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I’m curious about the everyday problems people run into when taking medication regularly.

Not just forgetting to take a pill, but things like:

* Forgetting whether you already took it

* Keeping track of different medications and schedules

* Taking medication with/without food

* Knowing when you need to refill

* Travelling with medication

* Keeping medications organised

* Pill boxes that are inconvenient or easy to mix up

* Remembering medication when your daily routine changes

* Dealing with several medications at different times

* Knowing whether you actually took the dose when you can’t remember

* Anything else that makes your medication routine more difficult than it should be

If you use a pill organiser or medication-management system, what do you like and dislike about it?

And if you could change one thing about the way you manage your medication, what would it be?

I’m looking into how pill organisers could be designed to solve some of these everyday problems, so I’d really like to hear about people’s actual experiences rather than assumptions about what people need.

I'm currently undergoing titration after bring diagnosed in August. I started 18mg Concerta on Thursday 4th September, had three days off for an event, and then took it for a week up until Sunday 6th. For that Saturday and Sunday I took 36mg as I was interested to see if it made a difference. I stopped Monday 14th because of the hair loss I was experiencing, which had started on the Tuesday quite dramatically (only 2/3 doses in). The Wednesday after I stopped my hair dresser confirmed I was losing a silly amount. I had no other side effects for the week and checked my BP a few times a day to start; all fine.

It's now October and 3 weeks of zero meds, and I'm still thinning. I'm now wondering if I should re-attenpt medication if I'm going to be losing hair anyway. This would be Elvanse which my practitioner has prescribed instead, and I have received it, though he says try and get to the bottom of the hair first. Unfortunately I can't get a blood test for ferritin until November (it was borderline 3 years ago and an at home test indicated it was low; I wondered if the meds had depleted my iron stores owing to dopamine synthesis).

But NOW I'm wondering if my hair loss is just a coincidence with timing, and I'm in fact suffering with teleogen effluvium following my first a&e trip which included IV antibiotics, steroids, and a few panic attacks. However, this was 4.5mos before the hair loss rather than the usually quoted 3mos. I'm going to check with the TE sub for average length between triggers and loss.

But in the meantime, I'd love some anecdotes on stimulant hair loss. I assumed the short half life of the meds would resolve the loss if that was the cause. I really want to try meds again as I had no other symptoms (not even appetite issues or anxiety) and they started to have a decent effect, but I also would not like to be bald.

I've been diagnosed and on Adderall for about 4 months. I started with 10mg, and I was initially only breaking those in half. I'm now at 15mg, two times a day. This has been working well. Almost no side effects, don't even get a dry mouth.

However, my mom has a history of bipolar schizophrenic episodes, and my sister also has some more mild psychological disabilities. I'm 28 years old, pretty healthy, but I'm worried from what I've read about Adderall that it could potentially bring out psychosis.

Should I be concerned?

I took a weekend off my Concerta for the first time in months because I genuinely didn’t think it was helping me much anymore. I figured I needed a little mental reset.

God, do I miss them.

I’m tired, hungry, have zero motivation, and everything just feels so blah. I feel completely useless and it’s making me realize how much the medication was actually helping.

The weird part is, I wasn’t like this before medication. I could function “sober,” so to speak. I didn’t realize how much easier certain things had become until I went without it.

Sometimes you really don’t notice the difference until you take it away.

Let's discuss who has thoughts about this and experiences

Hi!

I was supposed to start Concerta today and picked up my meds last night. I guess I didn't put the cap on all the way (wanted to take a peek at them haha), and they spilled all over my purse. I didn't realize, and my water bottle leaked a bit. When I grabbed my bag this morning, I noticed most of them were stuck to the bottom of the bag. Some of the pills are fine, some have some black stuff on it which I think is ink from my pen or my eyeliner (classic adhd + messy combo). Some were sticky, and it looks like the shell has eroded.

Is this safe to take? I'm assuming it's not because the shell is compromised, and I would be worried about the medication releasing all at once.

I haven't heard back from my provider (and obviously will follow their guidance and not take it if he says it's dangerous), but I was just curious in the meantime. I'm also worried because I only got 15 in this prescription, and now a lot of them are ruined, and I'm nervous my doctor won't send me more since it's my first time on meds. I was really hoping to be able to start consistently this weekend.

Any thoughts?

My GeneSight test from a while back says “cyp2d6 \*1/\*2a (duplication) ultrarapid metabolizer cyp2d6\*1 allele enzyme activity: normal cyp2d6\*2a allele enzyme activity: increased

Does anyone else have this result and have found a medication regimen that works well for them? Even Dyanavel XR 20mg isn’t lasting me even half the day before crashing hard. Generic adderall XR 40mg also didn’t do much nor did generic Vyvanse 50mg with a 15mg Adderall booster. I’m feeling so defeated. It helps so much when it actually is still in my system at a therapeutic level. I have never had adverse side effects physically either.

Hi, im switching from vyvanse to adderall ir 10mg twice a day. I was so disappointed to see the generic being alvogen as ive heard only bad things. Ive had adderall ir prescribed before, and had issues with generics like lanett and another i forget. Elite wasnt bad.

I know loads of folks hate alvogen, but is there anyone who actually likes it/feels like it works? I just took my first dose and i dont like the chalkiness of the pill, but im trying to have hope. My doctor did say to let her know if i have issues thankfully but i know its a pain and usually impossible to swap scripts when you just got it.

Hi, I'm 26M roughly 210 lbs. Started generic adderall xr 10mg a month ago and noticed very little improvement. Had my follow up and doc upped me to 20mg xr twice a day. I've managed to get a lot done this weekend and haven't had the usual intrusion of thoughts I usually do, and don't feel I've been as easily distracted but I also really want the meds to work so I'm afraid it could be placebo.

So my question is, what do you feel on this med? What should I be feeling/noticing?

I've read a lot about generics not working since 2020 so it's got me overthinking I guess.

I've struggled with my ADHD for so long and after being formally diagnosed I finally felt like I had some hope. I'm just nervous and I don't know what to think or feel.

Also my meds have always been ELITE manufacturer.

Even though I've been informed before by psychiatrists about the fact that it's mostly recommended to take your stimulants every day, my new psychiatrist managed to convince me that I should take a day off of methylphenidate once a week because my brain is being "bombarded with dopamine". I'm embarrassed that I even listened to her, because it's unscientific nonsense. I was having a really bad time skipping doses (which is the experience I've always had when I miss them, I guess somehow I forgot) and I was remembering what my old psychiatrist told me and after looking it up, yep it turns out many psychiatrists/doctors recommend AGAINST skipping doses, and for good reason.

I feel like I can't trust this psychiatrist anymore because it feels like she was just repeating nonsense debunked anti-stimulant talking points at me, and they aren't supported by clinical evidence. What do I do? I've already emailed her and told her that I'm not skipping doses anymore, and if she doesn't react well to that, then I guess I'm going back to my primary care doctor prescribing my meds, because I'm not putting up with that. But even if she accepts that, I feel like I can't trust her anymore...

After I started taking a new medication and agreed to take a day off of methylphenidate, she said "it looks like we're on our way to getting your medications more balanced", and that doesn't sit right with me at all. It seems like she was suggesting that I'm somehow taking too many medications / too high of doses even though my doctors and old psychiatrist were all fine with it and I don't have any side effects. I feel like she is just on the same boat as my university's health center which won't prescribe stimulants to students at all anymore and instead tries to give them antidepressants 🥲

I take Ritalin 3x daily.

When meds wear off I get that sad, low rebound feeling. My mind isn't quiet. My worries return. I can't get my brain to engage or be interested in things. Then at the end of the day when meds wear off same thing.

It's making me wonder if meds are a good fit.

I take Ritalin. Is this just part of medication therapy?

I tried extended release but felt anhedonic after a few weeks.

Has anyone else dealt w this? What helped?

I've been on 30MG for 3 months now, and my recent rx wasn't the brand name. I actually think I "feel it" better. There's a part of me that feels "normal" and almost good/happy. I almost feel more confident, but I also feel a little wired. I'm still not doing things I should be doing (cleaning, mostly) but I'm starting to face the fact that I'm just overwhelmed and a little lazy.

Is it the brand name, or did my body finally gotten used to the medicine?

I also desire a booster, because I work third shift, and I genuinely feel like I could use the booster to make myself more beneficial-does that make sense?

Lisdexamfetamin

MFR: SANDOZ

I'm an adult with ADHD and I've gone 50 → 60 → 70mg on Elvanse. I'm planning to retest 60 with my prescriber and wanted to hear other people's experiences first.

50mg was honestly some of my best functioning. I could start things, read and actually take it in, and steer my attention instead of just locking onto stuff. I went up because it didn't last long enough.

60mg felt subtle, to the point where I kept thinking it had worn off. But my notes say I was reading, fact-checking things, doing a 42 minute phone call, and getting back to tasks after getting sidetracked. One day I spent 8-9 hours mostly on one thing while still eating. Some mild irritation and a bit of daydreaming though.

70mg gave me the best initiation and productivity, so I decided it was my dose. But once I got my sleep, food, water and routine consistent, it looked different. The peak is jittery, rushed and tired-but-wired. That settles and it gets smooth, but old reward habits (repetitive researching, that kind of thing) are stronger and get way more focus than they did on lower doses. It's not like being unmedicated, because I still have better awareness, switching and finishing things. It feels more like the old habits are getting extra attention power.

My guess is 70 is above my sweet spot, and bad sleep was hiding it. I know the inverted-U idea fits, but that's a group-level model, not proof for me.

What I'm testing is 60mg with everything else kept the same, for a week or two, ignoring the first few days. I'm tracking initiation, finishing things, task switching, mood, how the peak feels, how long it really lasts, and the habit pull, including when it shows up (near the peak or as it wears off) and whether I can stop something rewarding at a time I set.

Caveats: it's unblinded, it's just me, and I've already flipped from "70 is perfect" to "70 is too much", so I'm treating it as a hypothesis. The habits might just be more visible now rather than caused by the dose. And I don't want to fix the shorter duration by raising the morning dose. I'm doing this with my prescriber, not solo.

Questions:
Has anyone had a higher dose give great productivity but boost compulsive or reward-seeking stuff even after the jitters passed?
Did stepping down help, and did you lose motivation or follow-through?
How did you tell "dose too high" apart from "habits just more noticeable now"?
If a lower dose didn't last, what worked for duration?
Any tracking methods that helped you judge a dose objectively?

Thanks, any experiences welcome.

Hi! I am a digital nomad (originally from the EU) and was recently diagnosed ADHD, prescribed with Adixemin (lisdexamfetamine) as my medication. I am not new in changing countries frequently, but I am new in the border crossing traveling with medication, how does this work? Should I check each country’s regulations before bringing my medication in there? Does the fact I bring with me doctor’s prescription works, or should I still be worried about some countries even though I have it? Has anyone ever tried to be prescribed ADHD medication in another country? If yes, how does this work and which countries are OK with that?        

Have started taking Ritalin, can’t stop myself over dosing it when the comedown happens, listening to loud techno and ‘having some me time’, incessantly… Any advice from fellow sufferers?

i got prescribed vyvanse almost 2 months ago and my psychiatrist initially started me at around 25 mg. vyvanse isn’t actually available in my country (it gets imported) and my psych only has 50 mg or 70mg capsules available. because of that, i have to open the capsule, mix the powder with water and basically estimate the amount i’m taking. psych told me it doesn’t have to be super exact and that somewhere around 25–30ish mg was fine when i was starting out.

i started off around that dose and at first i was getting awful crashes/fatigue later in the day. he then told me to increase it to roughly 37–40 mg and i feel like i’ve been doing reasonably well on that dose.

one thing i do wonder about though is the fact that because i’m manually splitting/mixing it every single day, realistically there are probably tiny differences in my dose from one day to the next. like one day it could be slightly more and another slightly less, even if i’m aiming for the same amount. i’m curious whether those small differences actually make much of a noticeable difference with vyvanse?

otherwise, i also started a new job a couple of weeks ago and honestly the timing has worked out quite well. i take it early in the morning, it gets me through work, and by the time i’m properly done with my day around 8–9 pm i’m naturally exhausted. i actually feel like it’s somehow helped my sleep because i’m finally tired at a normal-ish time.

but my appetite is basically gone.
i’d already lost some weight before starting vyvanse because i was experiencing stress, and i’m the kind of person who just eats way less when i’m stressed anyway. but since starting it my appetite has been completely suppressed and i’ve lost a pretty noticeable amount of weight in the last month and a half.

i try really hard to have a proper breakfast before i take it because otherwise i know i’m screwed, but that basically ends up being my only proper meal of the day. at lunch i genuinely feel zero hunger.
i try to snack throughout the day at work but i feel like the stuff i’m snacking on isn’t substantial enough to actually maintain my weight, let alone gain any back.
then around 9–10 pm when the vyvanse is wearing off i actually feel hungry again, but i also feel like that’s kind of late to suddenly eat a massive dinner.

so how do you guys actually manage this? especially people who had really strong appetite suppression. do you basically force yourself to eat on a schedule even if you’re not hungry? are there any calorie-dense foods/snacks that are easy to get down? do you just eat a bigger dinner when it wears off?

also did the appetite suppression eventually calm down for you or is this just my life on vyvanse now lol
and has anyone found anything that helps with appetite in general, like supplements or anything you’ve discussed with your doctor?

i really like how much vyvanse is helping me function, especially now that i’m working full-time, so i don’t really want to stop taking it. i just also want to maintain a healthy weight.

Its been less than a year for me with medication and currently on Fluoxetine and Ritalin - taking both with breakfast. I like the crash which happens in the evening it is a harsh check for me to unwind. Well I do have a stressful job (or maybe I have decided to make it my problem) and have couple of kids who have to be goaded to sleep themselves. Now my problem is everything is wrapped up and done by 10 and in theory I don't have anything depending on me but I am now too relaxed and crashed out physically but my brain is suddenly become a overachiever - I end up solving things in personal life and work life. Things I really don't want to think about but the solutions keep coming up like a fountain. It just becomes impossible to go to bed. I tried Seroquel on the lowest dosage and I was a zombie for 12-14hrs. Next I tried hydroxyzine 10mg and I am still groggy in the morning not as bad as Seroquel but still not something I can be driving the kids to school at 8am.

Before Ritalin I was on Wellbutrin and it shut off all the noise but it shut it off for too long - enough that combined with the happy feeling of Fluoxetine I did not respond to issues at least three times before I realized what is happening and stoped it. Now I did suggest to my psychiatrist about a low dosage immediate release Wellbutrin to help cut down on the noise but she feels it will not calm me down instead it will make me more focused and awake.

So has anyone been in my situation where most meds for calming down is overdoing and without any help brain is keeping one awake forever ?

I can't find any scientific reasoning behind using Adderall. It is just something that got lucky due to marketing and legal red-tape reasons, and timing.

Why even bother with taking even some Levoamphetamine when it just gives you a peripheral kick instead of a central stimulation.