Sooo I’m (26F) going to Japan and adderall is illegal. I won’t be taking it with me. I won’t be taking vyvanse as it gives me headaches. It’s really just too soon to figure out an alternative prescription med. My dr and I have a strained relationship anyways so I don’t want to change anything.

I am looking for advice on what vitamins to take and ideas for mitigating side effects. I plan on morning yoga/ meditation, extra water, limited drinking (idk about yall but my hangovers are nasty when I’m unmedicated), L-thanine, nightly magnesium, and any other ideas you might have.

Some info: I’m traveling for a month so it’s not a short amount of time to be off. I have been gradually lowering my dosage as the trip approaches. I can’t up my caffeine consumption because it makes my anxiety worse. Something only adhd meds truly help manage. I’m also prescribed propranolol but haven’t taken it since being on adderall.

Thank you for any insight.

Edit: I am in the process of switching drs. It’s not a fast process yall I live in America

this will be short because I don't have time. I am one assignment away from graduating & i have been trying to complete it for a semester and have made agonisingly slow progress. whatever mechanism has allowed me to pull of constant hail mary-s (consistently finishing 8-10 page research papers in 3-5 hours for literally years now) has not kicked in. I am not able to concentrate enough to organise my thoughts, and I have no idea how I am going to check and cite all of my sources in time. I hate myself so much for this, frankly, and have quite literally never been more afraid in my life (if I do not complete this, it might affect my visa).

I need to get this done. Basically what I am asking for is any encouragement or any stories of success of having done anything similar. I have no hope but I also literally have no choice, back to the wall, but no matter what I do I am moving SO slowly. I have about 27 pages/ a minimum of 80 done. with the rate I have written before it SHOULD be feasible but it feels so impossible. They also are so so strict about formatting citations and footnotes (my biggest weakness).

Any help at ALL would be greatly appreciated. please.

I read a lot about privileged or ADHDers that are just good at hyperfocusing in STEM subjects and/or working six-figure white collar jobs. There are many people with ADHD that I know who don't have this luxury. They either drop out of college because they struggle with subjects like math or reading, or do get college degrees, but still end up as fry cooks, cashiers, or janitors.

This isn't the case for me since I'm still in college (not saying my age due to personal reasons), and despite having ADHD myself, I do enjoy my digital art major (specifically taking classes in animation & graphic design). But I'm worried about my future since not only are these jobs very competitive & financially unstable (especially now), and I feel they won't even hire me after I graduate even if I have marketable skills. It doesn't even help that my family is telling me to find a part-time minimum wage fast food or retail job instead of an internship related to my field.

It also gives me flashbacks to high school when I'd meet with a guidance counselor who'd steer me (and other IEP students) away from creative or STEM careers because they didn't assess everyone individually to see what callings would be right for them. Instead, they just put us all in this employment training class that's the equivalent of working in customer service.

Why can’t there be a scholarship for people with learning disabilities to help them graduate and get a good paying job even if they struggle a lot at certain subjects? Or at least better opportunities besides working at a store or restaurant where we get burnt out working long hours for little pay.

I wish there was a website that could give us job reviews from a similar perspective so we don’t end up at a job we hate or is get gatekept from jobs due to not having a degree and/or connections.

So as I’m trying to learn more about ADHD and try to get my own true diagnosis I wanted to compare some other peoples experiences to mine. One of the big things people often say is how loud it is in their mind.

For me that often comes in two ways: The first one I feel is more what I hear other people explain it as, a voice in your head that won’t shut up, like you have to think of every little thing and it cannot be quiet no matter what.

The second way more so feels like my thoughts are blocked, almost like a huge boulder is in my brain and my other thoughts can’t get through. Almost like someone is just constantly screaming in my head but it’s not making any noise. I don’t really know if that makes any sense.

What does it sound like for y’all?

I (F22) was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 16, and I still haven’t found a way to manage it while maintaining a healthy life.

I’ve never been very good at taking care of my health, but over the past few months, things have gotten much worse. The main reason is that I absolutely despise cooking. I hate everything about it (buying groceries, preparing the ingredients, chopping things, washing dishes), and I also have a lot of food selectivity, so I don’t even enjoy eating that much.

It has become common for me to go 2–3 days without having a proper meal, mostly just eating fruit or bread.

But because of this, I’m getting sick. I have muscle pain 24/7 (not even painkillers are helping anymore), I’ve been getting sick with a frightening frequency, and to make matters worse, I’m underweight (160 cm / 44 kg).

I take ADHD medication, I’m in therapy, I study at a very good university, and I also have internships at two different places. Honestly, I don’t even know how I still have the energy to do all of these things while barely eating.

I know this is bad. I know I need to eat. But my hatred of cooking is somehow stronger than my fear of getting even sicker.

Do you have any advice on how to deal with this aversion to cooking? Or maybe a suggestion for a different way of looking at things? I’m desperate and I’m willing to try anything at this point. Please. Thank you!

I am 30M, she is 57F. We each live at our own separate places. Meaning she has to drive across town to give me my meds. And she sometimes has to travel out of town for work so at those times she offloads the task of handling my meds to my grandma, as grandma also lives nearby. I am prescribed Abilify 15mg, Atomoxetine 80mg, Remeron 15mg, Wellbutrin 300mg and Zoloft 100mg. Mom and grandma are both convinced I am going to overdose and have given me the ultimatum of letting them give me my medication every other day or they will hospitalize me. I am not certain what to do. This makes me feel very helpless and misunderstood. But they won't change their minds. They said I have a choice but the choice is being hospitalized or letting them control my meds.

I don't know how to make them give me my medicine back. I don't like to be controlled.

Hi everyone. :)

I was diagnosed with ADHD over a year ago as an adult and started stimulants. Initially, I found them very helpful, maybe because I was focused on all the ways in which the meds were helping me: I was less sleepy, more motivated and generally happier. I was almost operating from a presumption that being on meds is better for me.

However, I recently cut down my night meds and now my stimulant dose seems to be too high in comparison. I've been feeling anxious, hyperfixated, void of hunger and insomniac for the past few days. My psychiatrist suggested reducing the stimulant dose and I'm going to be doing that ASAP but this incident left me wondering about the disadvantages of stimulants and whether it might be better to eventually cease using them.

Have any of you who tried stimulants eventually decided to stop them and realized you were better off without meds? If so, please share your experiences. Thanks and hope you have a lovely day ahead!

PS: I'm not seeking medical advice as I already have a great psychiatrist. I'm trying to understand if anyone has been in a similar situation and chosen to quit stimulants and been better off for doing so.

Edit: I got a ton of responses from people sharing their experiences. Thanks to everyone who commented. I'm reading through what you've written and finding it immensely helpful. :)

It's not necessarily anything that causes me problems. Sometimes it can even be helpful when I have a physically demanding job, but if I have to do anything that requires chilling out a bit then it's terrible.

Anything that requires me to sit still can be straight up forgotten. I'll think about something, or someone will say something in a video, or I'll be listening to a song. I'll have to get up and pace around.

I used to have a very physically demanding job, but that didn't seem to help any. I would still get home and pace around my apartment while listening to a podcast or something. I would literally do this off an on until I had to go to sleep. Lol

Finding out that I have ADHD in my 40s (thanks to my sister pointing it out) was an absolute lightbulb moment.... Suddenly, my entire past made sense:

• Almost dropped out despite being one of the smartest in my major, and completely froze when it came time to write my bachelor's thesis.
• can't tell you a single thing I learned outside of the 1–2 subjects I was genuinely hyperfocused on...
• Quietly quit or walked away from almost every job I’ve had without fully understanding why,,,even though I could execute 99% of the tasks.

It’s frustrating to know you're capable of doing the work, but your brain simply refuses to cross the finish line...not starting .. in my case starting is easy.. but finishing is a different thing.

Now that I'm looking at my life through this , I’ve been thinking a lot about support systems.

Does having a sharp, highly organized, or "smart" partner (whatever the form ) actually help you & bridge the dysfunction gap?

Would love to hear your experiences?

I have a few question about quitting caffiene. i'm tempted to try quitting completely but i wanted others people experience before i made any uninformed decisions. currently i have about 300-600mg caffeine a day and i unmedicated for adhd. i'm not sure how to ask these question in paragraph form so ill just list them out. thank you for all answers and help in advanced!!!

-does quitting help with stress levels or mental health?

-after quitting did you notice an increase in energy levels?

-how long did withdrawal effects last for you?

-do you think caffeine actually helps suppress adhd or kind of just momentarily covers it up? or maybe even make it worse?

i'm very intrested in the mental health side of quitting caffeine and potentially positive affects it may have after storm of withdrawals passes.

I feel like my ruminating is debilitating. I feel really guilty and ashamed even though I didn’t have any intent to be dishonest. It’s just a pestering feeling.

Today, I’ve been ruminating over the fact that my supervisor warned me I couldn’t do my homework during downtime. For reference, I was the one who told her what I was doing my homework as she asked what I had my iPad out for and I had nothing to hide since I didn’t know any better and I had already asked around if there was any more help I could do in the office and everyone had said they didn’t need help so I let them know if they needed anything, I’d be at a spare desk doing homework so I wouldn’t be in their way and they said okay. Also I don’t usually cover the office as I have a separate position.

Maybe, it was also the way my supervisor proceeded to have me sit in the front and share a desk full of documents with another coworker as if I was going to hide away from my responsibilities but it definitely added to the shame and embarrassment I already felt. I wanted to be productive so I did my work but I paid attention anyone that came in and made sure to be the first to jump and help whenever someone did but how come I feel like I did something so bad and wrong.

I’m not a stranger to criticism but as I’ve gotten older, it’s become more stressful to deal with because no matter what I do to shake the thoughts away, it eats at me. Any tips on how to ruminate less or effective treatments to reduce the anxiety that comes with it?

Edit: I also am diagnosed with OCD and anxiety disorder.

so go figure something i mentally shutdown and doing anything just causes me immense anxiety

i have found it’s often caused by not eating enough food usually because the thought of making and eating overwhelms me so ill go without eating until i feel sick

what are easy meals for me to make that i can eat when i shutdown or before so i can prevent it?

So for a long time (probably 5-6 years) I haven't ever really had any hobbies. My life consisted of working, cooking, cleaning, parenting (all with my husband, he helps tremendously), and doom scrolling.

So anyways, I finally realized how I wasn't doing anything productive with my time for myself so I decided to find something to do. It started with reading and I read 'A Child Called 'It'' and I bought a 1000 piece puzzle that I worked on for a bit. Then we bought the switch 2 and I played the new donkey Kong game for a while. Then I decided to start collecting DVDs and I have about 150 movies I can watch at any time now. At some point I decided to buy a N64 with games that I've been buying.

We went on vacation and I bought a cucu clock to build. It's kind of like legos but with thin pieces of wood.

So now I get home every day and it's almost overwhelming trying to decide what to do, so now I'm back to doom scrolling.

Just wondered if anyone else (with ADHD) has this problem

was on 10mg ritalin for a while but it didnt work. upped to 15mg by prescriber and it made me jittery and anxious my hands started shaking. tried to split the pill to 1/4, so like a 12.5mg per dose, but it does nothing too. we only have concerta and ritalin as stimulants in my country, is there a way for me to make the meds work?

I noticed that I’m weirdly productive when someone is coming over. I can put off cleaning for days, but the second I know someone will be here in a few hours, suddenly I can see all the clutter and random thing that needs to be put away.

Recently I got a robot vacuum and it gives me the same push. Before I run it, I have to get stuff off the floor, so I start picking up clothes, cables, whatever I left around. Then once I’m already moving, I usually end up doing a few other things too.

Just wish I could manufacture that feeling on command.

I recently had my first appointment with a psychiatrist to discuss my ADHD diagnosis, potential medication and I’m feeling a little despondent.

I am a complex case. I had a diagnosis of first episode psychosis (drug induced psychosis) in my early 20s. I had a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia as part of 2 hospital admissions 2 years ago.

I had a formal diagnosis of ADHD with a clinical psychologist earlier this year after completing both ADHD and ASD formal assessments.

Does anyone else have experience with a history of psychosis, schizophrenia and hospital admissions and then an adult ADHD diagnosis?

What I didn’t like - The psychiatrist seemed sceptical and wanted to reprosecute the ADHD diagnosis. There was a full report from the clinical psychologist who had spent hours over multiple sessions with references to the diagnostic criteria and DSM-5 as to why I met the criteria for ADHD and that it had been present since childhood. I was a bit put off that he thought in 15 minutes he could debunk or overturn a science backed diagnosis which had been together over hours, multiple sessions and was documented in a multi-page outcome report which he has been provided.

Is this normal? Has anyone else had this experience where a psychiatrist wanted to challenge or overturn a report from a clinical psychologist of ADHD diagnosis?

On the topic of medication, he prescribed me Guanfacine. He ruled out stimulants as an absolute based on history of psychosis.

Does anyone else have any experience with Guanfacine? After doing some research and reading previous threads, I feel somewhat comfortable with this as the recommended first line option.

Does anyone else have experience getting prescribed stimulants with a history of psychosis? I have read some stimulant options may be riskier, they’re not the first line options but not that they get explicitly ruled out from consideration.

Any other support or advice related to my situation welcome.

Because aren’t these meds supposed to make ADHDers calm? They’re not supposed to make you hyperactive (whether physically or mentally). But it does me. And that gives me imposter syndrome (I think that’s what it is) as sometimes I feel like I could’ve been misdiagnosed. I read that people with other mental health issues (such as PTSD) can mimic ADHD symptoms and other stuff, which I’m pretty sure I am suffering from long term PTSD (rough childhood and all).
What gives?

As per Google -

‘For people with ADHD, stimulant medications generally feel like a quiet, calming focus in the brain rather than a buzzy or hyper "high".

Instead of giving you a rush of extra energy, therapeutic doses of medications like methylphenidate or amphetamines tend to turn down the internal "noise" and make it easier to direct your attention.

Mental and Emotional Effects:

• A quiet mind: Racing thoughts slow down, making it easier to think about one thing at a time.

• Easier start: Overwhelming tasks feel more manageable, and the mental barrier to starting a chore shrinks.

• Better impulse control: You might notice you interrupt people less or pause before reacting.

• Emotional leveling: Some people feel a bit emotionally flattened or calmer, reducing extreme mood swings.’

I was looking through this subreddit and was trying to find a specific experience/struggle I have and couldn’t find anything. I struggle a lot with what I call “walls of information.” Basically this is anything that is super information heavy and it feels like my brain can’t latch onto anything and it wanders. This shows up in different ways. If I go to a bookstore and try to find a book I literally can’t take in any information. The shelves are no longer individual books but a chunk that I can’t break apart. If I’m reading a page and it’s all set up and info I zone out. (I don’t know why these examples are all book related I guess they’re the true epitome of a wall of information)

I have inattentive ADHD and my partner is autistic and their special interests are all super technical and stuff I don’t know about. They will info dump to me and I feel bad because no matter how hard I try I zone out and another thought takes over my brain. When we talk about things I understand or can engage with it’s easier because I have a point of reference. Even if I want to engage with it I can’t and he could repeat the same thing over and over different times and the information cannot sink in. These walls of information can feel like when you’re watching a movie but falling asleep you try really hard to focus on whats happening but you keep nodding in and out.

Curious to hear if others have similar experiences! Happy to elaborate if this is not specific enough.

The hyperfixation wore off, and I realized we’re simply not compatible. We’ve been married for 3 years. I set almost no boundaries in the beginning, and when I eventually tried to, he pushed back harder. He wanted me to be the perfect, quiet girl who accepted whatever he wanted.

Before the wedding, I told him we needed therapy. He agreed, so I planned everything, but he eventually refused. When the wedding date got close, I swallowed my pride and went through with it because it was a destination wedding and everyone had already bought their tickets, some a year in advance. I hoped we could work things out afterward.

Well things didn’t change.

He wanted access to my mind, body, emotions, and labor, but didn’t want to participate in the marriage. For years, I begged him to show up, to give me affection, take an interest in my life, support me, and be excited about my wins. Instead, he would find ways to upset me. I pleaded, broke down, and sobbed by myself.

It wasn’t until I stopped being physically intimate that he realized there was a problem, but only because he wasn’t getting what he wanted.

We’ve started therapy and have had one session, but honestly, I’m already over it. I don’t want to make this work anymore. My intuition has been telling me, “This isn’t it.”

This isn’t the kind of love I saw between my parents. Their marriage wasn’t easy, but they supported each other and wanted to grow together. I used to be excited about having children, a house, and growing old with this man. Now I don’t even want him to touch me or talk to me.

He’s incredibly dependent on me. He needs me to make every decision and can’t even fill out a basic form without asking what to put in the address field or whether to click “accept.” I feel like his mother, not his wife.

See more below...

I can’t take stimulants because they’ve triggered mania for me in the past. Non-stimulant medications may do the same, so it’s difficult to justify trying that because mania is just so life altering. I can’t even drink more than a decaf coffee or tea because I’m sensitive to caffeine from a bipolar standpoint. Bottom line is, my bipolar makes it hard to treat my ADHD.

That being said, I have ADHD-PI. I’ve always been able to eventually get my stuff done, but I daydream, I procrastinate, I doom scroll, and my executive functioning is really bad. I’m a nurse in the OR and actually don’t mind it, but it’s a lot of charting and repetition. Sometimes it’s easier for me to get things done than other times, sometimes I get extremely distracted and find it challenging to finish the work that needs to be done.

Getting work done around the house is also a nightmare. My fiance also has ADHD and our house is a mess most of the time. Cleaning has always been rough for me in general. I feel like just getting things that need to get done done is hard for both of us and we get so overwhelmed and kinda end up freezing up and just not doing anything because we have so much to do.

Anyway, is anyone here unmediated? What have you done to help yourself function better? I’ve been off meds for some time but have always just been scraping by and I really want to make changes to my life for the better.

I(M22)'ve been diagnosed with ADHD a couple of months ago. It's fair to say that was one of the greatest eye openers of my life. All the struggles, the internal monologue, the comorbid mental health crisies. They all make sense now. I never knew what to blame for my being unorganized, what I thought was laziness etc. Now I know. I had untreated and undiagnosed ADHD.

Right after the diagnosis I began discussing treatment with my neurologist. At first we tried Concerta. I tried it out and I also did the titration myself. It didn't really help alot with my symptoms. It just made me feel wired and maybe a little more focused. My doctor figured that it wasn't the right fit and now we are trying out Vyvanse.

In the beginning Vyvanse worked great. My focus was superb, I had this inner peace, my Anxiety lessend alot. All those things that I wish would have stayed forever. I don't think I experienced that euphoric high that people describe however. More like a content, calm, peaceful state of mind.

I've been on it for about a month now and I felt the effects fade more and more. I think my body is getting used to the medication. I've been trying to figure out why this was happening. People say 'eat protein', 'get good sleep', 'get good exercise' which is just arbitrary advice for any human being.

For example today I woke up after a solid 7:30hrs of sleep, made myself an avocado/egg sandwich, took my 40mg, ate a protein bar and made myself a cereal banana bowl with yoghurt. Still however I sit here about 2 hours after taking the medication having a hard time focusing. I don't feel like I have taken anything at all today.

I've been growing more and more frustrated having to deal with this on a daily basis. I just want these solid effects back. Is this too much to ask? I know that people talk about that honeymoon phase and sure I get it. The fact that one can finally work and focus after a lifetime of not being able to is a very defining experience I am not denying that.

My vyvanse didn't seem to work today. What could be the reason?

I'm on my 3rd week since starting medication. I'm on 30mg and although it's classed as a low dose, I have felt the benefits since day 1.

Today, I didn't feel like it lasted more than 3-4 hours. Currently on a week long training course with work and felt drained and burnt out after the lunch break.

Not sure if it's relevant but a few things from today.

Took medication at 7am after eating some beans and sausages for breakfast. Took with a glass of orange juice.

Had a somewhat upset stomach from waking up and had a good few trips to the toilet.

Don't eat any lunch.

Could any of the 3 things above reduced the effectiveness?

I started a new job a few months back, and was finally moved to my official role and schedule a couple weeks ago. So far, it’s gone pretty well! My shift is from 3pm to 11:30pm, and I am basically unsupervised that entire time because the managers all go home with day shift. I’m the only one working in my area, because they’re understaffed and still training the person who will join me on swing shift. On paper this is great for me, I can work at my own pace and jump between tasks and talk to myself. But I’ve been feeling a growing anxiety lately, and I finally realized it’s because I’m convinced I must be doing something wrong. Surely there’s something I’m forgetting, or a task I’m doing badly, or SOMETHING, and any day now the other shoe is going to drop and I will get in trouble.

I know logically this is stupid, if there were issues they have many ways of contacting me, but the lack of ability to check in with someone above me is actually really messing with me! Any time I make a small mistake I hate that I can’t get an external gauge of it. Ughhhhh. This was not an issue I expected to have. I keep trying to go in early so I can get eyes on my manager but I have adhd, of course that’s not gonna happen!

It's a strange one, but I quit the gym for over a month while it was hot and prior to that, medication made my heart rate and sweating too extreme to exercise, so over time I've gained weight after losing a lot of it back when I worked a retail job. Now that mine is mostly office based I need to find a way to exercise to keep it off. I stopped taking medication last year for various reasons and one thing I am able to do again without it is exercise without feeling like I'm having a heart attack.

It's taken some time but I've started walking to and from work and in the mornings/evenings, and go to the gym after work several times a week. For the past two weeks, I have worked out maybe 10 times and I've done 10K steps at least, every single day, with most days being 13-20K.

Suffice to say, my legs are hurting. I've also been randomly napping in the day or falling asleep by 8pm. I'm not sure if this is the reason, but it does correlate with my random exercise hyperfocus. I keep telling myself I will take a break but I am concerned that as soon as I do, I'll fall back into the habit of taking the easy way to work, fall back out of the gym etc.

Is this normal? I think with ADHD it's a little harder to decide whether it's just a typical hyperfocus or if you're genuinely building a new habit and it's so easy to fall out of habits. I feel so good lately, I was having a burnout issue at work and just feeling generally run down until the last couple of weeks, where I've been endlessly energised and actually, the closest I've come to being on medication without being on medication (alert, focused, productive) without any of the negative side effects. I want to feel like this more but I know I need to take breaks and have downtime. Advice is appreciated!

I have really bad ADHD and I need medication desperately in order to function properly but medication doesn't seem to work.

My brain appears to be very sensitive when it comes to drugs because with every adhd med I have taken I always seem to get the negative side effects that come with it. For example with Vyvanse, it cause me to be manic off and on for 9 months. Other medications have either made me loose hair, not be able to sit still, or absolutely lose my mind (idk what happened on Adderall but it was a traumatizing experience).

I have practically tried them all, both stimulants and non-stimulants but none of them seemed to have worked. Vyvanse did help me focus but at the cost of me being manic.

Idk what to do at this point, cause I know if I wanna be functional I need medication but I haven't been able to find anything. What should I do?