ADHD

I dont mean depression or anxiety (this feels different), I mean feeling like you never really recharge, like youve never gotten time off ever. Which I think is partly due to a tendency to put literally 100% into something until you feel fried, move on to the next thing rinse repeat. Even "down time" doesnt really feel like down time because I am stuck between either boredom, working on yet another thing or thinking about things in general.

I appreciate the fact that some employers recognize that some of their employees struggle with cognitive disorders. But, asking someone with ADHD to click through a very boring presentation about neurodiversity is almost peak irony. Not to mention, trying to distill such complex disorders down to one sentence is practically guaranteed to fail.

Props for trying I guess.

Exercise is hitting. My brain gives up way before my body does. Even when I try and listen to music or watch shows while exercising, I just can't keep at it.

Has anyone found an ADHD friendly way to exercise?

Started reading this book by an ADHDer YouTuber I’ve been watching, and I think it’s really good so far. Only stop reading at page 42 cuz my wife turned off the lights for bed.

Anyone else reading it?

In case it’s not clear in the image: “How to ADHD” by Jessica McCabe

I am not sure if I have a Treatment Resistant Depression, but I sure have been on multiple SSRIS for the last 10 years.

I honestly don't feel any of them have "really worked" besides being numb.

I want to stop taking them eventually, wondering if Ketamine would open me in therapy and make it more meaningful/impacting.

I'm a really anxious person, so the thought of trying Ket or psychedelics always gets me nervous, like permanently making my anxiety worse or wake up some schizophrenia (I have no signs, nor I have relatives)

I know that attentiveness and dopamine regulation won't improve with ket, but has anyone else been able to treat the depression and anxiety that comes with ADHD?

I've been taking 70 mg Vyvanse for years. It generally works well. Although there are occasional days where I feel like maybe it's not quite as effective as it should be. That probably has more to do with outside stressors and diet than anything. By this point I've built up some tolerance to it. I know a lot of other people try to take breaks from their stimulus occasionally to try to help with the tolerance.

Well, I've learned that that is not for me. I tried taking breaks two Saturdays in a row and holy shit, the anvil-on-chest anxiety is more than I can take. Feelings of dread that I have not felt in years come bubbling right back to the surface.

This is something that I have, in the past, tried to explain to parents who are apprehensive about putting their kids on stimulants. For me, the worst part about ADHD isn't the poor short-term memory, it isn't the inattentiveness, It isn't even the "inner restlessness". It's the emotional dysregulation. The fact that it makes me feel anxious and depressed all the time and I can't just shrug it off. It's like a dark cloud hanging over you and no matter how much you wish it would go away, it never does. And, if you don't want your kid to kill themselves or develop substance abuse issues, then you need to try to help them get a handle on it while you can.

It took me 28 years and becoming a borderline alcoholic to get the help that I needed. I guess if I didn't get anything else out of my experiment, I got a reminder to not take what I have for granted. Getting my meds dialed in dramatically improved my quality of life.

Some call it simple the lucky who do not struggle with each little thing

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panel 1: homer simpson posing proudly, looking skinny and healthy, marge looks impressed. caption reads "Dinner is ready and dishes are clean when my partner gets home"

panel 2: showing homers back where heaps of excess skin are held back by ropes and clamps. caption reads "did like 10 minutes of work in my fulltime job"

I'll be honest, I feel like Dexedrine is the best and its also cool to have such an obscure med aha. Why did you settle wherever you did and share your thoughts on the comparative basis

After years of suspecting ADHD (and two decades of struggling), I decided that maybe I have ADHD. While I wait for an answer from the psychologists, I decided to take an online ADHD self-diagnosis questionnaire out of curiosity.

I found myself mousing over and highlighting the text in one of the questions over and over, thinking about something my girlfriend told me the other day, struggling to actually read the question. When I finally read the question, it was:

How often are you easily distracted by external stimuli, like something in your environment or unrelated thoughts?

Safe to say I started laughing out loud. Starting to feel pretty certain that I'm one of you :P

(I am still mid questionnaire)

I've experienced burnout throughout work and education since I was sixteen. Usually around once every 12-18 months. I've accrued a lot of associated trauma.

For context, burnout for me is extreme depression and executive dysfunction lasting for months at a time to the extent I stop all work and social activities.

A little into about me. I'm in my mid-forties, I live in Ohio, USA, and am on Medicaid. I suspect I have either ADD or ADHD but I can't get diagnostic testing covered by Medicaid. What can I do to get testing or treatment? There are lots of "in-network" providers, but every time I get the focus to try and make an appointment no one answers their phones, or they're not taking new patients, or they're not in network after all. I'm so so so tired

I was introduced to the potential for ADHD as an adult, and now at 33 I have my official diagnosis! Severe ADHD / Innatentive Presentation I've never been relived to get a diagnosis of severe anything before, but I feel like I can finally feel sure about why I've struggled with these symptoms for so much of my life. Now I can start learning how to deal with and accommodate my symptoms, rather then trying to wrestle this many-limbed thing in the dark of ignorance.

Hi there. Things have spiraled out of control lately, I don't have a stable job at the moment and when I do, I mostly work from home.

I urgently need to establish some kind of routine and find a way to follow it. Productivity isn't even the priority as I do have a good amount of free time. Problem is that I don't use this boredom effectively at all.

I wanted to know if there are books/guides that could help ADHD people establish routines and how to keep them up. I'm autistic too, which means I greatly benefit from routine.

Thanks for any kind of advice!

I've always been ADHD (autistic too), and have tried many ways to overcome it. However, solutions like body-doubling aren't always accessible. I tried atomoxetine recently, and it help immensely for the first 4 days, then somewhat for 2 weeks, but eventually had no noticeable helpful impact. I finally got prescribed methylphenidate a few weeks ago, and picked up the script yesterday. Since I started taking it this morning, I have worked on sooo so many things I have been neglecting and even went to the dog park for fun rather than as a chore. Is this what NTs feel like all the time? Just able to decide what they are going to work on and actually put it into action without needing someone else around or the guilt of letting others down?? No wonder they rule the world! lol

But seriously, for those of you that have tried methylphenidate, what was your experience? Did it continue to help weeks later? Did it work better if you took it routinely or as needed? Any other comments or tips?

K, so I see posts wayyyy to often where the OP is crying and miserable about the way their pharmacy treats them like shit and never is on top of making sure they have your meds available and/or ready for you come refill day.

If this is ever the case, you need to fire your pharmacy and find a better one. Usually, smaller mom+pop or smaller local chains will appreciate your business and help you ideally with these things without you even having to ask (or only requiring one-time orientation on what your preferences are as they relate to servics they usually do or should be offering:

• fill your meds automatically without you having to ask

• ensuring it is in stock without you having to worry in order for them to fill said refills

• advise you of any complications or further steps required of you to help them make sure you're taken care of and consistent with refills

• remind YOU about shit, not the other way around. My pharmacy might as well be my unpaid intern/executive assistant with all things medical as they pertain to my business/the privelege of getting said business I grant them

• delivery: this is non-negotiable. If they ain't delivering, I ain't playin'. My pharmacy knows that to be my drug dealer, they gotta come to me. Cuz I ain't leaving the couch to get my drugs

• deal with dr for you if any discrepancy or error is in the way. This is the beauty of medical practices with adjoining pharms. Ethics be damned, vertical/horizontal integration 4 the win!

That is all. Your pharmacy should feel so lucky to have a good get like AD(H)D patients, I would rather have that then a money printer if I was a pharmacy owner.

Spread the word and f all that noise. You are worthy to be waited on and catered to, controlled substance or otherwise.

Not sure if this is cogent but I take rhe 2nd rarest (prescribed/available) medication next to Desoxyn and I've never had an issue getting it filled, even in the depths of the Great Adderall Shortage although it wasn't Adderall so not sure how relevant my n=1 is this context

I realised this feeling is why I have such an issue avoiding caffeine, even more after starting on ritalin.

It's that, "I'm really starting to feel awake and capable now" feeling, sometimes a light tenseness in the back of the neck.

What is going on here, neuronically?

Also a time when I really crave nicotine. I'm trying to quit the nicotine so if I can understand this feeling, I can make a strategy to avoid it.

Edit

After reading all the responses below and receiving much helpful advice, I reflected on my hesitance of getting medical help. I realized I didn't want to feel like I "gave up". I come from a poor family of immigrants and my parents sacrificed a lot for me to have an opportunity, so when I'm discussing these mental problems I face with loved ones, there's always a suggestive undertone of being unappreciative(remember your parents slaved away doing manual labor jobs so you could complain about your comfy, well paid office job)

I now realize my own happiness/fulfillment is my responsibility, public opinion be damned. Thank you all. I will seek help ASAP

Double edit

I'm on strattera(atomoxetine) now. It's helped me focus my thoughts a lot more.

Original:

Not sure if this is typical or not but it perplexes me to no end. I've always struggled with remembering things, decision paralysis, bad sleeping patterns, interpersonal relationships(appearing distant), mood swings of joy and apathy(high peaks and low valleys), addictive personality traits(coffee/nicotine/alcohol). But on a good day I can do the work of a whole team. I've often spearheaded entire projects solo from concept to design to implementation. Despite a very rough start in my early adult life and after getting tired from most jobs for petty things like disagreements or tardiness, I've been solid for about 7 years. I've learned to communicate effectively without getting emotional, how to manage relationships, how to work around the difficulties of my ADHD, I've turned my skills into a well paying career and can politic with the best of them. My son was diagnosed and I never was because Hispanics don't believe in ADHD("everyone has those problems, you just need to manage xyz better")

I've tried to explain my patterns to loved ones in hopes of feeling understood but even those closest to me say it's all mental. I feel like no one understands. I've been called brilliant/highly intelligent many times but have been told I need to apply myself. I feel like it's both a strength and a weakness.

Anyways, I have health coverage now and am scared of prescription medicines. Not sure if I should just keep braving on towards my future without getting some sense of closure. I believe my father is also on the spectrum because he has always embodied all the symptoms (irregular sleep, obsession with pet projects, irregular moods, difficulty managing relationships/being empathetic/sympathetic, etc).

I hate being told that I'm not trying hard enough when it feels like I need to keep double the pace of everyone else just to be on par. Should I start allowing myself to be disagreeable? Maybe call bs what it is and not dance around it so much? Should I seek treatment? Should I keep quiet and bite down on the rag?

Sorry for the rant. No one seems to understand.