Hi, I'm an adult female that was recently diagnosed with inattentive ADHD. I have not started stimulants yet. I tried a non-stimulant medication and it did nothing for me and before I've had a chance to try stimulants my psychiatric NP has been tweaking my antidepressants and doesn't want to make too many medication changes at once. For a long time now I've been struggling with executive dysfunction being unable to "just do it" for most aspects of my life. My biggest struggle is trying to keep the house clean. Sometimes I just feel like I can't do anything, not a mental block of "oh I just can't do it" but like I am physically incapable. No motivation for anything.
While waiting to try stimulants I've stumbled upon the amazing effects of coffee. When I drink coffee I don't have that "physical" block anymore. Sure I still don't really want to clean but I can just get up and do it anyways. And it feels miraculous. It feels so good to be able to "just do it". But my therapist said "stimulants "won't be the miracle you're hoping they'll be." But if they do what the coffee does but better then I don't see how it would be the miracle I need.
I spent sooo many weeks with my last therapist just discussing motivation and how to get myself to do what needs done and nothing changed no matter what I tried or how I tried to to think nothing changed. I was barely getting by, and now using coffee as a crutch has helped a lot but caffine is fleeting. Eventually I'll build up a tolerance and need more and more to function. So I'm hoping a stimulant will be even better than caffine.
So has starting stimulants been miraculous for anybody else the way caffine feels for me right now? Or am I in for a big disappointment?
Sorry for the fact this has been very rambly.
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GhostKitty
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Well, when I started on stimulants (Adderall XR), I was amazed that for the first time in my life I could hold onto a thought in my head (without endless repetition like it was a mantra), and I could keep a list of about items in my memory for 20 minutes.
• Previously, thoughts would come and go and cross and zigzag, continuously interrupting each other. Also, I couldn't usually keep a list of more than 2 things in my head at once, and could only hold onto it for 2-5 minutes...or up to 15 with constant repetition.
I also felt half the persistent brain fog in my head lift away. (The that was the half in the front, where my frontal lobe is. The fog remained in the back half of my brain.)
Adderall also helped me to be able to maintain my attention on something for up to 20 minutes, sometimes up to 40. Also, I was less easily distracted, but when I did get distracted, most of the time I could get back on track.
My untreated ADHD sense of time was always extremely variable. 5 minutes could feel like an hour, or an hour like 5 minutes. Adderall improved it so that the most variable it got was that 5 minutes could feel like 10, and vice versa.
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For me, switching to a non-stimulant improved my ADHD even more. I'm in atomoxetine (generic Strattera), and now:
• All the brain fog is completely gone (unless I'm way overly tired),
• My time sense remained improved,
• My control of inattention and distractibility improved slightly more,
• My working memory improved to where I could hold a list of up to 8 unrelated things in my mind for over 20 minutes (over 30 sometimes), without need to write them down or repeat them to my self any more often then once ever 5 minutes.
~~~~~
Atomoxetine was best for me, but more people respond well to stimulants, so I think you're on the right track!
I think the ones I’ve tried are methilphenidate and dexmethilphenidate. Yes, my partner did the gene site test. My doctor said they could do it for me, but it may be expensive. I need to see if my insurance will cover it once the new year hits.
No. It's made my get up and go, get up and go. Nothing's a miracle worker. Stimulants activate and stimulate the central nervous system, and relax parts of the brain that are otherwise hyperactive. They bring a nicer feeling of wellbeing, and with that you 'want' to be well, you 'want' to do better. All they do is release more dopamine in the brain. Exercise does exactly the same. Every single human being, ADHD or not, can do whatever they want to do. However, 'society' has it that you should do what 'it' wants you to do. Cleaning for example. Society says 'clean', you dont, so you don't. We all do what we want to do, we also do what we dont want to do.
You need to think about this. 'IF' you had a clean and tidy home, organised and comfortable, would your mind be clean and tidy with it?
If you cant do the cleaning, get someone in who can. Pay someone to come and do it. You'll see how your mind cleans up in a nice fresh, clean and tidy home. That's the miracle.
Stimulants give you a sense of energy, but with all stimulants, there's a crash, with the crash comes the over powering sense to 'not want to do'
You won't want to hear this, but, my advice is to go for a fast walk, jog, run, bike ride, on an empty stomach, raise your heart rate, get sweaty, go home, clear a space, do 10-20 sit ups, and 10-20 push ups, and 10-20 squats.... Rest for 20minutes, have a shower or bath, THEN have your coffee.... ZERO SUGAR. Sugar is an enemy.
That's you fresh, clean and tidy, and you watch how you'll want everything else around you to be clean and tidy too. I can guarantee once you start cleaning, you won't stop.
It all comes from strength. Strength IS the miracle. You got strong, and you helped you. Make sense?
But how am I supposed to get myself to exercise? I have no motivation juice (dopamine) to do it. And other than going to work I've struggled to get myself to do things. Anythings, even things I used to like.
But, we're born with ADHD. If you could do some things that you can't now, that's not ADHD, it's something else. Doctors dont prescribe tablets that make you clean the house. They treat the condition. If the non stimulants don't work, it's something else. you not feeling like it is depression. ADHD meds work for ADHD. You're struggling because you're not doing what you should be. You're getting weaker and weaker. The only way out is to get stronger and stronger. Stimulants dont make you stronger and stronger, they stimulate your nervous system. If the doctor said 'i'll prescribe stimulants, but first you have to go for a long jog every 2 days for 3 months' would you? And even if those jogs worked and gave you energy, would you go back and say you dont feel any better?
Hmm I heard that anti depressants are the enemy when dopamine deficient.. in hindsight it makes sense to me as I could barely get the kids to school. Docs tried to persuade me to keep going... But I spit the dummy.
47, officially diagnosed inattentive/impulsive this year ....
on vyvanse 30mg, sometimes 40, Insomnia is an issue. I take magnesium and sometimes melatonin to go to bed.
It does make me more content. I used to ruminate and hyperfixate for months over stuff. It seems the meds can shut that looping off. Faster processing ...
More energy and willpower, yes. Able to do some exercise and walk the dog. Able to follow and hold conversations even on the phone! Yay.
I need to be mindful of hyperfocus as when the meds kick in its impossible to get off whatever I am doing in that moment... Still gotta work on the discipline basically. Doesn't eliminate Timeblindness for me. Instead going into project planning rabbit holes 🫣or answering you 🤣
I haven't tried anything else yet. I'm starting CBT nxt year. It's not a miracle on its own for me. But heck a big improvement in many ways.
I’m on a stimulant and it is indeed a miracle - what you’re describing with the coffee but more consistent and not as jumpy. When I took the meds for the first time, I was shocked at how calm everything felt. I went to the grocery store and was like, why isn’t the store vibrating? It actually felt like I had come down *off* some other drug. I can feel it take effect in the mornings, as if I were drinking a glass of water. I’m also so much less irritable and reactive. I cannot tell you how many wasted hours I spent in therapy talking about why I couldn’t get myself to run errands or transition out of the work day. Not the therapists’ fault - they just genuinely had no idea. It’s not a cure all - first of all there’s a shortage so just filling the prescription is a giant pain. It doesn’t work 24-7 and is doesn’t remove all the symptoms. Also, everyone’s body is different so people have varying results. But the reason they prescribe stimulants is because they work best for most people. I also take an anti depressant which my prescriber says interacts positively with the stimulant so they are both more effective. I worked with an executive functioning coach which made an enormous difference. I still have all sorts of issues, ruminating, hyper focus, inability to care about things I find boring, overcomplicating, losing stuff etc etc. But my life is now totally different and so so much better. The above poster is right BTW. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, water, sunlight are a huge component. But the drugs have helped me get to a point where I could implement those things better. TLDR: highly recommend. Five stars.
Also - my house isn’t perfect but I cannot tell you how much nicer it is since I started the meds. No more mountain of clothes to donate in the basement!
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