus, becoming inattentive, and impulsively trying to get back to the topic in hand, leads to failure.